Family from the past.

This will be a fairly boring post for most of you, but it's pretty exciting for me. And maybe for a few folks that I share DNA with.

So, remember a while ago I did the Ancestry DNA thing? I was fairly skeptical about it all, and besides my skepticism, I was  pretty sure my results were going to bring no surprises. I know my family is from Ireland and England, but I was curious as to where we were before that. And I guess that deep, deep down I was hoping for something really exotic to show up.

Well. No real surprises were revealed, other than there was less Irish than I knew, and more Scottish and a bit of Scandinavian. I did find some cousins; a few that I met eons ago, and we've exchanged emails with family updates, and also a few "new" relations, where we have the same great-great-great grandparents. It's amazing how distant a 4th cousin is....hardly even the same family tree, more like being in the same family forest. But it's fun, nonetheless.

Anyhow, someone told me to check my DNA page on Ancestry because they do frequent updates as more and more people send in their saliva samples. So I did I, and I was surprised to see that the Scottish part of me is now 50%, the Irish is 47% and the Scandinavian is now 3% Swedish. The Scottish part actually shows that my ancestors are from The Outer Hebrides.  So now know where I came from, and where I came from even before that.

OK. Now a little backstory. Years ago, maybe 30 or so, I started working on my family tree and of course since that was before home computers, I had to use the Mormon Church and their microfiche. And of course the oral stories from my grandmothers. The grandmothers had a lot of paper trail...wedding licenses, birth and death certificates, land ownership papers and so forth, so a lot of info that I accumulated was 100% genuine, but nothing further back than the 1800's.

 Jump forward to The Age of Computers. Now I can really start to find things out. Well, over the years I would input every possible permutation of every family member in my past and nary a drop of info was ever found. I would get all gung-ho every year or so and try again. Occasionally a morsel would appear, but nothing earth shattering or unknown.....an obituary from a recently deceased relative and that was about it. Did my people not leave any records? Were they all illiterates?  Did they just spring to life in the 1800's?

This brings us to the Outer Hebrides. Skepticism was running rampant. I dug out some old papers and saw that my mother's great grandfather was born in Scotland, his father was born in Scotland and his father was born in Scotland as well....but all of the towns were different. I googled each place, and to my surprise, they were all in the Outer Hebrides, and they were all basically the same place! It's like saying I'm from Cranbrook, or I'm from CBK in the East Kootenays, or I'm from Cran. Southern BC. Same place. 

So now I'm intrigued. See, I've always been aware that when people ask where I'm from, I don't really have an answer. I just say that I was born in Cold Lake and moved every 2 years until I got married. It doesn't bother me in the least, I just always wondered where I was really from....originally. I find family history and genealogy extremely fascinating. I think that being able to go somewhere and think "My great-great-grandfather actually lived here and looked at this same sea/mountain/lake" is awesome. 

Anyhow, to make this short, I found a website called Hebridean Connections, and I typed in the name of my great great grandfather, and there he was! With the correct lineage and birth & death dates. Also his father and his father. I was unexpectedly emotional. I mean, I didn't burst into tears or anything, but I was oddly choked up. There he was. After 30 years of looking. He was a blacksmith.  His name was Gilleasbuig Ghobha, which is pronounced Gillespie and Gobha means blacksmith. He was Gillespie the Blacksmith, and his son was Domhnall Ghilleasbuig Ghobha which means Donald, son of Gillespie the Blacksmith. They had no last names. Patronymic names, which is a way of conveying lineage.

And their little island (population 137) has two local landmarks, now known as "Bogha an Tailleir" and "Sgeir an Tailleir" (rock formations, as far as I can figure out. I think one is a skerry which is a rock formation that isn't always visible due to the tides. I think. I'm not proficient in ancient Scottish Gaelic)

Anyhow... So now I need to go there! There are old cemeteries (and I'm a fan of cemeteries at the best of times) I think I might find a relation....maybe even a living descendant. 

I knew the pagan in me had a legitimate history.  And an island with 137 people? Well, that's right up my sràid. Draoidheil.

 

Memories of Stones.

I thought that this was a touching story. Husband and his hunting buddy came across an old fellow walking in the bush. They stopped to make sure he was OK and ended up chatting for a long while. The fellow explained that he was 77 years old and he had the beginnings of dementia and often got confused about where he was walking, but not bad enough to be "lost" lost. Husband and friend noticed that the fellow was carrying a largish sized rock, which they assumed was for protection.

