Sunset at Smith's Cove (just down the street).Hello again, and welcome to our March edition. It's been a pretty hectic month for us, getting the house sorted, a bit of travel, lots of sport. It's all happening!
We hope you enjoy the read.
Don't forget that you can view older editions by scrolling down or by using the Archive button over on the right near the top.
See ya!
Cayman from BVI – what’s the difference?
So, here we have our first impressions of Cayman compared to the BVI.
We’ve been here for a little over a month now. If you have already visited both or lived in both you will probably have different views or memories than us. But this is our blog so we call it as we see it. However, feel free to comment if you feel the urge. There’s a “Comment” space at the bottom somewhere. All comments are gratefully received!
Cayman from BVI – what’s the difference?
So, here we have our first impressions of Cayman compared to the BVI.
We’ve been here for a little over a month now. If you have already visited both or lived in both you will probably have different views or memories than us. But this is our blog so we call it as we see it. However, feel free to comment if you feel the urge. There’s a “Comment” space at the bottom somewhere. All comments are gratefully received!
A tourist invasion...
Cayman has a larger population – by larger I mean more (approx 60,000). BVI is about 25,000 on a good day (but possibly larger on average… if you get my drift). There are significantly more expats here as well, maybe up to 50% of the population.
BVI has lots of beaches. Cayman has about three – but one of them is about five miles long (called Seven mile beach) so the total area of beach could be similar, it just looks all the same here – apart from Rum Point and Smith’s Cove, which are quite small. And it’s pretty hard to find a place with a view given that it is very flat. If you want a view, you either live on the beach or get an apartment a few floors up.
BVI has lots of beaches. Cayman has about three – but one of them is about five miles long (called Seven mile beach) so the total area of beach could be similar, it just looks all the same here – apart from Rum Point and Smith’s Cove, which are quite small. And it’s pretty hard to find a place with a view given that it is very flat. If you want a view, you either live on the beach or get an apartment a few floors up.
They cram the cruise ships in here too. Usually about three or four ships per day, but apparently sometimes up to nine. The most we've seen is six. But with about 3,000 per ship, it's a wonder this place doesn't sink!
Plenty of bars/pubs and restaurants in both countries, but the majority of the Cayman Bars have roofs and electricity (but they close at midnight on a Saturday!). And the staff in Cayman seem genuinely pleased to see you.
The Cayman Dollar is valued at $US1.25 so while the prices of most things appear similar, in reality they are about 25% more expensive.
School
The kids have settled into school now and seem to like their new uniforms, teachers and classmates at Cayman Prep. Jake seems to be getting some ‘real’ homework now which is a bit of a shock for him (and won’t hurt!). His teacher is Mrs Bailey who seems really nice and has a good reputation. Sam’s teacher is Miss Natasha who is also very nice. There are three classes in Sam’s year and three in Jake’s too. So the school is quite a bit bigger than Cedar (about twice the size).
Plenty of bars/pubs and restaurants in both countries, but the majority of the Cayman Bars have roofs and electricity (but they close at midnight on a Saturday!). And the staff in Cayman seem genuinely pleased to see you.
The Cayman Dollar is valued at $US1.25 so while the prices of most things appear similar, in reality they are about 25% more expensive.
School
The kids have settled into school now and seem to like their new uniforms, teachers and classmates at Cayman Prep. Jake seems to be getting some ‘real’ homework now which is a bit of a shock for him (and won’t hurt!). His teacher is Mrs Bailey who seems really nice and has a good reputation. Sam’s teacher is Miss Natasha who is also very nice. There are three classes in Sam’s year and three in Jake’s too. So the school is quite a bit bigger than Cedar (about twice the size).
Egyptian Day at School
More pics:
Grocery Shopping
There are several decent sized supermarkets here in Cayman. Dave had got used to spending his days wandering in and out of Riteway (BVI) hoping that they had fresh veges in or that the bread wasn’t yet all mangled and mouldy. Compared to BVI, shopping for food etc is a dream, but is probably a similar price to BVI. And it makes a nice change to be greeted by helpful (smiling even!) staff as opposed to being made to feel that you are putting someone out if you try and maneuver your trolley past some clown employed to restock the shelves. It was also nice to be able to walk in on a Monday morning and find fresh fruit and vege (in the BVI you usually have to wait until after 11 am on a Tuesday – because that’s when the next delivery is.). Although, at least in the BVI they are open seven days. In Cayman there is nothing open on a Sunday, and you can’t buy beer, wine etc at anytime in a supermarket. You have to go to a bottle store for that (and pay about twice the price!). Which leads us nicely into the next topic for discussion.
