VaCAYMANation

I have been meaning to post this for a while, but I felt I needed more time and now, well, it\’s been a while, so I will try to recount what happened to the best of my probably faulty memory. I know, I have failed at being even close to up to date, but I\’ve had so many things I\’ve wanted to write about and for some reason this post was like a dark cloud looming over my otherwise sunny day.

I have a friend and this friend has parents and these parents have a timeshare in the Cayman Islands. They decided not to use it this year, so my friend graciously offered to use their week (you know, because someone has to go, right?) Now, 6 people splitting the bill is way cheaper that 2 or 4, so Evan and I got invited to partake in what has now been dubbed the VaCAYMANation. Here are some of the highlights.

1. We didn\’t die in a car crash. This is awesome because there were a ton of rotaries AND they drive on the left side of the road, which we are not used to in a huge car that seemed like it was going to flip at any moment AND there were a lot of random crabs, iguanas and chickens which just had to cross the road, (although who knows why the chicken did
it…get it…ok I\’m done.)

2. I spent a whole lot of time reading on the beach, which is a little interesting, because I normally don\’t read, like ever. Right now, I\’m reading Awakening Your Inner Buddha, which is nice, but super serious and spiritually complex. It\’s a weird experience, sitting on a nice relaxing beach reading about how death is the ultimate guru and that unless we meditate on death, we can\’t truly live. Yay vacation reading?

3. Sunday we went to mass and it was awesome. There was all this upbeat island calypso music going on and it was super rejuvenating. The whole service was so fun and island-y, it felt like more of a cultural experience. Oh, and they re-purposed Blowin\’ in the Wind, which is pretty cool.

4. After mass we went to a random restaurant across the street and we were the only people there, save a few people at the bar. The food was absolutely delicious. Everyone got fried Mahi Mahi and I got curried chicken. Random restaurants always have a way of having the best food of all time.

5. Now is where we commence on the beach bumming. Sitting on a beach, reading my Awakening Your Inner Buddha book, which was intersting at least. I hardly ever read and when I do it\’s hardly ever a novel or fiction. So while other beach-goers were reading about something entertaining, I was reading about how meditating on death should be part of your path to enlightenment.

6. There was also snorkeling, which was cool, we saw a starfish.

7. Monday was a lot like Sunday, sans church, oh and adding happy hour at a swim up bar.

8. Tuesday, Julia went parasailing and the rest of us found another beach to hang out at. The coral was super prevelent making the snorkeling pretty much awesome and the bar.

9. We also went to see sea turtles and pick the baby ones up. So adorable!

10. Obviously we went to Jimmy Buffet\’s original Margaritaville, interestingly the day before \”Virgin Day\”. Apparently in the Cayman Islands you can\’t drink on election day, which happened to land in the middle of our vacay. So by sheer luck we did get to enjoy the perfect margaritas.

11. One of the coolest things we did was go pet sting rays. Apparently if you go out to what looks like the middle of the ocean, you can stand on a sand bar and pet docile stingrays and feed them. They feel so velvety and awesome. Like kittens who just wanted to be fed and pet and loved on. Anna was nervous about it, but even she got up the nerve to pet them.

12. After sting rays, we went snorkeling by the boat and saw a huge green eel. Other people said it was nasty looking. I thought it looked cool, albeit sinister. We were advised not to touch it, sinister indeed.

13. I was most looking forward to bioluminscent bay. Apparently there are organisms (plankton) that glow in the dark when disturbed. It\’s their defense mechanism to not being eaten. So as soon as you put your hand in the water in the bay it just starts glowing, totally weird. There are also shrimp that light up kind of like fireflies to communicate, which made me disproportionally excited. Although, one of the real highlights was of the beautiful starry sky.

14. On the last full day there, Evan and I went on a jet ski tour which was super awesome. The people at the resort recommended it as the best thing to do there, so we strapped our lifejackets on and hightailed it out on the ocean. My biggest fear was falling off, and thankfully I did not. Although I probably held onto Evan with a grip of a thousand hands. We got to snorkel out there as well and saw a sunken ship and a baracuda. Oh and our guide picked up a starfish for us to feel as well and I was surprised to find it very hard. There was also a dorsal fin fish that is apparently very rare to see, so that was cool too.

15. If you\’re in the Caribbean, what do you want to drink. Rum of course. Lots and lots of rum. So, when we heard there was a rum factory on the island we thought, hey we should totally go to that. We went to the Tortuga Rum Factory hoping for a tour, but apparently they don\’t do that anymore. But, we still got to try some pineapple, mango and banana rum and pick out a couple of rum cakes for when we got home.

That\’s about the time we came home. It was an awesomely fun time, full of relaxing beach time and fun excursions and just getting to enjoy being in a different space that isn\’t Austin. Evan and I are going to the Caribbean again for our honeymoon in January and I\’m stoked about it!