A few days later they ran into him again (he wasn't still in the bush, it was a new walk. 😊) and had a long conversation, and then they gave him some tips on roads to take and landmarks to look for just in case he did get turned around and ended up "lost" lost. He was carrying another rock.

The third time they saw him, they felt like old friends as he hailed them down for another chat, and this time they asked him about the rock, and he explained. (I'll get to that in a minute)

A few days later husband and I were walking in the forest and ran into him, so I was introduced and he explained his dementia diagnoses and said he'd remember me as "Irish Girl with Pink and Purple Hair". God knows I've been called worse. He saw me glance at the rock in his hand and explained the story to me.

He said he is building a rock garden in his back yard, and every time he walks he looks for a rock that is pretty or unusual in some way; an odd shape or a nice colour, something a little different than your everyday rock. He said now that he actually looks, he is amazed at the beauty that you can find in a simple rock in the dirt.

Then, he says this, which moved me. "I know that before long I won't be able to remember walking here, or even where "here" is. I know I won't remember meeting you, or picking up this rock on a beautiful day in the forest, but I hope that every time I look at a particular rock in my rock garden, I'll know that it holds a memory of a good day, and even if I can't recall that day, I'll know it meant something special at the time." 

Geez, I almost teared up.

So today's walk was to look for beauty on the forest floor. 

An ordinary rock, but surrounded by a ring of frost.

I thought the "half and half" one on the right was interesting. Like an elk ivory!

The stripes are quite intriguing on this one. I wonder what causes that?

A Dalmatian rock.

Almost looks like marble

A giant dinosaur egg?

I see a lot like this, with a stripe or two. I guess I need to google some geology info.

And of course, the heart shaped rock. 😍 I almost took this one home, but it's best left there for someone else to find.

Cruise Part 15. A synopsis.

So. Here are a few things I forgot to include, mostly because they aren't very interesting and are thus easily forgettable.

When we got to Ft Lauderdale I had no idea why they kept calling it "The Venice of America" until I saw this postcard. I haven't bought a postcard in years, but this really amazed me. I had no idea.

I also meant to mention that considering the humidity and the jungle-like atmosphere, there were no bugs. Not a mosquito or black fly or regular fly or a bee or wasp. Not a cockroach or a beetle. It was a good thing that they seemed to be nonexistent because after we went thru the Panama Canal I read this notice that was in our mailbox:

"Please be advised that past cruises to this destination have seen an abundance of insects around the ship. As such, we kindly ask that you keep exterior lights off and balcony doors closed to detract these unwanted guests from gathering on board."

And here I had our balcony door open for hours on end those two days. Yikes!  

Also, I was happy to find that every floor had a laundromat on it. A decent one. Six washers and six dryers, plus ironing boards and irons (hahahahahaha.....I haven't used one of those in years....) But I did use the washer and dryer one day. I know some folks get their panties in a knot; "I'd never do laundry on holidays....I'm on holidays!", but it's not like it takes a full day, and besides, I do like to have clean clothes. I threw a bunch of stuff into a washer, which was a 40 minute cycle, went to my room and sat on the balcony and read, then went back and threw the stuff into the dryer, which was as hot as Hades, and only took 15 minutes, and voila! Clean clothes! Not an issue. 

The washers and dryers take tokens, which you buy at a machine in the laundromat, and the cost  goes on your Princess card. As I said before, it's a cashless boat and that is a literal statement. They also had a dispensary for soap and bleach and softener, also paid for with your Princess card. The soap, the washer, and the dryer cost a total of $7.50 and took about an hour. Alternatively you could send your laundry out, and one pair of pants was $7.00. So, yeah, I was ok with doing my own.

And that's a good segue into my next forgotten topic, which is the Princess Card. I had noticed prior to the trip when I was reading all the documents, that you could put an amount of money (whatever amount you want, I think) onto the card, and I couldn't see the advantage of that. I didn't know at that time what I would need to buy and I figured it would just be easier to pay it all at the end, but I sort of get it now, and I'd probably do a "pre-pay" if I cruised again. It just seemed silly to put $1.50 for a token, and $3.00 for a latte on what basically amounts to your credit card (like MasterCard or Visa) because you get your shipboard statement at the end of the trip and the entire total goes directly on your credit card anyhow. It would just be nicer to have it already paid for. I'm big on making sure an entire vacation is on the credit card before we leave, and totally paid off. I don't like coming back and knowing I still have to pay for a holiday that's over with.  Not that the amount on the card was much, a few beer, a few lattes, the laundromat, the photo I ended up buying and a few other sundries and of course the tips,  but  if I had pre-paid a couple of hundred bucks, then it would all be over and done with, and what's better than getting a credit card bill with zero balance? Not much!

