We came upon Elbow Beach first - a fabulous long shore line with sand as soft as corn flour, and the water a sparkling turquoise blue. With the wind up the waves dominated, creating a white surf of warm water. It is a very popular beach for families with young children, as well as kite surfers. Then it was on to Warwick Long Bay - an even longer stretch of sand that reflected a soft hue of pink. Less busy than Elbow, perhaps because of a strong undercurrent. Finally, we stopped at Horseshoe Bay - a real mecca for tourists and residents alike. A toddlers delight is the little tidal pool sheltered from the waves by tall volcanic rocks. Parking for buses, taxis and cars and a little beachside eatery called Rum Bum Beach Bar. We had a great burger lunch for a reasonable price.
We had heard of the "pink beaches" of Bermuda - and it really is true - not every beach mind - but those south shore beauties boast a definite showing of pink. According to my research this occurs where there is a lot of wave action and reefs that are close to shore. In a symbiotic dance with nature, the waves deposit the skeletons of tiny, bright red organisms called Red Foram or Foraminifera that had previously clung to the undersides of reefs. They wash up on the beaches and mix with white sand, and pounded coral and shells to create the distinctive pink sand.
As an aside, we will not be able to use the car in the height of summer when everyone will have the same idea as us and there is very little parking anywhere. Horseshoe probably has the most parking at about 30 or 40 spots. Other than that we found parking for just 2 to 5 cars usually. Sometimes it will mean just pulling over and parking on a grass verge - which are few and far between. So it will be the bike or the bus for most of our trips to the beach.
No comments:
Post a Comment