"Your tale, sir, would cure deafness." The Tempest, 1. 2

There is a fair amount of historical and literary evidence to show that Shakespeare's The Tempest is based on the founding of Bermuda in 1609, when the Sea Venture ran aground on its way to the Jamestown Colony.  One of the characters in Tempest is Ariel,  the sprite, or fairy, that is released from being imprisoned in a tree by a witch by the shipwrecked Prospero, who requires and exploits his loyalty to him.

We have been house sitting for friends of my sister's at Surf Song.  It is on the South Shore--where most of the best beaches are located.  Although there is no beach attached to the house, it is right on the water.  A quick climb over the rocks to either the right or left will bring us to a small, pink sand beach.  To the left is Ariel Sands.  This is a resort that at one point was owned by Michael Douglas and his family. Yes, that Michael Douglas!  His mother is Bermudian.  For all sorts of good reasons, I suppose, Ariel Sands is now deserted and abandoned.  The tourist season is not year-round and the Island cannot support a resort without clientele; Bermuda is expensive; hired workers must be Bermudian and be paid appropriately.  In a different country, a large corporation can build a resort with cheap infrastructure, and staff it with underpaid employees.  Some would call The Tempest an allegory of colonialism. If so, then Ariel may be a fitting tribute to a resort in a colony that is anything  but 'Third World'.

Palapas to the left, pool to the right

The beach has mostly been reclaimed by storms and hurricanes. The palapas are still on the beach, but the palm leaves have long since blown away.  The cottages stand empty. The pool is slowly being reclaimed by the ocean and is inhabited by a variety of marine life.  And Ariel, memorialized in bronze 50 metres from shore, appears to be fleeing the decay.  

 There are two pools, flush with the ground, bordering on the rocks and reefs in the ocean.  The sea is held back by a cement retaining wall that is only visible if you are standing on it.  The end of the pool was left in a naturalized state, surrounded by rock walls.  Because of the wave action, the pools continue to be refreshed with sea water and so are still clear.  What is most striking is the number of fish that must have been swept over the side and into the pool. The bottom is now strewn with sand, rocks, urchins, some coral and many small colourful fish!

Sergeant Majors in the pool

 Today we went exploring and decided to go for a swim and some snorkeling.  Since I still can't get my ear wet, and André is no water sprite (unlike Ariel!), we paddled around on the beach and then went into the abandoned pool. Ever since I ruptured my ear drum, André has been as concerned as I have been frustrated.  Any time I am even near the water, he is worried  a ROGUE WAVE will hit me in the ear.  I think my on-going deafness is more of a source of frustration to him than even to me.  I wonder if he will catch on that sometimes, in the way of wives, it's not that I am deaf, it's that I am no longer listening?

It was Heaven for André as he could snorkel in relative calm and safety and I was also able to see the fish without getting my head wet.   There were a surprisingly large number of small and brightly coloured fish in the pool.  I have since learned that among these were: Sergeant Majors, Bermuda Chub, Cardinal Fish.  Outside the pool on the reef, blue Parrotfish were easily visible.  These may be the prettiest fish you can see snorkeling. All was perfect until we spotted a fairly large fish -which I believe was a  Spadefish--who thought my ankle bracelet was a tasty piece of seaweed and kept nibbling at it.  Quite amusing until he tired of the game and took a chunk out of my ankle.  I'm having a hard time convincing André that ROGUE PIRANHA are not indigenous to Bermuda.  In an interesting side note, André was able, for a brief time, to duplicate Ariel's flight over the water.

A small adventure today.  Another tomorrow. And then another.  Even here in Paradise it is easy to become complacent and to slip into old habits.  But every day requires some kind of adventure whether exploration, physical, intellectual, literary or seek and destroy missions for ant colonies!

"We are such stuff as dreams are made on, rounded with a little sleep"  The Tempest Act 4, scene 1, 148–158