I'm horrible about doing trip reports once I get home, so decided I'd post along the way! Hopefully this will benefit those of you who haven't been to GC and amuse those of you who frequent or live on the island!
We arrived evening of June 26...we flew in from DFW via IAH on Continental (all of the Continental folks at DFW were AWESOME...those at IAH a little grumpier) and are staying 2 weeks at Morritt's Tortuga and 1 week at The Reef. We rented a small car from Andy's (across the street from the airport and nice to work with!) I've found they have the best rates.
Thought I knew where to go...made a wrong turn...had to ask directions...but finally made it to the East End - boy, the roundabouts make me nervous!
As my hubbie was checking in, I headed to Fosters just down the street from Morritt's for some food! Check in was easy and I found Fosters to be so convenient and had lots of choices! Sort of like a small version of the Neighborhood Walmart.
Our unit is a 1 bedroom - 1st floor - pool view (okay bushes view ;)). It is clean and pretty - it's a timeshare and it is nothing fancy. The website says no hair dryer or iron...but it has both and the safe is large enough for my laptop. There were no ice cube trays - but I called the front desk and within a half hour they delivered more than what I asked for!
We're planning on doing mostly shore diving...and a few boat dives sprinkled in!
When we were here in 2002 our favorite dive site was Turtle Reef...so that's where we headed to yesterday.
The weather so far has been sort of overcast, and thunderstorms the 1st night.
Turtle Reef -
This is such an easy shore dive...stepping down a ladder like going into a swimming pool!
Our 1st dive was 67 minutes (with 1000# left), max depth 56', average 43' - we headed to the mini-wall and went to the left past all of the beautiful Tarpon...I do Reef surveys focusing on the small and larger fish fish - not the tiny ones (gobbies, blennies, etc) and had 51 species identified. There are so many of the tiny ones, but I don't know well enough to id...for some reason they won't stand still long enough to check for all the identifying marks!:D
We went in about noon - earlier in the day there was current - none now! My favorite fish from this dive - aside from the Tarpon, was a small Queen Triggerfish in a large hole on the way to the wall. The visibility was a little down because of the rain I mentioned earlier.
Water temperature 82F - according to my dive computer.
Our inbetween time...had a great chicken avocado sandwich and garden salad - quite tasty!!!
2nd dive - 65 minutes (with 900# left), max depth 68', average 39'...next time we'll do this one first since it is a tad deeper! :shocked2:
We liked the dive to the right better...I don't know, seemed a little healthier? Fish - 55species including 2 Nassau grouper, a lobster out of his hole, and a large octupus (based on his beak size) in his hole!
Obviously water - same temperature - but I should have put my shorty skin on over the long sleeve skin I was wearing - I was a little cool by the end of the dive.
TROUBLES...my husband wanted to try out his new camera - Canon PowerShot G-10 with an Ikelite DS 51...BUT prior to getting into the water we figure out the flash ISN'T working!!! :confused: He had played and played with his camera, but hadn't set the strobe up and tried it out!
BLESSING...So on the way back to the EastEnd he runs into SunSet and asks a lady exactly where Cathy Church's shop is - it's Cathy Church!! (It is 4:45ish - they close at 5.) She was AWESOME...she diagnosed the problem - the cable that goes from the flash to the housing was bad!!! YEA CATHY - fortunately she had the cable!(Although IKELITE doesn't want her to carry parts because their stuff doesn't break - or some other just as odd reason!)
So...Lord willing there will be pictures!
OH MY...we did need to get groceries ... we're here 3 wks - so we cook on vacation ... I don't cook very little during the school year - and by cooking in I can dive more! :blinking:
So we stopped at Foster's by the airport - what was I thinking - Saturday evening - they're closed on Sunday. Everyone on the island MUST have been there! Yes, I know there are other locations - but, this just seemed so convenient. Getting into the parking lot and finding a parking spot was a trip in and of itself!
It took an hour...the produce section and meats was the most crowded! Egads! But once I had my groceries I only had to wait for one person in front of me. I think every check out lane was open...hmmm, that doesn't happen at home!!! Next time - different grocery store...if the parking lot is a zoo DON'T GO THERE!
