Will and I had some banking to do, so off we were to the Cayman Islands. Just kidding, we don’t have any foreign bank accounts. (IRS this disclaimer was meant for you.) We left our home under threat from New Mexico’s biggest wildfire to date. Our trip had been planned, so we did what we could to make a defensible space around our house, took important items to family for safe keeping and evacuated. Luckily, we never had to officially evacuate, but we had no idea what would transpire while we were away.
So, with our COVID test passed, we were on our way from Denver. (Yes, COVID testing and other related documentation is still required by the Cayman Island government.) Our flight was delayed, but we finally got to the island after 11pm. It ended up working out in our favor as it gave Will a chance to get used to driving on the left side of the road without a lot of traffic. Driving in the Cayman Islands was very confusing prospect. Our rental car had the driver side on the left, the speedometer only shows km, and the speed limit signs are in miles per hour. So, it was an interesting driving experience.
I know, looks like it should be in KM, but it’s not. 
We stayed on the east side of Grand Cayman. This is the quiet side of the island, which suited us just fine. Since our first day was a Sunday and all the grocery stores were closed, we found the Big Tree BBQ for dinner. I was given a sample of just about everything on the menu. So, yes, I can now say that I have had turtle.
Will enjoying his ribs at the Big Tree BBQ.
$91 doesn’t buy a lot of food on the island. 
Well, at least we got enough for breakfast. 
Found this guy in grocery store parking lot. 
After spending our first day just lounging around at the resort, Casey boot-camp was put into action. They have one hiking trail on the island, the Mastic trail. I know, on a tropical island paradise and once again you find us tramping through an insect infested, craggily-rock trail. The trail is a little over 5 miles round trip and we saw a number of birds and a snake. We also ran across a few other crazy people like ourselves, but for the majority of the time, we had the trail all to ourselves.
The Cayman Islands are known for their coral reef and scuba divers seem to love this place. There are a number of diving locations. We don’t scuba dive, but we like to snorkel. I booked us on a half day tour with George’s Watersports. It was a great day. We had cloud cover for the vast majority of the trip and the water was beautifully calm. Our first stop was Stingray City. It’s an area in the bay with a sand bar that is shallow and where a number of stingrays congregate. The stingrays will brush up against you like a cat hoping that you will drop some food their way. The guide said there are about 120 stingrays that frequent the area. The stingrays are microchipped much like your pets. Highly, recommend visiting Stingray City. It was a really cool experience. You will need to visit via a boat or jet ski as it’s a couple of miles from the shore.
Next stop was snorkeling along the coral reef.
Stingrays also like to bury themselves in the sand to rest.
Then we went on to starfish point. Our group was able to gather a number of starfish. We put them in close proximately to one another and learned about their anti-social behavior. They moved away from one another, but I guess this behavior did not apply to my foot as one seemed right at home on top of it.
It was a great tour and loved that George’s takes smaller groups.
My Arch Nemesis, the Island Rooster.
Our next adventure was to the Crystal Caves. This is still a relatively new venture as they only opened in 2016 and then had to shut down for a couple of years because of COVID. We have done a number of cave tours and these caves are small and the features are not as impressive. They do give a nice history of the area and its people, but I would skip this if you’re short on time. They did give us a great lunch recommendation to Over the Edge, which was just down the road.
The Dildo Catus? 
We took a drive back out to Starfish Point. There is a public beach there and it’s easy to get out with your snorkel and find your own starfish. (Just don’t take them out of the water or they will die.)
We also stopped at Rum Point. Did a little snorkeling there, but the area’s restaurants, shops, etc. are still closed from COVID. Came back to the resort and we were able to get some good snorkeling in right from the shore.
We finally, decided to head on into George Town and see what was going on there. There were 2 cruise ships in port that day, so, it was quite busy. We took a tour of the National Museum to learn a little more about the history of the island and then drove down to check out 7 Mile Beach. The beach has been rated as the best beach in the Caribbean, so, we thought it deserved a look. I’m sure, I would have enjoyed it even more on a day when there were no cruise ships in port.
Our last full day, which means yes, another COVID test. It was really convenient that they had one available right there at the resort. Unfortunately, almost everyone checks out on the same day and therefore the wait in line was a couple of hours. Ugh! Well, that business was finally done, and we got out and made it just in time to visit the Blue Iguanas at the Botanic Gardens. I thought the Iguanas were cool and the Botanic Gardens are nice as well.
This guy was trying to dig his way out.
This one escaped.
Cayman Island Parrot
Agave 
This one was flowering.
The Outdoor Kitchen 
20th Century Traditional Home