I am hardly a writer, but wanted to give a flavor for my trip to Grand Cayman. I also wanted to be as brief as possible.
So I have been back for a week now. It hardly seems fair. I got to experience only the smallest bit of all that Cayman has to offer, but enough to see how much more there is out there.
Upon boarding the plane to GCM, the first thing I noticed was a near immediate relaxation of almost everyone boarding. The lack of tension was palpable, the stress of the airport, gone. Maybe it was just me. The months of waiting were coming to a close. I also couldn't help to notice how many people were bringing duty free purchases aboard. It surprised me to see that nearly all of it was liquor (vodka mainly). I realized only a couple of days into my stay why the overhead compartments were stuffed with duty free liquor. Next time....
Our first full day kicked off bright an early. Waking up to the sand and sea just steps from our room door was perfect.
View attachment 151211
We stayed at The Reef Resort, and I could not recommend it more highly. We decided to go with Tortuga Divers (at Morrits), a part of Red Sail, for a number of reasons. Chief among those reasons was that Ocean Frontiers was booked for morning dives. Also, Tortuga was right next to The Reef Resort. I had read a number of comments and poor reviews about Red Sail, so was very hesitant. I was prepared to only do afternoon dives with OF if necessary, but really wanted the morning dives. We decided to give Tortuga Divers a chance.
Only once have I been as impressed with a dive operator. That other one happened to make it into Scuba Diver's 100 Best. Tortuga was nearly as good. The boats are bigger, and there are more divers aboard, sure. Not once, though, did I feel that old cattle call feeling I have had so many times before. Everyone at Tortuga Divers was fantastic! My hopes and expectations were far exceeded. I recommend them very highly.
Day 1: Winds were blowing hard from the east and had been for a week. Captain Stu, explained that the winds should die down in a few days. Until then, we head south. After reading so much about North Wall diving, I was a bit bummed. As we jumped in for our first dive at The Maze, any hint or memory of disappointment evaporated. My first thought was "So this is what 100' viz looks like." It was an amazing experience. Our second dive was at Kelly's Caverns. Another very nice dive.
Day 2 : Still too choppy to go north or east. South side again. Now, after Day 1 I thought I had seen Cayman's legendary viz. Jumping in at Rivers of Sand I was even more impressed. As I cleared the swimthrough and popped out on the wall at 90' I nearly lost my mind. I didn't want to move for fear of losing that sensation. 100', maybe 150', who knows, I could see farther than I ever thought possible. I sat there staring out into the deep blue, just enjoying the color. Looking down, my eyes followed the line of the wall as it emerged from the blue-black of the deep into an amazing palatte of coral and sponge colors. This is why I want to dive! The second dive was nearly as amazing. Ironshore Gardens, with the reef alleyways, was a blast. While not as awesome as Rivers of Sand, it was still one of the most fun dives I have had. Huge tarpon frequently blocked our way, as did a very large lobster at one point.
Day 3: Kittiwake and Aquarium on the West side. I won't slam Kittiwake, I am glad I did it. I wouldn't again. Aquarium had maybe 30' viz and nothing to see/do.
Day 4: Sunset House shore dive.
View attachment 151212
This was planned as a day off, but thanks to Releck I did not stay dry. The house reef dive was decent. We went to the mermaid, then the wreck, stopping around 80'. We were surprised by the Atlantis submarine sneaking up on us. As the passengers crowded the windows taking pictures of us, we waved. We finished our "off day" at My Bar, which could not have been quieter.
View attachment 151259
Day 5: We tried to Go to Lost Wall, but OF took the site (or so we thought). North Wall. BABYLON! Need I say more? If you have been, you know. If you haven't, go there now. Drop to 110' and spiral up the pillar. Fantastic! The second dive was at Fishtank. This was not an especially beautiful area (given the past few dives), though there were a good number of fish. The DM did bring his speargun, just in case, though I had only seen 2 lionfish during all prior dives. He found one, speared it and left it. I was caught offguard at how quickly the sharks come in. Two reef sharks were there within about a minute. The one that did not eat the dead fish was clearly not satisified. He followed the group for a bit. As laggards from the group, three of us kept our eyes on the curious "man in the grey suit with a pointy hat." Twice he came too close to the last in our group. As we got a bit further away, I glanced back only to see the shark nearly on top of the last in our group. Waving like crazy and giving that hand to my forehead universal symbol for SHARK!! I finally caught his attention. With a swift kick he shooed the reefie away for the last time.
