Gallivanting in Grand Cayman

Cayman Islands Getaway

The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean Sea and was once named Isla de Tortugas or Turtle Island because of the sheer number of turtles native to the area. It comprises of three islands: Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. Grand Cayman is the largest of the lot with Georgetown as the capital.

It is a popular port for cruise ships to and from the Florida Keys to Caribbean shores as well as a famous tax haven for offshore accounts. It is a diver’s and snorkeler’s wet dream (hah! pun intended) and it is great for water sports but that is not to say that land lubbers (like myself) would not enjoy it. You make fun wherever you go, right?

This adventure as well as my Montreal getaway was through Orbitz. We stayed at the Grand Caymanian Resort in West Bay and the return flight from Georgetown was FREE on Cayman Airways. Read about my Cayman Airport Adventures here.

Camana Bay

This is a trendy area with fancy condos, beautiful timeshares, restaurants, stores and a waterfront. It is so, so, so windy and extremely quiet. There is no foot traffic and the few tourists present are land lubbers like us. We have come straight from the resort to Camana Bay because I don’t want us to waste any time.

The resort includes free shuttle buses to and from tourist spots and we take advantage of this. The shuttle driver drops us by the main road leading to Camana Bay because he is going in the opposite direction but he tells us where to get a bus. It is so windy and even walking straight is a chore.

Somehow, we hail a bus by miracle. We tell the driver our destination, pay the CI$2 fare and the dear man takes us right to Camana Bay even though it is off his route.

Such a dear fellow. By this time, we are starving and need food. We find a restaurant, Lola, owned by a Belgian expatriate and order food and drink.

It is so quiet that I feel like we are in an alternate universe or one of those horror films where you’re screaming at the cast to get out. Lol. The only noises are the gusts of wind blowing through the empty streets. My hat keeps flying off and my svelte frame staggers to maintain balance.

Mr. Expatriate points to the Observation Tower right across from us and we head there. The Tower is not tall – only three floors – but its interior was exquisite! The walls and the steps are painted with colourful murals and I can’t believe that there were not more people taking photos.

Stingray City

We arrange a trip to Stingray City, a must-see by all tourists to Cayman Islands costing U.S. $90 for both of us. A shuttle arrives at 9 am to ferry us to a dock where we board a boat, with other tourists, to Stingray City.

We clamber into the vessel for the 30 minute ride from the bay and I realize that we are nearing our destination when the waters suddenly change colour from a murky blue-gray to beautiful and clear sea-green. It is amazing! We see the stingrays swimming about and the guides tell us to hop in.

The video is of our arrival and our guide anchoring the boat. We’re preparing to go in and I’m re-considering my smart idea of Stingray City. Lol.

Now, I cannot swim, but my excitement and curiosity overrides common sense and I gingerly move to the boat’s edge to slide off. It is shallow further away but where the boats are anchored is deep. Hmmn…trouble oo.

The tour photographer jumps in and tells me to climb onto him for a piggy-back ride. That was fun. Mum wore a life jacket to swim out.

The stingrays are used to humans and were very friendly, or so we hear. They are sixth generation rays, as their ancestors first encountered fishermen who fed them squid. Since then, subsequent generations have been accustomed to human interaction.

The females are huge, the males are smaller, and the babies are tiny. We are given squid with which to feed them and the trick is to hold the bait underwater with your thumb tucked in, like you’re making a fist.

“The rays suck the bait out of your clenched fist with vacuum suction. You can feel it. If your thumb isn’t tucked in tightly, you could get a nasty hickey“.

Legend tells that whomever kisses a stingray gets seven years of good luck therefore I kissed a ray twice for double the luck. Lord knows that it was well needed.

I am concerned because these gentle creatures were the cause of Steve Irwin’s untimely demise (he made my Animal Planet tween phase so interesting) and I was not keen on meeting the Creator yet, but we soon get comfortable even though the picture clearly shows my caution and apprehension. Lol.

About 40 minutes later, we return to the boat for two more water stops for snorkelers. I figure that I have used up my water luck as a non-swimmer so we stay on the boat, chat, snack and take photos.

There is phone reception on the high seas to update Facebook and Whatsapp with pictures and short videos and I marvel at such fast reception when I have to struggle with a certain internet provider’s speed back in Brooklyn.

In the meantime, the photographer uploads photos of us taken with the rays onto a thumb drive for $50. You cannot take anything into the water therefore if you want these photos, you have to pay for them. They are worth it.

The snorkelers return and we head back to the dock with shuttle buses from hotels waiting for their guests. That was really well thought out.

We arrive at the resort and head straight into the shower to wash the saltwater off. My scalp is itchy and I long to wash my braids but I have none of my hair products with me. I just have to grin and bear it till our departure in three days. Eish!

Georgetown

We arrange a tour of the capital and are down in the lobby for an 11 am shuttle to Georgetown, where cruise ships dock on their Caribbean route from Florida. There are the usual American and European brand stores, souvenir shops, historic buildings and the like.

We lunch at Margaritaville, a pretty expensive eatery in the Georgetown Shopping District. It was not a fine dining restaurant at all; in fact, think of Chili’s and the like here in the States but with a fire-eater and musical quiz games with tourists.

It is interesting but the sticker shock for two plates of regular chain restaurant food was astounding. It might be a tax haven but a 15% tax is added to tourist meals. Haba! No wonder the locals complain that the island is very expensive.

I ask around for local restaurants – because I prefer those to the basic fare of tourist dining – but the only ones I get are the expatriate-owned eateries, like the one owned by the Belgian fellow in Camana Bay.

