ACHILLES BAY 2015

After spending some time at St Catherines Beach, we decided to walk next door to see if we could find Achilles Bay, which is where I had originally planned to go after visiting Tobacco Bay

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I was almost positive from my research that Achilles Bay was to the left of the fort so we headed back out on the road that brought us there and seen something that said a beach house something or other and had a building there. We headed in that direction hoping that we weren't about to invade someone's property.

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I did end up seeing a sign and knew we were headed in the right direction.

When we got to the edge and looked down all I could say was "OH MY"

Well that looked a little scary. I'm not quite sure how we were going to get down to what was now the smallest beach I had ever seen lined up and down a huge wall with just a bit of sand there. How would we drag all of our things down those steps, into the water, around the wall and to the beach? With kids!!! Yikes.

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I can't remember really how I found this place or why I decided I wanted to go there. Maybe I read it had good snorkeling? Maybe I read that it wasn't very crowded? Maybe I read that it was just another beach that was close to Tobacco Bay and it would be another beach that we would be able to say we've been to? I really wasn't sure, but I was a little disappointed that I had dragged the entire family here for this. :o

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Something caught Kendra's eye and she pointed to the left. We walked around and over to the left...AND FOUND THE STEPS!! Woo Hoo. It wasn't going to be a bust after all.

We headed down the steps and over to this very small little bar.

They had some cheesy decorated walls with shells in them but the people were super friendly.

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Notice the prices of umbrellas and lounge chairs.

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We sat down at the bar and I decided I wanted a REAL drink. All of our pop was gone except an orange pop for Sakari and I needed something to quench my thirst. The hubs started asking about various drinks, which the bartender was unsure how to make. LOL I have no idea what he was asking for but I heard her say "Have you ever had a Bushwacker?" ....HAVE I EVER HAD A BUSHWACKER???? OH DEAR LORD YES! THEY ARE YUMMY! I know these are supposed to originate in St Thomas at Paradise, or at least that's what they have you believe there. But I was willing to give it a shot. She had to run up to the "Beach house" to make it.

Meanwhile, where is Billy? He had made a pit stop up at the beach house himself and was having a drink and playing pool. LOL When he finally came down, he told us they were giving him free wifi up there (shhh, don't tell anyone they said) as long as he kept buying drinks. I guess he scored on that.

While the lady was gone, I ask the guy behind the bar how much were these drinks. He replied "They are normally $8 but if we have to go up to the beachhouse to make special drinks, then they are a little more." Oh great, this drink is going to cost me an arm and leg. Oh well, good thing I'm thirsty.

The drink came back and it was "ok". NOT at all the way they tasted at Paradise in St Thomas. Just saying. They hubby paid for the drinks (he had a $20) and somehow he managed to get two $5 bills back in Bermuda money. Cool. So they actually only cost us $5 each. Ok, I'm good with that.

We kinda slid down the steps and planted ourselves at two of the tables with an umbrella. There was also a few lounge chairs there as well. We told them we were planning on ordering food here in a bit. They didn't seem to mind that we were sitting at the tables or the lounge chairs.

Me and the girls decided it was time to head out along the rocks and see if there was anything to see in this area.

There were hundreds and hundreds of these little schools of fish everywhere. I kept swimming down the middle of them to see them scattered. hehe

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There were all kinds of little coves to explore up and down the wall. It was a pretty neat place.

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I found the cutest big smooth trunkfish and I just love them.

We snorkeled all over the area for awhile and I decided I had better get out and at least order something. I was starving at this point.

The prices were pretty high but I knew that they would be. I ended up getting a cheeseburger platter with fries and so did the hubby. I split mine with Sakari and thank goodness I did that because these things were HUGE!!!!

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The food came out and it was pretty yummy along with crispy cooked fries that I love.

The kids discovered some of these along the rock walls. I had no idea what they were and had to look them up when I got home and found out they are called Chitons.

A little more snorkeling for us after we ate.

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Even this purple sea fan isn't anything like the color that you see in the Caribbean. It was just so vibrant in color and beautiful.

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It was definitely a beautiful and interesting place to snorkel. I was really glad that we were able to come here.

I went to settle up our bill with the bar tender and ask about the Bermuda money. The guy had a $2 bill and said he would trade me for $2 American money. I was definitely game for that.

We packed up our things and thanked them for a wonderful day there and started up the stairs.

Everyone went to the restroom before leaving and I took a few more pictures while waiting on the rest of the group.

We headed back down the street the way we came and toward the bus stop to catch the next Hop On bus.

Once we arrived at the bus stop, there were several people already there waiting. After about 10 minutes a regular taxi driver came by and stopped. He shouted out "Hey, you guys are STILL waiting there? The bus hasn't came YET?" They said "nope, still here". He said "I have seen the bus several times. Would you like a ride?" They all got up and walked over and ask him how much because they were tired of waiting. His reply.... "NO CHARGE!!!" Can you believe it? Maybe the people in Bermuda are really nice and helpful after all. Of course the amount of people they had in their party would not allow for our party to get in the cab.

I did ask one of the ladies that was getting on just how long they had been waiting on the bus and they said they had been at the bus stop for about 1 hour and 10 minutes. :eek: Oh yikes! That's not good. The bus is supposed to run every 30 minutes at the MOST. I was now worried.

The nice taxi driver said "No worries. I will take these folks back to the ferry terminal and I will circle back around and if you are still here waiting, I will take you back to the ferry as well." Wow, how nice!

Of course it was only about 5 minutes after he pulled away that the bus came. So, we only ended up waiting about a good 15-20 minutes before we had a ride. I guess we timed that right.

The driver was super nice on the bus and once again, it was like a tour guide bus. He would tell us about things in the area and at one point he stopped the bus and said "Look over there, do you see the sea turtles?" GASP! I have NEVER seen a sea turtle yet. He pulled the bus over and got out, open the door and told us we could get out if we wanted to see them. How nice. Of course me and the kids bolted to the door. I just had to get a picture!

Now we were way at the top of a hill and the turtle was way down below in the water. So, it's hard to see but it's to the right of the picture and right above the bushes you see in the bottom of the picture. It looks like brown sea weed floating.

These things are quick. They pop their heads up out of the water and dive back down. He stayed long enough for me to get a few pictures and then we hopped back on the bus.

I hope there wasn't anyone on the bus that I made mad by getting out and taking pictures. Just be warned, if you are ever on any trip with Mitsugirly, you will be waiting for me to get pictures of whatever I can. Be prepared. Just saying...