Cayman has changed...I don't remember people honking so much! No, not at me, well only in the Foster's parking lot!!
more to come...love to hear questions or SUGGESTIONS!
billinwilliamston
June 29th, 2009, 10:48 AM
Thanks for the report. You might want to try the newer Fosters in Savannah, it's on the way to Morritt's from town. Are you by the pool bar pool or the other one?
Have a great time.
txteachers
June 29th, 2009, 11:35 AM
Thanks for the report. You might want to try the newer Fosters in Savannah, it's on the way to Morritt's from town. Are you by the pool bar pool or the other one?
Have a great time.
By the pool bar
2nd day diving...
Hey great deal...DiveTech is only charging $5 CI per tank...nitrox or air!!! WOW!!! This is through December.
We stopped at DiveTech's new location to dive Lighthouse - but there was quite a bit of current so headed to Cobalt Coast. You can set up a tab at one place and it works for both places!
Everyone again - kind and helpful.
Almost as easy as turtle reef...just a little bit long of a walk with you tank. BUT I'm not complaining a bit and we'll be back out there again!
It is a little bit of a swim out to the 1st bouy - but no big deal. The diving was beautiful...Queen Trigger, Tiger Grouper and we reported a Lionfish!
Lots of fish - a few species fewer than Turtle - but more medium to large fish. The first dive quite a few Baracuda and Blue Runners. Also saw some Hamlets - which hadn't seen at Turtle...
barbsharpe
June 29th, 2009, 06:03 PM
Thank you for posting. We are headed there in 3 weeks and shore diving is our fav. We haven't tried Cobalt Coast except on a boat dive. Must try them....look forward to reading all your post! Thanks!:D
scubadada
June 29th, 2009, 09:23 PM
Hey txteachers,
You must really like to drive, distance to Turtle Reef and either of Divetech's spots is not trivial. Is there some reason you're not doing any local diving except to avoid boats? I've been to Cayman 8 times in the last dozen years with almost 150 dives, few things I'd like to do more than dive off the East end.
Good diving, Craig
txteachers
June 29th, 2009, 11:32 PM
Just avoiding the boats...$$$...
billinwilliamston
June 30th, 2009, 10:00 AM
Hey txteachers,
You must really like to drive, distance to Turtle Reef and either of Divetech's spots is not trivial. Is there some reason you're not doing any local diving except to avoid boats? I've been to Cayman 8 times in the last dozen years with almost 150 dives, few things I'd like to do more than dive off the East end.
Good diving, Craig
At the risk of speaking for someone else, the shore diving on the East End is a little less civilized than that available in town.
Dove Lighthouse Wall yesterday...okay didn't go all the way to the wall, but did the reef prior to getting to the wall. Was a bit of a current...and dive buddy didn't want to go to the wall, the dive was still super!! I did start to feel the current at the end of the dive.
The dive site is marked well for those who are directionally impaired.
Species not seen previously - Yellow Ray and Puddingwife
2nd dive we went up to Cobalt Coast. Species not seen previously - Round Scad
I'll work on getting the pictures posted...but right now the files are too big...any suggestions on easily getting them to a good posting size would be super!!!
billinwilliamston
June 30th, 2009, 02:06 PM
Dove Lighthouse Wall yesterday...okay didn't go all the way to the wall, but did the reef prior to getting to the wall. Was a bit of a current...and dive buddy didn't want to go to the wall, the dive was still super!! I did start to feel the current at the end of the dive.
The dive site is marked well for those who are directionally impaired.
Species not seen previously - Yellow Ray and Puddingwife
2nd dive we went up to Cobalt Coast. Species not seen previously - Round Scad
I'll work on getting the pictures posted...but right now the files are too big...any suggestions on easily getting them to a good posting size would be super!!!
I use a program called Easy Thumbnails. It's freeware (that means it doesn't cost anything) and allows you to change the size of as few or as many photos as you want to almost any size you want in a batch process. I won't go into great detail as I'm not much at help desk stuff, but it's definitely worth the price.
Great report thus far and thank you Txteacher! I will be first timer to GC in Sept, girls get away week. Making notes for shopping and dive sites and yes, we can be somewhat directionally challenged, so well marked and bouyed sites are great. Love shore diving and good deal on the $5tanks. Based on MOD and wall diving depths, do many folks dive Nitrox?
