Day 1 - After waking @ 3am to ensure arrival @ JFK 2 hours before our 6:15 flight, we encountered a completely deserted terminal 3 Delta counter. We were eventually greeted by a surprisingly friendly and chipper agent who, unaffected when Peter claimed it was his birthday, informed us we'd have to get our seat assignments at the gate. That didn't bode well. For fear that Dunkin' Donuts was the only other option at this ungodly pre-dawn hour, Peter stopped for "healthy" pre-packaged sandwich, Pop chips, water and a lemonade for a mere $22, only to discover a fresher more appealing wrap at the next shop. At the gate we were told to wait for our seating assignments. Upon hearing zones 1-5 (i.e. all passengers) were boarding, we again asked an agent about our seats. The good news was that they were able to seat us together, the bad news was we were in the very last row by the toilets.
Once in ATL, a second attempt at the birthday appeal upgrade was a failure, but we were able to improve our seats slightly, giving us essentially a full row a piece.
We flew over Cuba, which was pretty cool. GCM welcomed us with gorgeous clear blue waters and giant cruise ships on which it seemed we'd be landing as the runway slowly crept underneath our MD80.
The touchdown on one wheel was a bit haphazard, but was just enough to be successful. The only runway at Owen Roberts International Airport required a u-turn to get us to the "gate", which was the tarmac. Our transport was unorganized at best, but those present seemed kind and helpful. After playing the birthday card one last time with the Westin receptionist, we checked into was a 5th (top) floor room with just with a measly island view from which we could see only a sliver of ocean. HmfAt 2:45 we walked from our room and by 2:46 we found ourselves on a white sand beach basking in the steamy Cayman Island sun. Feeling a bit parched and peckish, we took Felicia up on her kind offer to bring us drinks and a sandwich. About 45 minutes later, she remembered forgetting us and comp'ed one drink and the food. We enjoyed a second (speedier) round while being entertained by the gorgeous sunset bowing over the horizon. I think we're going to like it here.
So starting off with daiquiris in the beach,we figured we'd keep the cocktail train going @ Calico Jacks. The bar food was awesome, and bartenders Marty and TJ kept us amused. We bolted out when a kamikaze cockroach pounced on my arm after which I squealed like a little girl who just saw her father's penis (reference credit to Chelsea Handler). Having decided he could continue work in the morning, Peter agreed to stay out with me and enjoy open mike night and speculating on who would vomit first and go home with whom. we chatted with actors (Aidan, the hot one I was sweating, along with every other girl there) and crew of a film being shot here (reportedly a $45 million budget), but was apparently top secret. Cockroach attacks, drunken oafs and cigarette burns were enough for our first night, so we headed back to out hotel via the beach. Only after about a half hour walk did we discover we had no idea what our hotel looked like from the beach at night. We stopped in another hotel to ask where we were and the answer was we had passed our hotel about 15 minutes prior. With that information, we chose the street approach, and made it back safe and sound, albeit a few pounds lighter.
Day 2 found me sleeping in, or at least trying to as Peter tapped away furiously on his laptop starting around 7am. Leaving my bed around 10am, I was able to drag P from his electronic lover only to have him decline a sit down breakfast. The market was a 10 minute walk, and there I found a yummy muffin and some snacks for the room. I flagged down a "bus", which in reality is a minivan with a nearly invisible number, so I was praying it was a bus and not some ransom seeker.
Back to the beach around midday, apparently too late for beach towels, which obviously means I'll be disputing the $20/day surcharge for such services when checking out. More beach dining and lounging ended up in our second sunset of the trip, although the first one.was by far more spectacular. We did have our first spotting of flipper man. With diving first thing in the morning, we decided to lie low dining across the street ending with Survivor. The programming isn't just American, it's NY local news and weather. Yes, NY is the BEST!
Day 3 - We got a bus to Eden Rock Dive Center in George Town, along the way we spotted chickens in the parking lot at KFC, and had to wonder if they were cannibals or lunch. The driver dropped us at Eden Rock mysteriously charging us an extra $1 each, but only dropping us half a block from the previous passenger who only paid the standard $2. The shop employees were warm and friendly. I was taking a refresher course while P was in the discovery course, essentially the same material. This was a shore dive, and the water was pretty rough. P, not fully confident, opted to stay behind. I had some anxiety myself, but once under water that all subsided. We headed to Devil's Grotto, a magnificent display of coral and fish encompassing open areas of the sandy ocean floor. Our max depth was just about 40'. It felt great to be diving again!
Wandering through town, we quickly realized that if you weren't looking for jewelry or souvenirs, there wasn't much else to do. After a couple of tasty sandwiches at a bakery, we headed back to our hotel, and the beach. Of course, there were no towels, again. You wonder why they wouldn't rethink giving out 2 per person...
Our full Thanksgiving dinner at Lone Star was welcome, the stuffing being the clear star of the meal. We attempted to enjoy some nightlife only to find we were too early for any excitement. NFL in the.room, the tryptophan kicked in and retired us for the evening.
