Bermuda is named for Juan de Bermudez, the Spanish explorer who first encountered the islands in 1505. The islands weren’t permanently settled until 1612, when the English ship Sea Venture nearly sank offshore in a storm and was instead deliberately beached on one of the numerous off-lying reefs. Many of the survivors continued on to mainland North America, but the few who stayed settled in the town of St. George’s on the northeastern tip of the islands.
Bermuda is usually considered a single island, but the ~20 square miles (~50 square kilometers) of land is actually made up of more than 100 islands. The eight populated islands are all connected by bridges, so they definitely seem like one large island when traveling on land.
All visiting boats are required to clear customs and immigration in St. George’s, and the town itself is situated on the north shore of a large and very well-protected natural harbor. The utility of the harbor and the generally mild weather both contributed to St. George’s being the oldest continuously-inhabited British settlement outside of England.
Many old buildings remain in town, and we enjoyed exploring our new temporary home and surroundings.
