海角社区官网

On the book鈥檚 cover is a photograph of Tucker鈥檚 Cross, a 22-karat gold cross studded with seven emeralds, each the size of a musket bullet. The cross, which Tucker discovered in 1955, is said to be the most valuable item ever recovered from a shipwreck. He recalls thinking even as a child: 鈥淚 was going to look for treasure. There was no question about that.鈥�

It occurs to me that 鈥� it’s a tiny, fishhook-shaped archipelago in the North Atlantic 鈥� may be among the few places on Earth where a child may daydream of being a treasure hunter and become one. Here, 鈥渢reasure hunter鈥� is not reserved for storybooks; it鈥檚 a viable career, a LinkedIn profile. In Bermuda, there is a constant collision not just of ships to coral reefs, but of fantasy and reality, fact and lore. Even a brief sojourn in Bermuda feels like its own treasure hunt.

My first, almost-startling discovery, granted one that anyone can make by looking at a map, is just how close Bermuda is. An easy and eminently civilized direct flight from 海角社区官网is only two and a half hours. Bermuda鈥檚 location, roughly 1,000 kilometres off the coast of North Carolina, bears mentioning as it remains, like so much of the island nation鈥檚 lore, mysterious to many.

When I mentioned to an (otherwise educated) acquaintance that I was heading to Bermuda, she sent a friendly text before my trip: 鈥淗ave fun in Barbados!鈥� Though far from the Caribbean, Bermuda is often confused with Barbados, Bahamas and even Barbuda.

We kick off our unofficial treasure hunt along the Bermuda Railway Trail, which ribbons its way past spectacular coastline. As we ride electric bikes on the abandoned, nearly 30-kilometre rail bed, Bermudian longtails career balletically overhead, as if practising some kind of synchronized soaring routine through the salt air.

We follow this tour with another from the local company . 鈥淏ermudians stick to the path. They like to stay on the main road,鈥� says our 70-year-old guide, Darrenn Millett, clearly relishing in taking visitors off course. He escorts us through Walsingham Nature Reserve, on trails trimmed with wild ginger and Surinam cherry trees, toward .

Blue Hole, a brilliantly blue lagoon teeming with parrotfish and angelfish, is the place鈥檚 crown jewel. My son and husband celebrate the discovery by cliff jumping into the waters (I stick to the path and film them).

Commenting on the Bermudians鈥� proneness to path-following, Millett is, of course, speaking as literally as he is metaphorically. If the weather in Bermuda can be temperamental (spring and summer are the best times to visit), the vibe inclines toward a rule-abiding politesse. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e going to rob a bank here,鈥� one local tells us, 鈥測ou鈥檇 better say good morning first! Otherwise, you鈥檒l have problems!鈥� Lack of courteousness would be the real crime.

There is a formality in this British overseas territory, a pride and propriety (and a pride in propriety) when it comes to language, behaviour and fashion. I spot several people non-ironically sporting popped collars, crested cotton sweaters, Bermuda shorts and knee socks.

Any edginess is found in nature, and sometimes in architecture. , a new 60-room boutique hotel and residence perched atop a bluff on the south shore, is all polished, whitewashed minimalism. Balconied rooms cosset guests with vertiginous views, each boasting a wind-tousled sea as wallpaper. The property, with its 鈥渙cean pool鈥� (an ocean-water-filled swimming pool), is carved into steep, nearly perpendicular limestone cliffs to dramatic effect.

We leave our immaculate room to head for an obligatory visit to the Crystal Caves, a not-remotely-hidden gem. It turns out that sticking to the beaten path in Bermuda is as enchanting as straying from it. is a 1,600-foot-long, 200-foot-deep subterranean fantasia of crystalline pools under a hanging forest of ghostly stalactites, some resembling mummified icicles and others swizzle sticks (the sort you might find in your Rum Swizzle, Bermuda鈥檚 national cocktail).

Descending into this underworld, I feel as if I鈥檓 touring the planet Krypton or the set of 鈥淔raggle Rock.鈥� This last observation is not as far-fetched as it might seem: Michael K. Frith, who co-created the 鈥�80s puppet show with Jim Henson, is Bermudian and found inspiration in the Crystal Caves.

The story of the caves鈥� discovery is as incredible as the place itself: In 1907, two cricket-playing teenagers lost their ball in a sinkhole. They grabbed a crowbar and a kerosene lamp and began digging, bravely determined to retrieve their ball. They never found the ball, but instead unearthed this fabulist treasure.

As stories go, it would seem ill-mannered (and un-Bermudian) to write this one without mentioning the otherworldly splendour of the island鈥檚 pink beaches. One is almost inspired to shout 鈥淭reasure!鈥� upon beholding Horseshoe Bay and neighbouring Warwick Long Bay, among the island鈥檚 pinkest and most superb beaches.

I stop to take a picture of the sand 鈥� it鈥檚 as satiny and delicate in hue as ballet slippers 鈥� as if to try to store its magic on my phone and in my soul. The setting, the blueness of the sky spreading against an even bluer sea, and the tender pinkness of the sand, is the heartbreakingly beautiful stuff of fables.

As I take in the seascape, my son heads into the water for a swim. He is colour-blind, we鈥檝e recently learned, and I feel a wave of sadness that he can鈥檛 tell the sand is pink, that he can鈥檛 fully enjoy this little miracle of colour.

Thankfully, my son is immune to the grief I鈥檓 projecting onto him. 鈥淭he sand looks white to me. But it鈥檚 still so beautiful here!鈥� he says, as elated as any treasure hunter discovering a gem.

Olivia Stren travelled as a guest of the Bermuda Tourism Authority, which did not review or approve this article.