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Published: January 27th 2009
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Tortuga Ho!
The last two days had been rather pleasant aboard with not too much rolling of the ship and calmer seas but last night there was much more motion and as we approached the island they seemed to be firing the bow thrusters with the effect of jerking the ship around. So despite a late night we both woke up feeling a bit dehydrated around 7:45AM, much too early for a vacation. As Jennifer got ready, I saw we were approaching land so I jetted for the bow which was still as howlingly windy as it had been the night before. I snapped some pictures which I will post when it does not cost a ridiculous 55 cents a minute to use the internet.
When I returned we noticed the first of the tenders jetting off back to Georgetown with passengers aboard so yet again the Guest Services desk on the ship gave inaccurate information - the other piece of information being that they did not provide shampoo and conditioner for free. So we rushed Bob and April to get breakfast while a grunt from Chris said he was going to join us later.
Georgetown
Not a
Forward Cabins
Not a bad situation all things considered. particularly attractive town by any account, the approach does not show well with a mish-mash of structures on the waterfront from cargo cranes to buildings that barely seem to meet code and an array of small boats. We got into town in advance of our excursion with the hopes of doing something interesting in town but there is absolutely nothing to do there. Today was National Heroes Day so we got to see a ceremony and also the Governor of the former British colony . . . a squirrely little chap with a colonial-looking blue jacket and tan fedora. This meant that everything in town was shut down save for the shops targeting tourists. In short, there are a lot of banks here and a lot of tourist shops, usually selling luxury perfumes and collectibles.
The Excursion
Despite the fact that our excursion occurred only a stone’s throw away from the pier and what is the harbor of Georgetown, we had a great time paddling out on ocean kayaks first to Cheeseburger Reef and then to a wreck closer in. We debated on what Cheeseburger Reef was named for, and our guide, Kevin, indicated that it was named
Overlooking the Forecastle
Georgetown, Grand Cayman in all her glory. so because a Burger King was built on the shore in front of the reef and so the name stuck. Great. The wreck is from a 1931 sinking of a ship, the details of which I cannot remember. In any event on our snorkeling we saw some 5 foot Tarpon, a foot-long Barracuda, a Cuttlefish (same family as squid and nautili) and a variety of small reef fish as shown in the pictures. We were in about 20 feet of water, maybe some 300 yards from the famed Wall, a 6000 foot drop to the ocean floor, renowned for great scuba diving.
Jennifer was doing less crazy ivans than when we were in Harbor Island, guess this wreck was less spooky.
Off to Jamaica
We returned to the ship and we more or less collapsed from exhaustion and slept for a couple of hours, waking up not feeling much more rested. We had dinner again in Swan Lake, more of the same stuff, not bad.
We then went a watched a show in the theatre called Love and Marriage like the TV show which was exciting only for the questions to the guys about the ladies
National Heroes Day on Grand Cayman
All the banks and government offices were closed and this ceremony was hosted with what seemed like all the islanders attending except for shopkeepers. and then got to be pretty boring when the women were being asked questions about the men. Not as good as the hypnotist from Marco Island in my opinion.
The sea is much rougher tonight making it difficult to walk in a straight line the ship is rolling so much. It might make for an unpleasant night, but I hope we get a good rest for our visit to Ocho Rios tomorrow.
We’ll put another update out tomorrow!
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Ginger Ebanks
non-member comment
WOW
wow thanx for being at the National Hero's day did you enjoy your time in Grand Cayman? I sang the National song and sang the special for the day while my best Friend accompanied by my side. Did you get to hear the person singing wind beneth my wings?