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Trip report by
- March 2002
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This trip report is written so you can follow what we did day by day. I wrote
some notes down everyday so I wouldn't forget anything. I hope you all enjoy
reading it as much as we enjoyed living it. This report is quite detailed,
and (VERY) long (almost 8 full pages typed). This was our 2nd visit to Grand
Cayman, and we enjoyed it as much as the 1st trip.
Thur 3/14 - We got up at 3AM to catch our ride to the airport at 4AM. Got to
Logan around 5AM, got through the ticket counter with no hassles, and onto to
our flight, which left right on time. Arrived on Grand Cayman around 2PM via
Charlotte N.C. All flights were on time, and worry free. We grabbed our bags,
and picked up a cab. We stopped at Kirks on the way to the condo, and bought
some cold-cuts, drinks, and cereal so we could survive a couple days. Arrived
at Turtle Beach Villas by 3PM. The cab cost US$12 + tip.
Turtle Beach Villas are located nextdoor to the Marriot, It's a very small 23
unit complex right on the water (all units are oceanfront). Our unit was on
the 2nd floor, and the views were incredible. We rented directly from the
owner, and got a great deal. The unit itself was spotless, with 1 bedroom,
2 baths, living room, full kitchen, and a huge screened porch looking over the
water. The complex sits only about 70 feet from the waters edge. If you have
any interest, you can send me an email, and I'll give you the owners
information, as she is an absolute pleasure to deal with. After checking out
our condo, we immediately dropped our bags, put on our suits, grabbed the
snorkel gear, and were headed to the beach!! TBV is just a short distance
north of Treasure Island where we stayed last time, and we wanted to snorkel
the reef out front. So we just swam from our area south, and eventually were
on the reef, enjoying the fish. It felt so good to be back in that warm water,
and checking out all the colorful reef fish. We saw some sort of reef snapper
that was at least 40 inches long, and probably weighed 40+lbs. A great way to
start off our snorkeling!! After we snorkeled for a while, we decided to just
walk back from Treasure Island rather than swim back. The beach in between
Treasure Island and our condo is very skinny and rocky. The storm has washed
away almost all the sand. It is passable on foot, but very rocky in some
parts, and only a 3 foot strip of sand in other areas. Once you get to our
condo, which is just south of the Marriot, it gets to be about 12-15 feet wide
of sand. This was fine for our needs, but as you walked by the Marriot, they
had so many beach chairs crowded in front of the resort, it took up all the
room on the beach. There is about 10-15 feet of sand in front of the Marriot,
but they have two rows of beach chairs crammed in, and the water touches the
front of the first row of chairs when the small waves come in. It really
wouldn't be too bad, if they only had one row. Once you got past the Marriot,
the beach was wider.
We got back in from the beach and went out to eat at the Calypso Grill. We had
some friends of our traveling the same week, (staying further north on 7MB).
One of them wasn't feeling well, so it was just 3 of us for dinner. My wife
and I both had Mahi-Mahi, which was very good. Our friend had Cajun shrimp,
which was also very tasty. The highlight of the meal was the fishcake
appetizer which was out of this world!! The bill came to US$170 for three of
us, which included drinks, and the (already added) gratuity. I would highly
recommend this place... very, very good.
Friday 3/15 - We were both up by 6:30-7AM. We had our breakfast out on the
porch overlooking that beautiful turquoise water. We did this every morning as
you will read several times. After relaxing a little while, we headed back to
Treasure Island to do some more snorkeling. Just as before, the visibility was
great, and we saw tons of fish. We headed back to swim-up bar at TI after s
norkeling, and had a few cocktails. It was only about 11:30, but what the
heck, it's vacation!! After a few cocktails, we headed back to the our condo,
and had some lunch, and a quick power nap. After lunch and nap we met our
friends, and headed up to Cemetery Reef for some more snorkeling. The water
was a bit choppy, but once you swam out to the reef, the visibility was
excellent. Again, tons of fish here, and some nice coral. After hanging out
on the beach for a bit, we all went back to our friends condo (Victoria House)
which is located on the north end of 7MB just south of Cemetery Reef. They
had a beautiful oceanfront unit, with great views. We all hung out and had a
couple beers, and relaxed a little bit. After having a couple beers we all
went shopping for an hour or so, picked up a couple t-shirts, and a hat. We
all headed back to our condos, and got ready for dinner. The four of us ate at
our favorite place, The Reef Grill. As usual, it was outstanding. My wife and
I both had their signature Sea-bass, and it was perfect. Also had some lobster
and shrimp spring rolls for appetizer, and it was just as good. Dinner for the
four of us was US$175 + tip. Keep in mind that the owner of the restaurant
came out to meet us, and bought our first round of drinks for the nice review
I did for the restaurant prior. This is a must do restaurant, and should NOT
be missed. Still our favorite. After dinner we all took a short walk on the
beach by Royal Palms, and then home to bed around 11PM.
