Cayman Brunch

Today, Mikey had made reservations at Agua, so I could enjoy a Caymanian bunch, so we headed to Camana Bay. I had only seen Camana Bay during the evening, so it was nice to see it during the day. A traditional brunch here means bringing everything on the menu and you can order the extra as desired. We enjoyed the dishes below with some Bloody Mary’s.

Here are some breads and white bean spread, butter, and pickled vegetables...



A pork belly Thai salad, frittatas, crostinis, and tuna...



Two types of pasta...

A local fish and a Chicken Milanese...



We took our chocolate dessert to go and returned back to the condo after the decadent meal where I decided to lounge, nap, and read by the pool. After a few hours, I came inside and Mikey declared he was in the mood for pizza and I remarked that the Pizza Hut a few blocks away could be enticing. I hadn’t been to one in over 20 years! So I had a salad and we shared a supreme pizza to enjoy a little nostalgia, pictured below:

After dinner, we watched television and ate frozen berries. We had planned to FaceTime Rachel, but wasn’t able to as she got caught up with putting her kids to bed and we get super sleepy here fast.

My last night in Cayman before returning to NY was relaxing and very chill!

Under the Seagrapes

I was picked up today by Kyle again and at 7:30 am. We picked up a couple from Sarasota, a solo diver from Iowa, and 2 father-daughter pairs from Maryland. This was clearly DC spring break as there was a DC family on my dive yesterday. Our captain was Ty who I had last time I was here as well.

Our first dive was at Little Tunnels where our maximum depth was around 85 feet and we went through a tunnel. Immediately we saw a turtle hanging around. It was nice and deep with great sealife to admire.

Our second dive was at Balero, which was near Three Trees where I dove yesterday. As we descended, I immediately saw a turtle. We also saw a masked hamlet which apparently is a rare fish, a spotted drum, and tons of baby jellyfish. When we get to about 1,000 psi of air, we just meander below the boat go free time. At 800 psi, we are supposed to start our safety stop and ascent procedures. Folks started ascending while I was still at 1,100, so I was pretty good on my air. Usually I’m one of the first out of the pool, but this time I was nearly last!

We all checked out at the dive shop and Kyle dropped me off at Al La Kebab, where I picked up a chicken shawarma and walked a few blocks to Mikey’s condo.

Mikey and I then hopped in a car and drove to Kimpton Seafire’s beach. Here you can see him multitasking - working on his tan while responding to emails!



The sea is so blue and the sands so soft!

But due to the sweltering sun and Mikey’s phone alerting us it was too hot, we moved underneath some seagrape trees...

After the beach, we headed home and got ready for Mikey’s friend’s birthday party which was conveniently a few developments over. We saw many of the same people from last night and one of Mikey’s colleagues whom I met during my last trip to Cayman. 

We enjoyed food, lots of rosé, and a dip in the hot tub as we all chatted the night away under the Cayman stars!

Kittiwake

After Mikey left for work, I lounged around the condo and checked a few work emails. Here’s a photo I sent a colleague, Mindy, who was texting me....



I made my way down to the pool and soaked in the sun and read for a few hours.



Although I prefer morning dives so I can laze on the beach afterwards, Living the Dream was already all booked for the morning dives and therefore picked me up at 12:30 pm for some afternoon dives. Kyle was the guide who picked me up and Warren was our captain. Warren said he remembered me from last time, but he wasn’t in my blog posts - he conceivably could have helped with equipment. But I was surprised by his insistence as I thought all divers looked the same.

I was joined by 2 families - one from DC and another from Portland, Oregon. They both had teenage sons who were recently certified. 

Last time I was with such experienced divers who had been to Cayman often, I didn’t get a chance to dive the most famous and popular site, Kittiwake. So I specifically requested it and no one on the boat had been yet. 

Kittiwake is a wreck dive and was purposely sunk to create an artificial reef. The USS Kittiwake was used to rescue submarines and even helped recover the black boxes from the Challenger shuttle. We swam through the entire boat which now lays on its side due to storms causing the boat to roll over. 

Our second dive was a reef dive called Three Trees and relatively shallow. It’s called Three Trees because there used to be three distinct trees onshore that helped mark the dive site. Here’s a photo of the divers coming out of the “pool”:



After the dive, I was dropped off and relaxed and napped by the pool. Mikey came home and we went out to watch the sunset at the Royal Palm where we enjoyed frosé drinks. We met up with his friends at a craft beer restaurant called, Kraft. We were all celebrating the passing of gay marriage in the Cayman Islands. What a historic moment and day!

We ultimately decided to have dinner at Mizu, an Asian fusion restaurant which is in Camana Bay. We shared rolls and had a lovely dinner outside.

I’m psyched for some more diving tomorrow!

Conch’ed

Back in December, JetBlue had a flash 24 - 48 hour sale and since Mikey said I could come down anytime, I’m back in the Cayman Islands! After waking up at 4:30 am, I landed in Grand Cayman after a quick direct flight. You’ll remember last time I transferred in Miami, so although I don’t have status on JetBlue, the $300 direct and round trip fare is a steal!

At the airport, I noticed a royal airforce plane and Mikey reminded me Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall were visiting from the United Kingdom! Mikey picked me up from the airport after long lines in immigration and headed back to his place at Crescent Point on Seven Mile beach. Since I was last here in November, he has started to renovate and refurnish his condo. I can’t wait to see it all done which means I’ll have to come back!

For lunch, we went to Macabuca which is right next to the Cracked Conch (we had eaten here last time). We enjoyed curry and a fish sandwich with some punch and it was particularly very busy compared to November. Mikey said it was busy due to the various spring breaks in the United States and families on vacation.

Here are a few photos of the water and the bar:

Afterwards we ran errands at the grocery and wine store, hence the wine in the cup holders!



Back at home, I napped deeply for several hours - I must have been tired from the early morning wake up call, drinks, and warm sun! Mikey woke me up and prepared glasses of rosé and we walked down to the beach to watch the sunset, pictured below:

From our grocery store visit, Mikey prepared hamburgers which we grilled outside under the Caribbean stars and then ate on his screened-in terrace, all pictured below:

We enjoyed macadamia cookies and relaxed in his apartment until we fell asleep watching the funny show “Friends from College” which we are!