“Sometimes one needs to be out in the wind and next to the Sea. It clears the mind and fills the heart….Making way for a brand new start.” -MEM
There aren’t a lot of things I will wake up for at 2:30 a.m. The beach is one of them. And, when the beach is Grand Cayman, there’s no way I’m sleeping through that alarm.
I traveled to Grand Cayman for the first time in February of last year. I was there for less than a week, but it didn’t take a day for me to fall in love with the island. When asked if I wanted to go back this year, there was no hesitation in my yes.
We flew out on February 1 at the not-so-bright but the early time of 5:25 a.m. (Thanks, Southwest for making this an easy flight). I spent the first half of the flight napping and listening to podcasts (True Crime Obsessed FTW). The sun greeted us in Ft. Lauderdale where we had enough time to grab some breakfast and coffee before taking off for Grand Cayman.
Once we landed and got through customs, we secured our rental car and headed to meet friends from Nashville who were also on the island. The early flight was not my favorite, but getting there with plenty of time to still hang out with Brad and Wendy made it worth the while.
The pool at the Kimpton Seafire was our lounging place for the afternoon. The sun, the pool, and the excellent wait staff made relaxing from a long day of travel a dream.
After a few hours at the pool, we decided to walk to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Being an island, finding a good seafood dish is easy! Known for their steam pots, Duke’s Seafood and Rib Shack did not disappoint. After dinner, we said goodbye to our friends and headed to the east end of the island where we would spend the next six days.”
January and some parts of February can be quite windy on the island and Sunday was one of those windy days. One of my favorite things about Grand Cayman is the weather is warm enough to lounge pool- or beachside without sweating to death. However, the wind coming off the ocean can make even 83-degree weather feel cool, so we took to the pool for the day. There we met up to watch the Super Bowl with two friends we met last year, sisters Liz and Laurie from Michigan.
Monday was basically a rinse and repeat of Sunday. After a day of sun and reading (I finished Conviction by Denise Mina that day), we went to the resort’s Welcome Dinner that night. This is always a fun event, complete with a delicious Caribbean meal, games, and musical entertainment by a local band. The big show of the night was Prince Abraham who makes eating fire and mastering limbo look easy. I was just as amazed by his stunts this year as last!
The wind dialed it down a notch by Tuesday and we were able to mix up our time between the pool and the beach. And, even though we were on Grand Cayman, we were still able to observe my favorite weekly holiday, Taco Tuesday. Taco Cantina is one of my favorite places on the east end. Their two-for-one offerings on tacos and margaritas are not to be missed! I had a manchego cheese taco that was delish!
After dinner, Jay, Liz, Laurie, and I went to the comedy show at the resort.
That’s a wrap for our first few days. Come back next week for Part 2!