Sponsored Link
txteachers
June 30th, 2009, 06:50 PM
Making notes for shopping
I stopped in at Hurley's Grocery...lovely grocery store and prices seemed better than Foster's.
txteachers
July 1st, 2009, 09:50 AM
Here's the link to a few of the pictures my hubby has taken so far:http://http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DUm5eOQX
We plan on adding pictures as time goes on...right now there are 21.
ianr33
July 1st, 2009, 10:03 AM
At the risk of speaking for someone else, the shore diving on the East End is a little less civilized than that available in town.
Agreed,although I prefer to think of it as more of an adventure rather than less civilised ;)
Thats the admission price for the best shore diving on Cayman.
IF you are confident of your abilities then Babylon in particular and that entire area in general are simply awesome dives. It is fairly remote though and would be a real bad place to get hurt.
jerrycsr
July 1st, 2009, 10:46 AM
that picture link is not working for me.
Tx, please continue to post your shore diving stories. I'll be on GC next week and your reports are helpful.
txteachers
July 1st, 2009, 07:22 PM
Rainy evenings...but beautiful sunny weather yesterday and today!! YEA!! It was a little overcast the first few days.
Today we dove at Sunset House...the conditions were great ... every place allows you to run a tab...you can come back and pay with cash at the end, or if you don't want to go back they just put in on your credit card.
We did 2 tanks...with lunch in between right there at Sunset House. We didn't go far because there was just too much up close to see...so we'll go back. We didn't dive out to the mermaid - but will probably do that another time.
This dive had several different types of Hamlets, Porcupinefish, 4 Rainbow Parrotfish (they're incredible!!), large Jacks and some really friendly French Angels, 2 turtles, husband saw a shark - I was looking another way!
Now about those pictures, let's try the link again. And we'll be adding to the album, so feel free to check back. Please let me know if the link doesn't work and I'll figure something else out!
If the link doesn't work, try typing this in:
http://
picasaweb.google.com/txteachers044/GrandCayman?feat=directlink
I had to put in a space after the http:// or it kept making a direct link.
Picasa Web Albums - kj_mlsmith - Grand Cayman (http://picasaweb.google.com/txteachers044/GrandCayman?feat=directlink)
deeper thoughts
July 1st, 2009, 11:34 PM
Thnx for the reports
txteachers
July 4th, 2009, 09:30 AM
Here's the latest in my continuing report. After reading reviews, I decided I wanted to dive with Ambassador Divers, small operation, only take out 6-8 divers, really personable, allow you to dive to your heart's (okay - tank's and profile's) content.
They didn't tell us where to meet them, we assumed the shop and were there at 7:35. Shop not open. I went into the hotel - Comfort Suites to see if they could help me out, they assured me someone would be there to pick us up at 7:45. 7:45 no one there but another diver. I went back into the hotel to call the cell number given me but Comfort Suites front desk cannot make cell calls and weren't really concerned about helping me out. (Of course, I'm not one of their guests.)
A few minutes later the videographer that is going out shows up and asks where is everyone. She forgot her cell so heads back home to get it. She gets back a little after 8 and tells us that the dive boat was at the beach and headed out, with 5 divers - BUT they go back to the beach to wait for us and are sending the van to pick us up. The other diver needs gear. Wait - there are 5 divers, 2 of us, the videographer and the single...that makes 9 divers.
When the van gets back for us we throw our gear in, they apologize profusely for the miscommunication and assure me that they were supposed to pick us up and we were exactly where we were supposed to be - they just forgot. They get gear for the 3rd person waiting, put it on the van and as he was getting on the van they decide he will go tomorrow. ?? Another miscommunication - he had the date wrong or did he get bumped for the videographer?? We never did find out.
We got to the beach - throw our shoes in the van... jump on the boat and finally at about 9 head out. I felt badly for the 5 divers who had been waiting this whole time...but I would have been really upset had they gone on without us.
We get to the dive sites and none of the tanks are at 3000...most at 2800, my husband's - barely over 2500. The Captain was appreciative to know this and inbetween dives he did get on the phone and talk to someone about the obvious equipment malfunction they're having.
