Good-bye George Town My last full day in Grand Cayman, I spent some time packing and cleaning so Darlene wouldn’t have to do too much after so hospitably offering me sanctuary in her home. Then I decided to go to the library to use the internet and touch base with Michael, who was meeting me in Turks and Caicos the next day. Michael is another world traveler. I met him in 2013. Our paths crossed in a small mom and pop, 7-11 type store in Moalboal, Philippines. I rushed there just before closing to buy four eggs for breakfast the next morning. He was standing at the counter wearing a sharp looking hat, similar to the ones private investigators wear in the movies. I said, “You must be American.” We/I talked as we walked the lane ... read more

Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Gardens It was a regular hot, sultry day when I caught the bus to the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Garden. The fare was only $5 and I saw a lot of Grand Cayman from the window. It was interesting to watch the people, too. They come in all sizes, like on any public transport, and each of them has a story. I make up my own stories if I don’t get to talk to them. I was grateful that the bus took me all the way to the Visitor’s Center, since the driveway must have been at least two miles long. There, in the middle of the parking lot was a living breathing Blue Iguana. I went in the doors and paid the admission fee, and was informed that the Iguana Recovery ... read more

A Generous Gift…A Gracious Hostess Between dives I was still worrying, wondering how I was going to get back into my budget mode. I did some internet searching looking for cheap accommodations in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. I had hoped to dive these other sites as long as I was in the vicinity. However, from the information I could glean, they were even more expensive than Grand Cayman and I finally gave up the idea of diving there. What now? On dive day three our dive boat was staffed by an all women crew; two dive masters and the boat captain. There was another woman diver, Darlene, and the only man on the boat, Ed whom I had dived with the day before. The dives were easy, not confused by multitudes of divers and I ... read more

May 2, 2015 Day one, Grand Cayman I finally booked a hotel in Grand Cayman the night before I left the U.S. It appears the only bargain in the Caribbean is the airfare. The cheapest room I could find on Cayman Island was $125 a night. This really scared me, since I expected to find some budget housing. At least I had a destination on the island and I was sure to find something more reasonable after I arrived. My flight touched down at about noon on Saturday, May 2nd. Check-in was not until 4p.m. so the first order of business was to purchase a sim card for my Verizon phone at the airport but the phone store is closed on Saturdays. I proceeded to get a taxi from the kiosk at the airport and was ... read more

HISTORIC SANTO DOMINGO Dominican Republic We decided to go to the Dominican Republic, on our way down to Puerto Rico, where Michael will be terminating his adventure in the Caribbean. We had two choices of airports in the Dominican Republic. We finally settled on flying into Santo Domingo, the capital city. Michael is very comfortable in big cities and likes to visit a country’s capital. I was happy to take advantage of his experience and broaden my travel skills. We got a hotel right on a busy expressway. It was a comfortable hotel and featured a very nice complimentary breakfast. At my instigation we took a taxi to the university area looking for a vegetarian restaurant…big mistake. The restaurant didn’t exist any longer and the taxi driver, trying to please us, took us to another restaurant ... read more