Sunday, March 30, 2008

Grand Cayman, Oh So Grand

Gorgeous beaches and water that changes from turquoise to sapphire and aquamarine in a glorious swirl of color! My husband Scott received this trip as a recognition along with 127 others from his company, all recipients of the "STAR" awards, given to the top 1% in his company. We were all treated to an outstanding four day, all expense get-away for two on Grand Cayman Island.

O, land of soft, fresh breezes, or verdant trees so fair
With Thy Creator's glory, reflected ev'rywhere.
(a portion of the Cayman Islands National Song)

The Westin Casuarina on Seven Mile Beach was wonderful with a friendly staff and fabulous food. We arrived Tuesday afternoon, were treated to a seaside evening of music with a steel drum band, cocktails and dinner buffet on the lawn.


Wednesday afternoon was a cookout on the beach and a choice of water activities; banana boats, waverunners, kayacks, etc. Scott drove and I hung on as we raced around, took in the ocean view and salt spray. Our hats were the only casualties --- lost at sea.

More about the Wednesday evening dinner at the Grand Old House in a later post!

Getting up close and personal with stingrays was the adventure Thursday morning. The trip to and from the sandbar on a fabulous catamaran - Red Sail Sports was great by itself. There were too many boats in the shallowest of the sandbars where it is only 3-4 feet deep so our Australian captian took us to another location about 12 feet deep, threw out some squid. Into the Caribean Sea we went with mask, snorkel and fins---some, like me with a vest on too, watching these graceful rays below. The stronger, more coordinated ones ventured further out and below. It was rather choppy and I, in my vest stayed fairly close to boat! They are gentle, sociable, incredible sea creatures that interact with visitors, brushing their velvety underbellies against us passengers. One of the other cruise staff was a Caymanian, dove straight in, brought a ray up, cradled in his arms for me to spend some time with. I think this was my favorite adventure of the trip!

A WaveRunner snorkeling safari on Friday morning was an exciting adventure. I've been on the back of these machines but had never driven one myself until this beautiful morning. WOW!!! An incredible feeling! After slowly clearing the 200-yard, no-wake zone that runs along the Seven Mile Beach we take off at about 50 mph, stopping at two different coral reefs, don the masks, snorkel & fins. I'm a rookie, a surface snorkeler but still enjoyed to view below.

More pictures and posts to come.

Thank you to my dear sweet husband who so deserved and earned this amazing trip!!!

1 comment:

capitolagirl said...

Nice! That must have been a fantastic trip. I love traveling, so thanks for sharing your photos!