Grand Cayman/Little Cayman, May 1999

Author: Bob Duchan

We arrived on GC May 3 and stayed at the Westin. The hotel was pretty crowded due to a few company conventions which took up over 140 rooms. We stayed on the right wing of the hotel (by the Governors House) which was quiet despite the activities by the pool and meeting rooms. We had a nice view of the beach and a larger than normal patio. Tuesday we headed out to do some snorkeling and get adjusted to island time. Eden Rock was disappointing showing signs of damage from too many cruise ship passengers snorkeling the area. Tuesday night was all you can eat lobster tails at the Lone Star. Since we can't eat more than 3 tails each, we opted for the lobster tail dinner which was supposed to be 2 tails. When it arrived, both my plate and my wifes' had 3 tails each! Lobster and a few mango margaritas made for a great meal. Overall, good food, good service, bar and grill atmosphere.

For this dive trip I brought a one piece full length polartec instead of my 3mm neoprene. I was warm even after 3 dives a day and had no problems with 15 ft safety stop and could hover at all depths a lot easier than with neoprene. I also tried polartec socks with full foot Mares Plana Avantis and found this combo more comfortable than Blades with booties. As a side note, all the divers I met that were using Bio Fins, loved them. Maybe next year I'll buy a pair....

On the topic of defoggers, I tried 500 PSI, it was worthless, so was Absolutely Clear. Joy liquid worked great, just rinse well with sea water. Divers Best also worked great. I followed the instructions for 500 PSI and Absolutely Clear and neither one worked for me.

Wednesday we did an afternoon trip with Fisheye on the west side. The boat leaves from the public beach just past the Westin and is a large, flat top boat. You will want to remove your shoes as the boat sits in the water, it's not a dry entry. The dive masters were good and set up your equipment or you could do it yourself. The first site was Big Tunnels and my profile on computer was max. depth 103 ft. , bottom time 30 minutes. We saw tarpon, lots of queen angel fish, black coral and of course tunnels with sponges. Nice dive. The second dive was Harbour Heights, a shallow dive, Max depth 48 ft. bottom time 46 minutes. This was a great spot for photographers! Finger coral, angel fish, crabs, lobsters and many schools of fish. Good first dives! During the surface interval, orange slices were handed out, a nice touch. Overall, Fisheye was very good, the boat was roomy with only 6 divers and the dive masters were knowlegable and easy going.

Thursday we dived with Cayman Diver Ltd. which is Don Fosters new dive operation. He sold the "big" Don Fosters a few years ago. His new operation uses a 50 foot custom dive boat and limits the number of divers to 8 max. Don also has a smaller boat but we requested the larger boat and he accommodated us each time. A van will pick you up at your hotel and drive you to the marina where the boat is docked. We chose the 3 dive trip which includes breakfast(bagels/muffins/juice) and lunch(grilled chicken breast sandwich). This boat is more like a private yacht than a flat top dive boat but there is room for 8 divers and a marine head is on board. We found that Don and his crew treated us like friends not just customers on a dive boat. There were 7 divers on the boat. The first site was Grand Canyon. Don gives the pre dive briefing and is also the dive master. Max depth 100 ft. bottom time 32 minutes. There are spur and groove reef formations.We saw lobsters, French angel fish, goat fish, jaw fish and black coral. During our SI, fresh fruit was served along with soft drinks. Next dive site was Gail's Mountain. Max depth was 80 ft. bottom time 42 minutes. The "mountain" looks like a pyramid with many sponges and coral. I got carried away taking photos and missed a lot of fish. For the SI, we went to the Sandbar and was able to snorkel with the rays during the lunch break. The next site was Curl Reef. Max depth was 47 ft bottom time 42 minutes. Nice dive, took some photos.