The tipping is an issue too. Not a bad issue, but at $13.50 per day, per person, in U.S. funds, it's just another bill to pay at the end. A lot of cruises have sales where one of the perks is free gratuities, I'd check into one of those if I cruised again. $27.00 per day seems high, but the staff really deserve it, and when you consider that all the meals are included....and that can be as many meals a day as you want, and no tipping is needed at the restaurants, plus the room service etc, I think it's a fair amount. These guys work hard. Which brings us to segue #2....

The room stewards work bloody hard. They work 9 months straight, 12 hours a day, with no days off. No days off.

It's not a labour board issue, it's a contract job. 9 months work, then 3 months off. They hope that they have performed well enough to sign another contract for the next 12 months.  Most of them have 18 rooms to clean, which they can generally do in 4 hours, then they have a few hours off to go to town if its a shore day, or sleep or do their laundry or socialize, then they do the afternoon cleaning which entails the bathrooms again and making any unmade beds, then they have a couple of hours for their supper break, then it's time for the turn-down service, mail delivery and so forth. Our fellow was in his 25th year. 

We left a couple of bucks on the pillows each morning, just to show we appreciated his hard work. It's got to be a pretty disgusting job in many ways. 

I cannot believe how people complain. The biggest complaint I heard was the price of water. Now, I'm not sure what Americans generally pay for bottled water in the States, but honestly, you'd think the ship was charging them in kruggerands they way they carried on. (to be fair, I did not talk to any of the other 117 Canadians or the 5 Brits or the 7 Aussies on board). There were three bottles in our room, 2 500 ml and one that was a litre. The small ones were either $2.50 or $3.00 and the large was $4.00, and yes, that's high for water...but you didn't have to buy it. Lots of choices were available:

1. Buy one and refill it from the buffet or from your tap.

2. Bring an empty bottle with you and do the above.

    And if you're worried about "bad" water, bring a charcoal filter or the pills that you can use (I've forgotten what they're called)

3. Read your documents and order a case for $8.00 to be in your room when you arrive. That's what we did, and it was in the fridge and cold when we got to our room. That's about .65 each. We refilled a lot of them as we were drinking more than a bottle a day.

People expected a free bottle in their room each day. But think, 2,000 x 2 bottles daily is 4,000 bottles a day. Times a 10 day cruise?  That's 40,000 bottles....times 3 cruises a month? 120,000 plastic bottles a month....where does that plastic go? And that's a minimum, there are usually more than 2,000 passengers. Sheesh. Bad enough that I had 12 to get rid of. (Bottles that is, not passengers, although I probably met at least 12 that I could have happily tossed overboard)

Anyhow, there were the water complaints, and complaints about the "anytime" dining. ("I signed up for Anytime Dining, yet I have to wait for a table!" Geez, anytime doesn't mean this second, it means you don't have a set time (either 5:30 or 7:30) to dine. The wait was never more than 10-15 minutes. And most of the time there was no wait.

One time I was waiting to get a hotdog and they had run out of mustard, the staff memebr had dashed off into the bowels of the ship for more. There was relish, ketchup, onions, cheese sauce and salsa for the free hotdogs, but my god, I thought there was going to be a revolt. 

And in the sit down dining room? Some of the food was presented oddly, and most was served in very tiny portions. You'd think the customers were paying the price of a Michelin Star meal....'scuse me folks, it's free and what's more...you can order as much as you like of whatever you want.

When we were on the old historic train and the rain came in the windows (remember? Have you been paying attention?) one woman actually said she was going to ask for her money back....because it was raining in the rainforest. 

It went on and on about the silliest things. I can't imagine these people have ever backpacked and stayed in hostels, or spent any time in third world countries. Perhaps they should. We are so incredibly lucky to have what we have. But anyhow....

Here's some pictures of food to sooth your soul.

Filet mignon.

This was an amazing pork Wellington with some sort of stuffing between the meat and pastry.

Needless to say, this was one of Steven's favorites, the Bavarian night! And by the way, that's not his actual plate, it's the buffet.

Needless to say, the following pictures.....all of them....were my favorites!

