Day 3 (November 11, 2023): Our First Full Day in Paradise

 Ahhh.... Nothing like pulling the curtains across to see a sunny beach in paradise!  The first full day in the Caymans, and the view did not disappoint.  It was a 7AM rise (as Andy and Nicole are early-early risers, so we had to keep up with the Johnsons!  :-) ).  Having gotten breakfast groceries last night across the street, we started the day with a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, English Muffins, clementines, cereal, juice and coffee on our balcony.

The morning was spent on the resort beach under a palm tree, and then a good long stretch in the water.  Being the east end of the island -- the windward side -- the waves can be strong here.  But today was just perfect, as was the water temperature.

After sandwiches for lunch, we started our drive to he extreme northwest tip of Grand Cayman, to visit one of the island's best-known attractions:  The Cayman Turtle Centre.  So nice to see so many turtles in a protective and reproductive environment, as well as a variety of Cayman birds and sea-life.  They even had a Cayman alligator!  

From the Cayman Turtle Centre, we headed for one of the best-known beaches on the northwest corner of the island:  Cemetery Beach, named so because you have to pass a large cemetery to get to the beach.  It was a perfect way to end the day, as the sun began to go down.

The drive back to the resort was an experience in itself -- and not a good one.  We encountered a two-hour traffic delay, as a truck had hit a power pole which, sadly, claimed the driver's life.  The accident stopped traffic along the only highway connecting the island's western and eastern extremities and took out the power to the eastern end of the island.  

The one-hour drive took three hours and put us back at the resort at 8:15PM.  A little shaken by the whole experience, we topped it all off with a nice beach-side dinner at the resort, took in an exciting night-time electrical storm on the horizon, and enjoyed looking at the constellations before calling it a night.

There were hardly any people on the beach - which was odd for a resort that is apparently sold out.  An empty, quiet beach is just the way we all love it!

The resort's lovely pool.

Feral chickens are EVERYWHERE here, as is the case in many of the Caribbean nations.  One even kept us company on the beach.

Artwork on the resort's beach.

Andy and Dave heading down for their first Caribbean swim.

Enroute to the Island's west end, we passed many cemeteries.  Due to the sand, all the graves are comprised of cement or marble vaults.

And here we are, arriving at the Cayman Turtle Centre!

Turtles, turtles and more turtles -- these were full-grown adults.  The Centre has released over 36,000 turtles into the wild.

The average weight of a full-grown turtle is 300 pounds.  They become adults at age 30!

David and his new friends.

Pam and some adolescent turtles.

The Centre has one intimidating Cayman alligator!

The Centre's grounds were alive with iguanas, too.  We agreed that we would not do well if we had tails like that to manoeuvre!

The Centre also has an aquarium.  Here, too lazy nurse sharks were whiling away the afternoon.

The Centre's aviary had a fine collection of birds, including both white and pink ibis.

Oh those goofy gals!

And oh, the goofy foursome!

We have seen some very interesting street names here.  There is even a Halifax Street, which made us feel at home.  But Hell Road... Hmmm.  Not sure about living on such a street.

This is Cemetery Beach looking south, on Grand Cayman's upper west side.  Cemetery is at the end of the famous Seven Mile Beach (which is actually 5.5 miles long!)  Seven Mile Beach is where the majority of Grand Cayman's hotels and resorts are located.  Every place had trade-offs:  the calm waters of this area come at the expense of being in a tourist mecca.

This is Cemetery Beach, looking north.

Enjoy the calm waters of Cemetery Beach near dusk.

As we literally inched forward in the two-hour traffic jam on the way home, one of the only sights to take in was this 1941 monument to Queen Victoria in Bodden Town.

The menu at the resort's beach restaurant showed PEI mussels!  Imagine!