Cigar Aficionado in Paradise

By Ian Gordon, Cuarenta Bucaneros

Mark Twain, one of the most celebrated writers of American literature, was a regular visitor to Bermuda between 1867 and 1907. In fact, he loved these islands so much that he once said, “You can go to heaven if you want. I’d rather stay in Bermuda.” Twain’s trademark in Bermuda was his unruly hair, his drooping moustache, white suit and ever-present cigar.

Born as Samuel L. Clemens, Twain was an adventurer at heart, having worked in his youth as a steamer captain on the Mississippi River. In fact, from this experience he derived his pen name: in riverboat lingo, “Mark Twain” identified the 12-foot water depth mark, at which it was safe for paddle steamers to navigate. From his adventures on the Mississippi and on his many travels throughout the world, Twain ­gathered much of the material that would later become the ­subjects of his books and musings.

Like many visitors to Bermuda, he knew he had found more treasures exploring the human soul than in sightseeing attractions. In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Twain noted that, “In order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to obtain.”

Herein lies one of the Bermuda’s current attractions, Cuban “Habanos” cigars. Visitors today have the opportunity to revel in Bermuda’s unique and tranquil charms in the same manner as Twain, the primary difference being the availability of world-renowned Cuban cigars, which are legal to purchase and smoke here.

The modern adventurer can enjoy all that Bermuda has to offer in its unique, idiosyncratic way, in ­addition to those famous, forbidden Habanos. (295-4523, cigarbox.bm)

Ian Gordon is president of Cuarenta Bucaneros, 25 Church Street, Hamilton. Tel: 295-4523 or 336-2446. Fax: 292-5116. cigarbox.bm

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