From: paul.graveline%travel@wugate.wustl.edu (Paul Graveline) 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.caribbean
Subject: CARIBBEAN TRAVEL ROUNDUP8
Date: 1 Sep 92 13:19:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: Travel Online, St. Louis, MO
Reply-To: paul.graveline%travel@wugate.wustl.edu (Paul Graveline) 

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the  country,  banks  will  buy back at $.84CI=$1US. You can also do  
this  at  the  snack  bar  in  the  departure lounge of the airport.  
Speaking  of  the  airport,  there  is  a  $6CI ($7.50US) per person  
departure tax and PLEASE HAVE THE EXACT AMOUNT--no change given!  
 
Food  ranges  from  our  familiar  fast food types like Burger King,  
Wendy's,  Hardy's  and  Subway  to  big  restaurants such as Captain  
Morgan's,  and  Tony Roma's. There are also quite a few "West Indies  
cuisine"  types.  A  lot  of  the fun is searching them out. Try the  
"Jerk  Chicken"  or "Jerk Beef" if you like curry. Fish is expensive  
although  we  had a very good"all you can eat" fish dinner for $18US  
at  the  Almond  Tree.  If your housing includes a kitchen there are  
three  big  grocery stores; 2 Foster's (7 mile beach and the airport  
area)  and  Kirk's.  We prefer the latter. Just remember, that price  
that  looks  just  a wee bit high is in CI! There is also a "Farmers  
Market"  every day in Georgetown and you can get seasonal fruits and  
vegetables  there  for  the  best prices. Wherever you shop you will  
find  that  the  Caymanians shop there too. There are no out-of-the- 
way  cheap native places. If you have the transport you might go out  
to  Watler's  Bee  Farm just on the Georgetown side of Savannah. One  
pound  of  delicious honey is $2CI. Look in the newspaper (Caymanian  
Compass)  and  some of the handouts. There are "good for" coupons in  
them.  We bought two Subway foot long BMT's and soft drinks for half  
price  with  one. Free drinks if you listen to sales pitches at some  
of the resorts are not to be sneezed at.  
 
We  think  that  if  you  go  to  any  of  the Caymans you are going  
primarily  for  the  snorkeling  and/or  the diving. There are other  
water  sports  available  but  they are for the off days or those in  
the  group  that aren't interested in underwater fairylands. You can  
shop  in  Georgetown  but  you  better  be very wealthy because they  
cater  mainly  to  folks  off the cruise ships who have come to save  
$500  on a $1600 watch or something similar in crystal or china. Tee  
shirts  and  other  souvenir  items abound but how many of those can  
you  buy  and still hold your head up? There is a golf course at the  
Hyatt  Regency  that  is  very interesting. It is half the size of a  
regular  golf  course  and  you  use a special ball that will travel  
only  half  the  distance  of a regular ball. This allows you to use  
all  the  clubs  in  your  bag-  -it  is not a par three course. The  
course  was designed by Jack Nicklaus. Who designed the ball remains  
a mystery but it is effective.  
 
A  lovely  day  trip  is to the Turtle Farm on the North side past 7  
Mile  Beach.  The  Cayman  government  is  deeply  committed  to re- 
establishing  the  famous  green  turtle  and are well on the way to  
doing  so. For a small fee you can wander about the "crawls" and see  
turtles  from  sprats  that  will  fit  in  the palm of your hand to  
monsters  weighing  hundreds  of  pounds  resting  peacefully in the  
water.  Feeding time is from 3 to 3:30 PM. Judging from the comments  
we  have  overheard the Farm is a big hit with the kids. For roughly  
$5US  you  can  sponsor  the release of a baby green. When you do so  
you  are  asked  to  sign  their  "release  book" and you get a nice  
certificate to take home.  
 
A  good  photo  opportunity are the blow holes out near East End. If  
you  are  patient  and  plan  carefully you can get some spectacular  
shots  with  water  flying  30-40 feet in the air. On the way out to  
the  blow  holes  there  are  several  Island craft shops with straw  
hats,  mats, etc. The prices are not much less than in town but with  
cash  in  hand  and a pleasant attitude accords can be reached. Just  
to  listen to the sound of those lovely liquid voices with their own  
special accent makes it all worthwhile.  
 
As  you  travel  about,  keep a close eye out for the Cayman Houses.  
The  phrase  popular  here is "painted ladies" for their soft pastel  
color  schemes. They make great travel shots. Take your time setting  
up  and  use a tripod if you have one. You use 25 ASA or at most 100  
for  this  kind  of  work for the color saturation and you will want  
some  depth  of field to get the front yards in focus as well as the  
house.  This slower film speed allows the lower F-stop you will need  
to get all that.  
 
Another  attraction, which we have not visited, is the Pirates Cave.  
Everyone  to  whom  we  spoke  about going gave it a thumbs down. It  
sounds  like  a  small  cave that has been rather gaudily dressed up  
and surrounded with some tacky souvenirs.  
 
Finally,  if  you  are  not  a diver but want the unparalleled beach  
time  Cayman  provides  there is always snorkeling. You can rent all  
the  equipment you need (mask, snorkel, and fins) or bring your own.  
The  stuff  does  not  need to be anywhere near expensive. We divers  
will  be casually displaying our $50 Impulse snorkels, our $130 full  
face,  low  volume,super-silicon,  whatever  else masks, etc. Be not  
intimidated.  Buy  a  $9 mask and snorkel at Kmart before you go and  
plan  to  throw it away when you leave. You should have fins because  
they  make  swimming  much  easier  and  less  tiring. Rent 'em. One  
comment  must  be  made  about  masks. If you wear glasses you can't  
wear  them  while  snorkeling but masks can be bought into which you  
can  put  pre-ground  lenses (available where you buy the mask) that  
will  closely  match your prescription. Several of our friends swear  
by  theirs.  But, they are expensive. You had best like to snorkel a  
lot  to  invest.  So  now  you  have  the equipment. Throw it into a  
string  bag along with the beach towel and some stale bread and walk  
down  to the sand. Stake out a place and settle in. When it gets hot  
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