Robyn's Wanderings

Arriving in Bermuda....anything to declare?

What have condoms, rice, incontinence aids and artificial teeth have in common?

Why am I starting a travel column with this? As you know it has been a while since we’ve been here. Well, since I have been here on Robyns’ Wanderings.

There are lots of reasons why I have been typing free, but perhaps the more important reason why I am back is because I need to complete the trilogy: Quebec part trois!

As you may remember the trip (Quebec….quoi?) to Quebec City started with me struggling to leave Bermuda with my camera that customs would not register (i.e. and save me money on duty when I returned to the island).

And the last time I left you I was struggling with bed bugs, freezing temperatures and snow that kept my feet wet in the old town of Quebec (Quebec…part deux).

Crazy? Absolutely. Everything that could possibly go wrong on a trip….did and yet, I had fun. Unfortunately, the fun had to end and I needed to return to Bermuda (though the prospect of shedding the layers was definitely enticing).

Returning to Bermuda

So I return to my question: what have condoms, rice, incontinence aids and artificial teeth have in common? I will let you know that none of these things were in my bag when I boarded my WestJet flight in Toronto.

And these items were not in that same checked bag when WestJet managed to lose it for me.

Yes, somehow WestJet managed, between Toronto and Bermuda (a direct flight) to lose my bag. Luckily I was greeted with a slow-moving bag-finder lady in Bermuda so two hours after landing I left the customs area of the LF Wade International Airport with a promise they would try to find my bag.

I won’t bore you with that two-hour story!

So back to the condoms, rice, incontinence aids and artificial teeth. These items were not in my lost bag. They were not in my carry-on bag or with me as the customs officer grilled me about my lost bag.

“So you have declared everything?”

Innocent eyes: “Yes, Sir. Everything.”

“And you have all of your bags?”

“Um, well, no. WestJet has done me a massive service and will be delivering the bag to my door step if they can find it some time this week.” ( I swear there was no sarcasm here).

“Oh…hmm….”

He looked so disappointed. Here was his chance to send someone to get inspected. Ha! Triumph over the customs people for once and I was allowed to finally meet my driver (read: dad) who was probably close to leaving the airport without me at that point.

But even if I had been smuggling condoms, rice, incontinence aids and artificial teeth, well technically, I would not be smuggling them because these items are DUTY FREE!!!

Remember the useful yellow slips to ensure you have paid duty on your goods? No need for you to register condoms!

Who knew? Well, I certainly didn’t and I bet you didn’t either. The only reason I had any idea was because of research for this blog post.

You want to know what else we can bring in for free? Check out the site here.  Of course the Customs’ office will only do so much work for the concerned citizen.

To get the full list of duty-free goods? Well, then you’ll have to check-out legislation. I can see everyone quickly flipping through that!

So I know you have one more question: did I smuggle my camera back into Bermuda? Well….. I will never tell. That is one of my little secrets.

But what is not going to be a secret any longer is what I have been working-on for far too long without doing anything about it – my book. After my year-long trip around the world, I decided to compile the columns I had published in The Royal Gazette with the addition of the backstory that was never printed.

So for the next couple of posts, my plan is to start sharing some of the book with you. Let me know what you think……………….

And here ends the Quebec City trilogy….au revoir.