Day 6: Final day, very sad. We tried to go to Lost Wall, hearing that it was very rare at this time of year to be able to dive there. Unfortunately, the marker buoy was gone. It really was the Lost Wall. Instead we went south again, this time to High Rock Dropoff. As the last person going through the very long, sometimes head down swimthrough, I couldn't see anything. Please learn to fin appropriately in closed in spaces people. As I emerged through the kicked up sand and onto the wall I saw our DM doing the dance. THE DANCE! Caz put her fists to either side of her head and pointed. Looking to my left, I started to dance too....
View attachment 151260 Thanks Todd for posting the pic
The second dive was at Big House. It was a bittersweet dive, as it was our last. Captain James led the way with spear in hand. After four lionfish, the shark made its appearance. James said we would sharks, he was right. I guess blood in the water is a good way to ring the dinner bell (duh). This one got very close to me, within reaching distance. He was only about 5', maybe a bit more, though. All of a sudden he started to get very agitated, arched back, fins down, swimming with that jerky motion that really makes you pay attention. That is when the second, bigger reefie came in. He was much bigger, and swimming fast. They began to circle each other at the bottom, about 10-15 feet away from me. With only my buddy anywhere near, it was a quick and easy decision to swim away...quickly.
[video=youtube;qRGgF2ewi0g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRGgF2ewi0g[/video]
Generally, the water temps were in the very low 80s at the surface and as low as 79 at depth. Air temp was perfect, cool in the morning and night, warm in the afternoon. More than once I fell asleep laying in the palm shadows after morning dives. If you don't already know, food is waaayyyy expensive. Drinks are as well. We didn't decide to go to the grocery store until our 3rd full day. Even then, spent a considerable sum in restaurants and bars. The food was nothing to write home about. Some people in this forum raved about Chicken Chicken. I was disappointed. We ate at a very cool place on the East End twice. Tukka's has decent food and ok drinks. It is expensive though, even for Cayman standards.
I did not see the turtles I have seen in Coz, or the schools of fish and the seahorses and the eels of Riv Maya, or even the wrecks of Florida. I know the turtles, etc are there in Cayman, but I did not see them. What I did see was A LOT. I could not have imagined visibility of 100', 150'+. I saw reef sharks, a hammerhead, countless rays, my first giant grouper and the amazing color and formations of coral. I saw enough to nearly blow my mind.
I will be back. To hijack the ad slogan, it felt good to be a part of Caymankind.
p.s. I tried positng many more pics, but was having trouble.
So I have been back for a week now. It hardly seems fair. I got to experience only the smallest bit of all that Cayman has to offer, but enough to see how much more there is out there.
Upon boarding the plane to GCM, the first thing I noticed was a near immediate relaxation of almost everyone boarding. The lack of tension was palpable, the stress of the airport, gone. Maybe it was just me. The months of waiting were coming to a close. I also couldn't help to notice how many people were bringing duty free purchases aboard. It surprised me to see that nearly all of it was liquor (vodka mainly). I realized only a couple of days into my stay why the overhead compartments were stuffed with duty free liquor. Next time....
Our first full day kicked off bright an early. Waking up to the sand and sea just steps from our room door was perfect.
View attachment 151211
We stayed at The Reef Resort, and I could not recommend it more highly. We decided to go with Tortuga Divers (at Morrits), a part of Red Sail, for a number of reasons. Chief among those reasons was that Ocean Frontiers was booked for morning dives. Also, Tortuga was right next to The Reef Resort. I had read a number of comments and poor reviews about Red Sail, so was very hesitant. I was prepared to only do afternoon dives with OF if necessary, but really wanted the morning dives. We decided to give Tortuga Divers a chance.
Only once have I been as impressed with a dive operator. That other one happened to make it into Scuba Diver's 100 Best. Tortuga was nearly as good. The boats are bigger, and there are more divers aboard, sure. Not once, though, did I feel that old cattle call feeling I have had so many times before. Everyone at Tortuga Divers was fantastic! My hopes and expectations were far exceeded. I recommend them very highly.
Day 1: Winds were blowing hard from the east and had been for a week. Captain Stu, explained that the winds should die down in a few days. Until then, we head south. After reading so much about North Wall diving, I was a bit bummed. As we jumped in for our first dive at The Maze, any hint or memory of disappointment evaporated. My first thought was "So this is what 100' viz looks like." It was an amazing experience. Our second dive was at Kelly's Caverns. Another very nice dive.