Sat 3/16 - Both up by 7AM, and took a nice walk up the beach past the Hyatt
and back. Got back and did our usual breakfast on the porch. After breakfast
we hung out on our beach for a couple hours, soaking up the sun. It was very
hot, and had the jump in the water every 15-20 minutes. Around noon, we
headed across the street and had lunch at the Lazy Lizard. We had our first
order of conch fritters (I love these things) which turned out to be quite
bready, and not much flavor. My wife and I had a couple of Sante Fe chicken
wraps which we both liked. Lunch for the 2 of us was US$26. After lunch we
picked up our rental car from Andy's. A small 4-door Chevy Monza, which we
paid US$335 for the week. Kind of a little piece of crap, but it was all we
needed, and the A/C worked, so we were totally happy. Andy's had the lowest
prices, and the staff was very friendly.
We had reservations with Capt Dexter (345 949-2182) at 1:30PM for our Stingray
sandbar trip. We picked up our friends, and headed to the Yacht club to catch
the boat. Dexter has a small catamaran that is about 30 feet in length. He
only takes a max of 16 people or so, and it was a great trip. He let us all
hold and feed the friendly rays, and our friends were having a ball as it was
their first time. It really is an amazing experience that will be enjoyed by
anyone who goes. This is one of the most popular things to do on the island,
and shouldn't be missed. After playing with the rays for an hour, we headed
over to the barrier reef and snorkeled for another 45 minutes along the reef.
Dexter coaxed a 6 foot Moray eel out from the rocks, and hand fed it. It was
quite a sight to see, sure hope our pictures come out okay!! After snorkeling
the reef, the Captain pulls up the sails, and we sailed back across the bay.
This was so relaxing. We all went back to our condos, and met later for
dinner. We had dinner at Deckers (next to the Hyatt). I had to have their
'all you can eat' lobster. We really enjoyed our dinners here, and they also
had a two piece band playing some island music, which all very much enjoyed.
This place isn't on the water, but it was still outside. I ended up getting my
monies worth as I ate 7 lobster tails, and yes, I was very full, and no, I am
not a huge guy, just a large appetite!! This place is quite expensive, US$270
for 4 of us, which included the tip. We all enjoyed our meals, and would rate
this restaurant as very good. After dinner we had a lot of fun playing
minature golf next door to Deckers, and had a lot of laughs. Home to bed after
that - we were tired after a full day.
Sun 3/17 - Day to relax. Both up by 7AM, but just lazed around the condo for a
couple hours, enjoying our daily breakfast by the ocean. Went out to enjoy our
pool and beach for a couple hours later that morning, just relaxing in the
sun. Our friends came by before lunch, and we headed over to the Marriot to
rent some waverunners through Red Sail Sports (345 949-6343). We all had our
own machine, and had a blast cruising across that beautiful Caribbean water.
