Issue # 60 - August Times

. August 2012 .

 Hello there!
Welcome to our August edition. A very august month indeed.
It would have been a bit earlier coming out but we had a weekend to deal with, and things don't really happen on a weekend.
But, a busy month all the same, without really going anywhere!
We had some visitors - Nana (Jan) and Keith came over from NZ for a few weeks of rest and relaxation. The kids had other ideas, as they were still on their summer holidays. But we are pretty sure that they had a great time here.  They were pretty happy to not have to worry about earthquakes for a while, but that was soon replaced by the threat of Hurricanes. One past by on their arrival. Another (Isaac) delayed their departure by a day.
So, most of the month was spent doing things with Jan and Keith.
Anyway, their report is next. Enjoy the read!   .

          CAYMAN ISLAND VISITOR REPORT

Well what can we say – what an idyllic way to get away

from stress, cold weather and earthquakes.

After a few days recuperating and winding down we had a

Great weekend at the  Reef Resort at the East End of the Island

with Michelle, Dave and a few of their friends.

We made a start on our sun tans, did lots of swimming and spent plenty of time

drinking rum punches and mudslides.

Well, it is after midday... just!

Tough life

 The day after returning from the Reef we went on boat

trip to Rum Point and Stingray City to swim with

the stingrays. A great day was had by all but the water was too

rough for Nana to swim with them. One of our

many highlights.

 

We also had a wonderful trip on the Red Sail Sunset Yacht, the

evening was not quite clear enough to do any

photography of the sunset but they made very good

rum punches hence we were a bit the worse for wear by

the time we got home.

A visit to the turtle farm was another experience, all very

interesting and the kids enjoyed the swimming pool.

The glass bottom boat trip was very educational and

interesting. We learnt a lot about the history and under

water species of the Island.

We spent a lot of time at the beaches and another of our

highlights was the snorkelling and to actually see

turtles in the sea in their natural environment. That was

awesome.

 

               A Very different species of fish!!

Another chance in a life time which was recommended

by our hosts was to swim with the dolphins. Nana was a little

apprehensive for a start but soon got over that and it was just

awesome.

 

 

 

As you can see we both have had a very awesome time

whilst in the Cayman Islands, have enjoyed spending

quality time with Michelle, Dave, Sam Jake and all their

wonderful  friends who all made us feel at home. A big

thank you to you all and we have got lots of memorable

moments to remember.

THANK YOU

Jan and Keith

The Reef

So, as already alluded to above, a bunch of us headed east for a weekend at the Reef Resort. The weather forecast wasn't the best and this was confirmed by the number of crabs heading for the hills, well as there isn't any hills, they were headed for indoor instead.

 Anyway, we settled into our beach front apartments and prepared for a weekend out in the sun. As you can see from the pic below, sun wasn't all that abundant on this particular weekend. But fortunately we had some overhead cover and also some wind breaks so we could actually position ourselves outside and enjoy the view without being blown off the planet or pelted by rain.

 See the below pic. This is where Saturday started...and finished. A bit like Friday really. Although there was a bit of musical chairs going on. Despite the howling gails and horizontal rain, we (OK... Mick) managed to get the bbqs going and steaks etc cooked. The blenders were doing overtime on the mudslide table and the weather whistled by. The kids ran around in the stormy weather and had a ball. Michelle managed to squeeze in a bike trip halfway around the island before the heavens opened and the blenders got going.

Can't beat a rum punch or two to take the edge off.

I have no idea either...

Some local art in the making

 Sunday was a better day weather-wise, although there were a few fuzzy heads going on. But it was back to the beach to enjoy some sun while the kids still wreaked havoc wherever they went. Michelle had another go out on the bike but came back rather shaken up - she was attacked by a local dog going through one of the small towns. Luckily she managed to put on a huge burst of speed and got by him without getting a chunk of her leg removed - took a good while for her heart rate to drop after that!

Jake the castaway... but he drifted back

 We spent a very relaxing day in the sun, then packed up and headed back to town after a nice weekend away. We stopped at an Aussie restaurant on the way which is always a good time. Nice setting, good food.  You can even get Roo steaks!

The Jandal Tree at Tukka

 Beach

Well, it wouldn't be Cayman if we didn't spend at least a couple of days a month at the beach. This month would be no different. Governors was one that got our vote on this day. The usual crew turns up and we all sit around enjoying the view, the climate and sights.