I also meant to talk about how, after 10 days, I still never figured out what way to go to get anywhere. There were three sets of elevators, one at each end of the ship (more or less the end), plus a set in the middle. Each set had 6 elevator doors. Now, you'd think that would be easy enough, but some sets went to the 15th floor, and some only to 8. Some went down to the 4th floor, and others not so far. Then, in the main atrium there were the glass elevators that only went the to 6th, 7th and 8th. Plus the atrium also had those giant curving staircases that only sort of went up a half a floor. It was very confusing. I invariably went the wrong way every single time. Thank goodness there were somaps and floorplans of the ship by every elevator as well as in various hallways and nooks and crannies. And so many of the areas looked alike that you'd swear you knew exactly where you were, only to find out you were somewhere totally new. One day I found a chapel that I had never seen before, and never saw again, and one day we found a mini-golf course.  Lots of times I'd walk to the end of the ship to go to the buffet, only to discover that I was at the complete wrong end of the ship. It's a loooong hike from one end to the other. 

There was a lot to do, depending on your style of entertainment, from napkin folding classes to yoga by the stars (night time celestial stars, not celebrity stars). There was basketball and volleyball tournaments, there were so many groups....singles, solos, LGBTQ, car enthusiasts, everything you could imagine. You can only be bored if you choose to be. There was even a "learn to play the Glockenspiel" and I'm genuinely sorry to have missed that. 

So would I take another cruise? I think so. Not to the same place though, I don't quite get why people like to return somehwere again and again, some people were on their 5th Panama Cruise, and to me, there is so much world to see, but it's a comfort thing, whatever makes you happy. Makes no never mind to me, as my Grandpa used to say.

I'd like to cruise through the fjords in Norway, and maybe to the other parts of the Caribbean. Here's my pros and cons:

Pros

-omg, the unpacking only once. Bliss.

-seeing a few different countries at your leisure....there are a lot of excursion choices, or you can go on your own.

-not having to worry about driving or worrying about logistics on how to get from here to there.

-the abundance of food and entertainment at no extra cost. 

-the relaxation.

Cons.

-not having enough time in new places.

-not so much a con, but words to the wise, check your cabin location.

That's the main "con". Other things like crowds, line-ups etc can be dealt with by choosing the time of year that you go, the size of the ship and so forth.

The main thing is to do your research and know what to expect and to go with the flow. Shit happens and even though it's a cliché, "a bad day on vacation is still better than a good day at work" 

So that's it. Hope you enjoyed the read. Come back again when I take my next holiday.

Good night

 

Cruise Part 14. Back in Florida.

Docked back in Fort Lauderdale at 7 AM. Another scorcher, 30C or 86F

Our total distance travelled, from Ft Lauderdale back to Ft Lauderdale was 3,098 nautical miles or 5,737 kilometers. That's a lot of kms! It's particularly nice  when you don't have to actually drive them.

I was dreading the line-ups and hassles of getting off the boat, but to my delight and relief, they have things so well organized these days. The day prior to disembarking we came to our room to find a pamphlet explaining how it worked, and some stick-on name & number tags. 

First of all, I forgot to mention that the ship docks at 7 in the morning and our flight leaves at 7 in the evening. What to do? What to do?  However, I was pleased to see that there are shore excursions for exactly these types of situations. I was able to book a tour through the Everglades that included the airport transfer (the one where I booked the wrong airport, remember?) 

So, our name tags had the excursion number on it also which made everything even easier, although it did make me feel a bit like I was back in elementary school again. Our tag said to meet in the theatre at 7 AM-ugh. I had gone to the buffet last night and made a couple of meat and cheese buns just in case the buffet was jam-packed with 2000 people trying to eat and leave at once, but when I ran up to get morning coffee I was surprised to see hundreds of empty seats. Like I say, it was well organized. People were given different times for disembarkation, it just so happened that ours was early.

Anyhow, we met in the theatre and at 7AM sharp, our numbers were called and we followed a staff member to the gangplank and then another person checked our numbers and we were on a bus. Because we just had our little carry-on suitcases we didn't have to go to the luggage place and search for our luggage. 

Goodbye Island Princess, we left with no fanfare, no bells or whistles, all of a sudden it was just over.

It was a pleasant drive to the Everglades, maybe 1/2 an hour or so, the fellow on the bus, not the driver but the sort-of-guide thought he was a comedian and regaled us with really bad jokes, everyone laughed politely and rolled their eyes.

We arrived at the alligator and air boat place and and lined up and sure enough, a photographer is there to snap your picture.  You're only in front of a sign, nothing exciting, and they were $20 each. Our bad comedian driver told us earlier not to buy them, becuase he could bring them on the bus later and sell them for $5. What kind of a strange scam is that? Everyone thinks the their guide is saving them $15, so they buy, and probably tip him as well. I'm sure he splits the sales procedes with the photographer. Anyhow, he gave us our photos afterwards and forgot to even charge us anything at all, which is just as well because it's just another dorky picture. Can we look more touristy? 

