It’s been a awhile since I shared my travel posts and I realized that I have had yet to finish my Caribbean series. So this evening, I am so happy to share with you the 3rd port of our cruise. Grand Cayman!! Which also happened to be my favorite of all the stops!
Grand Cayman is the biggest of the 3 Cayman Islands, and we made port in it’s capital, George Town. As I’ve mentioned in my previous Caribbean posts (here and here), Eli decided that he wanted us to have a little excursion on each on. In George Town, we got off the boat with some of our group and snapped some photos and went in the shops in hunt of souvenirs. Eli and I found some Pali sandals and he also wanted a hat to help protect him from the sun. We split up with our friends because they were headed to the beach and we had to wait for our excursion. So we found a little coffee shop that advertised free Wi-Fi and relaxed for a bit.
It was a warm, sunny, day with big fluffy clouds floating in the sky, a perfect day for a drive around town. We took a little trolley tour of George Town. The tour guides were very friendly and knowledgeable. We learned so much about the country and their culture. Grand Cayman was part of the British Empire which is why the official language is English and why they drive their cars on the other side of the road.
We drove through the town square and saw a lot of shops and business buildings. There was a town square with statues celebrating their heros. We also passed by many historic buildings that had been built in the 1800’s. Most of the historic buildings had the year displayed on the front which I found to be very interesting! I also loved the colonial architecture to the older homes and the pastel colored houses. It felt very charming to see the cute homes, next to tropical plants and palm trees, with the blue Caribbean sea just behind them.
Even though the Cayman Islands are part of the UK, they were given the freedom to choose and create their own democracy and took ideas and laws from countries around the world that helped to instill their values as a culture into their society. People from all over the world come to visit and live in the Cayman Islands which fuels the main economy of the country, tourism. However, even though they primarily rely on tourism for their livelihood, they also want to respect their visitors and their country and as a result, they are not as pushy in their salesmanship as some of the other countries we visited on this trip. Since they have so many people visiting, in order to live there, you need to already have a job, go through a background and health check before they let you stay. Also, if you are a citizen of another country but have your baby there, the baby becomes a citizen of wherever you are from, not the Cayman Islands.
Another thing that is unique to the Cayman Islands is the lack of taxes. The tour guides told us a story about how a member of the Royal Family had been in a shipwreck and that the local settlers had helped rescue them causing no lives to be lost. King George III apparently decreed that they would never be taxed. The shops are duty free, which is why so many people want to buy jewelry and expensive watches there. There is no income tax imposed on their residents or businesses either. That in and of itself is almost reason to want to move there!
The furthest our tour took us was to Smith’s Cove, a beautiful almost secluded beach, where we were able to hang out for about 15 minutes. Long enough for a swim in the most perfect water ever! Eli and I didn’t want to leave and we considered going back after we got back to the port, but we knew our friends were waiting for us.
After our trolley dropped us off, we got in a taxi that drove us to our last stop of the day, Seven Mile Beach! With our bathing suits still wet from our first dip, we couldn’t wait to get back into the water! Our friends had been swimming, sunbathing and snorkeling and it was so surreal to be there, enjoying the moment in the clearest water! We talked about how much we all loved it there and what Eli and I learned about the country. None of us wanted to leave and dreamed about pulling our money together to buy a house there. As our time on the beach came to a close so we could catch the last tinder boat, Eli and I ordered some of the most delicious jerk chicken I’ve ever had and I seriously thought about how I never wanted to leave!
George Town was by far my favorite stop on our cruise! It also seemed like the perfect place to live. They speak English, the weather wasn’t as hot and humid as the other stops, no taxes, so clean and quaint, and the people were for sure some of the nicest! It also had the bluest waters! We all were so amazed at how blue the ocean was on the tinder ride back to the cruise ship and all agreed it looked like Kool-Aid. But I knew it was calling my name as it was my favorite shade, Sarah blue 😉 If I ever go back to the Caribbean, it will be to Grand Cayman for sure!
Thank you for letting me share my favorite stop with you! I realized after I got home that I didn’t take very many photos at Seven Mile Beach because I was so excited to be in the water. I was pretty upset about that, but then I told myself that I’ll see it again someday. Hopefully sooner than later!!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!! Where has been your favorite place you’re visited?