We had scheduled 4 days of diving with them...we have cancelled them for a few reasons. For me - everything I've read in dive magazines about safety is that you ALWAYS leave someone in the boat - they did not and that really bothered me. I do not know if that is normal procedure for them or not. You put up a dive flag - which they did - albeit VERY OLD, ragged and faded to a pink. For my husband - crazy to drive to other side of island for that type of dive.
Dive sites: Easy Street - was supposed to be Little Tunnels, but wrong mooring ball. Nice dive, nothing spectacular. 2nd site - Mitch Miller - really enjoyed this site. Very nice coral fingers, loads of fish, including the bad boy a very large lionfish.
Yesterday back to a shore dive - since there were no cruise ships in town we did Devil's Grotto. FYI they charge $12/tank and $0.30/pound for your weight - so this shore dive does cost a little more than the others. No place else has charged for the weights.
This was a really pretty dive - the vis was a little silty, but still very good. Lots of juvenile, really large Tarpon (bigger than at Turtle Reef), a school of about 50 Horse-eye Jacks swimming in a circle near the Tarpon - quite cool, a very friendly Mahogany Snapper and of course plenty of others!
FOOD...we stopped at Rankins Jerk Center on the road back to the East End for lunch (there's a good-sized sign on the right as you're headed to the East End). The smells were heavenly! They have a small menu - roast beef, curry goat, chicken and a few other items...we weren't really sure what we were getting. There were lots of local workers stopping for lunch - which is always a great sign. The price $8CI for a large and $6CI for a small. The large is a typical take out menu box and the the small a dessert-sized box packed full.
We found out that the meat is grilled. The roast beef is in slices - quite spicy, with sauce, potato salad, cole slaw and WONDERFUL rice and beans. One of the gentlemen waiting explained to us the rice and beans is cooked down with coconut milk.
They do have picnic tables with shade if you choose to eat there. I do count this as a great find!
AND on the same property there is little place where they sell fresh produce...mangos, peppers, potatoes, green beans.
cptjak
July 4th, 2009, 11:58 AM
I don't know of any dive op that leaves someone on board except the Agresser.
Damselfish
July 4th, 2009, 12:23 PM
I don't know of any dive op that leaves someone on board except the Agresser.
I've almost never been on a boat that didn't leave someone on board. Certainly including all liveaboards who have always had someone posted on the dive deck, or their chase boats if they're diving that way. All day boats of any decent size. But the occasional smaller boat like a 6 pack might not, depending on the situation. I think sometimes that's fine and sometimes not.
txteachers
July 5th, 2009, 08:36 AM
:) EQUIPMENT HELP: Above and beyond...My dive buddy (husband) has been having problems with his BCD - a tiny leak at the overpressure valve, well the Dive Tech crew at Cobalt Coast helped him out with problem. The next dive - the BCD kept self-inflating. So we thought he'd need to replace the hose...but once again Dive Tech looked at the equipment, took the hose apart, cleaned it, put it back together (about 20 minutes) - YEA it's fixed! AND they didn't charge us for it, just asked that we keep coming back to dive! That's easy because the diving is great!
:D BOOKS: The Humane Society has a used bookstore...what a great idea!!! With carrying our own dive gear and the charges from the airlines, I don't carry books with me any more and I love to read. Above the Humane Society they have a bookstore and they are open on Saturdays 'til 3, Tues - Friday 11-2. This Saturday it was half-price day. ALL proceeds go to the Humane Society. They have a lot of books in a small space and a lot of variety. Their books are nicely arranged and it is easy to find the author of your choice! We purchased 8 books for $8.25! AND they'll gladly take them off your hands when you leave. What a super way to help out the Humane Society. Address - 153 N Sound Road
GROCERIES: Cost U Less Warehouse - like a Sam's or Costco but requires no membership. The other difference is that they carry small quantities of many things as well as large quantities. For example - individual yogurts, small portions of meats, some produce and the prices were a bit cheaper than the grocery store - especially the dairy products.
Hurley's - I like this better than the IGA-Foster Food Fair by the airport...if you're familiar with Tom Thumb stores, it has more of that type of feel and prices about the same as Foster's, a nice salad bar and large deli. Although bread and milk - at least this week were cheaper at Foster's.