Sin Tax (as opposed to syntax – which we obviously know very little about).
Dave was talking to a Caymanian (Belonger/Local) the other day and they were discussing, as you do, the best place to buy beer.
“It done matta. Dey all d’ same marn.”
A case of Heineken here costs around $35 CI. BVI is about $22 US.
He went on to explain that a few years ago the Government introduced a “Sin” Tax on “Sin” items such as alcohol and tobacco. This was (a) to try and reduce the amount of ‘sinning’ going on around the place, and (b) to raise some additional revenue. And tax at about 300% would certainly raise some revenue.
So, it is true. We all pay for our sins one way or the other, and I guess we will continue to do that for a while longer as well. Although we did ship over a modest supply of ‘Sin’ items from the BVI. If the BVI government ever cottons on to this there’ll be hell to pay!
The kids have bikes now that we are on a flat island!
Fast Food
Yes, back in the world of crap food on every second corner. Well, not quite. The usual bunch of fast food outlets are here (not sure if it’s a good thing or bad. We didn’t really miss any of this in the BVI). Although we did have to check out BK the other night after rugby and a few beers. Funnily enough, there is no McDonald’s here in Cayman. Well there is, but it isn’t the big fast food chain with the golden arches. It’s a locally owned and operated outfit with two or three outlets. Apparently the guy who owns it got set up in Cayman well before McD’s got organized and he refuses to sell his name to them. This must be one of the few countries that don’t have a McD. We are keen to try out the other one though. It looks as though it might have a bar in it too! Maybe we can do a special report back on that one.
Driving
Well, yes. They drive on the left here and most of the cars are right hand drives so we are almost back to normal driving. The island is flat as a pancake (highest point about 60 feet) and the roads are pretty well maintained, so not too many blind corners, vertical driveways and cliff edges to negotiate. Although the odd hill or two here would be nice for a change. It’s hard to get your bearings around here with no landmarks to see.
There are at least eight sets of traffic lights here. BVI has one – although if the idiot roundabout scheme there gets the go ahead, they’ll be catching up fast!
On the way to the kid’s school there is a four way intersection. Each road has its own Stop sign. “WTF!?” we exclaimed. It’s a bit like a Mexican stand off, but you just get your nose through before the other three contenders and you’re away. Maybe there’s some form of Four-way-intersection Etiquette, but we have yet to establish if that is, in fact, the case.
Dave went in to the Licencing Department the other week to get his Cayman Driver’s Licence. He parks the car only to be told to back out and straighten the car up by the carpark monitor. He was three inches too far to the right, when everybody knows that the limit is two inches. He carefully adjusts the car to meet the said limits and then heads into the office. There is no written test (yahoo!) but there is form to complete. He finds the relevant green form (the last one in stock) and attempts to complete it. Hmmm, pen doesn’t work. Nor does the next one. The next one is missing, leaving only the stretchy string bit. He wanders back out to the car and gets his own pen and returns back inside to continue. They require a P.O. Box number and Zip Code. Dave returns to the car to retrieve the required info and then joins the queue. After a relatively short wait (30 mins) he finds himself at the front of the queue. His details are taken, the form is inspected and he is told to wait, his licence will be ready soon. He spots the lady working on his licence through a window. She stops working on his licence and goes to play with a baby. “How cute” thinks Dave (not really). She finally finishes it (the licence) and Dave is called back up to retrieve his passport and paperwork. Once done he is directed to the vacant cubicle at the end where someone will magically appear to actually print the licence. After about 30 minutes a door magically opens and a lady appears (wiping crumbs from her top) to process the licence, which she does in record time, only to find that she had put Dave’s eye colour as Hazel (maybe that’s the default setting here). Anyway, she fixes that and Dave is now the proud holder of a Cayman Driver’s licence.
