Dining Adventure

Today is our last full day on the island and Ray agreed to try a new restaurant.  Since he usually prefers the familiar and I like to experiment, trying new places is his gift to me.  The place we tried is called Tukka.  They just opened last October, taking over what used to be an Italian restaurant called Portifinos.  This is in East End, near the Wreck of the Ten Sail.  Tukka boasts a blend of Australian and local island cuisine.  The food was very good and the presentation was lovely. I am including photos of each course below.

Calamari

Lobster Bisque

Chicken Tacos

Caesar Salad with Lobster Tail

Walnut Bread Pudding

Cayman Rum Cake

Cocktails in the afternoon

... for both of us

 

 

 

 

 

View from Tukka

Definitely a good choice  for our last afternoon dinner on the island.  We ended the day with our usual walk and stop at Dunkin Donuts for iced coffee.  It has been a lovely, relaxing week.  Now to make our way home tomorrow.   Some would say we are taking a chance traveling on May 21, 2011, but Jesus said no one but the Father knows when the second coming will be. We can only live our lives as best we can and pray we will be found worthy when the appointed hour comes.





One more photo before I sign off for this trip - My favorite sign on the island: 

(Note the walking stick leaning up against the signpost. )

Shopping Day

I'm guessing by now anyone reading my posts for this trip is totally bored.  I can't remember any vacation we've ever taken when we've done less.  We haven't left the resort before noon any day this week, and we haven't done any shopping or sightseeing all week.  Today we broke that trend, but only barely.  Since we had such a big meal last night, we decided to drive across the island and have lunch at KFC.  I stopped to buy some of the Tortuga Rum Cakes that we love and picked up a nice top in the souvenir store next door.  There is a new rum distillery on the island, so I picked up a bottle of their "Seven Fathoms" rum to bring home and try too.

We were surprised to see 2 cruise ships in the Georgetown harbor today, Royal Caribbean and another that we couldn't make out the name on. A waitress we spoke to at the beginning of the week said only Carnival ships were still coming in now that high season is over.  Still, it didn't seem crowded in town.  I'm guessing everyone from the 2nd ship was at the beach.  We watched the Royal Caribbean ship depart about 3PM.

On the way back to East End, we stopped to see the monument to the Wreck of the Ten Sail.  According to the Grand Cayman Chamber of Commerce web site "In 1794, a great maritime tragedy took place on the East End of Grand Cayman. "The Wreck of the Ten Sails" is still legendary on Grand Cayman, recalling the tragedy of the Cordelia, part of a convoy of merchant ships headed to Britain from Jamaica. Cordelia ran aground on the reef at the East End and frantically sent a signal to other ships to warn them off the dangerous coral. Sadly, the signal was misunderstood and, one by one, they all ran into the reef. Residents of East End were credited with their quick actions that left no life unsaved, an act that King George III later recognized. Various stories explain that King George III granted the islands freedom from conscription and other versions say that the king gave the islands freedom from taxation."  

There were relics from several other ships that have gone aground in this area at the entrance to the path, and this monument to the 200th anniversary of the Ten Sails wreck at the end of the path.  Far out in the water we could see a roped off area with something sticking out of the water inside the roped area.  I'm guessing this is the wreck.  I think they conduct dives around the wreck, but we're not young and brave enough for that.

When the day cooled off a bit we went for a walk and stopped for a Dunkin' Donuts Coffee Colada on the way back.  This stop was definitely on island time.  The ice machine wasn't ready and we had to wait at least 20 minutes while he cleaned it, refilled it, and waited for the machine to turn the water into ice.  Even then, we got cold coffee, not ice coladas.  But then, we were in no rush.  After all, we're on vacation.

This last photo is an example of the typical traffic situation on the East side of the island.  There are plenty of cars on the West side, but once you get about half way across the island, this is mostly what you see.  That is, except for a few chickens and dogs and the occasional person on a bicycle.  In the town of East End, you'll also see people walking up and down the road in the evening, visiting with their neighbors, but rarely a car.  It's another world.