Friday, we dived with Cayman Diver Ltd. again, for a 2 tank dive. Same 50 foot boat, only 3 divers total! The first dive site was Hole in the Wall. Max depth was 109 ft. bottom time 30 minutes. Coral pinnacles and sponges, saw eagle rays and schools of fish. After the SI, we went to No Name Wall. Max depth 94 ft bottom time 30 minutes. Saw turtles, lobsters, black coral, blennies and gobies. Overall, it was a great day of diving, now if only the photos come out.....

We booked 2 dives with Don for Sunday, Mothers Day, and I called to reconfirm that we will still be going out. There were supposed to be 2 other divers but their wives wanted to spend the day on the beach. To our surprise, my wife and I were the only ones on the boat but Don still took out the 50 footer! It was a great experience to dive with Don, Ann and Dons' son Brandon. We felt like family going out on a private yacht. Since it was Mother's Day and 9AM there were NO other boats around! The first dive was Hammerhead Hill. Max depth 110 ft bottom time 29 minutes. Did not see any hammerheads but did see an eagle ray, parrot fish and great coral growth- good photo site. Next site was Sting Ray City. This was a great time to do this dive because there was no one else there but us! Max depth 15 ft bottom time 50 minutes. Although the rays tried to knock off the viewfinder from my camera and were swarming around me, a few pushes with my elbows cleared the area. After Don fed the rays and I got some great photos, the area cleared up and we were able to explore the coral heads. With no one around, the visibility was great, we saw numerous eels, lobsters, squid and many varieties of fish and a great opportunity for photos- close up and macro. This was a great shallow dive. Overall, the diving on GC was quite good. I would definitely recommend Cayman Diver as my first choice to experience Cayman hospitality- I thought the clean, roomy boat, personal attention, safety and general calm feeling on Dons boat made it my first choice. I would recommend Fisheye as a second choice. Restaurants

The Wharf- much better than expected, fresh grilled fish, good service, great view of the sunset. We expected a tourist trap but were pleasantly surprised. Billy's Place- great local Caribbean food, jerk chicken, pork and curried goat. Looks like some good dessert 10% discount if you show your certification card. Casa Havana- okay, I was disappointed with the appetizers, apparently they are not made fresh but prepared in advance. The ahi tuna was way too salty and when I asked to change it i was told that it's made in advance and they are all salty! Entrees good and good dessert. Expensive but classy. My wife enjoyed it more than I did. Lantanas- The restaurant moved upstairs and there are windows but somehow the atmosphere was better in the old room. Food and dessert were good. I thought it was better last year. Canton Chinese- this was a real find. Every night we went for a walk, this restaurant was packed so we tried it. Excellent Chinese food, good prices, very nice decor inside. Papagallos- A bit difficult to navigate the roads to get there. There is a pond outside and maybe the wind was blowing wrong but it smelled like raw sewage and I almost refused to enter the place. Once inside, it was very nicely decorated. The appetizers were excellent(lobster ravioli and grilled portabello mushrooms), entrees excellent and desserts were good. A nice place but I would not drive that far again for dinner. Fosters Market- A few times we got jerk chicken and rice and beans with cassava to go. It was good but the jerk sauce was HOT! Also a good fruit and salad bar with great pineapple and mango. This market make the ones at home look pretty bad! Clean, bright, wide aisles and plenty of fresh foods. Ah yes, the prices are high but this is Grand Cayman.

During our stay from May 3- May 11, the only time it rained was the night we arrived- a few brief minutes at the airport. We drove around the island to the east end. Last year we drove to Rum Point so we decided to see the east end this time. It was a nice ride and we saw many of the other hotels and dive operations around the island. I was surprised to see Sunset House a few hundred yards from petrol storage tanks, not what I would want to be sleeping next to. We stopped at the blow holes and then on to Morritts. Overall, we liked staying on 7 mile beach and it was not too crowded this time of year. The Westin was very nice, friendly staff and more room to spread out on the beach than the Hyatt. The beach chairs at the Hyatt beach were so close together, I think the same person who calculates airplane legroom, set up the beach chairs! The new rooms by the beach looked pretty empty. The enclosed bridge that takes you across the road to the Hyatt was nice but the miniature golf course on the edge of the road was kind of tacky and out of place. Lots of people in Deckers but we didn't have time to check it out.