If you're doing lots of cooking...the Foster's weekly ad is online. Just do a Grand Cayman grocery search...and don't forget the grocery stores are closed on Sundays.
Sponsored Link
trevorr77
July 6th, 2009, 12:15 PM
Wow great reports so far. We were out there in February and though the weather was windy and cool it was GREAT. We loved it out there at Morritt's. I think the staff is great and I love the three different pools they have...they are all made for different personalities it seems. The beach is very nice and there are some nice scuba and diving spots right nearby. I haven't stayed at the Reef yet but it looked nice when I stopped by. By the way, if anyone is looking to stay at Morritts for a week I have a week for 2010 available for a poolside 1 BR unit. We went on two big vacations this year (Grand Cayman and Europe) so we are taking 2010 off to save up again!!
You can email me at trevorr77@msn.com or message me on here if you are interested.
scubadada
July 6th, 2009, 02:24 PM
I don't know of any dive op that leaves someone on board except the Agresser.
My son and I did a week at Cobalt Coast with DiveTech in both 2007 and 2008, they always had someone on the boat. I've also dived with several small operations over the years, there was generally nobody left on the boat.
Good diving, Craig
txteachers
July 9th, 2009, 08:18 AM
The conditions were finally calm enough for us to do Babylon (Ocean Frontiers said to watch the winds - when they're out of the S or SE it is a good time to dive there). This dive is out here on the East End. We rented tanks from Ocean Frontiers...very friendly folks.
Babylon is 5 miles from Morritts. There are 3 little paths/roads/trails on the oceanside of the road. The 3rd one is across from Rosebud St., we took the 2nd one. The 2nd and 3rd paths you can park your car where you can see it from the water...a lot of the shoreline looks the same, so it makes an easy landmark.
We geared up at the car and walked down to the beach...it's a very few steps. We walked out, if you have been diving in Kauai or even some of Bonaire entries - this is really easy. Just a few steps over the ironshore and into turtle grass. It is a long snorkle out to the mooring ball - but the seas were pretty flat so it was an easy swim.
Once at the mooring ball - I did my compass reading and we descended into breath-taking beauty! There is a beautiful short swim-thru, the corals are magnificent. We descended to 100' and then slowly started back up...not knowing how long it would take us to get back we started back when one of us reached 1500#...which now we know was a little conservative.
Fish - 2 Nassau groupers greeted us at the beginning, and then in the swim-thru there were Blackcap Basslets, at the top of the reef I spotted a Scorpionfish, there were a couple huge lobsters. Not a lot of fish on this dive.
We are planning on doing this again - the swim is well worth it!!
jchapman3
July 10th, 2009, 09:09 AM
We don't get back to Morritts until the end of September this year; we've got a bonus week though, and you've got me ITCHING to book a flight right now.
Have you dove Sunset yet? Found the mermaid? There are some AWSOME photo ops there. (You where "there" when you found Cathy's place).
Next time you are in the clubhouse, tell Beverly at the front desk that John and Chris (from Maine) said hello, and will be seeing her this Fall. When you're at the swim up bar or pier bar, if Alan is working, pass the same hello's on and tell him you want a Slippery Banana (and then follow that with a Cayman Lemonaide)...i expect a full report on both! :coffee:
The next time you are in Georgetown (today should be good...no cruise ships on Thurs & Friday if I remember right)... stop in at Hammerheads and snag a bite to eat (the grass roof outdoor bar on "the other side" of where the tourists drop off). Last year, there was a big Canadian with a last name of "Chapman" working there, tell him the "JagerBomb Chapman from last Sept says hello." On your way out, walk to the fish market there on the beach and pick up fresh snapper for dinner. (If you serve that over rice you cook in coconut, onions and peppers, people will think you're a local). :eyebrow: Yhum.
Time to jump to Orbitz... hmmm....