Anyhow, do you ever watch that show on Animal Planet called "Gator Boys"? Me neither, but Steven does and this is their gator place, so he got a kick out of that. Plus, he's always wanted to go on one of those airboats and see alligators in the wild.

 

It was actually a lot of fun, the mangroves are beautiful, and not quite as creepy as I had thought. I imagined more like the bayou's in Louisiana...dark and sinister. These were quite bright and cheery.

The driver would speed up now and then and take us on a bit of a joyride and my fear was falling out and meeting an alligator. And believe me, they were there and visible.

 

It's really hard not to drag your hand through the water when in a boat, but after I saw a few of these things, silently eye-balling me, I pretty much sat on my hands.

After the boat ride, we went to the rescue centre and watched a strapping young man handle some alligators. These were nuisance gators, this one had gone into someone's back yard and eaten two chihuahua pups. 

Look at it's sneaky grin. There were a dozen or so alligators in the enclosure with this guy, this was one of the smaller ones he handled, I think he said it was about 200lbs.

I probably should have paid more attention to his spiel, but he really was a fine specimen to look at and my mind was elsewhere. The gator was a nice specimen as well.  (ha, ha, I know, corny joke, I'm as bad as the guide on the bus.)

Resting his chin on the alligator's chin

After this we had a chance to shop in their store, I bought water, I think Steven bought himself a t-shirt.

And then we headed to the airport, so see 'ya later, alligator. (Again...I know...but you have to say it)

The  bus dropped us off at the Air Canada terminal, and since we were a few hours early for our 7PM flight the line up through security was minimal, it didn't take long at all.  We found a restaurant called The Torn Basil and had the best little pizzas I have ever had. 

The flight was uneventful and we reached Montreal on time, there were no line ups through customs or security, but mind you, I had booked seats in the area right behind first class, the "in-between" of first class and economy, I can't remember what it's called, but the seats are roomier and you can get off the plane super quick, and with no luggage to wait for, we booked it to the in-terminal hotel. I tell ya, I'll never stay in a hotel that isn't in the terminal again when I have an early flight. We were in our room, literally, within 25 minutes of leaving the plane. No waiting for luggage, no waiting for a shuttle, no getting up extra early to catch the shuttle next morning. Obviously with age I have discovered I need a bit more "easy and simple" in my air flight life.

The room was glorious....beds were like clouds and the curtains were black-out. I was able to practice my pathetic French, but I did learn it in Quebec, so the québécois here was ok. Morning came far too early, I think the alarm was set for 5:30, so we stumbled out of the hotel and to our gate. The wait wasnt long, we lined up according to our "group number" on our boarding passes and after the first group left, there was a bit of a wait because they were lookiing for someone or something, I'm not sure, but the point being, I was first in line for the next group....there was no one in front of me for me to follow. The gate-lady gestured us through, and I headed down the corridor.

Now, let me mention, as you know, those corridors go directly to the plane. They don't go anywhere else, thus the reason there is no one there to point you in any direction. Well, at one bend there seemed to be a junction of sorts, and I took the one that seemed to continue in the plane direction, and of course 100 or so people were behind me. Aaaand.....dead end. WTF? I hastily and shamefacedly did an about face and headed towards the unmarked junction, the group following me like lemmings. How embarrasing. One fellow said, jokingly I hope, "Remind me to never follow you again." I just mumbled "No one should ever follow me, ever." Eventually we boarded and flew away. Tried to watch a couple of movies, but the exhaustion had set in and we both dozed off and on. Got to Calgary on time, had a short wait, about 45 minutes I think, and then caught the 18 seat mini-plane home. Our friend picked us up and in 20 minutes we were home. All over and back to the usual routine. Steven is always happy to return home, but not me, I could travel for months and months at a time. Really, I really could. 

I will do one final entry after this one, a synopsis of sorts. 

Welcome Home.

Cruise Part 13. The last sea day...

Since departure yesterday we have travelled 361 nautical miles at about 19.3 knots. Much quicker than usual, maybe the captain is in a hurry to get home.

The temperature is 30C or 86F and humid. Most of the day today we can see the coast of Cuba and the buildings of Havana are visible. Getting close to Florida. 

