The Smell of Bermuda

I was working 4-midnight last night again.  It's been a hectic week and the fridge at home was bare, leaving me with few options for a lunch at work, and the idea of cafeteria food was just too dismal.  So I texted a friend who was also on shift and made plans to get take-away instead.  The obvious choice for take-away food in Bermuda is actually curry from House of India...always quick, always delicious.  It was dusk when I hopped on the scooter to make the short trip into town for the food, and I noticed as soon as I turned onto Reid Street the unmistakable smell of hot dogs.  I looked left and right but didn't see anything that could be the source (there are no new york style hot dog carts in Bermuda...there are a couple of "street meat" vendors that operate on front street from more bus-like structures, but they seem to have schwarma's and jerk-chicken poutine more so than hot dogs.)  The hot dog smell really surprised me, and I realized that it was because I am normally used to smelling Chinese food in that area as I drive by Chopsticks.

My next turn was down Court Street, an area I have never really been on a Friday night, as it has a reputation for being a rough area.  I was surprised to smell a rich smoky barbecue in the air.  Court street looked like a block party -- The Jamaican Grill had a tarp over their portion of the sidewalk and were grilling jerk chicken in the open air.  Families were leisurely chatting at the restaraunts along the street, people sitting on the sidewalks, a peaceful, happy vibe in the air.  Very different from the energy of front street, I was struck by the truly Carribean feel of the street as i drove through.  2 doors further down another group had a barbecue set up from what looked like a home-made barrel contraption.  Passing this and going down the hill I began to smell curry from House of India.

On the drive back, I got to thinking that I never smell the food so strongly while walking down the streets back in Canada.  Obviously the outdoor vendors give would be detected, but the to smell cooking from the indoor places like Chopsticks and House of India while driving by seems unusual.  I am sure it is due to the way the kitchens are ventilated or some reasonable explanation, but I like to think it's because the island air is a little cleaner than the cities, and not clogged with as many petro and industrial biproducts.

So when not driving past food places, what does the island smell like?  Some might guess ocean, but to me the ocean doesn't have much of a smell, it is more of a texture.  I don't smell salt, I feel the air as being a little heavier with the humidity, a little thicker, with just a barely discernible sense of moisture that says ocean to me.  Although there is a lot of vegetation, there is not a lot of farmland, so I don't get the rich, metallic scent of earth after it is tilled or rains.  Nope.  Bermuda usually smells like flowers.  I am not a botanist, and my ability to identify plants is pretty limited.  I noticed immediately when getting off the plane the strong scent of flowers.  When I looked around what I saw was Hibiscus, in pinks, reds, yellows, whites, oranges, and hybrid mixtures.

Hibiscus

Over the months of stopping to smell the flowers I never picked up quite the right smell until someone told me to smell the little pink flower nearby -- bingo!  I was told they are oleander (latin name Nerium oleader for all you science geeks).  Oleander is, by the way, the most poisonous plant in the world if digested.  Smells delightful though. The scent carries through the island and is strongest to me in spring and summer.  My favorite non-visual memories will be long walks with the smell of these flowers, or driving the scooter alongside the ocean by moonlight and getting hit with a strong sweet smell that is Bermuda.

Pink oleander

Oleander.  Bermuda smells like Oleander...and sounds like tree frogs.

Oh yes, and the curry take away really hit the spot last night.