Dave also bought a car the other day (a Rav4) and the whole process, while similar to the BVI (less the cursory inspection of the horn and brake lights), only took about 10mins, and five of that was standing in the queue.
Rugby Club
You can’t compare the BVI rugby scene with anything else. It has its own special appeal, characters and uniqueness. To compare them with any other set up would be unfair… on the others.
The Cayman Club is pretty much what you would expect to see anywhere else in the world. It has a strong UK/Irish influence and seems to be fairly well organized. The people seem like a pretty good bunch too and there is a good mix of Kiwis, Aussies, Saffers and Poms (and Welsh, Scots and plenty of Paddies!).
There seems to be something on there almost every day/night. Training for women/men etc on week nights, then Social Touch Rugby on a Friday night. Saturday is either Rugby (kids in the morning, women around midday, and men later) and Sunday is Touch (competitive, or Social if there is no competition running), or Gaelic Football (they alternate weeks).
Not quite in the same league as Bomba's...
Churches
Well, just like the BVI, there is a stack of them here too.
Dave had to crank up the stereo on Sunday morning just to drown out the church bells that were merrily ringing and clanging away. We aren’t sure if the neighbors were all that impressed, but hey, we live in a world of forgiveness and tolerance don’t we?
That’s the end of our little BVI/Cayman Comparison. There is bound to more experiences worth noting and we’ll be sure to bring them to you as they occur.
House.
There is a ‘virtual video tour’ of our house at the bottom. As you will see, it is a ‘real’ house, with lawns and stuff!
We are pleased to advise that we have a Land Lady who actually does what she promises to do. A couple of things that we reported were fixed almost immediately.
Sport
Michelle has got herself into a Touch team as well as a Gaelic Football team. She has been training with the women’s rugby side as well, but since they have just returned from a tour, things are a little quiet on that front.
Dave has weaseled his way into the Cayman Pirates Touch team as well. It’s the same side Michelle plays for. He got his first game the other week and after a fairly shaky start they ran out winners 10 – 6. Trouble was, they play on a full sized rugby pitch (shortened slightly), with six a side, in the middle of the day and play 20 minute halves! That was a bit of a challenge.
The team also travelled to Ft Lauderdale last week for a Touch Tournament. See the Travel Report for that.
The weekend just gone was “Super Sunday”. We had three games scheduled for the hot afternoon. We won the first, lost the second and won the third. So, not a bad result overall. But we should never have lost the second game. It wasn’t pretty!
Some Gaelic action
St Paddies day at the Rugby Club.
We said there was a strong Irish influence here and on the Saturday before St Patrick’s day there was a flurry of activity at the club.
Gaelic football – Ireland vs the World (a mens game, a married vs singles game and also a women’s game). Michelle played for the rest of the world. They lost to a very experience bunch of ‘Colleens.’
The crowd goes wild...
Compromised Football – half a game of Gaelic and half a game of Aussie Rules. Ireland vs Oz.
Hurling – see who could hurl the farthest (that’s with ball and bat thing as opposed to the other type…).
Hurling – a game of Irish vs Irish, ‘cos no-one else knew how to play.
Tug o war. Several categories including women (Rugby vs Gaelic). Michelle pulled for the Gaelic Girls against the Rugby Girls and they lost narrowly.
So, another busy day at the club!
Believe it or not, they won that one
St Patrick’s Day
They say that on St Patrick’s Day, everybody is Irish. Well, in Cayman that appears to be true. They’re everywhere! Even the locals speak with a slight Irish lilt.
Dave decided to get his non-existent fitness regime moving by entering in the 17th St Paddies Day Irish Jog (5km). It was run at a local Golf Course and there were about 900 participants, most of which were dressed in green.
The winner finished in 16 mins, closely followed by Dave (25 mins) sweating like hell and well short of a run. Then it was off to Fidel Murphy’s (Irish Pub) for some refreshments and to mingle with another 900 people dressed in green. Believe it or not the below leprechaun ran the 5km in that outfit, complete with pixie shoes, wig and beard!
Surf Report
Errrrr…. Nothing to report. We have found the spot where the surf is supposed to be. Now we just have to go there when there is, in fact, some surf.