My waverunner had some engine problems, and I was told to come back in the
next couple days, and they would let me have one for free. After we got in
from the waverunners, we headed over to TI for lunch at Billy Bones (the
swim-up bar). Lunch was basic, just a couple sandwiches, which were okay -
nothing special, but cheap. The four of us had a few cocktails with lunch, and
then headed out to the beach at TI for some snorkeling. Unfortunately, the
reef was a bit cloudy today, and the visibility just wasn't like it usually
is. After snorkeling, we headed back to the condo around 4, and relaxed and
napped until dinner. We went to dinner on our own as we wanted to just have a
nice night out alone. We ate at the Naked Fish, which is just south of George
Town. It's a nice casual place right on the water, very nice setting. I had
some kind of spicy chicken and pasta with a garlic cream sauce -quite spicy,
but very good. My wife had a grilled Mahi-Mahi, which she liked as well. We
had some conch fritters that were much better than the other day. It was so
relaxing to sit back with a cold beer, looking out at the water. Dinner was
very reasonable, US$58 + tip for the two of us. We headed home, very full and
tired and went to bed early around 10:30. Had to be up early tomorrow.
Mon 3/18 - Up at 6AM to catch our fishing charter today. We chartered a 41
foot boat with Capt Asley. The cost was US$500 for a half day which ended up
being 7AM to 1:30PM. The seas were very rough that day, 6-8 foot swells,
and the fishing was very tough. We were unable to fish the method we set out
to do, which was drifting, and a little bottom fishing. The only way we could
manage the rough seas was to troll. We had four different occasions where some
big fish hit the trolled lures, but just couldn't get a hook up. The captain
tried very hard to put us on some fish, and finally we hooked a couple near
the end as we were headed in. I caught two Barracuda which were both very
small, and my buddy caught a Wahoo, which looks like a long skinny Tuna. The
Wahoo was also small (about 15 lbs). The captain said that he saw one of the
earlier fish that missed our lures, and said it was much bigger, probably
70+ lbs. Oh well, that's fishing, some days you get 'em, some days you don't!
We had fun, but were ready to get off that boat after being rolled around for
several hours. We picked up some take out at a small place called Ribs &
Pizza across from the Westin on the way home. The ribs were great, very
tender, and the meat fell right off the bone. It cost US$28 for three racks of
ribs, with coleslaw, bread and beans. Went back to condo, feasted on the ribs,
and had a nice long nap after lunch. Around mid afternoon, we headed out to
the pool and beach, and just hung out, and relaxed until after sunset. The
sunsets in front of our condo were very nice, as we made a point to sit and
watch just about every night we were there. The only problem was that as soon
as the sun would get close to touching the water, there always seemed to be a
line of clouds that would cover it up right before it reached the water. It
was still beautiful though. The 4 of us headed to Ristorante Pappagallo for
dinner. This is located way up as far north as you can get from 7MB. It is
somewhat tough to find, so I wish you all luck. Plan on asking directions on
your way, and you'll get there eventually!! The restaurant itself is situated
on a small salt pond, with lots of baby Tarpon swimming around. There are
beautiful tropical plants, colorful birds, a really nice setting to say the
least. The food was very good here, and we enjoyed our dinners for the most
part. I had lobster stuffed ravioli which was delicious, and my wife had some
type of shrimp dish which she said was very good. We all shared some fried
calamari for appetizer, and it was some of the best we had ever had. The
downside to the evening, was our waiter. He seemed somewhat snooty, and
appeared a bit miffed when we didn't order wine or dessert. Although he was
polite, he just seemed as if he had an attitude. Otherwise, the meal was
excellent. I would recommend this place for sure, the atmosphere alone is
worth it, and the food was very tasty. Price came to US$160US for the four of
us - not bad at all. Went back to the condo after dinner, watched a movie,
went to bed tired and full. What else is new??
Tue 3/19 - I slept in today until around 8AM which is late for me. My wife
wanted to go shopping with our friends, while I chose to just laze around the
pool and beach all morning. When my wife got back, we headed over to the
Marriot so I could get my free waverunner, and she went ahead and rented
another to ride again as well. After the waverunners, we headed back for a
easy lunch at the condo, and a quick afternoon nap. That afternoon we headed
down to snorkel Eden Rock just south of George Town. They have a ladder to
enter the water right there at Eden Rock dive shop. This is by far the best
snorkeling spot on the island in my opinion. The reefs here are any where from
5-10 feet below the surface, dropping down to I'm guessing 70-80 feet. The
visibility is awesome, and the fish are everywhere. You'll see some large
fish here. We saw some 5-6 foot Tarpon swimming down among the many caverns.
