One of our 'must -dos' whist in the Cayman Islands was a visit to Stingray City.

In years gone by returning fishermen would clean their catch in the calm, shallow sandbanks once inside the North Sound reef. Over time the strigrays came to realise that at this food dump they could feed well and would return day after day - today the tourists to the feeding! Local tripper boats bring hundreds of tourists daily to see the stingrays who still hang-out in the shallow sand bank.

We set off at 7.30am from our nearby North Sound calm overnight anchorage at StarFish Point with the aim of getting to Stingray City Sandbar before the crowds. It was blowing up to 20 knots- so even inside the reef in North Sound it was choppy. By the time we had anchored and taken the dingy to the sandbar there were already 4 or 5 tourist boats with 50 or so people - and more boats arriving every few minutes - this was fast becoming a zoo for both stingrays and people. A feeding frenzy quickly happens when the day tripper handlers bait the water with burley and then hold the stingrays for their punters to pat and feed squid to them.

As we stood in waist deep water there were heaps of 'tame' Atlantic Southern stingrays elegantly gliding past our legs. These stingrays were huge with the females having an average 2 meter wingspan. The death of Steve Irwin was in the forefront of our minds!

Our hour or so spent here has got to have been one of the most unusual underwater attractions we have ever visited - it was fun snorkelling around with the camera - I got some great shots and video.


While wandering around the island I went in search of some of the islands National symbols - plants, animals, traditional Arts and Crafts and food.

The most beautiful National symbol is the Grand Cayman Parrot. They can now only been seen in aviaries around the island. They have a very loud screech, iridescent green body with a white eye ring, red cheeks, black ear patches and blue wing feathers.

The climate is perfect for orchids growing naturally all around the island. The Wild Banana was my favourite - with a scented flower, light purple lips and a bright yellow dot on the petals.

The Silver Thatch palms were used by the early settlers to make rope, brooms and cover roofs. Today the fonts are used to make ornamental pieces - mainly as tourist tat for the cruise ships passengers.

The George Town fishermen still have an outdoor market. Every time we passed they were cleaning heaps of good size Red Snapper. We noted that Red Snapper was available on many restaurant menus -often cooked and prepared as a signature dish.

One hot sunny afternoon we took refuge in the National Gallery. A National Gallery is housed in a very modern, contemporary building - not at all like the elegant George Town waterfront wooden traditional National Trust Museum. It was a very interesting gallery showcasing both traditional arts and crafts and emerging artists.