This is the nice man who drove us across part of the island from King’s Warf to Horseshoe, who talked to us like we were old family he hadn’t seen in a few years — interested, but not especially intent — who was surprised when we knew things about the place. My in-laws come to Bermuda every few years and have for a long time. They could recall things some of the locals have forgotten.

We let the crowd come and go, arriving later in the afternoon, just as the tourists were leaving and the locals came onto the beach for the evening.

We climbed a few rocks.

And danced our toes in the cold, cold water. If you get in and you’re moving around it’d be fine, my mind says. My ankles disagree.

I like a few rocks on my beach. Something you don’t see on the Gulf Coast, where all of my beach impressions were made, and the beautiful area against which all beaches are measured.

The sand here is not pink. They say it is, but it is not. It is pink-flecked, bits of coral washing in to give the setting a bit of ambiance. They say, too, that the sand never gets hot. It is warm today, and the sun is serious, but the sand feels great.

This is a peaceful beach.

We’ll be back here tomorrow for more sun and snorkeling.

That’s my boat. We’re on the Celebrity Summit. Here it is docked at King’s Wharf, Bermuda. We got off of the ship and caught a ferry to St. George’s. Cruise ships used to go there directly, but modern ships, like the Summit, are too big for a narrow pass. And Summit isn’t even the largest vessel in the fleet.

That’s the wharf itself, which is dominated today by two cruise ships, many smaller vessels, public transportation and the Clocktower Mall.

This is in St. George’s:

Everything here is incredibly well-manicured. No blade of grass seems out of place. Life is good.

But this is troubling. The Yankee’s parents have been here several times and they notice what the locals have seen lately, part of the economy here is drying up. One part of the problem, they believe, is that there are fewer cruise ships — because of that narrow pass — and the other being general economic woes. A man we spoke with later in the day, though, said those cruise ships would return. The local government is widening that inlet to St. George’s.

Need a brick?

I’m guessing these bricks found there ways here like a lot of nautical towns: as ballast in ships from wherever. There are bricks stamped here from Massachusetts, New York, Australia and who knows where else.

St. Peter’s Church, in St. George’s Bermuda, is the self-proclaimed oldest Anglican church outside the British Isles and the oldest Protestant church in continuous use in the New World. Nice, cozy church. The walls are covered in monuments and memorials to dead church members.

In the back they store the historic silver.

Above is part of the famous St. George’s chalice set. Charles 1 silver is very rare, and dates to 1625. The engraving is the Bermuda Company’s coat-of-arms and the ship Sea Venture, striking a rock at full sail. This is functional art and history, really.

This is a piece from The King’s Set. It was a gift from King William III to the chapel and are engraved with William’s Royal Arms and Cypher. It dates to 1697 and is more pure and softer than sterling silver.

They know how to do mailboxes, don’t they?

The flag unfurled. This is a flag of the Bermuda government. Blue is unusual for British commonwealths, but keeps with former Canadian and Union of South African ensigns. British flags are too complex for Americans which is, I’m sure, part of the plan.

Our unofficial, helpful, drunken, mumbling tour guide. You could catch about every five thing he said while we traveled on the ferry. Who knows if he was right. But two or three of things you could hear did sound close enough.

More to come from St. George’s.