This is a must do snorkel. We then decided to take a short drive south along
the coast, and just check out the beautiful houses, and nice little openings
in the trees with great views of that turquoise ocean. Later we headed back to
the condo for sunset and cocktails on the beach in front of our place - very
nice!! For dinner we decided to try the Crows Nest, which is a couple miles
south of George Town. The restaurant sits right on a small beach, with the
waves rolling in. It is a screened in porch, very casual, but quite nice.
Meals were somewhat simple, but very good. We had our conch fritters for an
appetizer, and there were very tasty… two thumbs up!! For my entrée, I had a
filet mignon, and my wife had another shrimp dish. Both were very good, but
nothing to write home about. They did have live entertainment here which was
kind of amusing. Just one guy playing the organ and singing. We had to laugh
as it was kind of cheesy. It reminded us of the Bill Murray skit on Saturday
Night Live when he did the lounge singer routine. That's okay, we stilled
enjoyed ourselves!! Back to the condo around 9:30, hung out a little while,
and crashed early again - yup you guessed it, tired and full!!
Wed 3/20 - Up by 7AM, breakfast in our usual spot looking at the ocean. Very
lazy morning just hanging on our porch watching the ocean, and napping until
around 10 or so. Hung out at our pool for remainder of the morning as I was
diving that afternoon. Just made a sandwich to take with me on the boat as I
was off to do a two-tank dive that afternoon. I went out with Divers Down
(345 949-1611). I chose them because they only go out with a max of 8 divers
per boat. They came and picked me up at the condo and we were off to sign
paperwork, pay, and then off to the boat. The first dive we did was a wall
on the northern end of 7MB. We swam down about 80 feet into a small cavern,
and as you came out the other end, it dropped off into 1000+ feet. All I can
say is AWESOME!! I believe we ended up going down to around 100 feet, and also
swam through another small cave where I saw the biggest Moray eel I have ever
seen. It was 8+ feet long, and thicker than a football. It was simply
incredible to see. The coral formations on the side of the wall were breath
taking. This was my first wall dive, and by far the best I have ever e
xperienced. Visibility was 120+ feet. After our surface interval, went headed
down on our 2nd dive to a place called Paradise Reef. This was only around
50-60 feet, but the coral and fish were spectacular. The colors of the fish
and also the colors of the coral and sponges will be remembered for a long
time. Divers Down was a 1st class operation, very professional, and I will use
them again when we visit again - highly recommended. Got back from diving
around 4, and headed up to meet my wife and friends at their condo. Ended up
hanging around their beach, took a nice walk by Aqua Bay condos, swam a bit,
and then we all enjoyed a few frozen cocktails for sunset while lazed around
in some hammocks - so relaxing!! We all went to the Wharf for dinner. We had
a late seating so we could watch them feed the Tarpon, which was really
cool. Being a fisherman, all I could think of was getting a fishing pole, and
casting from our table as these huge fish swam everywhere!! Maybe another day.
Dinner was excellent, and we enjoyed our meals. This is one of the nicest
settings on the island for a restaurant. I had a NY sirloin which was very
good, my wife had shrimp again, and I believe one of our friends had some
seabass, the other some type of pork dish. I think everyone really liked their
meals except our friend who had the pork, he just didn't care for the way it
was prepared. Conch fritters here were excellent. This is a very pricey
restaurant, the bill came to US$278 for four, which included tip. Keep in mind
that several restaurants add 15% gratuity to the bill, so make sure you read
your check!! We all headed back to our condos after dinner, and yup, you
guessed it, went to bed tired and full!!
