Alrighty… a little history bout where we are, the Cayman Islands…. Christopher Columbus discovered Little Cayman in 1503 because of a wayward wind. The Cayman Islands are a British overseas territory and still have a colonial Governor appointed by Britain. It is located sorta southwest of Cuba. Grand Cayman is the largest of the three islands…get this, only about 76 sq miles and is 22 miles long. They took awhile to develop tourism due to MOSQUITOES! The vast number of them were so severe that it was almost impossible to go out at night without smoke pots to ward the bugs off. We even read of accounts where cattle were being suffocated by swarms of mosquitoes blocking their nostrils (UGH). But, the “mosquito Research and Control Unit” has reduced the problem enormously…Funny thing, the literature we see doesn’t tell us how…. Me thinks, chemicals… but who knows?.... And it’s flat, flat, flat… Hurricane Ivan destroyed so much of the island in 2004… When we drove today, we saw a few homes that were never rebuilt. Enough of that…
Drove to the Queen Elizabeth Botanical Gardens, which is also home to the few ‘Blue Iguana’... The species is endangered and they are attempting to keep them going in this special botanical area. The Queen herself came for the grand opening a few years ago. We walked around for about a mile in the hot, hot, hot muggy weather. We managed to get a bridge picture, saw some Blue Iguana’s walking on the paths… and best of all, we all ‘glistened’ in the warmth…Then off to Rum Point… fun lunch and tried to get a picture to send into the TNT for the publication showing us holding the paper… we shall see… We were suppose to swim with the Sting Rays… BUT… it’s sounding like there is going to be some wind whipping up the water, so we had to cancel that… Dang… but, none of us want to get seasick! The gentleman we talked to said from the looks of the forecast, no boats will really be going out in that area. We shall see!
Just a few tiny plants!Drove to the Queen Elizabeth Botanical Gardens, which is also home to the few ‘Blue Iguana’... The species is endangered and they are attempting to keep them going in this special botanical area. The Queen herself came for the grand opening a few years ago. We walked around for about a mile in the hot, hot, hot muggy weather. We managed to get a bridge picture, saw some Blue Iguana’s walking on the paths… and best of all, we all ‘glistened’ in the warmth…Then off to Rum Point… fun lunch and tried to get a picture to send into the TNT for the publication showing us holding the paper… we shall see… We were suppose to swim with the Sting Rays… BUT… it’s sounding like there is going to be some wind whipping up the water, so we had to cancel that… Dang… but, none of us want to get seasick! The gentleman we talked to said from the looks of the forecast, no boats will really be going out in that area. We shall see!
Jerry, Jillian and Maryanne
This nest on this limb was about 4 feet long... no idea what it was....
After our adventure at the Gardens, we drove on to Rum Point... had a great meal... Ended up our server was from Vancouver, Canada...
Nice view from the table we were at... looking across to the Sound...
Jillian and Maryanne taking a dip in the ocean before cleaning up for dinner....
Really warms my day! Beautiful pics!! Enjoy!
ReplyDeletejudy
Looks wonderful! Great wildlife, i'll share with the kids :) I wonder if you are spending your whole trip in this small spot? Looking at Google maps, neat to see where you are in relation to mom & dad in Haiti- can you see them way over there if you just look past Jamaica?! Looking forward to seeing you at home next week!!
ReplyDeleteEm....I actually have thought about them quite a bit.... almost feeling guilty to be here be lazy, while they are in Haiti doing some good stuff! I just looked for them, but alas, I can't see anything but water...
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