Here a few things that may surprise you about our island:
- Bermuda was originally settled by accident in 1609 when the Sea Venture, bound for Jamestown in America, foundered on the reefs off our shores.
- Bermuda’s 400 years of recorded history has produced a culture all its own. Its people are descended from slaves from the West Indies and West Africa, English settlers, Irish adventurers, exiled North American Indian prisoners and Portuguese immigrants. African dances are still performed in the street on holidays.
- Bermuda’s stunning natural beauty has been protected by the world’s first environmental laws (dating back to the 1600s).
- Bermuda is home to more golf courses per square mile than anywhere in the world.
- Bermuda (as you might expect from the legends of the Bermuda Triangle) is the world’s number one wreck diving destination.
- A tiny single-celled animal called Red Forams that live under the coral reef are responsible for our pink beaches. Their red skeletons mix with the white sand and broken sea shells creating a pink tinge.
- If you scan the South Shore in April, you’re likely to find the sight of whales playing in the ocean.
- Bermuda’s rich literary heritage has attracted and inspired the likes of Mark Twain, Noel Coward, James Thurber, Eugene O’Neill, and John Lennon. It has also been the destination of choice for Eleanor Roosevelt and Prince Albert of Monaco.
