 Our day in the Grand Cayman, was my dad's favorite part of the trip. This was my parent's 25th wedding anniversary so I don't think anything could have dampened their moods. We had a much more relaxed day. We got up in time for breakfast from the buffet and made it on the first ferry boat to the port.  We had a little over an hour to kill, so we wandered in and out of the shops looking at things to come back and buy. We then decided to grab a couple of local cocktails right by the dock. We each tried different drinks and took them with us when we heard our tour guide calling our excursion. We took a couple minute bus ride along the coat line to The Governor's Palace, where our catamaran was waiting on us. We were able to snag a spot on the netting that covered an open space right above the water. We relaxed and sun bathed on the open water until we were told to grab our snorkeling gear and have a quick lesson. The first place we were to snorkel was the USS Kittiwake. This boat was purposefully sunk in January 2011, after an almost 50 year life span in the military, to create an artificial reef. Its most famous mission was recovering the Blackbox from the Challenger space shuttle explosion. Interestingly enough, the ship actually had just moved almost 20 feet deeper just a few days before from Tropical Storm Nate.
We swam the length of the boat a dozen times over, watching the fish and scuba divers down below swim in and around the shipwreck. Our next stop was just a few miles away so we took off our gear and got comfy on the ropes. We stopped next at a very fragile shallow reef. We were given special instructions on how to stay above the coral and, of course, were told not to touch anything. Once we were prepped, we hopped in to the water. I immediately broke away from the crowd and went to see as much as I could. I swam over brain coral, rainbow fish, sea urchins, and lots and lots of finger coral. It was my very own "Planet Earth" moment, and I loved every moment of it.
When we heard the three air horns signaling us back, we hoped on board and sailed back to the port. Here, we were able to shop a little bit more than the other ports before having to head back to the boat, so I grabbed John a gift and we grabbed a ferry boat back to the ship.
12 Comments
Taylor Cos
11/1/2017 04:41:03 pm
We were able to see a lot more of the natural shallow coral reef than of the shipwreck, but it was still very cool to see from above!
Taylor Johnson
10/28/2017 12:40:51 pm
The water clarity is awesome!
Taylor Cos
11/1/2017 04:41:32 pm
Thank you! I shot all of these with our GoPro Hero5.
Wow that looks amazing! I'm always sooo afraid of the water but I want to do so many underwater adventures lol. Seeing your pictures and reading about your mini adventure makes me want to get scuba certified. Also if you are interested in more underwater cool things you should check out the sunken underwater statue off the coast of Key Largo you'd probably love it!
Taylor Cos
11/1/2017 04:43:08 pm
The water can certainly be a scary place, but there is so much to see down there! John and I have been saying for years we need to get scuba certified. Hopefully one day we will and we can take up your advice!
Taylor Cos
11/1/2017 04:44:22 pm
It was still very cool to see, especially knowing that it once carried the Challenger Space Station black box!
Taylor
10/29/2017 09:45:53 am
The snorkeling looks like so much fun! I'm glad that your dad loved it - I loved it myself when I visited! Thanks for sharing :)
Taylor Cos
11/1/2017 04:45:30 pm
I am glad you enjoyed the snorkeling, and my article!
Taylor Cos
11/1/2017 04:46:16 pm
Wow! That is a bucket list item of mine. I have always wanted to go there and scuba dive. I am so jealous! Leave a Reply. |
Talkin' 'bout Tacos:
I'm Taylor, aka Tacos! I am sharing my journeys and experiences from across the world hoping to inspire travel and adventure in all who read. Archives
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