|
|
|
|
Cayman Islands:
The flag of the Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands Crest or Coat of Arms Note the turtle on top. Not representative of the pace of the island now as Cayman is a hub of financial and tourist activity. The turtle is left over from the days when turtle were plentiful in the area, in fact so plentiful that the Islands were called Las Tortugas by the sailors of old. Current News for the Cayman Islands News link 2
The Turtle connection: Cayman once supplied turtles to the sailing ships as fresh meat for the crew. The turtles would be loaded onboard and flipped on their backs where the would stay alive until needed. Ultimately this and general consumption, depleted the number of turtles in the waters around the island. A commercial endeavor was started in the late 60s to attempt to raise turtle as a meat source, but failed due tot the prohibition of importing endanger species for consumption into markets such as the USA. It now is operated for the purpose of release to the wild and supplying the local market. The turtle farm is open to the public for tours where depending in the season you may see new born with the egg sacks still attached all the way up to the large breeding stock. The turtles are kept in pens that are circulated with fresh water pumped in from the crystal clear water that is just off shore from the farm. This pen development came out of necessity. In the early days of the farm was located in a back water location in the north sound with little fresh flow of water. The turtles were kept in floating square pens that were passively filled with the surrounding water. Painting the turtles with an anti biotic to prevent infection or death was a constant chore all day long. It finally occurred to some of the employees that the perhaps the water in the pens was not flushing all the waste and unconsumed foods out of the pens. This problem was solved by creating pens that were circular with water pumped in to circulate. The bottom was cone shaped with a meshed opening in the bottom which allowed the waste to escape. The turtles improved and eventually cleaner waters was pumped in from the beach. This ultimately lead to relocating the turtle farm to is current location near a source of the crystal clear water that Cayman is famous for. They now swim in huge concrete pens that mimic the smaller floating cone pens. Nowadays the turtles are fed with a special turtle chow that has been developed just for them. The feed came from both trial and error and scientific analysis. There was a time when dog chow was tried as a food but it gave the turtles intestinal gas that caused them to float head down and then they had to be rescued to prevent drowning. See the Turtle Farm if you have the opportunity. Check out
http://www.turtle.ky/history.htm See contributors for picture permission
The night life is extremely enjoyable and there seems to be no division of age in the night clubs. You will find persons of all ages dancing together to the rhythm of the calypso, meringue, and the reggae. These genres of music just make you want to dance . The beat surges through you and some parts begin to sway and before you realize it you have shed your stiff exterior and you are bumping and grinding your way across the dance floor. Let's just hope that you have someone with you, but if not, and you are not attached to anyone, feel free to ask someone, anyone. Everyone who has been in Cayman for some time knows that to be asked to dance by a total stranger is the norm. Your mate or child may be asked and that is OK the dancing part, but mind you Caymanians, especially the men consider their selves to be the appointed goodwill ambassadors to all visitors and will do whatever it takes to entertain you. You may want to limit just how much activity those that you are responsible for are permitted to enjoy. We are not talking danger here, but just the possibility of some emotional confusion. It is easy to fall in love in Cayman. Dining can be an experience on it's own. It is not necessary to find the 5 star establishments of which there are a few, but you should seriously consider finding an out of the way eatery, one that may be in the kitchen of a private home or under a Seagrape tree. The best island dishes are still prepared by the local folks and offered in a clean yet humble surroundings. Most anyone will be willing to help you in locating just this type of place and may have a favorite dish that they would like you to discover. Some choices may include Goat dinner, turtle, or beef dinner (the connotation "dinner" means it's a complete meal with breadkind (vegetables) usually breadfruit, rice, cassava, pumpkin etc.) or maybe something as simple as a patty or bollard, cheese and orange juice. These meals may sound a little different than you are used to but they have sustained the Cayman people for the last 3 plus hundred years and look how they turned out. A fine breed of people, a mixture of several races. Boating comes in many forms and there should be some sort of boating in your itinerary. You will find Glass bottom boats that allow you to see what the divers enjoy with out having to go overboard, or you may want to go deep sea fishing. Wahoo and Marlin are the fish of choice for the fishing boats but you may catch a Barracuda or one of the other many species that abound in these waters. One of the more enjoyable boating activities is a day excursion, where you go out with an experienced guide who will take you to do some snorkeling or other activity and will fix you a fine lunch. A very relaxing time. For those that want a more hyper day on the water you can go jet skiing, water skiing, Para-sailing, wind surfing or even kite surfing. If keeping dry under the water is what you want, then a submarine may be in your future. There are a couple of different submarine voyages that you can take, and even cruise one of the sunken ships off Georgetown. Cayman was once inhabited by pirates and salvagers, The old folks tell the tales of treasure lost. Some in the water, some buried, and some in caves. If you find treasure let us know. Caves in Cayman and Cayman Brac have not been exploited and may provide thrill for those that are like minded. Most of the cave are very short, but legend has it that the Spots cave is over three miles long but was blocked by the storm of 1932. The iron shore or cliff lands are riddled with many caves, some of the entrances obscured by vegetation or rocks. You may have to look in small crevasses that would appear to lead nowhere just to find an entrance. if you like caving check out our caving pages. Bring your camera as the Islands have not only unusual rock formations but offer many opportunities to practice your hand at Photography. Great sunsets and sunrises, Flowers both in yards and in the wild. You can stop in to almost anyone's yard and they will be glad to give you the history of a particular feature and maybe even pose for you. Be sure to visit the Botanical Gardens on the Northside road and ogle the nearly extinct blue Cayman Iguanas. Likewise Bird Watching will be rewarding as the Cayman parrot is found only in the Caymans and you will find that many birds of the islands have different name than you may be used to or they may be slight variation of the more common varieties. You will probably find yourself immersed in the local life and will by no doubt realize that quite a different dialect may pass between two Caymanians conversing. Sure you will pick up most of what they are saying because the true Caymanian language has become diluted by the influx of foreigners in the island. See our Caymanian language page. Immigrating to Cayman is not as easy as it once was. That is not to say that if you have a skill that is in demand on the Island you wouldn't be able to get a work permit but first you must be sponsored by an prospective employer and they must be able to prove that they were unsuccessful in obtaining local help to fill the need. Marrying is not a sure ticket into the island although it would be taken in consideration especially for a foreign woman marrying a Caymanian man but not the other way around. Some Useful Links: The "World Factbook" on the Cayman Islands is compiled by the CIA and gives you statistic that may be useful. See all the Activities we currently feature and see what is yet to come.
We are adding content everyday so check back often. Please become a contributor. See contributors |
|
Click here to make wut2c.com your homepage About wut2.com Advertise with us Link to Us Contact us Report Errors Job Opportunities Legal Copyright
|
![[Top button]](../../images/Buttons-bullets/go_top_btn.gif){kind=small}
Go to top