Thur 3/21 - Up by 7:30, did our normal breakfast on the porch, and just lazed
around for a couple hours. Headed to the TI pool today as our pool had to be
drained due to a leak - bummer!! No problem mon - off to TI's pool. We hung
out there most of the morning, swimming and sunning. Headed back to our condo
around noon as our friends were leaving today, and they were going to stop by
on their way to the airport to say goodbye. After saying goodbye to our
friends, we went parasailing with Cloud Dancer tours (345 916-2944). The sky
was very clear, and the views were nothing short of epic. Hopefully our
pictures will show the true colors of that water. Once we got back from our
parasail, we packed the cooler, and headed up to the beach in front of the
Holiday Inn. This is a beautiful stretch of beach. We hung all all afternoon
here, sunning, swimming, and enjoying ice cold Corona's until sunset. Back to
the condo to nap before dinner. We ate at Smuggler's Cove. This is a top notch
restaurant for sure, easily one of the best meals we had (along with the Reef
Grill of course!!). For appetizers we had jerk duck, and also a lobster, crab
and salmon cake - both incredible. For main course we both ordered their
signature lobster stuffed filet mignon - absolutely fabulous. We just savored
every mouthful, we were in heaven. This place is pricey at US$138 for the two
of us which included drinks, dessert to go, and the tip. Located on the water
in downtown George Town. We would rate this place along side the Reef Grill
as outstanding. Highly recommended. I'll give you one guess as to what we did
next - you got it - home to bed - tired and full!!
Fri 3/22 - Up by 7:30AM, Decided to drive around the island today. After
breakfast, we headed out around 8:30, and drove along the south coast, through
Bodden Town, stopped at a few openings along the coast for pictures, saw the
blowholes (5 minute stop), and headed towards the east end. Driving through
sleepy little towns, and some very remote areas. Some of the houses are
spectacular, and the views were amazing. What we didn't like very much is how
remote it was. This of course appeals to some folks, not us. We stopped to
check out Morritts Tortuga Resort. Looked decent, nice setting, beach entry a
bit rocky at waters edge, but still nice. But in our opinion, just doesn't
come close to 7MB. We figured we'd be bored out of our skulls staying up
there. Again, some people may love to remote quiet of the east end… just not
our thing. We like to be near the action, and again, no beaches are even close
to comparing 7MB. We then drove out to Rum Point, and planned on spending a
good portion of our day there. When we arrived, the parking lot was
three-quarters full, and the tiny beach area had no chairs left whatsoever.
This is the same thing that happened last time we went to Rum Point - WAY too
crowded. Don't get me wrong, Rum Point is a beautiful setting, but the beach
area is tiny, and there's just not enough room for the crowds. So we decided
to eat lunch there, and head back to 7MB where we could enjoy ourselves. Lunch
was pretty good, we both had grilled Mahi-Mahi and a couple drinks, for US$28
including tip. Nice place to have lunch, but it was time to get away from
that cramped feeling. Sorry to those that rave about Rum Point, we have tried
it twice now, and just can't see the pleasure in being right on top of each
other. Especially when you're not even allowed to use your own cooler because
they force you buy their drinks there!! You can have it - no thanks!! There
was a condo complex right nextdoor called the Retreat, which looked very
nice, but the beach still isn't in the same league as 7MB, so off we went.
Stopped at Eden Rock on our way back and snorkeled again there. Again,
amazing snorkel; tons of fish. Spent rest of the afternoon at our own beach,
and just relaxed and swam. We decided to try the happy hour at Quality Suites
which had a live band and supposedly free appetizers. Well, what a joke that
turned out to be, as their apps were a pan full of cut up hot-dogs in some
weird sauce, and a vegetable tray - that's it. Do they not know they're in
Grand Cayman; sorry, but that was pretty bad. The band was okay, but we
needed real food. Headed to Chicken Chicken! to pick up dinner. US$20 bought
us both dinner, which was good. This place is just like Boston Market in the
states, although I feel Boston Market still is a bit better. No complaints
though, good food for little money!! This was our night to go out and party,
so we headed to Royal Palms after dinner. Got there around 8PM, and sat at the
bar. The band was a lot of fun, and the place was absolutely packed. A lot of
college students down for spring break. Made us feel a bit old, but I guess we
shouldn't complain yet at 35!! I felt bad for the bartenders as we witnessed
student after student buy drinks, and leave no tip. I understand college kids
are not the wealthiest people around, but c'mon guys!! If you can't afford to
tip, then you can't afford to go! What a shame for the bartenders to work so
hard and be treated like that. I'm not saying (ALL) of the college folks did
this, but way too many to count. We did meet several people that night as we
always do at this place, and had a lot of fun. We both had a lot to drink,
and were glad we only had to walk home!! I think we racked up about US$140
just in drinks for the two of us. Yikes - we'll pay for that tomorrow morning!!