CheddarChick
July 10th, 2009, 09:38 AM
What a great report on the fly!! Love it. I have long looked for spots for shore diving as easy a Curacao, now you have made me think GC is on "the list". How did you find where you were staying? And tell your hubby "great pix" Is Cathy still using the SP350 as the house camera?
jchapman3
July 10th, 2009, 10:25 AM
Love the pictures, thank you SO much for sharing your daily dive reports. After looking through the pictures, I've decided my 2009 Cayman goal is to see an Octopus; you guys seem to have pretty good luck. Any tips on regions/what to look for? Is the time of day/night important?
txteachers
July 11th, 2009, 09:18 AM
Love the pictures, thank you SO much for sharing your daily dive reports. After looking through the pictures, I've decided my 2009 Cayman goal is to see an Octopus; you guys seem to have pretty good luck. Any tips on regions/what to look for? Is the time of day/night important?
You're supposed to see octopus at night...but we're seeing them during the day. Almost every dive at Cobalt Coast we see one...and one of the dive instructors there said she has been here 4 years and is amazed at how many there are this year. She tells us there is one that has set up residence at the Cobalt Coast pier, 4th pylon in!
Where we've found them is on our way back in, over the sandy flats...in the holes behind rocks!
To CheddarChick...we have a time share - so that's how we booked with Morritts...but if you can come in Aug - October, Ocean Frontiers has a great deal! I found a super deal at The Reef by going to Cayman Islands - Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, Travel and Tourism Site (http://www.caymanislands.ky) and getting on a mailing list!
And sorry Jchapman3...we've left the Morritts...but will keep in mind your SUPER suggestions!!!
txteachers
July 16th, 2009, 08:55 AM
Last report...the end of our 20 days is here! :depressed:
Our last week here we have been at The Reef. Absolutely beautiful place...all the rooms have an incredible ocean view. Being at the furthest building away from the reception area it was extremely quiet. We had a studio on the first floor. The first floor patio door opens up to a small porch, a large sidewalk and then the beach. Absolutely WONDERFUL!
If you're planning on cooking - do NOT get a studio unit. It has a small fridge - (from floor to countertop), a microwave, toaster and coffee pot. Dishes - just place settings - nothing else, no grilling utensils. There are a couple of grills...they are the portable kind on wheels - so you can move it to in front on your unit - quite handy!!
GROCERIES - Foster's has small store across from The Reef - same prices as in town.
FOOD - there is a bakery across the street from The Reef. They are open from 7a.m. - 2 p.m. We just ate a few pastries - quite tasty - but a little expensive - $2CI for a danish. The breakfast menu prices - $4.50 CI for eggs and toast.
SUNSHINE RESORT - the very best hamburger! My husband is a burger snob ... it was HUGE and very tasty!! The waiter encouraged us to split one! Which we did and were glad! They serve french fries and then some scrumptious onion rings on top! Perfect for us - I love the rings, he loves the fries! Then a bite of ice cream for dessert!
RACKAM'S PUB - close to the port in Georgetown. We had Shrimp 'n Chips and Fish 'n Chips. Excellent choice. 2 dinners, one mixed drink $45 US. Outdoor dining...view is okay...but you're at the port...so we watched folks waiting for the tenders to take them back to the ships.
My favorite food item has been the salad dressing at Cracked Conch - it's mango/lime!!
SOUTH COAST BAR & GRILL - on the way to the East End, very close to the Lighthouse restaurant. For Cayman - reasonably priced...we had Conch Stew - yummy but spicy and Tiger Shrimp w/rice and beans. Food was very good - we sat outside overlooking the ocean...wonderful!
DIVING...again we chose to stay East and dive West. We were hoping to dive Babylon again...but the conditions weren't what we wanted (flat sea). It is a long swim out...but well worth the trip!
We dove - Sunset House, Lighthouse - DiveTech's new location (my husband's favorite), Devil's Grotto - do when there is not a cruise ship in town, Cobalt Coast and Cracked Conch (next door to turtle farm), 2 boat dives with Ambassador Divers, and 2 boat dives with DiveTech.
We love the folks at DiveTech...friendly, helpful and fun. At Cobalt Coast these last 2 weeks they have put on Sea Camps. If you have children...what an incredible experience! The children (10 - teens) were put into groups based on interest and ability. WOW - what a cool program!!! Yesterday we were out there...they had taken the kids to Turtle Farm, then brought them back to Cobalt. They brought a turtle back (@1 1/2 yrs old) did a short teaching moment - for kids and adults, explained what was going to happen in the turtle release. Anyone who wanted in the water could be in the water - they took the turtle down...go everyone in the water to be calm... and they released the turtle. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE!!! It was awesome - for the kids AND the adults!
