A Few More Vacation Pics

What We Ate in Grand Cayman

I thought I would recap our dining in a single post. I know some people don't want to cook on vacation, but I don't mind. Our condo had a nice, well-equipped kitchen, and (as previously mentioned) was within walking distance of a supermarket. 

As also previously mentioned, almost everything was closed on Sundays, so I was glad that Heritage Kitchen was open for lunch when we arrived. I had the Sunday special: BBQ chicken. It was falling off the bone and covered with a sweet, Caribbean sauce. We took in our first ocean views and Caymanian culture there. The cooks were three ladies who gathered around a tiny television to watch the World Cup when they weren't serving customers. There were chickens wandering around and an old radio playing country music in the background. 

Another lunch with a great view was at Over the Edge on the east side of the island. The food was pretty good, and it was a nice place to stop on our day trip around the island.

We got takeout one night from a Cayman island staple: Chicken! Chicken! Rotisserie chicken, goods sides, and weird cornbread seasoned with cinnamon and nutmeg. And, oh, the brownies! Caramel and coconut on a moist, dark chocolate brownie. Need I say more? 

We stopped for a quick dinner at Da Fish Shack in Georgetown. It had more of a bar feel to it on Friday night than a restaurant. Yeah, we were those people with kids in the middle of a noisy bar. In our defense, it was a full service restaurant and even had a kids' menu. 

Our last meal on GC was breakfast on Saturday at The Greenhouse just down the road from us in West Bay. Perfect breakfast to end our week. I would go back just for the sweet potato hash browns. 

Six Senses Cayman Adventures

The ecotour that we took in Hawaii was one of the highlights of our trip, so we had to book another one in Grand Cayman. After much researching on Trip Advisor, I chose to book through Six Senses Cayman Adventures. Our captain Patrick and guide Bill took us on a fantastic 6-hour tour on their yacht named Miss Monica. Patrick, a native Irishman, has lived on the island for 28 years. He started our tour with a hands-on educational stop in the mangroves.

Nathan tasting the salt on a mangrove leaf

The next stop was Starfish Point where we got up close and personal with some Caribbean Sea Stars.

After lunch, we headed to the sand bar dubbed Stingray City. Guess who was the first one off the boat? Of course, it was Nate Dog. Little sister was much more timid (read borderline freaking out). She got in the water a few times but promptly got right back out. She finally did get up the nerve to touch one of the stingrays, so Mr. Bill brought it up to her on the deck of the boat.

We got back on the boat and made one last stop at the Barrier Reef. It was about 10 ft. deep and beautiful! We saw tons of fish and even a huge green moray eel. They told us that the diving area on the other side of the reef is 60 ft deep, but then it drops off into the world's second deepest trench that is 25,000 ft deep. I think I'll stay on this side of the reef! 

Ash and Nate

#snorkelingselfie 

Ashley was not scared at all about snorkeling. She jumped right in and went along with the rest of us. I was really proud of her.

It was an amazing day from start to finish! Before we got off the dock, the kids were asking if we could go back tomorrow. I wish we could! It was that good. 

Parasailing in Grand Cayman

Yesterday's big adventure was parasailing. Jeff and I went on our honeymoon, but this was the first time for the kids. I posted a video on YouTube (here), but it cannot be played on mobile devices (song copyright blah blah blah). I've also downloaded it in low resolution here as well:

Here are a few still pics. If you scroll through really fast and hum "Top of the World" you can get the idea. :)

The Rest of Grand Cayman

Seven Mile Beach is hands down the nicest beach I've ever seen. Amazingly clear blue water. Golden sand beach. No crowds. The fish and other critters stay near the reefs where they belong. And not one jellyfish yet!

Still yet, after sixteen years Jeff has still not fully converted me to a beach-lover. I would consider myself more of a beach-liker. So by the third day here, I was ready to get out and see the rest of the island. Jeff has just about figured out this driving on the wrong side of the road. 

It's a good thing this is a small island, because gas (like most everything else here) is OUTRAGEOUS! That's about $7/gallon in US dollars. 

One of our first stops was at The Blowholes where a local man named Allen gave us a "free" tour. He is a Caymanian school teacher who seemingly uses this tour service to both earn tips and share his love of Jesus. :)

We made our way all the way around the island to Rum Point. It seemed like a huge tourist trap, so we took a few quick pics and then found a lunch stop elsewhere.

We drove back around and ended the day at "our" beach where Jeff took some nice sunset pics.