Which island this year? Cayman Islands

DESTINATION SEA!

In the morning, with a touch of melancholy, we pack our bags and after leaving the hotel we head to JFK airport. Just think, 30 minutes by hired car booked directly through the hotel given the heavy snowfall from the night before, $40. Super Honest!... Well, today is a big day for us!!! We're about to board a Cayman Airways flight... Cayman Islands, here we come!!!! The flight aboard Cayman AirLines goes smoothly and, like all Caribbean islands, we spend the last 10 minutes of the flight entirely with our noses glued to the window to see the spectacle below us... crystal-clear colors... we can't wait to land. Arriving at the small George Town airport, the temperature is already noticeably different. We pick up the car booked from Italy with the local company Andy's Car, much more convenient than the other classic companies.

The first new thing is driving: since it's a British territory, you drive on the left. About 15 minutes by car from the airport is our Resort Ramada. The apartment chosen, again with the timeshare, is nothing short of immense. It even has two entrances, 2 double beds, 1 sofa bed, 2 bathrooms with whirlpool tubs, a kitchen with every possible and imaginable comfort, washer and dryer... what more could you ask for?? We have a house for 6 but we enjoy it as two!! After a refreshing shower we head to the first available supermarket belonging to the Foster's Food chain and immediately buy some Barilla spaghetti and sauce. For us Italians it's the best after spending days in New York where the hamburger reigns supreme...

We get up bright and early and officially begin our holiday on the island. First a walk along the shore to make contact with the very white sand and the tropical water. Seven Mile is the main beach as well as the longest on all of Grand Cayman. Here all the most luxurious and important hotels on the island are located. Driving along the main road West Bay Road we stop at Cementary Beach. Arriving at the beach feels a bit traumatic to us since access is only possible by passing through a cemetery... yes, you understood correctly... among brightly colored flowers it's not exactly the best... but it's a custom all over the island... Just enough time to undress and spluff! The first swim has been inaugurated... Around lunchtime we continue north toward North West Point Road. Here you can find a sort of reserve with various species of turtles, the Turtle Farm.

We have lunch at Macabuca, a very famous diving center on the island with a kiosk and a restaurant inside overlooking the sea. It's here that we happily discover Mahi Mahi, a typical Caribbean dish made of very tender lightly grilled fish, salad, tomatoes and fried potatoes... delicious! We resume our journey and keep going up. In this area live the true inhabitants of the island; in fact there's no trace of the luxury of the hotels, but rather small houses in the typical lively Caribbean colors. Driving along the main road you pass in front of a very particular post office called Hell Post Office... you notice it obviously from the face of a devil depicted on the sign. We head back toward George Town in the early afternoon, when the cruise tourists return to their ship. This island is a stop for numerous Caribbean cruises of the most famous shipping companies.

Around 9 in the morning the town center, located right next to the port, is completely taken over by tourists getting off the ships. The duty frees are stormed, and for sea lovers... they can always take day trips. It all ends around 4 pm when they return to the ship ready to set sail. Practically around 6 pm the city and the shops are almost deserted. Continuing south we stop at a beach that is also very famous and characteristic, we're talking about Smith Cove. Truly a shame about the slightly rough sea because the seabed and vegetation would really have been worth capturing... the sun was now close to setting, so it's time for romance... public beach on the Seven Miles... it's wonderful for watching the sun set, this huge red ball that seems to disappear into the water creating a play of colors between sky and water that's truly fantastic!.

around the island ....

The weather doesn't promise anything new so we don't waste time and head east of the island, more precisely we decide to visit the Botanic Park. It was officially opened by the queen in 1994. Inside the park you can see orchids, which bloom from late May to late June, iguanas, parrots and other birds. The nearby Mastic Trail path allows you to venture into the forest that was used by the first colonists to obtain timber. The park is located halfway between the eastern part of North Sound and the east coast, about a twenty-minute drive from George Town. Along the way we stop to admire the LightHouse (the lighthouse) and Beach Bay beach. Admission to the garden is $8. This is nothing other than Queen Elizabeth's garden on the island.

There are so many varieties of plants, very well-kept gardens, well-maintained natural ponds, everything beautiful except for what was supposed to be the park's attraction. In fact, there are numerous blue-colored iguanas here. Unfortunately though, without sun you'll never see iguanas...? We continue toward the northeast and after a stop at Old Man Bay we stop for lunch at Kaibo Beach. A truly enchanting place, too bad the sky was almost black and threatened rain... as if that weren't enough, as soon as we arrive at the very nearby Rum Point a very cool wind picks up too... so we decide to return to our apartment, about an hour by car and we're there.

around town....