Diving
Since the surf is not really a happening thing, we have resumed diving here. This month Dave went out on a Night Dive at Angel Fish Reef and Michelle went on a Sunday dive in search of the illusive Hammerhead Shark at the North Wall. He was having the day off it seems, but she got some cool photos of some other sea life.
Dave also went on a Sunday dive the other day, but due to the choppy seas, they went out to the more sheltered South/West side for a couple of dives. The second dive was a wreck dive but due to some technical issues with the camera no photos where forthcoming from that. We’ll have to go back there again once we sort the camera out. It’s a ship that is still intact and offers some good photo opportunities.
BBQ
We bought a new BBQ the other week as the house here doesn’t have one. We even managed to buy it pre-assembled (it was the last one in the shop). We did struggle to squeeze it in the back of the car but got there in the end. After a couple of test runs we unleashed it on a few guests last weekend without complaint.
Travel Report
Fort Lauderdale.
Travel Report
Fort Lauderdale.
Our Touch Team (Cayman Pirates) went to Fort Lauderdale (just up the street from Miami) for a tournament last weekend. We decided to go on the Thursday so we could do some shopping ("Yay!" says Dave). After a quick flight to Miami (about One hour 15 minutes) we queue up with half of Haiti at the Immigration area (or Department of Homeland Security as they call it) and wait for almost the same time as the flight! That done, off we go and find a rental car and then head to the Dolphin Mall just around the corner for a couple of fun filled hours of shopping before heading up to Ft Lauderdale to find our lodgings.
Shopping and food done, then off we go. Hmmm... it looked easy on the Map! After about three laps of Fort Lauderdale we finally find the place and settle in for the night only to learn that it just happens to be Spring Break and approximately two thirds of America's 18 year olds are staying at our Hotel. Excellent news. But it wasn't that bad. We managed to get some sleep before hitting another massive mall for some more shopping.
Then it was off to a hotel down the road for the traditional team dinner, which was very nice.
Pre Tournament Team Bonding session.
Saturday was tournament day. Our Team shirts only arrived the day before the tournament so no-one had seen them. Upon donning the shirts, it was noticed that some of the Screen Printing and Embroidery wasn't quite up to Scratch. We were now the Cayman "Pirals". So much for getting the shirts done in Pakistan!
Once we found the ground and started to get ready we also noticed that only one other team had any female players (and she was the only one!). Our team was a truly mixed team so we thought we might be up against it from the start. We were. We lost the first game but then started to sort things out during the morning. By lunchtime the weather had turned for the worse. Semi finals time. In three feet of water and playing against the tide in the first half, we managed to hold on for a win. We had made the final. The final was against a bunch of local Kiwis and Aussies, who were pretty quick.
The Cayman .... errr...Pirals...
This is how they spell "Pirate" in Pakistan.
This is how they spell "Touch" in Pakistan...
By full time the scores were tied, 5 - 5. Into extra time with one minute drop offs. First to score wins. Unfortunately, after the first drop off, one of the opposition slipped through to win the game. Never mind. A hot shower and off to the pub for the prizegiving...
Waterlogged...
...Water Boy
Anglin Pier
Fort Lauderdale Beach
Resident Pelican
Sunday was off to a beachside resturaunt for Brunch and a walk along the pier and then "Boomers" which is a kids amusement park where Jake enjoyed (well initially anyway) his first Rollercoaster ride. To be fair it was quite rickety and everyone had white knuckles and affro's by the end of it. There were also plenty of Arcade games, Bumper Boats and Go Karts. The kids had a ball before it was time to navigate our way back to Miami and head back to Cayman after a busy weekend.
After the Bumper Boats
Before the Rollercoaster ride...
.... and after.....
Weather Report
Cayman weather. 22 – 29 is the norm of late. We have seen a few spots of rain (approx 36 this month). Luckily we are on mains water!
Happy Easter!!!!!!!
Next month
McDonalds (Cayman style!)
More Diving!
Easter on Little Cayman (Maybe!)
And Other stuff yet to be thought of!
And Other stuff yet to be thought of!
DON'T FORGET TO WATCH THE 'WHIRLWIND TOUR' OF OUR HOUSE (Below)