Breakfast was Eggs Benedict and lots of fruit. The pineapple, bananas and mangos in the buffet are so fresh and delicious that neither of us can get enough of them.Then we hot tubbed and swam for bit before starting the inevitable chore of packing. Actually, packing wasn't too bad since I didn't really buy anything. A small bottle of hot sauce for one son, at his request, and that went in my liquids bag for carry-on, a linen shirt for second son, that was his request, it was thin enough to fit in my carry-on and that was that. Easy-peasy. I did buy one picture of the two of us, it's not great but it's the best out of what I think might have been as many as 50. 

And before I knew, it was lunch time! We both had stuffed calamari for a starter and Beef Bourginone for a main. Steven had a banana split for dessert and I had creme brûlée. Our last sit down lunch.....

The main pool was empty, which made for an awful lot of pissed off people. The staff said it was "for maintenance", and I guess it was, but they could have done it this evening. It's obvious that once the cruise is basically done, the fawning over the passengers is done as well. I remember this from our other two cruises also. 

We wandered thru the casino and used the last of our credits (didn't win) and did some swimming and hot tubbing in the other pool and before long it was suppertime! Can you tell that food is an important part of my life?

I had a watermelon and feta salad with roasted pumpkin seeds and a citrus dressing, as well as a seafood terrine. For a main I had salmon with a glazed tamarind sauce. Steven had a pork riblet and Caesar salad and a New York strip steak for his main. For dessert we both had Baked Alaska. That must be "a thing", the Baked Alaska Parade on the last night. The kitchen staff all come out with Baked Alaskas on a trays,  with a candle (a battery operated one) on each, and everyone sings and applauds as they circle the dining room.

I remember on our cruise to the Bahamas, the staff actually balanced the Baked  Alaska's on their heads, and they were flambéd and the flames were pretty high! I guess all that is a thing of the past, but the song was the same, "Hot Hot Hot" by Arrow, and covered by everyone from Buster Poindexter to Menudo. It's a catchy tune though, and suits the occasion. It was, like many things on the boat, cheesy but fun. And the cake was excellent.

The show that night was, without exaggeration, fantastic. It was called The Secret Silk and was produced by the composer of "Wicked", Stephen Schwartz  (he wrote songs for "Pocahontas", "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "Enchanted" and others. The dragons and monsters, (of which there were many) are all from Jim Henson's creature shop. It was as good as the Broadway productions of "The Lion King" and "Warhorse". I seriously would not have been disappointed if I had paid money to see it. It was created especially for the Princess Cruise Line, but I'm sure it would be equally at home on Broadway. 

We were in bed by 11-ish, as usual, and the engines were just as irritating as they were on day one, except I was a bit more used to them, but I'm sure glad I had the foresight to bring along some Gravol as it's a great sleep aid.

Good night.

Cruise Part 12. Grand Cayman and Hell.

We travelled 293 nautical miles since yesterday at an average of 17.5 knots. The temperature is 30C or 86F. There is a breeze, but the sky is cloudy.

We docked at 7 AM and there were tenders all day long to ferry passengers to and from Grand Cayman. The ship has to drop anchor further out as it's too shallow for a proper port close to the island. Tenders ran back and forth all day like busy little ants.

The little boat to the left is a coast guard type of boat or a pilot boat, the tender is the tiny one snuggled up the ship, in the middle. I'm not sure what the small black thing is, over to the right. A periscope? Checking for money launderers? 

Apparently during the busy season there are 6-8 big cruise ships anchored there at a time, making for extremely busy tours, streets in town, long waits for a tender and so on.  There was one other ship when we were there, and it left before us. Another huge plus for going in the off season.  

Grand Cayman is super clean and very, very wealthy. A huge amount of foreigners both live there and bank there. Yes, this is the home of the infamous "off shore banking" accounts, this and Turks and Caicos are the two main ones left now that Switzerland has changed their policies. (Of course Switzerland was never literally "off shore", but you know what I mean.) 

A clean and colorful place. 

We met up with our tour guide and bus, a very tiny group today, hoorah! I think most people wanted to tender in and out,  and shop at all the fancy stores. Apparently watches are "the thing" to buy here. Patel Phillipe, TagHeurer, Cartier, Blancpain, Chopard and even the "lowly" Rolex, which is #12 of the top 15 watches to purchase here. 

I guess whatever floats your boat (hahaha, cruise humour), but a watch is a watch is a watch. I don't understand people who need to have the best of everything, but that's a rant for another day. 

