Canadians love the Caribbean, but the vast majority of us who head south for sun, sand and sea dont see much of it. For a significant number of visitors, the only time spent outside the resort is on the bus to and from the airport.
A visit to the Cayman Islands offers a different kind of Caribbean experience, one that TakeOffeh recently sampled after flying south on WestJets inaugural flight to Georgetown, Grand Cayman.
The first impression of Grand Cayman is that this is not your average Caribbean island. The roads are smooth and clean and the buildings and infrastructure are to North American standards. En route from Owen Roberts International Airport to the main hotel strip on Seven Mile Beach you pass modern malls and grocery stores that wouldnt look amiss in a Canadian suburb.
The history of the Cayman Islands is quite different from many of its neighbors. When Christopher Columbus sighted Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac on his fourth and final trip to the New World in 1503, they were uninhabited by humans. There were, however, plenty of sea turtles, leading Columbus to dub the islands Las Tortugas. The first recorded English visitor was Sir Francis Drake, over 80 years later, who also named them after a leathery inhabitant the alligator, or caiman.
England took control of the islands along with Jamaica and governed them as a single colony until 1962 when Jamaica became independent and the Cayman Islands a separate British Overseas Territory.
Most native Caymanians are of African and English descent, with much interracial mixing. The original settlers were a colorful group of pirates, slaves, Spanish Inquisition refugees, deserters from Oliver Cromwells army in Jamaica and shipwrecked sailors. After Caymanians saved the crews of a group of shipwrecked British merchant ships in 1794, King George III rewarded the islands with a promise that they would never be taxed. Thus an offshore financial haven was born.
More than 100 nationalities make up the tiny population that enjoys the highest standard of living in the Caribbean and the 12th highest per capita GDP in the world.
The relative wealth of the residents has major implications for the experience of visitors. Without the vast disparity between rich and poor that characterizes many Caribbean islands, there is little need to separate visitors from locals. Seven Mile Beach (all 5.5 miles of it) is a public beach with regular access points. There are no fences around the hotels and resorts and little to fear in a midnight stroll on the beach or the main roads.
Because of the standard of living and the lack of all-inclusive resorts, Grand Cayman boasts a restaurant scene completely out of proportion to its population. There are 150 restaurants to choose from, with many offering a very high standard of cuisine and service. Take Offen experienced three of these during the visit: Luca, Osetra Bay and Michaels Genuine Food & Drink. Each offered a memorable dining experience, especially the Italian-focused Luca and Osetra Bay, where Kingston, Ontario born chef Joseph Watters dazzled guests with creative, inspired cuisine. The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman is home to Blue By Eric Ripert, a celebrity-chef run resto where one Trip Advisor reviewer had what they called “the most expensive meal of my life, and worth every penny.”
But before you decide that a trip to the Cayman Islands is beyond your snack bracket, its worth another look. While the high-end dining scene is thriving, the #1-rated restaurant on Seven Mile Beach by Trip Advisor reviewers is a casual little place called Sunshine Grill, located in the Sunshine Suites property, one of four resorts offered by WestJet Vacations in its latest brochure. Fish tacos and hamburgers are the highlights, and diners rave about the food, friendly service and price.
Thats the biggest thing that Take Offen took away from a Cayman Islands visit. If moneys no object, all your needs can be accommodated, from top-end resorts and exquisite condo rentals at places like Caribbean Club, to fine dining, designer shopping, exclusive nightclubs and caviar facials.
If youre somewhere in the middle, you can choose a resort like the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort or the Westin Casuarina Resort & Spa, two attractive, American-style resorts set on miles of soft white sand.
If youre on a little more of a budget, WestJet Vacations offers Sunshine Suites and Comfort Suites Seven Mile Beach, both of which are separated from the beach by only a short walk and offer family- and budget-friendly amenities like kitchenettes or full kitchens. Comfort Suites includes a daily continental breakfast.
Grand Cayman is ideal for a couples getaway, but it offers real appeal to families too. There are no aggressive beach vendors in fact no beach vendors were in evidence at all. You can walk the streets, go to a movie or drop your teens and tweens off at Black Pearl Skate & Surf, one of the worlds largest outdoor concrete skate parks. You can swim with stingrays at world-renowned Stingray City, take an Atlantis Submarine ride, spend a day chilling out with a Mudslide at Rum Point or learn about sea turtles at Boatswains Beach Turtle Farm & Adventure Park.
With WestJet now adding Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday flights from Toronto to Grand Cayman between November and April, there are 10,000 more seats for Canadians looking to experience the islands this winter, and easy connections for Western Canadians. With close to 8,000 Canuck expats living on the islands youll be bound to meet a few, like Rum Point manager Carol Boulton, who was happy to talk Rider Pride with a visiting journalist. You can take a girl out of Saskatchewan but she still bleeds green.
