The trip to the West end and back to St. George at the East end was interrupted by a call to report to Kindley Field for a trip to London. I was not far from my efficiency apartment when I received the call. So off to London. The weather was forecast to be marginal and it certainly was on our arrival. The approach and landing was accomplished and the aircraft secured for the night after deplaning the passengers. Now, off to the Heathrow Airport motel close by. There were several and all new and clean. Next morning at wake up time we were alerted to prepare for a flight to Zuric Switzerland and overnight. It was an easy flight across the channel and landing. We overnighted again with plans to return to London the next day. In the morning the plan was changed to go first to Oslo, Norway and then London. No problem, they were all short flights. We departed the next day for Bermuda.

About 2 days later we had a call to proceed to Santa Maria, Azores. It is the Southern most Island in the Azore chain. Very mountainous. Our assignment was to be the navigation ship for the President of Mexico. They were returning to Mexico from Spain when the Inertial Navigation system malfunctioned. Santa Marie was just under our cruise limits. On our arrival at Santa Maria, we refueled, shook hands with the Presidente, and off we went. to St. Johns, Newfoundland as our destination. We cruised at Mach .80 so the larger aircraft would not run over us. They were to land and refuel and then continue on to Mexico City using the VORs and normal airway routing. When they established radio contact with St. Johns, it was adios El Presidente.

We made a sharp left turn to the Southwest heading back to Bermuda. It was a 7.5 hour flight from Santa Maria. We received a fine letter from the El Presidente, thanking us for our service. Now off to the sack for some rest. It was a 6.5 hour flight to Santa Marie then return to Bermuda was a total of 14.0 hrs. Drag, you bet we dragged. It felt like an anchor that I was pulling from the airport to my living quarters on the motor scooter.

From our "Cottage by the Sea," which was located just East of Spital Pondis, is a place named Devil's Hole. A boardwalk has been constructed out and over the water. You can see the various type fish that are in this deep pond. Continue North around a very hilly and curved road, in Flats, there is an aquarium that is so interesting that you could spend hour on hour there and observe the different sea life. Flats is also the point and about sundown, the fisherman return with there days catch. Lobster was Kipp's and my favorite, charcoaled. Fish and bread was about the only things that is not imported. The flour to make the bread was imported. Continue on East and follow the road around Harrington Sound almost to the airport turn off where a small quaint inn called Swizzle Inn, a perfume factory and a glass blowing factory. I never went into the perfume factory as I do not care for smelly stuff but the glass blowing factory was a must. Now the Swizzle Inn is a different story completely. A good meal or just a sandwich was excellent especially after a return flight from London, SWIZZLES were especially inviting.

Now just a short distance from the Swizzle Inn, on the road around to the South where my Little Cottage was still located by the sea, It had not blown away. Kipp and his Nanny were waiting with excitement as I always brought something back for them to treasure. The nanny only lived a short distance and it was an easy walk for her. The waves could be heard crashing into the coral bluffs and caves under the cottage. We would go down the walkway to the pink beach the next morning, not one footprint was visible. It was so beautiful and relaxing.

Not far from the Swizzle Inn were the Crystal Caves. There were stalagmites and stalagtites galore in a natural setting with lights that were positioned for the most advantageous points of view. Cool water dripping from the ceiling was sporty. The caves were well worth the stop. Likewise another cave named Lementen Cave was just as beautiful.

Another day to explore the surroundings, from "The Cottage by the Sea." There are many ferry boats which will take you to other parts of the island. It is a completely different unobstructed viewpoint of the Island. The ferrys are clean and maintain a schedule that would put the airline's to shame. All of the cruise ships enter Hamilton Harbor from the Northwest and it is beautiful watching them being maneuvered along by tug boats. Hundreds of passengers line the deck watching. A flood of passengers disembark and the shopping starts. Many take taxis and explore the Island. They overnight on board ship, in most cases, and start out again at the crack of dawn. Some miss the departure and fly back to the States.

The flights to London were not the only places that we went. Sometimes it was off to Ft. Lauderdale for a 100 hour inspection. That required at least 3 days downtime. It is always good to return to the United States. There were frequent flights to New York City to drop off passengers or pick some up. On occasion it was off to South America. Caracas and Bogota were just a skip and a jump away for a small jet transport.

On a trip to Caracas, we stayed over 2 days. On our scheduled departure date and time, the other pilot did not show. I had completed the preflight by myself and still no co-pilot. Several calls to his room were made and no answer. Finally with the Bosses permission, I went to the hotel and still got no response by phone. With the hotel manager in tow, off we went to his room. We knocked several times with no answer. The manager opened the door with his master key and we found our other pilot in the bathroom all sprawled out on the floor. He had had a heart attack and died. A pilot from Caracas was hired to fly back to Bermuda and then he returned to his home base the next day. What a night that was.

All houses in Bermuda have a slanting water drainage system built into the roofs. It's there way of collecting fresh water for drinking and other household use. All are painted white. No water is wasted. A cistern inside the home is for storage for the rain water.