Grand Cayman

Grand Cayman is one of a group of three islands that make up the Cayman Islands. For our side trip here, we chose a tour which was to take us sightseeing along the coast, then to the Cayman Turtle Farm, then to a sandbar on the north end of the island to swim with the stingrays! When I first heard about the latter part of this tour, I was sure there must be some mistake ~ everyone knows that stingrays are vicious predators that have a lethal sting, right? Wrong!! When we arrived at the sandbar, there were a couple of hundred very large stingrays swimming among the tourists. Bonnie and I got out of the boat and started walking in the 4' water. My first encounter was when a huge ray circled my legs, much like a cat. After that, I got the surprise of my life when a large ray crawled up my stomach until it was level with my face, then looked straight into my eyes. While the ray and I were having a staring contest, another was crawling up my back and a third was brushing against my right arm! At the end of the day, we had come to the conclusion that stingrays are very much misunderstood by the public. They are actually very gentle creatures, not to be feared, much like a huge but gentle puppy. I could go on and on about this experience, but if you click here or on the following pair of stingrays, you'll learn everything you ever wanted to know about swimming with the stingrays!

The best stingray pictures would obviously be taken underwater, but unfortunately my camera was not made for underwater photography. In any event, enjoy the pictures!

(Click on picture to enlarge)

	Ships in the port.		The governor's house.	The oldest house on the island.
Sea turtle breeding farm.			They won't bite!	We were told they like having their legs pulled!
Next to the turtle farm, delicious cakes!		Hell is a real town, but it's less than an acre in size.
	Hellish rock formations!			On our way to swim with the stingrays.
	Simon, the boat's captain and tour guide.	Our ship on the left, seen across Grand Cayman.	We're approaching the stingray's sandbar (wow, beautiful water!).	Closer.
Swimming with the stingrays.	Look closely, you'll see a few black shapes under the water.	Simon is in the center of the photo in the dark red hat, he is holding a stingray.	A happy stingray camper!