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109--The Cayman Islands: Turtle Traffic @ Site News     Jan 02 2003 - 14:01 PST cherie writes: After sailing for five days we finally sighted land. The Cayman Islands, a trio of British islands. British means it is expensive. The US dollar is worth 80 measly cents here. Even the bums here don't ask you for pocket change. One shady character asked Greg for $10 dollars!! (And Greg gave him $7!) So after sailing for five days, you can imagine what my hair looked like. When I arrived, a Cayman official boarded Scirocco and said: "Do you have the plague?" (I'm not British, but I don't think that's a very proper thing to say to someone you've just met.) Here's a few quick shots of Island life. Tom Lafleur (the owner of the Swan 53 "Mistress")and his two daughters, Katee (16) and Lauren (15) flew in to join us. Island life here is pretty relaxed, the only traffic we've seen is turtle traffic from a farm that has released over 30,000 turtles into the wild. Click on each picture to see it full size. read comments (0) | write comment| views: 9634    | rated: 0.0    printer-friendly version   Rush hour in the Cayman Islands. (Those are turtles!) Hold your flipper! It wasn't your turn! Just taking a breather. Katee noticed this headline in "Fun News." It's not really fun, is it? The stock market section of a local Cayman paper. It's nice to know that the Cayman's have a sense of humor. Ever seen a bucket of Stingrays? The only fresh fish on the island is bought from these local fishermen. Instead of Coke and Sprite, the Caymanians drink pineapple and watermelon flavored sodas. You can also find "imported" Reggae style sodas. (What is "Reggae style" soda?) Scirocco anchored next to a pirate ship and a cruise ship. In the Cayman Islands it is important to obey all signs. At Burger King you can get a Pina Colada for 99 cents. Since the island is only 22 miles long and 7 miles wide, almost every house is water-front property. As you can see, Greg is very happy about being in the Cayman Islands. There is no shortage of Kayaks here. Life's a beach. The stillness of early morning. Greg's favorite place to sleep--on deck. Not even a breath of wind. Our neighbor at sunrise. Do your neighbors look this good so early in the morning? This is worth getting up for. Water clouds. Proof that everyday begins with a new ray of hope. (Notice the reflection of the birds.) The "morning show" in the Cayman Islands. Christmas breakfast on Scirocco. (We broke out the good paper-plates!) Santa in Hawaiian shirt. A Santa really happy not to be in cold Canada this year. Chef Santa. Santa with a 'stash. Ms. Santas. We spent Christmas Day at a local Irish pub called "Fidel Murphy's". They had an all-you-can-eat and drink party. Gen-X Santa, complete with lip-ring. A jelly-fish glowing by Scirocco at night. What's wrong with this picture? A local getting ready for the big "fish fry". The Caymanians build it, and then burn it. "Just for fun," they told me. Katee and Lauren sitting on the dock...just watching the ships roll in.... The kid is giving me "the eye". At this point, does the view really matter? For sale...ocean front view...comfortably fits two...lots of leg room. Children hacking down coconuts for us. This little guy was bent on convincing me he was a pirate. Katee helping herself to a coconut. Tom blending in with the locals. If the machete fails, just shake the coconuts out of the tree. Tom, Katee and Lauren just hanging out. How many "chops" does it take to get to the center of a coconut? Small children with large knives, anyone else see a problem here? Tom had "prop envy." The view. Typical...shoving all the girls in the backseat. (Cherie, Lauren, and Katee.) The best way to hold down a menu in the windy Cayman Islands is to hold it down with a coconut. The local plates. We had an incredible dinner at the Lighthouse restaurant. Lauren, Katee, Tom, Greg and Cherie. The Lighthouse restaurant at night.