Checkin out the Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands are three islands - Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman - in the western Caribbean, located just under Cuba and northwest of Jamaica.

Grand Cayman is, wait for it, the biggest island of the three, and holds the majority of the territory's land mass, population, and commerce, including the capital of George Town.

Cayman Brac is a funny sounding name that refers to "The Bluff" (in Gaelic), referring to the distinctive natural feature of the island - the large limestone outcrop that rises along the length of the island. Where it reaches the eastern end, the outcrop stands at 140 ft (43 m) above sea level. 

Little Cayman is little indeed, with only around 170 people as a permanent population, and stretching a mere 10 miles long and average 1 mile wide.

The islands are surrounded by the most beautiful, crystalline sparkling blue waters and white sand beaches. Scuba diving is an extremely popular activity around all three islands, and there are several unique water attractions to the Cayman Islands.

A visit to Stingray City is a must. Visitors to Stingray City take a boat tour out to an area with a string of sandbars where they can hop in the water with a mask and snorkel or stay on the boat to view a huge conglomeration of stingrays in their natural habitat and watch them swim around in the waist- to chest-deep water. It is thought that the stingrays may have began to congregate in this particular area perhaps because of fishermen who used to clean their fish here. The stingrays would come to feed on the discarded guts of the fish, and over time associated the sound of motors with food. People came to realize that the stingrays could be fed by hand, and now tour operators bring chunked up squid on the tours to give the stingrays, attracting dozens at a time and making for a truly surreal experience for snorklers and people standing in the shallow water with the rays swimming all around them - still wild, but tame enough to (gently) touch and hold.   

Boatswain’s Beach also makes for a very unique experience, as there are more than 14,000 turtles ranging in size from tiny to massive, some of which you can even hold. Wild sea turtles are often protected species and are illegal to touch or hold - for good reason - so this is a unique opportunity. 

Horseback riding, swimming, snorkeling, sunbathing, kiteboarding, eating rum cake, and visiting the botanic park are all popular activities in the Cayman Islands as well. There is also a place where you can swim with dolphins. 

And simply hammocking and laying about on the white sand beach with a book in one hand and a tropical drink in the other is, of course, always one of the very best pastimes in the Cayman Islands.

Comments

[Claudette Como]

Wow! This is a fantastic post. I can actually visualize the beauty of the island after reading this. I hope I can get Cayman Auto rentals there, because I have to go there now. Reading this post has convinced me to be there for my next vacation, which I am planning.