Wow and wow again!

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Not only did our wildlife list expand today, it did it with serious style. We dropped anchor at 7 o'clock this morning just off George Town, the capital of Grand Cayman, one of the British West Indies. That meant we got a fun ride ashore in one of the ship's lifeboats and then we killed time meandering around the shops. And Grand Cayman is famous for being a tax free island so it is a haven for jewellery shoppers. I actually managed to resist all temptations to buy but I have indulged in a fabulous trying on day. At one point I had a diamond and emerald bracelet around my wrist that had a price tag of $39,500.00! That's well on the way to paying for two round the world cruise tickets so I didn't take too much persuading from Richard to put the bracelet back. But it was a lot of fun to try it on.

And then, late morning, we got on a bus for a ride to the other end of the island. Which isn't really saying much as the entire thing is only 8 miles wide and 22 miles long. It's not exactly blessed with any mountain ranges either as the highest point on the island is just 60 feet above sea level. But our destination was a beautiful big sailing catamaran which we boarded for a 45 minute trip out to a sand bar. When we got there we dropped anchor and after a quick briefing, we were allowed to step down into just 3 to 4 feet of water. Clear, turquoise, sparkling, very warm (80F) water and as soon as we got in, we were surrounded by dozens of sting rays. They are the most amazing creatures. The males are quite small: only about 18" across their wing tips and they tend to stay low in the water. But they do have a remarkable feature: they have two penises!! The females on the other hand are staggering: about 5 feet across their wing tips and they love coming up to the surface where they brush against you in search of either some food or a cuddle. They are so incredibly soft and they love to be held in your arms and to have their tummies, their wings and their noses rubbed. We even managed to kiss one of the largest females. The good news is we had an under-water photographer with us so managed to get an amazing set of photos. And both Richard and I are grinning from ear to ear in every picture. We really thought the alligators in the Everglades were special but we only got to look at them. Thank goodness! But with the rays, we really engaged with them and spent the best part of an hour playing with them. They are totally comfortable in the company of humans and they certainly made today the most engaging holiday trip we've ever done.

From the sand bar we enjoyed a wonderful sail back to the marina and the breeze meant you weren't really aware of the 86 degree heat in the sun. On the road back to the ship, the driver had to keep swerving over the road to miss running over lots of blue iguanas. Makes a refreshing change from squirrels!

Back near the ship we found a guy selling fresh coconuts so he lopped the top off and we drank the fresh coconut water from the middle and then he split it open for us so we could scoop out the lovely white fruit. I now know the coconut we buy in England is not really fresh as this was soft, creamy and not at all fibrous.

And because we skipped lunch today, tonight was the first time we've actually been hungry since we left Reading! We have dinner companions now who are all going right round the world: two Norwegians who speak pretty good English and two Phillipinos who have lived in the US for 40 years. Amelia gave in to the jewellery temptation today and wore her lovely new platinum, diamond and Alexandrite ring to dinner this evening. It's green in the day time and changes to a deep purple red in the evening. How does it know what the time is? Whatever the trick, it's a very pretty thing.

Hope all is well with all of you. It certainly is here on board the Queen Elizabeth.

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Comments

[Jane & Mike Oaten]

Looks like a blast!!
Really enjoying reading your exploits along the way. Its a fantastic journey and look forward to more. XXXX