The Lighthouse

Dinner for 2 on the Balcony

It was another lazy, sunshiny day in East End, Grand Cayman. We kept our food intake low all day in anticipation of our dinner reservation at the Lighthouse tonight.  Making a reservation for tonight as we left after lunch on Monday definitely paid off.  I think I mentioned that they have one table for two on a small deck over the water behind the restaurant.  When we arrived for dinner tonight we were thrilled to be led out to that table.  

Mussels with Tomatoes and Spinach

As you can see in the photo here, we enjoyed a sunset dinner with the waves gently lapping the coral shore below us. We started with Mohitos and appetizers.  Ray had a Ceasar Salad and I had Chilean Black Mussels garnished with warm tomatoes and spinach.  For dinner, Ray enjoyed Chicken Parmesan  and I had the chef's special, Spinach Gnocchi with chicken and walnuts in a mushroom sauce, paired with a nice Pinot Grigio.  For dessert Ray had an Almond Napoleon and I had Cardamon Creme Brulee'.  

I do love this restaurant.  I am telling you, this chef can do no wrong in my book, and the service couldn't be better.  As we ate, an Ag plane flew past low along the shore several times as he made his circuit over interior fields.  We enjoyed watching him fly off into the sunset almost as much as we enjoyed watching the waves. We finished the meal with specialty coffees. 

What a wonderful evening.    I don't know what tomorrow will bring and I don't care.  This has been a perfect day.

Georgetown

Another sunny day on the island.  The predicted thunderstorms never materialized and we awoke to another beautiful day.  I spent the morning the same way I have been - breakfast, then sun.  Yesterday I took a mid-morning nap, today it was Ray's turn to do so.   I finished my first book and have gotten half way through a second one. 

We were going to go to Pizza Hut for lunch today, but when we got there we found it was a Pizza Hut Express only and it doesn't open until 3PM.  I guess they don't get much mid-day business on the far side of the island.  Instead we decided to go over to the west side of the island, to the only real city on Grand Cayman, Georgetown.  We had a nice lunch in the Paradise - an open air restaurant and bar overlooking the main harbor.  We even had a little surprise entertainment.  A crab came up on the coral near the restaurant and scurried along the shore.  Then a single bird came down to visit.  I've included a little video of them and a lizard that joined us on our patio back at the room.

Today the Carnival Valor was in port.  This is a fairly large ship, but it still didn't look too crowed in town.  It is off season.  We've seen Georgetown when there were 2 or 3 ships in at the same time and it was crazy.  I think they must have been getting ready to leave port though, because there were lines of people waiting for the tenders to take them back to the ship.  That is the main problem for cruise ships visiting Georgetown.  The harbor is not very deep and the piers don't go out far enough for big ships to dock.  Since it is a coral island, there is lots of great diving but large ships have to be careful not to come in too close and damage the reefs.  I've heard they are working on a plan to build a new pier, but that may take years.

Gastronomic Delights

We started today very slowly.  I woke up before sunrise, took a photo of the pink horizon from our patio, then went back to sleep.  I couldn't even bring myself to wait for the actual sunrise.  I didn't wake up again for at least 3 hours.

Once awake, I went into the morning routine I promised myself this week.  Breakfast, then an hour of sunbathing while listening to today's podcasts, followed by a dip in the pool.  The pool closest to our building is great.  It's one of those that seems flows out over the edge on the side nearest the sea, into a waterfall over the side.  When you swim towards the edge it looks like you really are swimming to the edge of the world.

The second pattern we've tried to establish this week is a big lunch and just a light snack for dinner.  Today we ventured out from the resort to our favorite restaurant on the island, the Lighthouse.  We have visited this restaurant every time we've come to Grand Cayman, but always for dinner.  This was the first time we tried it for lunch and they did not disappoint.  I believe this is my favorite restaurant in the world.  It is a simple place on the water, owned by a wonderful Italian chef.  Years ago, there were tables on a dock at the back of the restaurant, with lights below in the water so you could look over into the water at night.  That dock was destroyed in a storm a few years ago, but the inside restaurant still has tables along the windows overlooking the sea.  In addition to the ambiance, the food and the service are both superb.  It is very pricey, but worth every penny.  This time we started with coconut shrimp with a ginger dipping sauce and some hot garlic bread drenched in butter.  Ray had a Caesar salad with grilled chicken that he said was great.   I opted for an eggplant, fettuccine, almond and tomato dish that was just wonderful.   For dessert, Ray had rum raisin gelato and I had a coconut espresso marble cake which was so light, it had the consistency of a custard instead of a cake. 