Day 2 : Still too choppy to go north or east. South side again. Now, after Day 1 I thought I had seen Cayman's legendary viz. Jumping in at Rivers of Sand I was even more impressed. As I cleared the swimthrough and popped out on the wall at 90' I nearly lost my mind. I didn't want to move for fear of losing that sensation. 100', maybe 150', who knows, I could see farther than I ever thought possible. I sat there staring out into the deep blue, just enjoying the color. Looking down, my eyes followed the line of the wall as it emerged from the blue-black of the deep into an amazing palatte of coral and sponge colors. This is why I want to dive! The second dive was nearly as amazing. Ironshore Gardens, with the reef alleyways, was a blast. While not as awesome as Rivers of Sand, it was still one of the most fun dives I have had. Huge tarpon frequently blocked our way, as did a very large lobster at one point.
Day 3: Kittiwake and Aquarium on the West side. I won't slam Kittiwake, I am glad I did it. I wouldn't again. Aquarium had maybe 30' viz and nothing to see/do.
Day 4: Sunset House shore dive.
View attachment 151212
This was planned as a day off, but thanks to Releck I did not stay dry. The house reef dive was decent. We went to the mermaid, then the wreck, stopping around 80'. We were surprised by the Atlantis submarine sneaking up on us. As the passengers crowded the windows taking pictures of us, we waved. We finished our "off day" at My Bar, which could not have been quieter.
View attachment 151259
Day 5: We tried to Go to Lost Wall, but OF took the site (or so we thought). North Wall. BABYLON! Need I say more? If you have been, you know. If you haven't, go there now. Drop to 110' and spiral up the pillar. Fantastic! The second dive was at Fishtank. This was not an especially beautiful area (given the past few dives), though there were a good number of fish. The DM did bring his speargun, just in case, though I had only seen 2 lionfish during all prior dives. He found one, speared it and left it. I was caught offguard at how quickly the sharks come in. Two reef sharks were there within about a minute. The one that did not eat the dead fish was clearly not satisified. He followed the group for a bit. As laggards from the group, three of us kept our eyes on the curious "man in the grey suit with a pointy hat." Twice he came too close to the last in our group. As we got a bit further away, I glanced back only to see the shark nearly on top of the last in our group. Waving like crazy and giving that hand to my forehead universal symbol for SHARK!! I finally caught his attention. With a swift kick he shooed the reefie away for the last time.
Day 6: Final day, very sad. We tried to go to Lost Wall, hearing that it was very rare at this time of year to be able to dive there. Unfortunately, the marker buoy was gone. It really was the Lost Wall. Instead we went south again, this time to High Rock Dropoff. As the last person going through the very long, sometimes head down swimthrough, I couldn't see anything. Please learn to fin appropriately in closed in spaces people. As I emerged through the kicked up sand and onto the wall I saw our DM doing the dance. THE DANCE! Caz put her fists to either side of her head and pointed. Looking to my left, I started to dance too....
View attachment 151260 Thanks Todd for posting the pic
The second dive was at Big House. It was a bittersweet dive, as it was our last. Captain James led the way with spear in hand. After four lionfish, the shark made its appearance. James said we would sharks, he was right. I guess blood in the water is a good way to ring the dinner bell (duh). This one got very close to me, within reaching distance. He was only about 5', maybe a bit more, though. All of a sudden he started to get very agitated, arched back, fins down, swimming with that jerky motion that really makes you pay attention. That is when the second, bigger reefie came in. He was much bigger, and swimming fast. They began to circle each other at the bottom, about 10-15 feet away from me. With only my buddy anywhere near, it was a quick and easy decision to swim away...quickly.
[video=youtube;qRGgF2ewi0g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRGgF2ewi0g[/video]
Generally, the water temps were in the very low 80s at the surface and as low as 79 at depth. Air temp was perfect, cool in the morning and night, warm in the afternoon. More than once I fell asleep laying in the palm shadows after morning dives. If you don't already know, food is waaayyyy expensive. Drinks are as well. We didn't decide to go to the grocery store until our 3rd full day. Even then, spent a considerable sum in restaurants and bars. The food was nothing to write home about. Some people in this forum raved about Chicken Chicken. I was disappointed. We ate at a very cool place on the East End twice. Tukka's has decent food and ok drinks. It is expensive though, even for Cayman standards.
I did not see the turtles I have seen in Coz, or the schools of fish and the seahorses and the eels of Riv Maya, or even the wrecks of Florida. I know the turtles, etc are there in Cayman, but I did not see them. What I did see was A LOT. I could not have imagined visibility of 100', 150'+. I saw reef sharks, a hammerhead, countless rays, my first giant grouper and the amazing color and formations of coral. I saw enough to nearly blow my mind.
I will be back. To hijack the ad slogan, it felt good to be a part of Caymankind.
p.s. I tried positng many more pics, but was having trouble.