Back to the condo we went, not full and tired, but quite buzzed from partying
since 8PM and left around 1AM. Bed here we come!!
Sat 3/23 - Last full day - decided to just do nothing, and just relax all day.
Plus we were a little hung over!! Hung around the pool and beach all morning,
and just napped and swam. We really enjoyed using a floating raft someone else
left behind, and just floating around the ocean or simply in the pool. A great
way to stay cool from the hot sun. Decided to try Eats Café for lunch
in front of the Westin. It ended up being very so-so. I had a Chicken
Caesar wrap, and my wife had a chef salad. Both were average at best. Our
waitress seemed like she didn't know what she was doing and forgot to order
our conch fritters. She was an absolute sweetheart, but maybe she was just
new. Lunch ran US$28 which included tip. After stopping to buy a few rum cakes
to bring home, we headed back to the condo, grabbed the snorkel gear, and
headed over to TI for one last snorkel on their reef. The clarity was awesome
today. And we must of stayed out there close to 2 hours. Tons of fish, a great
snorkel for sure. Spent the rest of the afternoon at TI pool, sipping a few
cocktails at the swim-up bar. Went back to our condo to enjoy our last sunset,
which turned out to be really nice. For dinner, we decided to go back to our
favorite place, The Reef Grill and taste that Sea-bass one more time. As
always, the dinner was perfect. This is the best fish I have ever eaten.
Coming from the Boston area, we have some great seafood, but the Reef Grill's
sea-bass is a meal that must be experienced. It is truly one of the finest
meals you'll have on the island! Keep it up Reef Grill - you guys rock!!
Dinner for two with apps, cost US$92 + tip - worth every penny. After dinner
we went home, dreading our trip home the next day.
Sun 3/24 - Got up around 7AM, and packed our bags, and cleaned up the condo.
Had our last breakfast on the porch still loving that amazing view. Returned
our rental car, and made arrangements with Andy's to drive to the airport
around 2:15. Spent the rest of the day at our pool and beach, soaking up
every last bit of sun we could. Headed inside around 12:30 to clean up, and
grab some lunch before our flight left. We headed next door to the Marriot's
restaurant called the Peninsula. Our last meal on the water. Very nice
setting. Our appetizers were excellent, conch fritters for me, and crabcakes
for my wife. We both ordered a steak wrap sandwich, and sorry we did. This was
by far the worst sandwich I have had just about anywhere. Neither of us could
even bite through the steak it was so tough. I mean this stuff made shoe
leather look like tenderloin!! It was horrible. Oh well, we can't win 'em
all, and we did enjoy most of our meals, so we didn't let it bother us at
all. We had such a wonderful 10 days, not much would of bothered us at this
point, except for the fact that we had to leave. Maybe we just ordered the
wrong thing, so we'll leave it at that. Cost was US$38 including tip. Headed
back to our condo only to find out that our flight which we though was
supposed to leave at 4PM was leaving at 2:50PM. It was now 2:25PM, and we
thought we had no chance of making our flight. Andy's came and picked us up,
we told them how late we were and he drove like a bat out of hell to get us
there. We told the security guard at USAir what flight we were on, and he
escorted us to the front of the ticket line, then proceeded to escort us
through security, and on through customs. We just made our flight with only
minutes to spare!! So in reality, we made it from out condo, through the
ticket counter, through security, through customs, and onto the gate and onto
our plane in about 25 minutes!! Now sure how it all happened, but we made it,
and all flights were on time, and we actually arrived early in Boston that night.
To sum it all up, this vacation was truly amazing. We enjoy ourselves so much
in Grand Cayman, and will return I'm sure. Now that we've done it twice, we
may try something different, but there's no doubt that we'll be back at
some point. A quick recap of things not to miss: Stingray sandbar snorkel
trip, shore snorkel at Eden Rock, Do some diving(anywhere), And our top picks
for restaurants include The Reef Grill, and Smugglers Cove. I can't believe
how much I've typed, hopefully those who read through this report will find
it not only helpful, but enjoyable as well.
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These pages are © Robert Clark, 2004.
Date last updated: 24th May 2004