(As a side note, when I was in Lichtenstein, I discovered that "the thing" to purchase there is false teeth. More false teeth industry in that teensy little country than the rest of the world. How odd.)

We stopped at the legendary 7 Mile Beach (which I'd actually never heard of) to learn that it's only 5.5 miles long! Scandalous! 

There was an unattended stall selling conch shells, no price so I'm not sure how much they were, but I am pretty sure that we can't bring them into Canada anymore. I have two from years ago when we were in the Bahamas, and we paid $2 each. I imagine they are worth much more than that now.

Then we went to Hell. It's the actual name of the place, the story is: back in the 1500's the first explorer who saw this place said "What the Hell?" 😕. Obviously not quite the truth, and it's now just a kitschy tourist attraction, but it did look sort of hellish and it was certainly as hot as Hell. But they stamp your passport, and I was overly and ridiculously thrilled with that. Doesn't take a lot to thrill me.

When in Rome....

 And the reason they call it Hell:

It was a bit of an eerie sight. 

They have a post office here and it's popular to send a postcard home  "from Hell", but I wasn't interested. The passport stamp was what I wanted. 

Anyhow, after that short and strange little stop, we headed to a rum factory. A rum and cake factory actually. Unusual combination, and more of a kick-back shopping stop for the tour guide than anything else, but we did have samples of both rum and cake. There were 2 types of rum, plain and pineapple. I tried the pineapple and oh my god, to my surprise it was like nectar of the gods! Thick and sweet and like a pineapple liqueur. The cake was saturated in it, as well as having it in the batter before baking, and it was just as fabulous, even more because, well, it was cake! 

As I've said, I'm no shopper, but man, did I want one of these. They actually have enough liquor in them that you can become impaired by eating a few slices, not "tipsy" drunk, but enough to show in a blood alcohol test. "But officer, I swear, I only had cake today..."  That's what they told us anyhow, not sure how true it is, but the ones they sell at the store are not the same "quality" as the ones on the website, so maybe they do have more booze in them. The ones you order online have 1% alcohol. 

They called this a "tour" of the rum and cake factory, and it wasn't really a tour, you could look through windows and see the cakes being made, and the same with the rum, but it was still a fun stop to get to have a few samples, plus the store had fabulous air conditioning. Whew.

 

For those that bought booze, it was delivered to the ship and taken somewhere to be stored until disembarkation. It is very much against the rules to bring alcohol onto the ship by yourself. A few of the ports had duty free shops, as well as the ship itself, and all the liquor you buy is set aside for you until you leave the ship. 

Still more to do today. We hopped back on the little bus and headed over to a sea turtle rescue/breeding "farm". 

They were so big!  The facility was initially used to breed the endangered green sea turtle for commercial purposes. By raising the turtles in a farming operation, the turtle meat could be produced for local consumption without depleting the wild population of the species. It sounds sort of harsh, but it's no different than raising cattle, pigs, sheep etc for consumption in North America.

"Although still in operation as a farm for raising turtles in order to sell product, the Cayman Turtle Centre has been developed into an important research project and conservation facility." (From their website)

So these giant sea turtles are all rescues, and not going to be eaten.

They also breed them and release the babies once they are old enough to survive. It was a huge 23 acre compound, you could spend a whole day there, if one had the time and the inclination, of which I had neither.

Steven was allowed to hold a young one, but they struggle, so he had to lean over the tank in case it struggled it's way to freedom, however his promptly fell asleep as soon as he picked it up. 

There was also a odd (to me) amount of chickens and roosters there.

Just strolling into the shade.

Posing nicely.

It was soooo hot that even the iguanas were hiding in the shade.

We were then ushered into the gift shop, as you know, the exit is almost always through the gift shop and people just shop like crazy. I used that time to find a washroom and also to buy a cold drink. 

After that we headed to a small dock and boarded a boat to go.....TA-daaaah! Swimming with stingrays. 

Now. Let's have a quick chat about cavorting with wild animals.  It's something I vehemently disagree with, I would never swim with dolphins, I won't go to a zoo or a sea park. Certainly some rescue organizations are legit and helpful, but the majority of them are not. They're businesses and in it for profit. We do not have "the right" to see animals in captivity, bottom line. 

So you're thinking, "Well,  Ms Hypocrite, were you not at a turtle farm just two hours ago?" Why yes, yes I was.  And they have indeed rescued hundreds of sea turtles, but you are not allowed to swim with them or touch them. They will be re-released back into the ocean. They are the ones who have been injured by propellers, plastic bags, refuse in the sea, fishing nets and lines etc. The ones we were allowed to touch are the ones who are farmed, which, before you scream "EEEK! Cruel!", it's no different than petting a calf or pig or lamb that will end it's life in a supermarket. Sea turtles are raised in these islands as a sustainable food product. So there.

