 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||
|
The Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands Cayman Islands History Cayman Government Offshore Low Tax Cayman Banking Online Casino Grand Cayman Island Cayman Dive & Snorkel Cayman Vacations Cayman Hotels Cayman Weather (live) Cayman Weddings Cayman Sport Cayman Art Cayman Dining Cayman Shopping Cayman Real Estate Cayman Schools Cayman Health Care Cayman One-Day Trip Cayman Transportation Cayman Online Shopping Cayman Useful Links Cayman Plus... Cayman Islands BLOG Cayman Islands Site Map Cayman Islands Articles 1 Cayman Islands Articles 2 Cayman Islands Articles 3 Other Low Tax Islands Bahamas Isle of Man Bermuda |
Vacations in The Cayman IslandsThere are better ways to get a hickey, I think, as I watch fellow divers risk getting nibbled on by the greedy, suction-mouthed stars of Grand Cayman's Stingray CitySwimming about in 12-foot-deep water that provides easy access for even beginning snorkelers, these graceful creatures might look like they know where they're going, but in reality, they're almost blind. Stingrays follow their noses and when they detect the fishy snacks carried by tourists anxious to feed them, they will not be denied.While their barbed tails rarely pose danger to humans - only when the stingrays are stepped on - it's the grinder plates in their mouths that deserve respect. If a stingray mistakes your belly for dinner and locks its lips on you, it will leave behind a contusion not unlike the ones resulting from an evening of teen-age passion. "Do you want to feed them?" signals our divemaster, waving a fistful of squid at me, stingrays in hot pursuit. "No way," I signal back, with a vigorous head shake. But with the sun glistening through translucent blue water, the white sand of the sea bottom billowing slowly beneath my fins, the quiet of my own breathing, the silver bubbles wrapping around our heads -- it all begins to seduce me. And soon I am running my fingertips along the stingrays' velvet underbellies as they swoop by. But while Grand Cayman may offer some of the Caribbean's premiere underwater attractions, I'm not much for diving. Thanks, but no tanks. Stingray City is it for me. My mission in the next few days is to explore Grand Cayman's topside. Instead of using this small slice of earth as a diving board, I want to do the reverse and get inside to understand the place. I'm convinced there must be a world beyond Grand Cayman's famous and beautiful Seven Mile Beach, with its touristic pleasures -- elbow-to-elbow strip malls, fabulous resorts, excellent golf, and delicious local and international dining. The island's motto may be "He Hath Founded It Upon the Seas," but my motto for this trip is "She Will Find It Upon the Land." I just don't know what "it" is yet. |
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
|
I start my search for the real Grand Cayman with a driving tour of the southwestern region. Burton Ebanks, a thirty-something father of one, is my guide. He is my first indication that Caymanians are pleasant and friendly, but their foundations are as strong as the ironwood that pillars their homes. Their backbone is constructed of an inventiveness and self-sufficiency that unites the people and their natural environment with an exceptional respect. As we drive west toward the capital of George Town, past pink-and-red bouganvillea spilling over well-tended gardens and tidy gingerbread-trimmed homes, Ebanks shares the history of his island. Christopher Columbus came across the Cayman Islands on his fourth voyage to the New World. He discovered so many sea turtles that he named the islands "Las Tortugas" (The Turtles), and his hungry sailors feasted on their delicately flavored meat. The islands' name later became Cayman -- from the Spanish word for alligator, another island resident. By the 1700s, Jamaican planters started bringing their families and slaves to Cayman to live. By 1834, former slaves created their own livelihoods, finding tiny oases in the scrub and raising vegetables in small places - coaxing yam and bean vines to crawl up the taller corn and cassava plants. They tended fruit trees and pumpkins, using the trees they cleared for wood to build their homes, ships and furniture. While the women and children farmed, the men became master seamen, bringing fish, mollusks and turtles home to feed their families. Caymanians became known as a people who weren't above taking advantage of sea bounty, even if it was a bounty of a different kind. "Salvage was the law of the sea," Ebanks says, as we look out over the reefs that provide unparalleled diving to today's tourists. "If you ran aground, the locals would help you out, but only in exchange for 50 percent of what they salvaged." Today, a different law rules. "We are a British overseas territory," Ebanks continues. "We have 15 local legislators and our governor is directly appointed by Britain." There's no question that the resourceful Caymanians -- with 600 banks in their legendary offshore banking community - have made the transition to a modern economy in fine style. And it turns out that Ebanks is as inventive in his life as his predecessors were in theirs. In addition to his taxi and tour service, he runs a concierge hotline to help visitors reach the attractions they came to see. And in response to the growing time-share industry, he offers guests a chance to enjoy a real Cayman Islands meal prepared before their eyes in the comfort of their own condo. "It's the true taste of Caymanian-style food," he says proudly. "I want guests to know what the real thing is when they come here - seafood sauteed in