Last week I escaped the first New York snowfall by heading to Grand Cayman! I stayed at Major Rod’s Hostel, which was pretty nice, located near the beach and town, but also introduced me to a friend to explore the island with!
The weather on Saturday when I arrived was overcast with storms in the forecast. That didn’t stop us from taking a walk along Seven Mile Beach though!
We got caught in the rain, but sought refuge in the stairwell of a condo building. We ate dinner at Da Fish Shack, which was right on the ocean.
My plans for Sunday included seeing the sights on the east part of the island. We started off at Pedro St. James, where we learned some of the history of the island, and then made our way to Mastic Trail for a little hike. Little did we know that the bottom part of the trail was flooded, and we had to remove our shoes to wade into the water!
We made a quick stop at the Queen Elizabeth II Royal Botanic Park, before hitching a ride to a highly recommended restaurant, Tukka, on the East End.
Due to the windy weather, my snorkel adventure for Monday was postponed, and my buddy couldn’t go diving either, so we headed to the West Bay to go to Hell. There are quite a few stories as to how Hell got its name, but it’s named after these rock formations.
After visiting Hell, we went to the Turtle Centre. It was interesting to learn more about green turtles, but it was definitely more “farm” than “nature center”. We took a bus to the National Gallery, only to find that they had closed for the afternoon for a staff holiday party. Instead, we wandered through a mall, climbed the stairs of the Observation Tower, and used a coupon from a guide book for lunch.
Tuesday was much nicer than Monday, and my snorkel excursion (and my buddy’s dive trip) was a go! After a quick bus ride to the dock, the boat brought us to Stingray City Sandbar, where we were able to swim and touch stingrays! They still have their stingers, but are around people so often that they’re harmless.
We stopped at two more locations to snorkel before heading back to the dock. I asked to be dropped off at the beach instead of the office where we started, and enjoyed a few hours in the sun. I took a leisurely stroll down the beach, before running into my buddy in the middle of the street! We walked back up the beach and watched the sun set, before finding a nice restaurant on the beach for my farewell dinner.
Wednesday morning I wandered around George Town, stopping at the National Museum, before heading to a distillery tour. I ate lunch (and grabbed food for dinner on the plane) at the vegan restaurant Bread and Chocolate. Then it was back to the hostel to pack and hang out one last time with the folks there.
All in all, it was a pretty good trip!
Back to the cold and snow and daily rise-and-grind.