Day 3: Grand Cayman

Today was an organized wake up as we were taking the tender to Grand Cayman. We had our OJ and coffee delivered to the cabin while we got ready then headed to the gangway. I was surprised how short the wait was to get on the tender. At the dock the photographers were in abundance with both pirate pictures and ship themed pictures. The photographers certainly stay busy on a ship!

Our group headed into the shopping area. After a few shops I had what I wanted and saw things I couldn't afford. I headed off in the direction of the beach. I intended to find the trolley however decided to simply keep walking and see how far I could get. My new 10-22 wide angle lens was on the camera and ready to go. I took several pictures along the way. Watched some fishermen at work and the barracudas feeding off the leftovers. A mile or so down the I found a sign for "Beach Access" and went to check it out and it turned out to be a private beach. Oops. However the condos were obviously closed up and another couple from the ship were there too so we all wandered along. A few more pics and some exploring of the tide pools and I headed back.

Along the way I stopped at the local micro-brew. I couldn't resist the thought of shade (it was warm walking around in the sun), a bar on the dock, and a sip of the local brew. I sat down and ordered a Cay-brew. It was similar to a lager and very delicious. As I sipped my beer I sent a few texts (gotta love the AT&T...never thought I'd say that!) and took a picture to upload to Facebook. The girl next to me started chatting; she was a local who was there on her lunch hour. I learned more about the island in general and had a wonderful time. Our conversation was so good I ordered a second brew knowing it would go down faster than the first and I wouldn't miss the last tender back to the ship.

Aaahhh...beautiful island, beautiful weather, good brew, good conversation....what else could I ask? After my second brew I headed back to the ship. I waved to the rest of my group as I got on the tender before they did....and they were worried about me missing it! LOL

Back on the ship I dropped stuff in the room and headed to the pool. I had to actually get in the pool at least once! Somewhere along the way I lost Nichelle, so knowing she couldn't get far, I headed to watch Grand Cayman as we pulled away. (Yes, someday I'll get the pictures posted....look how long this is taking!). Eventually I ended up on the 21 & Over deck (I had also found Nichelle) and we had some hot tub and relaxation time. I struck up a conversation with my lounge chair neighbor, Theresa (she's from Philly, small world). After another enjoyable conversation and a glass of wine, I was off to get ready for dinner.

Nichelle was watching a show so I wandered to check out my pictures being taken throughout the cruise. It's crazy how many pictures they take on these ships! One of the ship photographers found me and we chatted for a bit about Canons. When he had a paying customer, I headed to the Grand Spectrum bar for my daily drink special. As I headed to our dining room I caught up with Nichelle. We got to our table to find a parrot! Yes, folks, a parrot. Okay, actually a member of our neighboring table dressed as a parrot. We figured she must have lost a bet with her husband! As she claimed no the the bet question, I heard "Karen!" Lo and behold it was Theresa, my lounge chair buddy. We've been eating dinner "together" the whole time!

After dinner was more Bingo then the Talent Show. The Talent Show had six guests performing and all were quite good! Back to the room this night and Nichelle crashed.

I decided to take a walk up on deck. It was a BEAUTIFUL night -- clear, cool...perfect deck night. As I walked it was interesting to see the other folks out at such a late hour: hungry folks heading the 24/7 food station, kids happy to not have a curfew, couples enjoying the moonlight. I wandered all the decks and settled for a bit on the topmost forward deck. The moon was reflecting off the water making it look like clouds on the water. The ship seemed to be following the moon's path. It was very soothing.

The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea.
~Isak Dinesen