Day 4 - "Black Friday" meant me and P at the gym early and on the beach by 9:30am, for which I paid dearly in the form of a bright red sunburn on my back. Although I attribute my love for snorkeling and false claims of waterproof sunscreen as I was continually reapplying.
P and I decided we needed to "be productive" before the day's end so we headed to the supermarket to pick up a few items, but first a side trip to KFC. Back at the room, we lounged for a bit, sucked into the Storage Wars marathon rooting for Barry, while admiring the arrogant Dave for his prowess in the industry.
Day 5 - Saturday was another hot and sunny day when we opted for a car rental over scooters. We headed out to Rum Point, about 45 minutes from 7 Mile Beach. A gorgeous Outlook point, but rough water discouraged us from snorkeling. A local woman directed is to Star Fish Point where the view was particularly gorgeous! We notices that a huge percentage of the homes here were for sale. Our guess is that the owners were hit hard by the market forcing them to sell their vacation homes.
We ate dinner and freshened up back at the hotel before returning to Calico Jacks, which was now a completely different atmosphere as the DJ spun some popular tracks. He party was in full swing at 10pm, and the bar closed at 12 am sharp. We were previously warned about the religious restrictions on the island is, resulting in most shops closing about 5pm each night and all day Sunday, as well as bars closing at midnight on Saturdays.The early night left us with energy to burn, so we went for a brief swim in the ocean, just to say we did.
Day 6 - An early Saturday night lead to a fairly early lazy Sunday. We explored West Bay, which appeared to be home to more year round residents than tourists, and far fewer "For Sale" signs. The rest of the day was spent taking snorkeling and taking in the gorgeous beach and sun. I was a bit disappointed to have missed the reef shark spotted by some other guests, but I still have a chance in my Mon dives to see some!I took Peter out for a belated birthday dinner @ Ferdinand's in the hotel. We were relieved to have made reservations, as there were only about a dozen empty tables out of maybe 15, causing us to doubt their 77% capacity claim.
Day 7 - On the beach by 9:30 for a snorkel first, and another turkey sandwich (our hands-down favorite for splitting), before "Living the Dream" dive co picked me up at 12:45 for my afternoon dives. Gary lead the fist dive, with spear in hand proclaiming he might snag a lion fish. The first dive was at the Big Dipper (this was the view from the boat), where the first thing I saw as I descended was a sea turtle. While under, Gary led us through what I perceived as a cave (at about 80' below), giving me some hesitation, but following the only other green diver I felt a bit more confident...seeing there was an opening above put my anxiety at bay. Then Gary took off poking around under a ledge before coming up with a lion fish at the end of his spear. Knowing that my brother is a spear fisher, he handed me the spear and took my camera for a snap (which turned out was on video, but I'll include a still here). He snagged another one before the dive was over, cutting them both off his spear for a feast for the other fish, while I was mortified. It was only explained to us back on the boat that lion fish are invasive in the Caribbean and breeding like rabbits. They not only eat anything up to their own body size, but they have no predators.
The second dive was on the new artificial reef, the USS Kittiwake (sunk Jan. 5, 2011) commissioned in 1946. Most notably, it was a dive/rescue ship and in 1986, recovered the black box from the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. During a recent storm, the current lifted the 251 foot ship and dropped back down about 60' from it's original location, leaving a ditch behind. We were told that if it moves much further, it will be sent over the wall. It was a great dive, I've never done a wreck dive before, and fortunately, this was the "Fisher Price" of wreck dives, meaning it had big holes cut out of it to make it an easy dive for virgins like me. It is a shallow wreck, between 30-60' under, so a bit less daunting. What a magnificent sight!
Day 8 - Our final day on the island, and we wake up to a storm, gray clouds, lashing rain, and pounding WAVES! What an awesome sight, aside from the fact that it prohibited our final snorkeling adventure, it was a great sight, especially once the sky cleared up. If that wasn't enough to indicate it was our time to leave, the power went out just as we were packing up, and naturally before we descended the 5 floors with our bags. Thanks for a great holiday, Cayman!
A few final and general observations: We quickly noticed how CLEAN the island is, and how super friendly and nice Cayman residents are. It is very expensive, as we were well warned. They accept both the US dollar as well as the CI dollar, at a static exchange rate of US$1 to CI$.80 or CI$1 to US$1.25 and ATMs dispense both currencies. Sales taxes are included in advertised prices. The island is VERY religious and as such regulates business hours. Very few, if any, shops are open on Sunday, and in fact, all bars close down at midnight on Saturdays. A few businesses which cater to tourists have exemption in some cases. A good portion of the island is for sale, and cemeteries get prime beach real estate, there is even a place called Cemetery Beach. Most, if not all, "locals" we met over our time here work in the tourist trade such as dive shops, chefs, servers, or bartenders from all over he world: USA, Australia, Peru, France, Sweden, Turkey, Kenya and so on...truly an international appeal! Most locals also drive, although there is a CI$2 "bus" (aka minivan) that you can flag down anywhere on the main (West Bay) road. We didn't see any recycling bins at the hotel or other businesses, but the market charged CI$.05 for each shopping bag. Stray chickens bravely, or stupidly, strut around at KFC and Burger King.
