Exploring Grand Cayman

In Grand Cayman, there is a lot of money. You can see the difference in the buildings, the landscaping, and the cars cruising down the road through George Town, the capital. The colorful architecture reminded me of Key West, down to the detail of roosters waddling around. The poverty that marks many Caribbean islands was not visible here, peddlers aren't seen on the beaches, and the airport is a quick (five-minute) drive from the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort where I stayed. In fact, the whole island is only about 22 miles long by eight miles wide, making every destination an easy drive. The island itself is only a little over an hour by plane from Miami.

My favorite excursion was the half-day trip to Stingray City. A bus stopped at the Marriott and a few other hotels in the morning, bringing a small group to the marina where Red Sail Sports kept some large catamarans. After a thirty-minute cruise, where we soaked in the sun and drank rum punch, we arrived at a sandbar known as Stingray City. For decades, dozens of stingrays have flocked to this sandbar, first to dine on the fish waste local fishermen tossed overboard, then to be fed by tourist boats like ours. We were able to climb down from the catamaran and stand on the sand bar (the water was only about four feet deep), where we were immediately surrounded by stingrays.

More than one person mentioned the Steve Irwin incident, and one woman refused to go any farther then the bottom of the steps. The rest of us braved the water, and what an experience it turned out to be! Female stingrays grow to be as much as five feet across, and are very docile. They swam right up to us, and we were able to touch them, pet them, even hold them and pose for pictures. The males and babies are much smaller, maybe a foot across, and they also came close enough to brush past our legs and feet. We stayed for over an hour, playing with these unusual creatures and cooling off in the azure water before returning to the boat for the journey home. I highly recommend the trip, but do pack plenty of sunscreen and a hat.

The next morning, I ventured outside the resort to visit the Cayman Turtle Farm, where sea turtles of all types are bred and raised, some to return to the wild, some destined for markets to feed the local appetite for turtle steaks and turtle soup. Here, we got up close and personal with these enourmous critters, which can grow as large as 600 pounds. The turtle farm is home to Kemp's Ridley turtles, which are native to the Gulf of Mexico and very rare. They bite, so keep your distance! You could easily spend a whole day at the turtle farm, swimming with the marine life, feeding the sharks, holding the turtles and checking out exhibits like the blue iguanas - it's a popular outing for families. There's even a caiman called Cassidy - an alligator-like reptile that's a cousin to the now-extinct creature the islands were named for.

From there, it was a short drive to "Hell" to take part in a tourist tradition. The tiny Hell Post Office sells T-shirts, postcards, and souvenirs decorated with flames and devils. I sent a couple of postcards from "Hell," which looks a lot more like paradise to most people. Hell is near a black limestone rock formation which inspired the unusual name.

On the way back to the Marriott, I stopped at George Town, the capital and a stop for cruise ships. Here, upscale shopping is mixed in with cheap souvenir and T-shirt shops, all of whom take US dollars.

Pictures of Grand Cayman
Profile of the Grand Cayman Marriott
Pictures of the Grand Cayman Marriott

^{Image copyright Charlyn Keating Chisholm}