Anyhow, back to the stingrays. When I first saw this as a shore excursion I thought it seemed like a really amazing experience, and when I did a bit of research I was happy to see that they are not in any sort of an enclosure, to the contrary, they are out in the ocean, and it's hit or miss as to if you will see any. They come and go as they please.  Like whale watching off our coast. 

So I signed us up, I didn't tell Steven as I knew he'd love it and be bitterly disappointed  if it didn't pan out, weather wise as well as stingray wise. I sort of wanted it to be a surprise. 

So we waited on the shore for out little boat to come for us. This little boat came from nowhere, we got on and rode for 30 minutes towards the horizon. I wasn't sure how the whole thing was going to work, especially since there were no visible life jackets, I'm wondering how the "swimming" part was going to  pan out when you're 30 miles out to sea with no life jackets. 

 

To my surprise, there is a sandbar out there, with the water only 3-4 feet deep. Our guy just hopped right out and stood with the water up to his waist. He gave us instructions on how to touch a stingray...only on their edges and "wings", not the middle or their tails. We were not allowed to wear any sort of watershoes or sandals, I guess in case you accidentally stepped on one, so as not to cause an injury. As he was telling us this, a whole group of them swam right over. A group of stingrays is called a "fever". There must have been 30 or more, a couple were the size of a large dinner plate, but others were huge, easily kitchen table sized. We were told to jump in, so we did.

The stingrays swam over to us right away, and brushed against us, undulating around our legs, actually pushing us over into the water. They appeared at an alarming rate, all around us. They were so soft, like fuzzy, warm rubber. It was the weirdest thing. It was amazing. Have you ever seen a stingrays "face"? Adorable....

(Not my picture, I didn't have my camera in the water)

 

They would come right up to the surface and smack their wings, or fins, or whatever that part of them is called, on the water.  We were given a piece of squid and had to hold it in your fist, with your thumb tucked in and the squid sticking out.  Our guy reiterated a few times "Thumbs  in! Thumbs in!"  Well, holy cow, when the creature takes it, he (or she...) he sucks it in and the suction is unreal...I'm sure your thumb would be gone along with the squid if it wasn't tucked in. Even with it's mouth underwater you could hear the gurgle of the suction. Very cool. They are incredibly docile and sort of reminded me of cats, rubbing around your ankles.

Of course I accidentally stepped on a tail and had a moment of Steve Irwin fear, but I survived with only two tiny scratches. I figured the salt water would clean any germs, and apparently it did because I'm still here with my foot intact. I didn't say anything to anyone, so my death would have been a mystery.

My stingray injury on the arch of my foot. 😊😊

The water was so warm and so crystal clear with big waves that sort of rolled you over into a fever of stingrays, it was the best day ever. Something I'm sure I'll never do again. 

After it was all over we took the little boat 30 miles back to shore and took our tender back to the ship and tidied up for dinner. For a starter I had a yucca fritter stuffed with spicy beef, as did Steven and we had chateaubriand for our main, and a Grand Marnier Soufflé with vanilla bean sauce. Mmmmmmm.

The entertainment was a comedian/guitar player, he was really very funny, one of the better shows.

Oh, I forgot this story. When we were in our room  earlier, Steven wanted to see the airport transfers, which annoyed me because they were all packed away, but he insisted, so I grudgingly got up and dug them out of my suitcase. I had booked them weeks ago, along with all of our shore excursions, and I had booked everything very, very  carefully, checking times again and again because once you hit that "purchase" button, your credit card is charged. 

He says "Oh. I didn't know were were flying out of Miami." And I said "Ha-Ha. Not funny."

He says "I thought it was Ft Lauderdale" and again my comment is "Not funny." He handed me the vouchers. Well, fuck. It says Miami. How could I have possibly not noticed? 

I flew down to the shore excursion desk and of course they were closed for the next few hours. I was a mess thinking that this was going to cost me big bucks. 

After a restless and nervous wait, they opened and I was first in line and when I explained what I had done, she said "Oh. No problem, I can change that in a jiffy."  And she did. I'm sure my sigh of relief could be heard all over. Can you imagine if he hadn't noticed until we were at the airport? Yikes.

Anyhow, I slept well after that, and tonight we change the clocks again!!

Good night.