As the edge of the sun's golden rays dipped into the Caribbean Sea, we kicked back on the beach and drew a deep breath of warm tropical air for the first time that day. It had been a whirlwind of a trip to get there, but it had been worth it. Just 48 hours earlier, the two of us - Christi and Michael - "volunteered" to spend five days in
the heart of the western Caribbean on Grand Cayman Island. Our co-workers Liz and Ellie realized at the last minute they couldn’t make their scheduled trip to the Cayman Islands for the tourism showcase forum scheduled Aug. 8 through 13. When Michael heard they were canceling, he "offered" to go. Christi overheard Michael's offer and piped in, "Hey, I'll go
too!" Two days later, we were on our way.
Our original plan had us flying out of Boston with a five-hour layover in Miami, but when our connecting flight arrived in Miami 14 minutes early, we realized there was a slight chance we could make Cayman Air's early flight. The attendant at the Cayman Air desk called ahead to let the flight team know there were "runners on the way!" and we dashed through the
terminals with our luggage whistling along behind us. We managed to get to the gate just as they were closing it and Jahairia, our contact from the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, personally escorted us onto the flight.
By late afternoon Wednesday - five hours earlier than we had expected and a little steamier than usual - we were kicking back in beach chairs enjoying cold Stingray beers. Now we were ready to make some footprints on the big "foot" of the Caymans.
Grand Cayman is shaped like a footprint, with the heel planted 120 miles off the southwest shore of Cuba and the toes stretching west toward Central America. The island is 22 miles long and eight miles wide with a flat landscape that rises only 60 feet above sea level. Divers the world around treasure what's below the Cayman Islands' sea level. Grand Cayman, which is
actually the summit of an underwater mountain, is a diver's Mecca. Reef, wreck and wall diving in brilliant, clear waters with 100-foot visibility is the activity on the island, and divers from around the world flock to the Caribbean for just that. Stunning coral gardens, colorful schools of fish, mysterious caves and historic shipwrecks are all on the diver's menu of
"must sees."
We arrived with several days of pre-arranged activities and never got a chance to dive. This helped us to appreciate just how much Grand Cayman has to offer non-divers.
Christi and Michael