Now it was time to head to Little Cayman. We decided to return to Little Cayman Beach Resort since we stayed there last June and loved the diving. When we arrived and mentioned that we were returning guests, Neal Sanders, the resort manager gave us T-shirts and luggage tags. It was a nice touch. We checked into our room, #201 and immediately noticed the tropical fish wallpaper border around the room and tropical fish wallpaper in the bathroom. It was experimental and only room 201 had it. We thought it was a nice addition. The rooms are basic but functional, after 3 dives per day, all we wanted was a clean room and a shower. Ceiling fans and A/C are in each room. It was a bit hotter on Little Cayman and with no mosquito abatement program like GC, there were some mosquitoes out at dusk. While we were walking around the resort, we ran into one of the chefs and found out he was from Jamaica. We told him we would really like some Caribbean food like jerk chicken and rice and beans and later in the week, he made it just for us! Overall, the food was better than last year, more pasta choices and less fried foods. Now on to the diving.... Apparently Reef Divers has a lot of turnover so only a few of the dive masters and boat captains from last June were still around. Caleb was gone and Joe was leaving while we were there. Some of the new staff seemed inexperienced regarding the dive sights we visited. The resort was pretty full and the boats had between 14- 18 divers on each boat, however there was plenty of room and during the afternoon dives, there were much less people on the boats. The boats are still my favorite with great layouts, a separate camera table, space to sit on top or down below and room for 3 divers to gear up and enter the water at one time. The pre dive briefings with detailed dive site drawings was excellent. You could buddy up or hang with the dive master, no one got chastised for their bottom times. The divers ranged from just certified to novice(me) to very experienced. First dive, Randy' Gazebo Max depth 81 feet bottom time 39 minutes. Barracuda, turtles, many schools of fish and the famous chimney and beautiful swim throughs. After the SI, its off to Mixing Bowl Max depth 44 ft bottom time 46 minutes. Turtles, barracuda, Rudolph the grouper, beautiful coral heads and lots of fish life. After lunch, we went to Dominoes, a site named by Joe, one of the dive masters. Max depth 57 ft, bottom time 44 minutes- Great spot, moray eels, lots of queen angelfish, good place for photos.

The next day we go to Cascades- Max depth 99 ft bottom time 30 minutes. Pretty sand chutes and nice corals, pinnacles, lots of fish, swim throughs. After a SI, we are off to Great Wall West. Max depth 59 ft bottom time 44 minutes. I decide to buddy with Michelle, the dive master.This dive is awesome! We swam out to the wall which is a vertical drop down at about 40 feet. After swimming about 20 feet into the deep blue, we turned around and swam back towards the wall. This was the most incredible wall I have seen! Groupers, turtles, angelfish, lobsters, crabs and fish I have never seen before! The reef top is spur and grooves and loaded with life and beautiful coral! My camera is out of film and the dive keeps getting better and better! THIS is the dive I have dreamed of! After lunch we go to Joy's Joy. Max depth 55 ft bottom time 44 minutes. On the descent we notice thimble jellies.... Then we see turtles, grouper sting rays and lots of beautiful coral. I finish the roll of film and enjoy the rest of the dive. Nice shallow dive with lots of life. during the safety stop, I see a turtle munching on the thimble jellies. As I ascend, I see more and more thimble jellies. Once on the boat, I feel a slight stinging on the neck and I see the other divers spraying vinegar on their necks. Well sure enough the thimble jellyfish larvae has gotten us. As we head back in, most of the divers are scratching the bumps on their neck and chest. Apparently May is the month for Thimble Jellies in the Caribbean. After applying some benadryl, the itch is minimized.

The next day we are headed home. This was a great trip, great diving and we met some wonderful people and dive buddies. Two days later the itch is gone from the thimble jellies but the great memories will last forever!