At the start of this day too the weather isn't exactly the best. We head toward GeorgeTown, this morning literally invaded by tourists. In fact offshore at anchor you can even spot 3 cruise ships. We take a stroll through the little shops, intending to pass some time while waiting for the sun's rays to break through and sweep away the clouds. And indeed that's what happens around lunchtime, we don't hesitate a single minute and we're immediately off to sunbathe at the nearby Smith Cove. We even skip lunch, so much so that on the way back from the beach around 4 pm we stop at Public Beach at Calico Jack's to grab a bite.

Dive !

Finally there's a timid bit of sun; after a healthy walk on the Seven Miles, we stop for a couple of hours at public beach... just a couple of hours because then a truly intense afternoon awaited us. First a very light lunch in our apartment, then we head to the George Town Diving center, our dive awaits!!! Here we meet 2 Italian kids (thank goodness at least we speak the same language!) Massimiliano and Silvia. With their little van we head to pick up the boat for the sea outing. The two points set in the briefing for the dive are south of the island, more precisely at Cross Roads and Red Bay Coves. The organization of the diving center is truly impressive. Besides the equipment, each of us had 2 tanks, everything was strictly arranged on the boat. Once suited up, a check of all the equipment and spluff! The underwater world is practically indescribable.

They are sensations that must be experienced, they can't be told. Everything very calm, peaceful, fantastic vegetation, lots of very colorful Caribbean fish, then we also encountered the turphon, local fish as immense as they are ugly, trumpetfish, barracuda, and 2 huge lobsters... what a spectacle! After finishing the 2 dives we return to shore... so cold all wet, at sunset with the wind you catch on the boat. Back home a boiling hot shower to regain strength, even though after 2 dives the residual energy is truly scarce.

sea...

A relatively calm day is what we're about to tell you about. We go from beach to beach to get a bit of color and take a relaxing swim... Public Beach, George Town to have lunch at Margarita Ville. After lunch we relax at Smith Cove where luckily today we manage to do some snorkeling thanks especially to the calm sea.

Stringary City with Captain Marvin's

We're about to experience surely the most beautiful day of the entire vacation. First of all the weather is on our side, there isn't a cloud even if you paid for one. Organized excursion chosen directly from Italy: Captain Marvin's Full Day Excursion Coral Garden, Barrier Reef and Stringray City. At 10 we depart from Grand Cayman Bay for Stingray City. Aboard a very nice boat we're about 20 people between crew and us tourists. We make the first stop about 10 minutes after departure. We go snorkeling. At the second stop after another 10 minutes of sailing you only see starfish, so much so that both Selene and I think we booked the wrong type of tour... but the 3rd stop is exhilarating. Practically beneath us, the impossible...

starfish, coral fish and the famous and fantastic rays called, precisely, stingray....Suddenly a manta (eagle ray) arrived too, distinctive for its long and very, very dangerous tail. It circled the boat the whole time we were stationary without ever harming anyone. Meanwhile on board I was preparing food... we set off again enthusiastic and stop at a point where the water is very shallow and all the tourists can easily stand on their feet, until however they're swarmed by a myriad of rays, all intent on playing and having fun. Photos go wild... unimaginable to be in the open sea and find yourself in a "pool" of crystal-clear colors surrounded by numerous rays... how cool!! We recommend Captain Marvin's to everyone! It's wonderful... and it takes its name precisely from Mr. Marvin, captain of a fishing boat who, it's said, many years ago discovered this very place full of rays.

Once the show is over we go back on dry land to have lunch at Kaibo Beach... pasta and lots of fish prepared and spiced by the crew during our snorkeling. Around 4 pm we return home... as with the dives, doing so much snorkeling is no small tiredness. As our last evening on the island we don't hold back on anything and go to dinner at the Marriot hotel where there's the multinational evening with a buffet rich in typical international dishes on the beach and strictly barefoot... what a feast!

departure...

We wake up to a steady drizzle... even the weather was sad about our departure.

We pack our bags and head to the airport where, after the usual checks, we board at 13:30 a US AirWays flight... destination Boston, and finally Lufthansa to Zurich and in the end Milan.

We return to the cold... but the sensations experienced in this week can never be erased from our minds and our hearts.

This vacation too was experienced to the fullest and I recommend that if you come to this island for a holiday or as a cruise stop, you can't leave without first visiting Stingray City.

See you soon dear friends, until the next trip... Copyriht Selene & Luca