coconut milk, rice and peas, fried plantain, homemade potato salads, key lime and coconut pies. It's like dining in a restaurant, except you get enough leftovers for breakfast lunch and dinner." We turn on South Sound Road, skirting the reef-rimmed southern bay. Beautiful and spacious homes line the street in pinks, light blues and tangerines. Caymanians are extremely house-proud and, as a result, their tropical landscaping is charming and very intriguing. I hear the British influence in the lilting accents of the locals - Irish, Scottish and Welsh inflections rounding out the island singsong. Could these house gardens, with their sand foundations and careful ornamental structure, also be a legacy from those perennial potterers, the Brits? We drive into the bustle of George Town, where cruise-ship passengers shop for T-shirts, brown-, black- and red-streaked Caymanite jewelry and duty-free items. This is just the kind of touristy place I had wanted to avoid, so Ebanks takes me straight to the Cayman Islands National Museum, where, he says, I'll learn about the island's culture. The museum is a modest series of rooms filled with glass cases and displays, but the photos of early Cayman life are vivid, as are the descriptions of day-to-day existence. In less than one hour of meandering through the place, I'm enthralled by this inventive, yet practical people who blended their African and British heritage into a prosperous new Caribbean lifestyle. Their eye-catching gardens actually stand tall as a great cultural symbol. The West African slaves brought to Grand Cayman had lived in villages in which the houses surrounded a central compound. They smoothed the dirt and neatly separated workspaces from animal pens and fruit trees. When they arrived in Cayman, they started replicating their former living arrangements, but they used sand instead of dirt and created borders with conch shells. The British added their traditions of beautiful gardens. Soon, Cayman gardeners started planting their sand yards with local flowers. The two cultures, seemingly at odds, met, shook hands and set about making the world a prettier place. Today, while green grass and woodsy landscaping have become more common on the island, some Caymanians are still upholding the tradition of using indigenous plants. And I want to find them. Armed with a few names, a couple of neighborhoods and a hastily purchased booklet, "Gardens, Yards, Pieces and Grounds: The Domestic Places and Spaces of the Cayman Islands," I leave the ever-industrious Burton Ebanks, who is off to cater to his other business. I hop in my car and head for North West Point on the northwest peninsula. On the way, however, I get sidetracked by another mystery. If everyone else in the world has banned turtle hunting, why would Caymanians openly sell turtle meat in stores, serve it in stews, soups and pan-fried in restaurants? As long as it's allowed, I'll eat it -- and it is delicious - but I can't help feeling some residual guilt. Where does it come from? Am I eating a species into extinction? At North West Point, I find the answer. "I'm either the most popular or the most unpopular man in Cayman at Christmas," says Kenneth Hydes, general manager of Cayman Turtle Farm, where 100,000 pounds of turtle meat is produced annually for the local market. If the farm produces enough to satisfy the demands of the holiday season, his countrymen love him. If production falls short, he's in trouble. "Turtle is the national dish," says Hydes as he shows me the breeding pools, incubation areas and the cute baby turtles paddling around the growing tanks warmed by the blinding Cayman sun. "But the green turtle is extremely endangered. The farm eliminates the need for locals to take turtles from the wild." Plus, since 1980, Hydes has released more than 1,500 turtles into the wild each year. "So it's another way we're assisting conservation and that's wonderful," he adds. The other wonderful thing is that the farm, which opened in the late 1960s and has been owned by the government since 1983, wouldn't be financially viable if it weren't for tourism. More than 325,000 visitors come to the farm each year, holding turtles and buying T-shirts and other memorabilia. |
 |
||||||||
| |||||||||
|
[CaRP] Can't open cache file. About Busy Cooks Busy Cooks • Everyday Menus: Roasted Potato Salad 19 Aug 2009 at 8:01pm Roasted Potato Salad is a recipe I created a few years ago. Russet potatoes are roasted with oni... • Wordless Wednesday 18 Aug 2009 at 8:08pm Wordless Wednesday Photo © 2009 Linda Larsen, licensed to About.com, Inc. • Make Ahead Sandwich Spreads 18 Aug 2009 at 10:47am For lunch boxes or summer snacking, make ahead sandwich spreads can't be beat. They are so quick ... • Top 10 Summer Comfort Foods 16 Aug 2009 at 7:57pm Summer deserves some comfort foods too! These are the recipes you long for when the weather is co... • 30 Minute Meals 15 Aug 2009 at 11:48am Meals made in 30 minutes are the answer to 'what's for dinner?' All of these menus use quick and ... • Everyday Menus: Tex Mex Chicken Pasta Salad 12 Aug 2009 at 8:29pm I love this salad, full of flavor, color, and texture. The fresh vegetables, edamame, and tender ... • Top 10 No Bake Cookies 10 Aug 2009 at 9:09pm No bake cookies are the perfect choice for summer, especially these last weeks of summer when the... • Sandwiches, Sandwiches! 8 Aug 2009 at 9:23pm Everybody loves sandwiches! They contain everything you need for a complete meal in a neat little... • Salmon Orzo Salad Menu for $10 5 Aug 2009 at 8:55pm This delicious ten dollar meal is really special enough to serve to company. Cold salads on a hot...
| |||||||||
