14 June 2009,
Today we had a planned port program; we were going to be going to the famous crystal caves of Bermuda. We woke up early and walked to the bus ranks where we caught the number eleven bus out of town. We managed to squeeze all 40 of us into the bus, even though it meant that we had to sit on each other’s laps and most of us had to stand.
When we arrived at the caves we were introduced to our guide who told us the safety rules (always hold onto the handrails, do not touch the crystal formations etc.) We were then led into the depths of the earth… To get to the caves we had to walk down a steep flight of dimly lit, very slippery stairs. As we got lower into the earth we started seeing beautiful crystalline structures and all around you heard the steady drip of the water which forms these wonders. Then we turned a corner and found ourselves in a cave that was half filled with the most crystal clear (excuse the pun) water I had ever seen. Stalagtites descended down from the roof like the jaws of a huge monster and if you looked down into the water, you could see the broken stalagtites which had broken from the ceiling and fallen down.
Our guide told us that the crystals were formed by water which drips down through the earth, collecting calcium as it goes. It then drips and hardens, forming the ¨teeth¨ shapes. They form a cubic inch every 100 years!!
After the caves we all went our separate directions. I went to the aquarium and the natural history museum then went to the media centre to make a few phone calls home. The South African crew then met at the ship and went to have dinner with the mayor of Bermuda but when we got there we found that they had over booked and we couldn´t have dinner. However, we met the mayor and had the chance to hand over a gift and mayoral greetings from the Mayor of Cape Town.
We went back to the ship and had supper there then went out into the town to enjoy our last night in Bermuda and with the Canadian crew.
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