We woke up with the alarm, both feeling well-rested. Jer made us a Cayman special breakfast (eggs, English bacon, leftover cake and tea), which we again ate on the deck.
Our first activity of the day was a Cayman Sea Elements mangrove kayak with a guide named Danielle, who's very knowledgeable and passionate about the flora and fauna of the mangroves. The kayaks were among the more comfortable we've used, and the tour gave us a chance to see quite a lot of the area near the Cayman Islands Yacht Club (especially since we were the only participants, so Danielle took her time). We saw the three types of mangroves living on Grand Cayman (red, white, and black). We also saw a green heron, several green iguanas and little tree crabs. In the water near the mangrove roots, we spotted baby tarpon, baby barracuda, loads of tiny brown guppies and casseopeia jellyfish. Danielle also pointed out (and explained) pale anemones, fire sponges, blue sponges, mermaids wine glass algae and sea grape algae. It was informative and fun, if somewhat tiring.
After we got back to Harbour View Apartments, we decided to head straight into the water, since we were already in swimwear. We walked up to the beach access by Captain's Bakery and Grill and found the small, sandy beach access to snorkel the wreck of the Gamma. It was a bit of a swim, but worth the effort. At first, it didn't seem like there were that many fish, but soon we learned that they were hiding in the nooks and crannies of the wreck. There were tons of parrotfish, sergeant-majors, tangs, surgeonfish, wrasses, fairy basslets, yellow snapper, butterflyfish, spanish hogfish and others, plus a peacock flounder and a giant pufferfish. After about an hour of snorkeling, tiredness set in and we headed back to our studio for a freshwater shower.
Then it was off to lunch at Rackam's, where Scott from Happy Fish Divers had recommended the fish & chips. As promised, it was an enormous portion of beer-battered fish and seasoned fries (one order was enough for both of us), and it was delicious. We were very glad to have tried it.
With full tummies, we headed to the post office to mail our postcards. Along the way, we stopped into Elmslie Memorial United Church. We'd passed it numerous times, but this was the first time we'd seen it open. It was built in the 1800s and designed by a naval architect, so the ceiling resembled an upside-down boat hull. It was pretty neat, but the heat inside the sanctuary made it hard to stay long.
After our mail was on its way, we popped into the National Museum. Our visit started with a cute movie about the history and natural splendor of the Cayman Islands. Our favorite exhibits were in the natural history room, which had a little "submarine" where we sat and pushed buttons to see clips of various sea creatures (it was like a video fish card), as well as Cayman sea floor maps and life-sized models of sea turtles, iguanas and other local fauna. Upstairs, we enjoyed the old courtroom, which had the judge's bench, plus video re-creations of famous Cayman trials. We also saw a model of a Cayman cat boat; maybe we'll come back during Easter week and get to sail in one during the cat boat races (when participants also give rides, we've heard).
Our cultural activity completed, we returned to Harbour View Apartments to have some soda, check in for our flight and check out of our studio, since we had an early morning departure planned. Those errands done, we walked down the street to The Wharf for their famous Friday happy hour. They have drink specials and a free appetizer buffet, so we decided to make a small meal out of it. Jer had a rum and coke, and Jess had the cocktail special, a Cayman Mama (basically a rum punch: two kinds of rum with orange and pineapple juices and a splash of grenadine; I had them replace the coconut rum with spiced rum), both of which were pretty good. We also had crudites with green goddess dressing, faux jerk chicken and fish fingers; not exactly gourmet fare, but it suited our needs admirably.
Pretty soon, we had to hurry back to out studio to get ready for our evening's activity. Right on time, Danielle from Cayman Sea Elements picked us up again, this time for their bio bay tour. After picking up a few other passengers, we headed back to the Cayman Islands Yacht Club to board their flat-bottomed boat. Our captain (Don Foster, founder and former owner of a well-known dive shop) sped across the North Sound to a residential area near Rum Point, where we were invited to get in the water and snorkel with dinoflaggellates. We'd done this in the USVI too, but they were far brighter and more concentrated on Grand Cayman. Every time we moved, little speckles of light appeared around us in the water, like fairy dust, and the faster we went, the brighter it got. It was pretty amazing! Eventually, though, it was time to get back on the boat, dry off, have some sangria and return to the dock. (We met a couple living in Brooklyn onboard, and they recommended that we visit St. Lucia and Barbados, especially the Cool Runnings Catamaran tour.)
Danielle dropped us off at Harbour View Apartments again. We ate the other ramen we'd brought from NYC, hung our wet things to dry and went to bed, so we could get up early and pack.
We got up with the alarm, but it was hard to motivate ourselves to get ready, knowing we had to leave. After our last Cayman special breakfast on the deck, we packed up to head to the airport, back to NYC and real life. Our taxi arrived instantly once we called, and there was pretty much no traffic, so we made great time and arrived well before the rush. We got seats at our gate and looked at some of our pictures from the trip until it was time to board the plane. We had uneventful flight home, other than crying babies, and got through the hour-long immigration line at JFK before heading home.
On the way home, Jess enumerated her favorite experience of each day: