i’m back in the michigan cold after enjoying three full days in the cayman islands with joe. while it was technically for work we managed to have a good time and enjoy all that the island had to offer. i thought i would take a bit and spill all the details about where we went and what we ate.
when you head to the grand cayman be prepared to spend some money. the exchange rate does not favor the USD and things are very expensive all things considered. we stayed at the ritz carlton which is where our conference was and it was about $20 USD for a cocktail. The breakfast buffet was about $45/person but you can order off the menu. in fact that is what we did each morning. a $12 breakfast smoothie or bowl of oatmeal with toasted coconut was all i needed to fill me up in the morning. this was the case as well when we stayed at the westin in previous visits.
the first night we arrived to the hotel and headed to the restaurant calypso, mainly for the sticky toffee pudding. everyone who told us that they had the best.. they were right. it was phenomenal. it was about a $20 cab ride each way to get to the restaurant which was pretty much the fare anywhere you wanted to go on the island that was not within walking distance. there is a great restaurant across the from calypso too called catch. we wet there on our last visit. we each got a different version of the caribbean lobster and it was fantastic.
the next day we decided to head in to georgetown before hitting the beach the rest of the day. we walked around all the jewelry and souvenir shops. if you are shopping for jewelry… caymans has it all. i am a huge fan of the brand EFFY jewelry and they have an entire store of just EFFY. they are really unique diamond and gemstone jewelry. everything is guaranteed and you can verify the price of most pieces on their website. we went on a day where there was only two cruise ships in the harbor so nothing was that busy. PS. travel tip if you are jewelry shopping and they offer you a beverage go for it. we had such a blast shopping and sipping in the heat. we found a great little ruby pendant at effy. ruby is otto’s birthstone and it was perfect that it was in the shape of the heart. after our jewelry shopping we went off in search of lunch. we were on our way to casanova for lunch when we found a little side dock next to the fish market. they had a waterfront deck, a dj and a tent. we decided to park ourselves there for 2 hours. laughing, sipping and eating fish that was literally caught right in front of us. best part? the prices were (cayman) cheap haha. meaning drinks were $10 not $20. our fish tacos were $12 not $42. it’s only open for lunch and the entire port closes down at 5pm. the bar i believe was called cabana. it’s a small sign right next to casanova.
the rest of the day we spent by the pool and instead of going out for dinner we all chipped in for pizza poolside. i mean you can’t beat watching the stars with a bucket of corona and pizza with friends by the ocean front pool. we even saw a huge shooting star!
the next day we met up bright and early with the conference group for a day of snorkeling and swimming with the stingrays. i’m not going to lie i was not a fan of jumping in to the ocean with stingrays but i’m glad i did. it was so cool! you are standing on a sandbar in the ocean with 2-3 foot sting rays swimming peacefully beside you. the guides catch them so you can pet them and you… how many times are you going to get to to that? we then continued on snorkeling amongst the coral before heading to a beach side restaurant for lunch. after that we swung by starfish point and walked around the shore finding live starfish everywhere! it was so much fun.
we got back to the resort around 3pm and finished the day up kayaking with the clear bottom boats and zipping around on the catamarans.
we got dressed and headed out to dinner at the grand old house restaurant. it was STUNNING. the floors and walls are all original to the 1909 home. we ate outside in the large deck overlooking the water. they have a huge wine and bourbon selection (what they’re known for). at 6 and 9pm they feed the tarpin fish and sharks right off the deck. They have lights shining into the water so you can see everything. it was wild!
the final day we had our meetings but squeezed in a bit of pool and beach time. we headed to the beach party hosted by our conference group at the caymans. they had huge globe lights on the beach, a live band and great food.
we headed home the next morning. it was short and sweet and definitely worth heading to check out!
