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It really is a nice place to visit. We were told there is no unemployment on the island and no crime. The cops don't even carry guns. So it's a very safe place to travel with a family. Although, if you're traveling with a family, you better have bank because stuff ain't cheap there. We had to pay for electricity for the week. Nothing is made there, except for Cay Brew beer and rum cake (and probably some babies), everything else is imported. Including Cuban cigars. And most prices are in Cayman dollars, so since our dollar is for shit, the cost in American dollars is always more.
There isn't much to "do" there per se, but one thing you simply must do if you ever visit is to swim with the stingrays at Stingray City. They take you to a sand bar in the middle of the ocean and let you swim with the dozens and dozens of (friendly) stingrays of all different sizes. They even let you "hold" them. (We have photos, but we need to get them developed.) They are very soft and rubbery on the bottom and feel like sandpaper on the top. I admit, I was a little freaked at first. They feel weird and they kill people, so I had to talk myself into it. But after seeing the guide girl literally make out with them (not kidding, she was kissing them on the mouth), I figured it was safe. It's definitely not something you do every day, it was very, very cool.
We did some shopping, eating, laying out and drinking at the swim-up bar, which is the perfect vacation as far as I'm concerned. We didn't see any famous people, but I hope the following photos will suffice...
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Our condo. The Grand Morritt's Resort.
An overview of the condo grounds. We ate at the restaurant in the middle of the photo 3 times. It was pretty yummy. And close by.
The pool. With swim-up bar.
View from our room.
Our very own beach hut.
Me outside of the very best restaurant on the planet, Luca. It was incredible. EVERYTHING was delicious. I devoured some sort of liver dip. Liver! I don't eat liver. If it weren't such a nice restaurant, I would have picked up the bowl and licked it clean. I would make another trip to the island just to eat there. So naturally, I had to have my photo taken outside of it. Seriously, GO THERE. Except on Sundays.
Tortuga Rum. Downtown Georgetown.
Downtown Georgetown. With pirate ship.
MD being a tourist outside the Hard Rock Cafe.
Me being a tourist outside the Hard Rock.
MD illustrating driving on the other side of the car, on the other side of the road. If you're wondering if I got nervous about that, I will tell you, I WAS. It's very disconcerting. And it didn't help that their roads and their ubiquitous roundabouts are poorly marked. So the first 30 minutes of the trip was a little hairy.
The funniest road sign I've ever seen.
... yep, time to go...
It rained the last full day we were there and the day we left. And the forecast for the following week didn't look too favorable, so we got out at the right time. I guess we should expect this seeing as how we were traveling at the end of hurricane season. I still managed to come away with remnants of a tan. Actually it was the first time in my life that I didn't fry myself to allow it to "turn into tan". No one said to me, "Wow, you got some sun!"I got increasingly brown. I guess suntan lotion does have a purpose. It took me 30 years to learn that little nugget of info.
We're counting down the days until we retire so we can travel to places like this all the time. What's 365 times about 35?...
14 comments:
Welcome back! I am glad you had such a great time. It looks beautiful there :)
oh how fun! so glad you were able to swim w/ the stingrays. that was my favorite part of grand cayman. they feel like giant portabella mushrooms, no? haha. my husband was scared to death of them...wouldn't go near them. :)
Yay! Looks like you had a FANTASTIC trip. The photos are fantastic and I give you made props for swimming with the rays.
(After one killed the crocodile hunter I've been paranoid of them.)
Your view from your room is FANTASTIC, too. Look at the turquoise water!
WAH-WHO!
Glad you had a great time.
A) the title of this post makes me think of The Breakfast Club when John Bender was telling the story about his family...
B) how fabulous. I'm jealous of the stingray stuff - you know R would NEVER do that, so when we were there it wasn't an option. (Not to mention the weather was pretty bad and it was closed anyway because of high waves)
C) did YOU drive at all? I would have freaked out.
To address a few comments:
THESE sting rays are like big puppy dogs. They have been fed every day on a clock by lots of boats and tourists for dozens of years. They could not be more docile. Further, even "wild" rays are not dangerous. Normally, their stinger just hurts a little. When you get a stinger in the heart (ala the croc hunter) it is an entirely different matter. An ice cream cone through the heart would be just as lethal.
And the wife definitely drove. Not much since we did not pay for a guest license for her, but a half mile down the road to a bakery. She was even twitchier and more nervous than when I drove (which is to be expected). The worst part of it all was that the turn signal was on the other side of the wheel than it is here. I was conscious of driving on the left side of the road, but signalling is such an unconscious manuever for me that I kept turning on the damn windshield wipers.
TLC - Yes! The stingrays are just like huge portabella mushrooms! Good comparison.
Dr. Turtle - I drove one time. And it was to the grocery store across the street. That was enough for me. I just did it to say that I did. I couldn't have gone much further than that.
What's funny is that the turn signal is on the other side, so MD kept hitting the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal. I laughed every time.
Um, in case you were all wondering, gas was $4.90 Caymanian dollars, which translates to about $6.00 US. Barf.
Per gallon.
I left that part out.
You forget to mention that when YOU drove you made a move to hit the windshield wiper instead of the turn signal about four separate times. You always caught yourself after you moved towards it since you knew I'd be watching you like you did me, but you did it nonetheless :P.
Hee hee. It's true. But I never did follow through with it.
So, you ate liver and your tour guide made out with a sting ray huh?
Thanks for posting pics!! Love it! Glad you two had a good time.
Oh, Dr. Turtle, I can't take credit for the title of this post, it was written on a sign hanging by the pool.
And I would like to mention that Luca is in the Caribbean Club hotel on Seven Mile Beach.
your vacation looks and sounds fabulous! hope you are getting back in the groove.
I LOVE the elderly people sign. Awesome. Looks like a ton of fun!
Looks like a fabulous time! I'm jealous, but I'm happy for you guys that you got to take such a nice vacation. I sure could use one...
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