The Cayman Islands: Day 6

Thursday, May 1st, was one of the best days of the trip. We went shopping at George Town (the capital), we went for an awesome hour-long submarine ride, we ate lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, and Peter and I had one of the most beautiful and romantic dinners imaginable.

Waiting for the submarine ride.


There were two cruise ships there that day. Sometimes there are as many as twelve(!!) ships in a day, so we were lucky that George Town wasn't totally overrun with people. We're thinking about going on a cruise around the Caribbean next year so that we can get a taste of the various islands and see which ones we might want to come back and stay at sometime.

On the submarine. It was fascinating to be under water and see what life is like there. This was definitely one of our favorite things we did.

We got to see two shipwrecks. This was the first one. It was cool and a little creepy.



The coral reefs were amazing.

I thought this tunnel down below was neat.

We loved being able to see the fish up so close.



George Town was nice. The buildings were colorful and attractive and the main street is right on the water. One of the great things about this island is that it is clean, safe, and family-friendly. I didn't see any pushy street vendors or homeless people or anything like that during our week there.

We ate lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was the first time any of us had ever eaten at one. It was nice to have good classic American food again.

Peter and I went out to dinner that evening at Grand Old House, a former plantation house built on the edge of the sea. We got to eat at a very special private table that's right on the beach. Couples often get this table for special occasions like anniversaries, marriage proposals, etc. (We were able to get it because of our credit card rewards program. How's that for romance?!) These were our amazing views as we dined by the seaside. It was magical. One of the best fine dining experiences of my life!

The Cayman Islands: Day 5

Vacation Day #5 was on Wednesday, April 30th. We went to the Pirate's Caves and to two historic sites. The Pirate's Caves were one of our favorite things we did on this trip.

Hurricane Ivan devastated Grand Cayman in 2004. There was still some damage evident four years later, like here.
The Pirate's Caves were so much fun. We had the whole place to ourselves that morning. These caves were regularly used by actual pirates once upon a time.
There was a little zoo there. John and Peter are checking out the mini stingrays. My mom was stressing that Peter was going to let John fall in.

There were lots of pretty flowers there too.

Down in the caves...

Peter had a lot of fun exploring the caves. His inner Boy Scout came out strong!

Dangling handcuffs. Hopefully this is the closest John will ever get to a pair of cuffs.

This reminds me of Indiana Jones.

John will follow Peter wherever he goes...

Peter found bats back there. One of them actually flew out! I guess that's what exploring will do for you.

Up above ground again, we got to hold this friendly white bird. His mohawk would go up and down at will, which was funny. He was a charming little cutie!


At The Mission House, where the wealthy British settlers lived in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

At Pedro St. James, which is the most famous historic site on the island. This is where democracy was born for the Islands. This is a very funky, very unique old house. I'd never seen one like it before.
The grounds had beautiful views of the ocean.


Hee-haw!

Relaxing up on the top veranda of the house.

Back at home that evening, Peter made some tasty chicken fajitas for dinner. Our condo had this great screened-in patio that was really nice to spend time on. We ate most of our meals here when we didn't eat out.
Chef Pierre, preparing dinner.

At night, Peter and I went swimming and we switched between the pool and the hot tub a couple of times. It is soooo relaxing to go from the hot to cool temperatures like that, especially when you've got the warm Caribbean air around you and the stars glimmering in the sky above. By that point, I really didn't want this trip to end!

The Cayman Islands: Day 4

The fourth day of our trip was on Tuesday, April 29th (my niece Hayley's 16th birthday. We missed her!). It was one of my favorite days of the whole trip. We went to the following places: the Cayman Turtle Farm, the Tortuga Rum Factory, and we went to Hell!

Turtles are now one of my favorite animals. I learned a lot of interesting things about them from the guide and from holding and watching them. They're sweet and gentle, but not shy, and they are smart. There isn't another green sea turtle farm like this one in the world. It has hundreds of turtles that range in size from the smallest babies to what you see in the first picture below. Green sea turtles are endangered and that is why this farm was started. It's a wonderful place!

We couldn't believe how huge these turtles were.
This sweet little turtle was flapping his legs a lot when I first picked him up, as if he were saying, "Put me down, put me down!" They like to be stroked under the neck, so once I did that he settled right down. I love the look of fear on John's face here. Needless to say, he wasn't interested in holding a turtle!


Meeting some of the bigger turtles.

John faces up to his fear...

He loved feeding the turtles "snacks." It made him very popular with them.

Out by the ocean (obviously).



Peter got replaced at the Tortuga Rum Factory.

There's an interesting little place on the island called "Hell." I got such a kick out of saying things like "Tomorrow we're going to Hell" and asking Peter (the driver) "Do you know how to get to Hell?" It's named Hell because of the unique landscape that is reminiscent of what may come to mind when one thinks of hell. My mom bought a postcard that said "I'd rather be in Hell than at work" and sent it to her co-workers from the post office there, so that it was postmarked from Hell. Such a funny place, that Hell!

Undoubtably the ugliest place on the island. It resembles petrified wood.

The requisite tourist pictures. Fun!

My little angel as a hellion? Never!
Mom felt right at home.
Later that day we went to a beach that had a playground. John was in heaven (not hell!) and refused to go down to the water.

We had a nice dinner that evening at a place called "The Lobster Pot." This was the awesome view from our table.

Here's Peter watching the terrapin sharks being fed scraps by one of the restaurant employees. It was really cool to watch.

Ahhhh, home at last for the night.