MOVING DAY IS FAST APPROACHING

Today was an exciting day for us- We got the keys to our condo and can start moving in (all our worldly goods that are on island amount to 6 pieces of luggage) so we will hop into a cab Monday and finally be in our own place !

We are staying at the corporate apartment til then as our new TV and the cable guy are not coming til Tuesday so we figured we might as well enjoy the amenities here til then plus our landlady is doing some finishing touches like resealing the hardwood floors and repainting today. Then thankfully no more moving for at least 3 years as that is how long our lease is. I had arranged for our goods to arrive on the 30th as I knew it would take only a day or two to clear customs but what I did not know was that it will take up to another 3 weeks for the stevedores to strip the container and then our crate gets delivered to us. So moving day will actually take place in 2 parts and its part 2 that I am really looking forward to. I cannot wait to be reunited with my blowdryer and my favorite pillow! Its been so long since we have seen our stuff that it will be a big surprise to see what we actually kept. Our landlady is a real doll and has left us with additional things to tide us over til our crate arrives including a coffee pot, dishes, pots and pans and the like. I am hoping that I actually kept a warm jacket of some kind as I am back in New York and Boston from the 14th-19th and its going to feel cold after being here. We are still wandering around in short sleeve shirts and shorts although its a lot cooler than it was as we are now sitting in the mid-high 70's.

It was a different kind of moving day for us too as my hubby passed his road test so we can buy a car and move ourselves around in our own time, instead of waiting for the bus, ferry or taxi to come. YAY!!! I decided to wait as I am too freaked out to drive here at the moment -my learners permit is good for 6 months so I have time to overcome my fears.

I am still having trouble with knowing what side of the road I should be walking, never mind driving on, on so for now the world is a safer place. Don't like those frikken roundabouts either and probably the thing that freaks me out the most is the bikes overtaking on both sides of the car and the narrowness of the roads as my depth perception is very poor. We have narrowed down our desired car to a Nissan March which looks a lot like a VW Beetle, a Dhiatsu Terios or a Suzuki Ignis (Both little SUV's) but that may change as we have not actually been in them yet and how much headroom we have remains to be seen. There are a lot of nice Peugot models here but think they are going to be way too small with the roof up (Peugot 206cc and Peugot 306 cc) and I really like the Rover MGTF but again think headroom is going to be an issue. We are going to the dealer next week and the choice will boil down to what we fit in! We also need a point of reference for pricing as there are tons of used cars for sale here but the prices are all over the place, so we figured lets get pricing on the new models and decide from there.

We went to the Crystal Caves (www.crystalcaves.bm) Photo above is of some people we met there.

Check out their website as our pictures did not do them any justice and they are absolutely spectacular. These caves are millions of years old and have amazing formations of stalacmites and stalagtites made of limestone. It takes 100 years for 1 inch to form so when you see the size of these things you can't help but be overwhelmed with how old they are. Two young boys discovered them by accident back in the 20's. They were playing cricket and lost their ball down a hole. They wanted the ball back so got a rope and a flashlight and eventually descended more than 120 feet into the ground.

We have also been checking out more of the beaches- there are tons of them but we decided to do Horseshoe Bay as its Bermuda's most famous and most photographed beach. It is famous for its pink sand and its as fine as baby powder. This is one of the more touristy beaches we have been too but it was gorgous and we had a nice day there

Going golfing tomorrow on the executive par 3 course at the Fairmont Southampton- I got a set of clubs today and want to try my hand on one of the easier courses here before I try out Belmont. There is a huge second hand market here due to the comings and goings of all the expats so I got a nice set of ladies clubs and a bag pretty cheap.

As I sit writing this, night has fallen and the whistling frogs have begun to sing. They will sing all night long and they are very loud especially when you realize that they are about the size of a thumbprint. Its like an orchestra playing all night long, although for some reason they don't sing once the temperature falls below 70- so far it has still been in the 70's at night so we have always been serenaded since we arrived.Unlike most amphibians, the Whistling Frog doesn't lay its eggs in ponds, choosing instead the small pockets of water that are trapped at the base of such large-leafed plants as the banana. These moisture-loving amphibians seek out damp spots under stones or in plant debris to avoid water loss through their porous skin during the heat of the day. I have never seen the little guys but they have little round pads on their feet instead of webs as they are tree climbers, not swimmers. What I have seen both dead and alive is the giant toad which is also known as spring chicken in some countries. They are the most frequent road kill I have seen here so far and while they are big and ugly, they were brought to Bermuda to control the cockroaches so I am glad that they are here.