Some people like the limelight that Governor's beach offers.
How is he going to take the photo while holding that reflector thing?

The shadows lengthen...

 Stroke 'n Stride

The annual Stroke and Stride event takes place here every August. It's a three race event starting with a 400m Swim and Two mile run on the first Wednesday. A week later it's a 600m Swim and a Two mile run. The last Wednesday is an 800m swim and a two mile run.

 Michelle and Dave always take part. Michelle aiming for a top ten placing. Dave aiming not to be last!

It's a pretty good event and people of all levels of ability take part. Michelle always does well on the swim and has now become a fairly decent runner over the last year or two.

 Dave is a crap swimmer but manages to plod along and then try and make up a few places on the run, but the longer the swim, the further back he is.

Michelle does her 'Joe 90' impression at the finish

Dave sprints across the line...

Michelle placed a consistent and competitive fourth in the women's league in each of the three events. Dave place a little further back in the field, but wasn't last!
The event is held at our local (Sunset House) so it's always good to sit down and have a re-hydrating beer or two while also getting a decent meal in (especially when you are too tired to cook!).
Click here for more Stroke n Stride pics

Touch

Touch continues into the final weeks of the Summer League. We've had mixed results this year, with a few new players joining up. But that's all good. We are in the Third Division after all and are there to have fun and encourage new players. We currently sit 5th on the table with a game to go before finals day. We are playing the 4th placed team tomorrow night. If we can beat them, we'll have a chance at the trophy. If not, we'll be playing off for 5th on finals day. Michelle plays for another team in the First Division which traditionally has been very strong, however this year they have been struggling with players and had a few losses. The average age on the team is probably about 40 so speed is starting to be an issue and skill not nearly quite enough to get by on! Will be a challenge to be in the finals this year for a change but watch this space - the oldies may be able to pull it off on the day (if the speedsters can make it!).

Finals day is next Saturday, and the famous Annual Touch Dinner is the following Friday at 'The Wharf'. The theme this year is 'Circus' so brace yourself for some interesting outfits in the next edition.

More Beach

Governor's Beach is always a good spot on the weekend. This particular Sunday, friends of ours brought their Jet Ski down. The kids were pretty happy as it meant they could all have a crack at water skiing. They all lined up and had a crack. Some got straight up and off they went. Others didn't fair quite so well and had to work at it. But they all had a ball and look forward to the next time.  Michelle even got to have a go and she showed off her skills by getting up straight away and not coming off (although she was a bit sore the next day)!

All set!

I'm ready!

And Another beach!

  Tiki beach also got a bit of treatment while Jan and Keith were here.  We had really only been there in the evenings for functions prior to this. Michelle had a half day off and took Jan and Keith to check out the beaches along 7 mile beach and see if any would be good for snorkeling - we discovered that this one had the reef really close to shore so those less keen swimmers could swim around it without venturing far from the shore. It was a bit shallow over the top of the reef in a few places (you didn't want to get caught out too shallow or you got your tummy rubbed over the top of the reef which can be a bit sore!). We saw quite a lot of different kinds of fish, including a turtle, needlefish, barracuda and a spotted eagle ray. As the cruise-shippers leave early afternoon we pretty much had the beach to ourselves - it was lovely!

A couple or Tourists...

 And even another beach!

 Nana and Keith did some snorkeling out at Spotts beach which is another nice 

quiet place to go and hang out. We managed to squeeze in one more last snorkel trip between going out for breakfast and dinner on their last day! There was quite a lot of fish life around the various clumps of coral. We saw lobster, crabs, squid, flamingo tongue, tiny blue spotted fish to large rainbow fish, and well as more turtles. As there was a storm on it's way the beach was pretty quiet so we made the most of it, especially when it started raining and we had to take cover in one of the cabanas!

Flamingo Tongue

Spott's Beach

Squiddly diddly

Reading his 15th book that day while every one else snorkeled...

Weather

We have had a bit of weather of late. Well, it is Hurricane season.  There have been plenty of storms hanging about, but luckily nothing major around this place so far.

We did get a stack of rain last week. Here is our front lawn after a decent downpour.

Click here for other pics

Next Month:
September brings us:

• Touch Finals Day
• Touch Dinner
• Maybe a sneaky trip in there somewhere for someone?