Okay - back to diving. We went out on their large boat...we had 14 divers - but plenty of space. We dove Eagle Ray Pass and Hepp's Pipeline. They gave very indepth and illustrated dive briefings (Lee gave the 1st, Christian the 2nd). We chose to follow the DM...they asked that when you reached 1500 psi to let the DM know - we headed back, but then when we got back to the mooring line we could explore on our own, they did ask that for the first dive we limit it to 60 minutes, the 2nd dive there was no time limit...but back in the boat with 500 psi. They leave someone in the boat in case of emergency. They had a DM in front of the group and one hung in back. Someone was always watching...but there was plenty of space - never felt hurried or herded.
Eagle Ray Pass...how beautiful and yes, we did see 2 Eagle Rays, 2 turtles - one was sitting on top of a rock/coral and just watched us all for quite awhile and then took off, the other was just swimming through.
Hepp's Pipeline...very close to shore...but a beautiful dive!
If we had our trip to do over again...I would have stayed at Sunshine Resorts for our third week. As I may have mentioned on my first post we stayed in a time share - not ours, but traded through RCI...so the only place we could get into was Morritts Tortuga. For the 3rd week we got a GREAT DEAL with The Reef.
RENT CAR - we rented from Andy's - best price, great service. I think I already mentioned we had a flat and they came and exchanged cars with us. They encourage you to fill up with them any time you need to fill your car because they are cheaper than any of the gas stations - fill up either at the airport of 7 mile beach location.
We know we will be back...and hopefully we won't wait seven years this time!
Thanks for reading...and my husband has continued to add pictures:
Picasa Web Albums - kj_mlsmith - Grand Cayman (http://picasaweb.google.com/txteachers044/GrandCayman?feat=directlink)
CheddarChick
July 16th, 2009, 09:59 PM
Such a great report...Thanks so much for posting, I would love it if you could put togther a short list of appox costs it would be great....And tell the hubby person his pix are great....
txteachers
July 17th, 2009, 09:30 AM
Such a great report...Thanks so much for posting, I would love it if you could put togther a short list of appox costs it would be great....And tell the hubby person his pix are great....
I've started and I'll try to get that posted in the next few days...but, I think we're having a new grandbaby today!!! Maybe tomorrow!! YEAH he waited 'til we got home!!!
CheddarChick
July 17th, 2009, 12:56 PM
congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alucard
July 20th, 2009, 05:09 PM
Glad you had such a great time! Thanks for such a detailed report, too.
We have been with Divetech for both of our trips to GC and have really liked their style - we're taking some friends there next week, in fact, so I was glad to hear that Lee is still there (always enjoyed bantering with him!).
About the comment about someone being on the boat - I think every dive I have done has been like that - the boat was never empty, and I'm talking Cozumel, Curacao and Cayman (I guess I like diving the C'c ;-) I think it's a better idea - if someone surfaces early for am emergency it seems like it would be easier for them to get fast help, rather than one of the guides having to do an emergency accent and possibly have the same problems, no?
chibracdiver
July 22nd, 2009, 04:55 PM
Great Pics!! Were you able to contact DOE about the location of the lionfish?
txteachers
July 23rd, 2009, 11:54 AM
each time it was reported to the dive shop...some of them had authorized personnel to go get them...the other contacted DOE...
chibracdiver
July 23rd, 2009, 02:03 PM
Bravo!! Great pics and great job. I know it's a tough uphill battle with the Lionfish, but it's worth a shot. I saw a total of 0 on my nine dives last week on GC. I was actually happy about that. Also, a quick recommendation for Indigo Divers. Cap'n Crunch (Chris) and Katie do a great job. The north side resurrected my feeling for diving on GC.
billinwilliamston
July 24th, 2009, 11:02 AM
Great pics. Thanks for the report. 2 months and counting...
mlkco
July 25th, 2009, 09:48 AM
Thank you for your in depth report.
It has helped us plan.
We are leaving for GC on July 30th
Great pictures, your new camera works well
mlkco
July 26th, 2009, 09:05 PM
Can you wear gloves on GC? They don't allow them in Bonaire.