I want native Caymanian fare: they eat turtle, lobster and conch – two of which I had never tried – but we missed lobster season and turtle can only be eaten in a home-cooked meal as few restaurants make them. Bummer.

We browse through Bayshore Shopping Mall and buy some Topaz and Tanzanite jewellery with no tax.

There are a few historical sights to see in Georgetown such as the Elmslie Presbyterian Church constructed in the 1920s with its roof designed like a ship’s hull turned upside-down.

The interesting part of this history is that a ship of missionaries on their merry way from Jamaica to preach the Gospel in Africa, got wrecked on the Cayman Islands reef. Guess who was on the wrecked ship? Rev. Hope Waddell!

He is renowned in Calabar, Nigeria (my mother’s hometown) for starting the Presbyterian Church and the Hope Waddell Training Institute.

Our final sight is the Fort George Memorial with a cannon and beautiful murals constructed in 1790 by the British but fell into disuse by the 20th century.

There are a number of really colourful buildings with what we consider as ‘graffiti’ and we spy two Carnival cruise ships by the docks.

We hear that when the ships come in, the population of the city swells by 6,000 in about 2 hours. Once they leave, the town is back to its usual quiet.

We notice this change in the 4 hours because of the cruise ships. There are a few other sights to see, like the National Museum, Seaman’s Memorial and the library; but apart from the stores and expensive restaurants, that is it in Georgetown.

The docks come alive at night with fishermen and local entertainment but we have no time for that as the shuttle was waiting to whisk us back at 4.30 pm.

 

Rum Point

This was our last full day of adventure before departure. Rum Point is an island on the North Shore of Grand Cayman easily accessible by boat and it’s a must see for every visitor.

10.30-11.30 am. We board the shuttle to Camana Bay dock for the water taxi to Rum Point.

At the dock, mom meets a fellow cancer warrior, Carolyn, a dental professional from Wisconsin, her husband and their daughter, Greta, and they hit it off immediately. It cost CI$20 per person round trip and the 30 minute ride was scenic.

We pass mangrove trees with native iguanas and the ride was uneventful.

12 pm. We dock at Cayman Kai with its own resorts and it’s so peaceful and serene you just want to lie on the sand and not move. There is a bus to ferry us to Rum Point, a 15 minute ride away. The island is full of empty vacation homes with building lots for sale.

According to the driver, the whole island was underwater until the 1960s when dredging began for the development of expensive vacation homes and resorts.

12.15 pm. We reach Rum Point, alight from the bus, and head towards the beach.

There is a Wreck Bar and Grill Restaurant with free Wifi (there’s free Wifi all over: Camana Bay, Georgetown and hotel), a water sports office for those requiring scuba diving, snorkeling or Stingray City tours, and another resort for those that prefer the solitude of a tinier secluded island.

There are tours to mangroves and caves here on Rum Point. If I knew these were present, I would’ve booked cave tours too. Next time. We peruse a menu and I spy conch fritters as an appetizer. Finally! I order them and dig in.

They taste delicious with a dip and lemon and have texture similar to fried calamari. The only snags are annoying chin-chin birds that steal fries off plates or boldly hop onto tables to bully people. Lol.

 

Rum Point is very quiet and is best for families with small children as the waters are calm and shallow.

Seven Mile Beach

Seven-Mile Beach is a very popular stretch of beach linking most beach resorts together. If you stay in a resort overlooking this spot, you have free access to the beach; if you do not, you might have to pay a small entry fee.

Our resort, The Grand Caymanian, does not over look Seven-Mile but has its own coastal rugged view. I do not bother with Seven-Mile because Rum Point is on the itinerary.

Most resorts away from Seven-Mile offer free shuttle to and from the beach.

Just tell the driver when you will be ready and he will be outside waiting.

 

The Other Islands: Cayman Brac and Little Cayman

If you’re a water child, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are picturesque locations a hop, skip and a jump away from Grand Cayman.

I thought Grand Cayman was beautiful till I saw pictures of the other two. Mon Dieu!

Cayman Brac is ideal for nature lovers (like me) because of its numerous caves and limestone bluff, “brac”.

Little Cayman is great for honeymooners because of its empty beaches and for nature lovers alike because of its native wildlife.

Cayman Brac is a 30 minute plane ride from Grand Cayman in a “puddle jumper” – a small propeller plane.

“A propeller plane in these times?!!”, I shriek at the gentleman telling me this. He laughs and says that it is very safe despite the gusts of wind that terrorize the island daily.

I ask about ferries and he replies that the waters are so choppy that it cannot be done. Yeah. Nah.

Thoughts of empty beaches, live iguanas and fresh seafood disappear and are replaced by me freaking out on a plane that accommodates 20 people, trying to hold its own with Mother Nature. I’m already a nervous flyer as is. Mba!

Take Away Tips!

• The island is very expensive and a 15% gratuity goes onto food, including tip.
• Their rum is great but their rum cakes even better, in my humble opinion. Save enough cash for these.
• Hard to find local, non-European eateries for unique island food as hotel fare was too expensive. Research these if you want local foods.
• Come with enough U.S. dollars. Credit cards are very useful for when you run out of cash, because you will. Again, even locals complain of the island being very expensive.
• You can either rent a car or ensure that your resort has free shuttle buses to the tourist spots. The latter is best as the major resorts do.
• Public transportation is difficult as bus stops are don’t have signs. Taxis are available from your resorts, Georgetown, Camana Bay or any location if you have their number.
• If you’re expecting a vibrant and bustling city, this isn’t it. If you want a quiet and easy ambience and you’re into water sports, this is definitely your island.

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