Finally, the pictures from Rum Point (Lu's birthday)

Thanks to Ruan's awesome camera, we got some pretty good pictures for the day!

Rum Point is on the other side of the island, we usually go across on the boats, but it is definitely worth the drive.  The water is beautiful and there is a great island vibe on the beach amongst the hammocks.

I forgot to mention it was also Ruan's birthday.  Good times with good friends.

Trying to light the candles and sing happy birthday

The rest of the pirates week photos

We walked into Georgetown early to make sure that we didn't miss out on any of the day's festivities.
Breezes was the perfect spot to view everything going on, but not before a few photos a walk down the food road to see what local delicacies were available.

A quick summary of what goes on below:  The acting Governer and his wife are escorted by their guards through town.  The meet up with the REAL governer who officially hands over responsibility to the acting Governer for Pirates week.  The acting Governer and his wife then go out onto the pier to welcome all guests for the festivities... what they think is a party boat turns out to be pirates who are planning to take over.  Luckily the guards are quick and capture the pirates leading them through the crowds onto the stage where the Governer asks the crowd to decide the fate of the Pirates...

BUT WAIT!  There are more Pirates rounding the rocks and firing canons...

And the pirates have won the battle, taking over the Cayman Islands for the week and so the parties begin...

Boat Day - the usual trip

Karen came to visit us for a few days, so of course a boat trip was in order!  This was also Lu's first boat trip and the two were extremely excited.  Photos are courtesy of Karen's camera and Etienne's artistic eye...

 On the boat on the way to Stingray City.

That is Stingray City just up ahead.

The girls were a little scared of the stingrays at first, but soon got the hang of it.

Karen gets a back massage

 
Lu gave a few stingrays a kiss - they say it gives you goodluck, or its a thank you kiss for the back massage.
The stingrays are used to people feeding them and scratching their bellies.  They only have one sting and will only use it they feel they are in extreme danger, which is definitely not at the sand bar.  The locals know most of the stingrays by name depending on their markings.

Off to starfish point...

The girls were definitely enjoying the photo opportunity and even convinced some of the boys to get in on the action.

Heineken Charity Shield

As mentioned previously, this past Saturday saw the start of the 15-a-side rugby season and it kicked off with the Heineken Charity Shield which was won by the Iguanas... of course!

What's happening in Cayman this week?

Last night we went past Camana Bay to check out the Christmas trees.
There are a bunch that have each been decorated by different businesses to be auctioned for charity at the end of the week.  So go and have a look at them in the Gardenia Court, they are really pretty!

Tonight Triple Crown hosts a pub quiz for "A Crazy Idea" the idea being for James Murray to run 100 miles around Cayman to raise funds for Diabetes and to encourage others to participate in their own crazy idea for the benefit of charity.

Tonight is also the BBBS (Big Brothers Big Sisters) Jazz fashion event at Abacus, Camana Bay - $40 per person.

The Pirates week festivities continue....

TONIGHTWest Bay Heritage Day - Next to Bush Stadium

FRIDAY NIGHTNorth Side Heritage Day - Water Key Public Park, next to Kaibo

SATURDAY11am - Walking on Water competition, Harbour
3:15pm - Jet Ski stunt show, Harbour
4pm - Cardboard Box Race
6pm - Snapper Cook off
7:50pm - More fireworks!!!
Street dance and food festivals again.

SUNDAY7am - 10km pirates week run


This weekend also sees the start of the 15-a-side rugby tournament on Saturday at the rugby club.
A contest between the firemen & policemen to see who can pull a firetruck further at Camana Bay, Saturday afternoon.
And, the EPIC White Collar boxing matches taking place at Treasure Island, Saturday evening.

And then is seems Christmas is upon us with Santa arriving at Camana Bay to flick the light switches on, 6pm Tuesday 22nd November.  Grab a drink from one of the surrounding restaurants and enjoy the beginning of the festive season.

Til next week...

Turtle Release

One of the Pirates week events is the annual turtle release.
The Cayman Islands were originally named Las Tortugas (Spanish for Turtles) by Christopher Columbus due to the millions of turtles that inhabited the surrounding waters.  In the 1600 and 1700's the Cayman Islands became a provisioning stop for vessels sailing the Caribbean because of an abundance of green sea turtles, which could be caught and kept alive on board as a source of fresh meat.  Turtles thus became a local source of food and income.  The numbers of turtles have decreased significantly over the years. 
The turtle farm has a number of projects and breeds hundreds of turtles, some which are released into the wild and have been tracked and returned to lay their eggs along Seven Mile Beach, others are bred to be eaten and Turtle stew is a common local Caymanian dish.

Pirates Week

As per a previous post, we are now in the middle of Pirates week.
Here are a few pictures of the festivities.

Ready to go in our pirate and wench outfits.

Friday night started with a fantastic fireworks display that just kept on going and ended with an amazing finale.

Lu's birthday!

Delicious homemade birthday cake - three layers of vanilla sponge with one layer of peaches and one layer of chocolate icing in between and of course an attempt to decorate...
We headed to Rum Point for the day, but we are still waiting on the pictures from Ruan :).

Rugby Sevens Finals & Saffa Day at the Rugby Club

Boerewors rolls, potjie kos and lamb on the spit!  Savannahs, klippies and rugby... of course it was South African Day at the rugby club.  Being in Cayman the weather was perfect for spectators, maybe a little warm for the players.  The rugby club is always a great atmosphere and leisurely Saturday afternoon.

Happening on Grand Cayman this week...

There are always so many different things going on in Cayman its hard to keep track, last week we were at Full of Beans on Thursday for their monthly Food, Art and Wine evenings.  They display a different artist each month and have an opening evening with complimentary food and wine.  The food is delicious as always and it is generally a great evening - the next one will be on Tuesday 6th December.
Friday night we hit the Ritz for their LBD party, its always fun to dress up on don a pair of heels while sipping a cocktail in the Ritz lobby.
Saturday was the Rugby Sevens final at the rugby club as well as "SAFFA" day with lamb on the spit, potjie and boerewors rolls available as well as Savannah Dry, Springboks and a few other RSA drinks.  A lovely afternoon.

looking ahead, this week marks the start of Pirates week, so there will be plenty to keep us busy:

THURSDAY
5pm - Pre-pirates week happy hour (at any of the sea side restaurants in Georgetown, Breezes, Hammerheads, Rackams etc)
6pm - Miss Pirates Festival Queen Competition, Harbour Drive
6:30 - Pub Quiz @ Triple Crown - to raise funds for the Junior Achievement Programme
7pm - Steel band competition, Harbour Drive          
9pm - Pirates week kick-off party at the Wharf (live band)

FRIDAY5pm - Pirates week 5km run (register from 3:30pm)
6pm - Pirates costume competition, Goring Avenue
7:30pm - FIREWORKS - These are great, best place to see - any of the seaside restaurants in GT.
8pm - Pirates week song contest
9pm onwards - Street party and Food festival

SATURDAY
8am - 5km Sea swim
3pm - Pirates landing (re-inactment off the Jolly Rogers into the Harbour)
          Followed by the Float Parade
7pm - Street Dance & Food Festival

SUNDAY7:30am - Lion fish culling competition, Public Beach
1pm - Underwater Treasure Hunt, West Bay
4pm - Turtle Release, Safehaven
MONDAYBodden Town Heritage Day, Harry McCoy Sr. Park
4pm - Lionfish weigh in & tasting, The Island @ Camana Bay

The Ritz kids movies are back up and running, check out their calendar to see what is playing each night, a great way to relax under the stars with some animated entertainment.

More updates next week...