Going with the Flow!

One of our favourite things about Grand Cayman is the snorkeling. We snorkel most days; sometimes all day, biking from site to site along the shoreline. After renting a car for three days we reached each of the areas that were on our snorkeling list. Some places are good for the fish sightings, others for the turtles, the rays, or the coral - and some are renown for all of the above. It's really breathtaking!

Swimming the reefs is such a regular part of everyday life on the island, we heard even the Burger King rents snorkeling gear! It's completely normal to walk through a restaurant patio in our bathing suit, carrying a mask and fins, weaving among the tables toward a ladder fixed to the restaurant's edge which leads to the underworld. In Grand Cayman, if something stands between you and the water, it's just accepted that you will pass through - encouraged even, with signs saying "enjoy our lunch specials after your dive". Beaches here are, rightfully, all public territory up to the high water mark.

The underwater world is amazingly beautiful; we can't get enough! Some of the coral patches are enormous and form stunning gardens with very little coral bleaching. Most of the time, the visibility is...whatever perfect is in snorkeling terms. Snorkerific, snorktacular...just snorkiful. (Not my best writing here, I know.)

As newbies, before we started toting a small underwater bag to carry our valuables with us, we paused on what to do with the rental car key while snorkeling (in hindsight, obviously you leave it under your sandal). Dave had the idea of tucking the car key into his wetsuit. After we swam about 100 feet, he popped his head out of the water and said: "I can't be in here with this!" I said: "Because you could puncture something?" "No! It's electronic!" He swam back in a hurry and luckily, the salt water hadn't impacted the key's functionality in the short time it was submerged. A car key replacement would have set us back an inappropriately hefty sum.

We saw a moray eel laying in a bed of kelp. He let himself be seen as a courtesy, or rather a warning for us to keep our distance. One big barracuda tailgated us for longer and more closely than I cared for but Dave assured me it was curiosity and not mean spiritedness that kept him onto us. I was glad when he finally lost interest and moved along. Other than that, no meanies around. The waters are safe for snorkeling (though you sometimes have to watch for boat traffic and current). There were, sadly, three separate drowning incidents during the first week of our time here at snorkeling areas we visited (each was an American male tourist, ages 60, 70 and 72 I believe). I suspect, however, that this had less to do with the dangers of snorkeling than the dangers of other physical conditions.

The wreck of the Cali is pretty neat. The Cali was a four-mast schooner built in 1900. In the 1920s an engine was installed which weakened the hull that was never designed to sustain the shaking motion produced by a diesel engine. In 1944, while carrying a load of 30,000 bags of rice, the hull sprang a leak. The water entering the boat caused the rice to expand to the point of fracturing the hull! The Cali sank near George Town creating a navigational hazard and so she was subsequently blown in half. Her remains, now scattered, include the ship’s exposed ribs, the steel hull plates, boilers and winches. Note to self when provisioning: don't over do it with the rice.

In the Cali's ribs we spotted the only lion fish we've seen. A local resident just obtained his 10,000th catch of this invasive species, which earned him a feature article we read in the Cayman Compass. Lion fish have no natural predators. They are delicious, however, and some restaurants are catching on - serving lion fish cakes, tacos and sandwiches.

I had the brilliant idea (if I do say so myself) of renting an underwater camera from a dive shop for a day. We had a blast with it! As complete novices to underwater photography, the task of trying to get good shots brought a fun challenge to our swims, as well as a new admiration for those who do it well! A slight disappointment was later finding out the shop had mis-adjusted the settings and many of our pictures turned out discoloured. To make up for it, they gave us the camera for a second day of usage, and again, we had a great time on our exploration mission.

Some of our pictures have background 'noise', some are under exposed, some are out of focus, but all of them are cherished memories for us.

We are having such a great time in Grand Cayman! We fall in bed at night happily exhausted from all the fun.

Here are some more pictures from our time in the waters of Grand Cayman:

Most chilled out turtle ever! 

Magic moment for Dave.

School of 'yellas' (my fish naming abilities are limited).

Coral.

I think the three on the left are talking about me...

The wreck of the Cali.

Dave swimming under the rudder of the Cali.

This one I know: French Angel Fish.

Lion fish. (I wanna make a sandwich outta you!)

That's 'Mister Barracuda' to you.

That time all the grey guys followed the barracuda like he was their God.

A stingray.

Squid!  We saw over 30 of them; family reunion I guess.

That time the grey guys followed me like I was their God.

Life is good!

Sometimes we wear our shorties so we last longer in the water before getting chilly.

Another great moment!  A turtle and I.

Spott's beach.