Wendy and I just spent four days on the Caribbean island of Grand Cayman.  We stayed at a cheap hotel on the beach, rented a teeny tiny car to motor around, and laid on the beach and snorkeled.  It was a good break from New Jersey's winter weather. 

Highlights of the trip:  Swimming with stingrays at Stingray City, snorkeling in the rain (since we were already wet), dodging lizards who scurried underfoot, driving on the left, and eating lots of seafood. 

The weather was good and bad.  It was in the low 80s most of the time, but it rained periodically on one of the days, which wasn't great but didn't ruin the trip.  The water was nice and warm, but felt cold when the sun wasn't out. 

As far as price, it wasn't all that expensive.  The airfare was normal, the hotel (a cheap one) was around $100 a day, and the car was around $30 a day.  Gas was expensive, but it's a tiny island so we hardly used any at all.  Food was a little pricey, but there were enough options that you could survive without blowing your entire budget.  Beer, even locally brewed Caybrew, was sometimes as much as $7 a pint, which was ridiculous but likely the result of the "we have beer; you will pay us anything" mentality.  The exchange rate made it so that everything was about 25% more expensive than in the states, but the total lack of tax on the island (whether sales tax or income tax or anything other than a few fees imposed on businesses) made it not hurt as much. 

The Cayman Islands are British, so they drive on the left side of the road, and their steering wheels are on the right (unless you import an American car).  I had experienced this once in the past (in Bermuda), but we rented a scooter then, so it wasn't quite as uncomfortable.  Sitting on the opposite side of a car while driving makes everything feel wrong.  The rearview mirror is on the left instead of the right; the blinker is on the right instead of the left.  And although I got used to driving on the left, I never felt comfortable making turns so I kept looking behind me and all around me just in case.  On one occasion, I almost got t-boned by a car that was making an illegal turn at a red light, but it wasn't my fault; regardless, I almost lost my stomach contents. 

In terms of atmosphere, we've visited a lot of Caribbean islands, and this was one of the nicest.  The people were friendly and didn't try to hassle you to buy homemade woven hats and whittled pieces of wood.  It was easy to get around, and it didn't feel like we were hated outsiders simply because we were tourists.  And even though there were a lot of tourists and cruise ships, it didn't feel overrun with lazy fat white people complaining about the lack of Starbucks.  In fact, there were a lot of runners and walkers, and I couldn't tell who was a local and who was a tourist.  One of the reasons why it was so nice might've been because the island's economy is based on banking as well as tourism, unlike many islands whose sole source of income is gullible visitors. 

Snorkeling honestly wasn't all that great.  It was good in spots, but there wasn't much color underwater.  Stingray City and the other stops on the tour boat were the best, but we had to pay for it and it included a 30 minute boat ride out into the middle of the bay.  I expected more sea life in the beaches near the hotels, but maybe human activity had something to do with that. 

Swimming with stingrays was an interesting experience.  Apparently, fishing boats used to stop at a sand bar to cut up their fish, feeding the leftovers to the stingrays.  Over time the stingrays got used to people, a pattern that's continually reinforced by daily tour boats.  Stingrays only sting when threatened or stepped on.  The stingrays we saw simply swam around looking for free handouts.  I was crawling-out-of-my-skin uncomfortable when they brushed up against me, but I got used to it pretty quickly.  Our tour guide said you'd get seven years of good life if you kissed a stingray.  Wendy did it; I opted out. 

All in all, it was a good trip, and I'd like to go back someday. 

Pictures:

[gallery /img/2011/03/gc01.jpg:::/img/2011/03/gc01-150x150.jpg:::Wendy stands next to our miniature rental car.  She lifted it over her head right after I took this picture.:::/img/2011/03/gc02.jpg:::/img/2011/03/gc02-150x150.jpg:::A view of our fairly spacious hotel room.:::/img/2011/03/gc03.jpg:::/img/2011/03/gc03-150x150.jpg:::A view of the underutilized hotel pool.  A nearby pool had a swim-up bar, which attracted people likes bugs to a light.:::/img/2011/03/gc04.jpg:::/img/2011/03/gc04-150x150.jpg:::This iguana liked to sun himself on the rocks near our pool.:::/img/2011/03/gc05.jpg:::/img/2011/03/gc05-150x150.jpg:::This lizard liked to run away with his tail curled up in the air.:::/img/2011/03/gc06.jpg:::/img/2011/03/gc06-150x150.jpg:::This giant iguana was sitting in front of a giant oceanfront villa, doing a fairly good job of scaring people away.:::/img/2011/03/gc07.jpg:::/img/2011/03/gc07-150x150.jpg:::Here's an unintentionally artistic picture of a snorkeling Wendy, taken from about ten feet below the surface.:::/img/2011/03/gc08.jpg:::/img/2011/03/gc08-150x150.jpg:::A juvenile French Angelfish.:::/img/2011/03/gc09.jpg:::/img/2011/03/gc09-150x150.jpg:::A Flamingo Tongue Snail eating its way up a sea fan.:::/img/2011/03/gc10.jpg:::/img/2011/03/gc10-150x150.jpg:::This Sergeant Major fish swam in front of the camera right before Wendy took a picture (of something else).:::/img/2011/03/gc11.jpg:::/img/2011/03/gc11-150x150.jpg:::The elusive snorkeler comes up for air, as raindrops fall from the partly sunny sky.:::/img/2011/03/gc12.jpg:::/img/2011/03/gc12-150x150.jpg:::This Tiger Grouper was one mean-looking fish.:::/img/2011/03/gc13.jpg:::/img/2011/03/gc13-150x150.jpg:::A Peacock Flounder with googly eyes.:::/img/2011/03/gc14.jpg:::/img/2011/03/gc14-150x150.jpg:::A Spotted Trunkfish.:::/img/2011/03/gc15.jpg:::/img/2011/03/gc15-150x150.jpg:::Stingrays looking for free handouts.:::/img/2011/03/gc16.jpg:::/img/2011/03/gc16-150x150.jpg:::The bottom view of a stingray.:::/img/2011/03/gc17.jpg:::/img/2011/03/gc17-150x150.jpg:::Wendy holding a stingray just before she kissed it.  She didn't catch its name.:::/img/2011/03/gc18.jpg:::/img/2011/03/gc18-150x150.jpg:::A stingray buried in sand.:::/img/2011/03/gc19.jpg:::/img/2011/03/gc19-150x150.jpg:::Some stingrays (one of them named Frisbee due to its lack of a tail) swimming with some fish near our tour boat.:::]
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