The Cayman Islands - Swimming With The Dolphins

No trip to a tropical island like Grand Cayman would be complete without swimming with the dolphins. 

The Bottlenose Dolphin is an amazing creature, they learn tricks easily, aren't picky about what type of fish they eat and love people, they can also swim up to 60 mph. They have awesome eyesight but in the dark murky ocean they can't see that well, so to find there food they use echolocation. Echolocation is when the dolphins make a noise and bounces from the fish back to the dolphin. The dolphin who made the echolocation is the only dolphin who can tell what type of fish they hit, the fishes size, how far away and how long it will take to get to the fish.

At  Dolphin Discovery you don't just swim with the dolphins you can get a chance to be like a dolphin's trainer. You learn how to hug and kiss the dolphin, how to feed them and how to play with them.

The dolphins love to be pet just as much as I love petting them. When a trainer pets the dolphin its a reward for doing tricks. The trainer can communicate with the dolphin through hand motions and a high pitched whistle. I learned the hand motions make to the dolphins splash and eek. I also held onto two dolphin's dorsal fins and they pulled me through the water. We also did a trick called the toe push where two dolphins pushed on the flats of my feet so that when they started pushing me, I flew through the air. When we finished our tricks the dolphins and I had a splash fight, gave me kisses and I hugged them. 

I really like the dolphins, I hope they liked me as much as I liked them. 

   

Cayman Islands - Stingray City

Stingray City is a popular location in the ocean off of Rum Point. We took a glass bottom boat from Rum Point and it took us 15 to 20 minutes. The water is about waist deep, the only reason it is waist deep is because Stingray City is on a sand bar.

Our guide taught us how to hold the Stingrays, how to feed them and how to touch them without touching their tail.


Stingrays are a type of fish, related to sharks that are flat, with a bumpy spine and a barbed tail. The Stingrays favorite food is squid. Stingrays were named "Stingray" because of their poisonous barbed tail that they used to sting their prey and defend themselves from predators. They don't mean to sting people, though it does happen.
     

Glass Bottom Boat

I love this is small place in Grand Cayman where you get a chance to meet and swim with "the birds of the ocean."

The Cayman Islands - Turtle Farm

The Cayman Island's Turtle Farm is another special attraction close to Hell in the West End. It is very large and turtles are not the only thing that you can see and do.

The first thing you see when you walk into the Turtle Farm is a mini beach with giant sea turtles. You can buy little packs of food to feed those giants. In the mini pools of water (behind the mini beach) there are smaller turtles, that you can go in the pool with, and hold them.

There is a big salt water lagoon with coral, small fish, turtles, and nursery sharks that you can snorkel in. The turtle farm lets you borrow a snorkel and a inflatable life vest. Don't be alarmed when you see the nursery sharks, they wont harm you. Even though it is a man made lagoon, it feels like I was actually in the ocean swimming with sea turtles and the other sea life.  

 If you don't like that idea, there is also a chlorine pool that has a waterfall and a slide. In this pool you don't need a snorkel. You may see native lizards on the rocks and in the water, but they will run or swim away if you get to close.

We also learned that the turtle farm has been releasing turtles to the wild, and now twenty-five years later those turtles have been coming back to the Cayman Islands beaches to lay there eggs.  

If you are in the Cayman Islands I highly suggest you visit the Turtle Farm, it's a experience of a lifetime. 

The Cayman Islands - Hell

The Rock in Hell

Hell (H- E- double hockey sticks), is one of the tourist attractions in the West End on Grand Cayman. The rock was made from "acid rain and consumption of the rock by carbonate-loving organisms." Hell was named Hell because when it was found, people thought that this is what Hell would look like.

When I arrived at Hell

Hell also has a gift shop were you can buy things like t-shirts, bags, necklaces, and other cool souvenirs. You can also buy post cards and send your family and friends letters from hell. There's not much to do in Hell except look a beautiful thing that nature made. 

I actually have been to Hell and back 

I really enjoyed Hell, as much as I enjoy typing it. I hope next time I go to the Cayman Islands I will be able to see Hell again.

The Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands are 3 islands that are a British Territory. The largest island, Grand Cayman is known for its beach resorts, scuba diving and snorkeling sites because it is surrounded by a giant barrier reef.

The water in the Cayman Islands is much clearer than the water in the Jersey Shore, and the sea life is very colorful. Because of the barrier reef, there are only tiny little wakes in the water so its easy swimming.

Tarpon in the water

We stayed in the East End, which is very quiet and peaceful. Close by, you can drive to Rum Point,  its beautiful, but not very populated, and has beautiful views. Across the water, you can see West Bay. George Town is very populated and beautiful. Seven Mile Beach looks like a city because there are so many shops, buildings, restaurants, bars and boat docks. Seven Mile beach also has very good snorkeling and scuba diving spots.

The Blow Hole

On our 7 day trip we went to swim with the dolphins, the Turtle Farm, Stingray city and visited Hell. The blow holes were one my favorite spots to visit because when the water comes over the rocks, "BOOM" water splashes from a hole in the rocks, but if you get too close your going to get very wet. The only reason the splash is so big is because this part of the island isn't surrounded by the reef.

  

Hello Lizard

There were many cows, lizards, and chickens on the Grand Cayman, as well as human beings. In the water snorkeling we saw tarpon, parrot fish, baby squid, Caribbean lobster, tiger barb fish, baby green eel, huge living conch shells, clown fish (Nemo), blue tang fish (Dory) and lots of other small fish.
I had a great vacation, and I can't wait to go back to the Cayman Islands!