Needless to say, that was enough to last us for the rest of the day.  This is a restaurant I would recommend to anyone.  In all the years we have been coming to Grand Cayman,  we have never been disappointed by a meal here.   On our way out we made reservations to go back again for dinner later in the week.

The forecast is for thunderstorms tonight and maybe some rain tomorrow.  The rest of the week is supposed to be as beautiful as it was today though.  One day of rain won't dampen our mood.

Peaceful Waves

I love the sound of waves gently crashing onto the shore.  Today was a perfectly relaxing day, one of those rare days where we did almost nothing. The unit we are in this time is on the first floor, facing east into the sunrise.  I spent the first 3 hours this morning in my bathing suit.  After breakfast, I had my 2nd cup of coffee on the patio of our living room and took this photo.  Then I spent the next hour or so soaking up the sun and listening to my ipod.  When it got too warm to stay there, I headed for the pool to cool off.  

Coming back inside, I started a good fantasy book - "Magic Kingdom for Sale - Sold" by Terry Brooks.  We went over to the restaurant/bar on the dock for lunch and drinks, then came back to sit on our patio again, now in the shade.  Ray is playing with learning some ipad development software, and I am almost halfway through a book in 1 day!   I have a hard cover book at home that I have been reading for months and probably won't finish until sometime this summer, but I bet I get through 2-3 Kindle or audible books this week. 

We're skipping dinner tonight.  We just went for a walk and stopped for iced coffees at the Dunkin Donuts on the way back.   Maybe later in the week we'll venture out, but today it was good to do nothing.
Today is Sunday anyway, and in the Cayman Islands, everything is closed on Sunday except for a few restaurants.  There are a lot of churches on this island and they take their Sunday's seriously.  It's one of the things we like about Grand Cayman.  It is a clean, friendly island with 100% employment even if they still show their British heritage by driving on the left side of the rode.

Off to the Islands

I have no idea if anyone ever reads this.   My guess is no, but I don't care.  I'm recording memories, even if it's just for the 2 of us.

In order to make our early flight this morning, we booked a hotel near the airport.  The rate included allowing us to park our car there for the week, a great deal.   We left home in the late afternoon and stopped at Bert's 50s Diner for dinner along the way. 

This morning we started with a 5AM alarm and a 6PM shuttle from the hotel to the airport.  Check-in was easy so early in the morning, as was security.   The lines were short but we did get to experience the full body scan for the first time.  Once we got close to our gate we stopped in a little bar for breakfast.  No, we just had egg sandwiches and coffee, but I did see a few guys at the bar with glasses of beer at 7AM!

For some reason the gate attendant called us to the gate to check us in a second time.  She never said why.  Other than that, the flight was on time and we got the seats with extra leg room, so life seemed good.  That is, until the family of 3 kids under 6, parents and au pare settled into to seats in front of us.  The youngest child did nothing but screech the entire flight.  If he was having fun, he screeched.  If he was unhappy, he howled. Luckily, we both had our good noise-cancelling headphones with us, so we only had to deal with the noise directly during take-off and landing.

It was a smooth flight, take-off and landing were on time, and we breezed through immigration and customs.  By noon we had our rental car too.  Problem is, we couldn't check into our room until 4pm. So we drove into Georgetown and had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, then took a little drive around the island to see if anything had changed in the 2 years since our last visit.

Grand Cayman is not a big island.  We did all that and still arrived at the resort by about 2:30PM.  Of course, they said come back in an hour, so we went to the bar on the dock to while away the time.

We are now settled into our condo on the ground floor of the pink building you see in this photo.  Yes, we can walk out the sliding glass doors from our living room and be on the beach.   Life is good.  
Grand Cayman seems deserted today.  The waitress at the Hard Rock told us it is off-season for cruise ships, but it seems more than that.  There are a lot of hotels on the other side of the island from where we stay, and they don't seem to have the tourists either.   This isn't very good for the local economy, but we're looking forward to a very peaceful week.