For the fish, this was a daily occurrence. This small group had become completely fearless in its hunt for cheese. While the fish were busy bumping each other to get food, I could get close enough with my macro lens to compose. My instructor, John Bailey, was carrying an underwater writing tablet, and after I'd shot about 20 frames, he tapped my arm and began writing frantically. An even odder confluence of people and animals happens each day at Stingray City, a sandy-bottomed spot in 12 feet of water on the north side of Grand Cayman.
Stingray City is the most popular dive site in the islands.
Every dive operation on Grand Cayman sends at least one boatload of snorkelers and scuba divers there each day. The story goes that, in the mid-'80s, fishermen cleaning their catch noticed th e normally solitary stingrays congregating to eat the offal they tossed overboard. Some divers began swimming with the stingrays, then feeding them by hand. Our dive leader assured us the barb was strictly defensive, and that because the stingrays are so accustomed to people, we would be safe. The stingrays' eyes are on top of their bodies, and their mouths are underneath.