Map of Grand Cayman Island - we are staying at Seven Mile Beach area on the western side of this island paradise.
Our decision is to go to the Cayman Turtle Centre which is north of our location. We speak with a doorman about best way to get there? He calls a taxi and the driver quotes $30USD and we know the Public Bus is $2.50USD each. Easy decision to make so we walk a short distance to the main road.
It is about a ten minute drive and the bus is like a van. There isn't really a bus stop and the buses will honk if there are any pedestrians on the side of the road or you wave your hand when you see a public bus van approaching. Pretty casual. We have a coupon to save us 20% off the regular ticket price. We decide on the more expensive all-inclusive price as that gives us access to everything. We want to swim with the turtles! The cost is 72 GC dollars and it would have been 90 GC dollars. We get a blue wrist band to signify we have the all-access package. This is a huge park area with lots to see. Very good pamphlet to help navigate and confirm what shows/feedings at what times.
Pamphlet
Our first stop is the point #1 (Green's Breeding Pond) to watch staff swimming and snorkelling with these gigantic Green Turtles.
Turtle video taken by Lana.
Another Turtle video by Lana.
Yup, another Turtle video by Lana.
A fourth Turtle video by Lana.
Green's Breeding Pond. Only the larger Green Turtles can breed.
Hey, where is the food you promised me?
We wanted to get to #9 Turtle Lagoon as that is the highlight of the visit. You are provided with snorkel gear and a flotation jacket. We find the bathrooms and change into our swimsuits. It is a huge lagoon with young Green Sea Turtles and various reef fish with some in schools. It is a saltwater lagoon with lots of algae suspended in the water. Fortunately, we got there before the hordes of other tourists and families. You could get pretty close to the turtles and reef fish. In fact, I patted some of the turtles that I could reach.
Turtle Lagoon where you swim with the turtles and the fish.
Lana needs time to get used to the snorkel mask and the tube for breathing. She takes her time getting used to it and then goes at her own pace. There are some very deep parts of the lagoon, but she took her time and make it across to the shallower sections. She tries to cling to the walls, but a lifeguard cautions her as the sides are living animals/plants. The water is warm and it was a totally memorable experience. Good exercise as well. When we are finished we return to the changing room/showers to get cleaned up and back into our regular clothes. Lots more to see here.
Walked short distance to the Predator Reef pool for the feeding of the two large Nurse Sharks. In the pond are more large turtles and some very large fish. Huge crowd watching as we are all curious about sharks.
Nurse Shark feeding. Very large sharks which are relatively harmless with humans.
Off visiting a number of other smaller pools where you can interact with the smaller turtles quite easily. Different varieties of turtles as well.
The instructions for petting turtles are to use two fingers only.
We arrive very early before the 11:45 feeding of the Cayman Crocodile. This occurs only once a week so we are in luck. This saltwater crocodile is named "Smiley". Apparently when the first white people settled the Grand Cayman there were hundreds of crocodiles, but they killed them off. By the 1950s there were no longer any crocodiles. When they did the DNA sampling of Smiley she was a mix of two different crocodiles.
Smiley's habitat. She is behind the fencing and on her legs.
It is feeding time!
Hey, I am waiting here for some food!
No messing with me here as this is my pool!
It was worth the wait for the feeding of Smiley. She was not moving very fast which is quite common for crocodiles. The handler gets into the cage and gets Smiley into the pool and then closes the gates. He tries to feed her green iguana and some fish. She was not hungry though. Watched some more turtle feedings and got pretty close to the turtles.
We departed and Lana was confident she knew where the free shuttle pick up was. There was a place across the street in the wrong direction. No shuttle van so I talked her into just taking the Public Bus that was passing by. Problem in that he immediately pulled a u-turn. He did eventually make it to our resort destination so all good. On arriving at the resort, we were hoping our new room would be ready. Nope! Our luggage was out of the room though. We were famished and needing lunch so we went to the poolside bar.
Randy orders a Stella Artois. Very hot day with the bright sunshine. The food was pretty good. Lana left the bar to check on our room readiness, but still not ready. We decide to look for some beach chairs and that was not easy. After I change into my swimsuit I approach the lady providing the beach towels for resort guests. For whatever reason she is super negative on giving me two towels. I indicate we don't have a room number yet, but that doesn't help. I tell her I will just go see the hotel manager and then she immediately gives me two towels. Plan is for Lana to go to her spa appointment early for a steam bath and cold shower.
Poolside bar lunches:
Smoked fish dip appetizer.
Our entree of Tuna Poke.
I will stay at the beach and swim. Lana returns to indicate our room is now available: Room 103. She needed to prioritize this with the manager. She then heads to her 90 minute spa treatment and I will be swimming and lounging. Around 16:00 I head to our new room. Shower and watch a Mexican league soccer match.
The SAP welcome reception begins at 18:00. I update our journal in paper and send our pics via email. We arrive around 18:30 to the reception located on the beach. Take off your footwear. Live music Caribbean style. Open bar, buffet tables and a dessert table. Socialize with Dan, his wife Rebecca, Markus, his wife Nicole and 13 year old son Felix. Plus, Jana and Nitin. The food was really good with a varied selection. We did sit with Lana's SAP team. We left around 20:30 and it is still warm at 27 degrees Celsius.
Lot of smiling going on here.
Markus, son Felix and wife Rebecca
When we returned to our room there was a gift box on the bed. It was for Maui Jim sunglasses to select the following day by the poolside. Lana had some anxiety before tonight's SAP event, but it all went very well. A Flyboard guy put on a pretty exciting show. At the end of the night we watched an episode of Married at First Sight.
Flyboard guy high in the sky and all lit up.
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