|
Everyone has their favorite
Caribbean Island but if you don’t
know, cruising the Cayman Islands is
a highlight of a Caribbean Cruise.
The three islands hold many
attractions some that are unique to
these islands. The world’s only
commercial Green Sea Turtle farm is
located here and is an interesting
tour. Other attractions include the
National Museum, Queen Elizabeth II
Botanical Park and Garden, Bird
Sanctuaries, Nature trails and
Wetlands Preserves. And, of course,
for those who can’t live without it,
shopping is abundant without the
hassle of street vendors (prohibited
by law). One of the most famous
natural attractions in Grand Cayman
Island is Stingray City. This is an
area in the ocean not far from the
northern tip of Grand Cayman where
tourists can get up close to
hundreds of friendly stingrays.
Stingray City will be one of the
organized tours from the cruise
ships visiting Grand Cayman as a
port of call. There will also be
tours available from local operators
in Georgetown where the cruise ships
dock. The cruise organized tours
will almost always be the more
expensive option but you will save a
lot of shore time. Scuba divers can
book specialized dives at Stingray
City through one of the many diver
operators in Grand Cayman. The scuba
diving at Stingray City is at a
deeper section away from the tourist
crowds who are usually brought to a
very shallow area. Certified scuba
divers and even snorkelers are
recommended to take the dive trip
option with the dive shops to
experience Stingray City with fewer
crowds. For non-divers, the sandbars
here are shallow enough to stand and
feed the stingrays.
It is believed that many years ago,
sailors visiting the area while
cleaning their catch threw fish
remains overboard and soon noticed
the stingrays coming into the cove
for the free food. These particular
stingrays became conditioned over
the years to humans and the food
handouts unlike stingrays elsewhere
in the Caribbean. The stingrays here
are friendly enough that people
could touch them and local guides
have been known to even hold them.
The guides will warn everyone that
even though these stingrays appear
to be quite friendly, they should
still be regarded as wild animals so
it is never recommended to touch
them by their razor sharp tails or
abuse them in any manner. It is
possible to feed them with the squid
parts provided on site. The mouths
of the stingrays are located
underneath their bodies and people
are instructed to hold the food in
their palms flat facing up. With
their keen sense of smell, the
stingrays will hover towards and
over the food to collect their
snacks. The guides, a devilish lot,
usually target in on the squeamish
of all the passengers. As soon as
those passengers are in the water
they throw food around the hapless
folks to attract the stingrays to
that area. So seem brave and you
won’t get picked on. Although
Stingray City can be crowded at
times due to its popularity, it does
offer a very unique experience to
see these wonderful sea creatures up
close. Stingrays are usually very
shy animals and will swim away from
scuba divers and snorkelers but not
at Stingray City in Grand Cayman.
This is a tour that all members of
your family can enjoy, you, your
children even the grandparents. It
is easy to get on and off the boat
and the water is only about chest
deep, depending on your height. Life
jackets are available for all. I
highly recommend this outing but
book early as word has gotten around
and this is a very popular excursion.
TOP 100 CAYMAN ISLANDS ARTICLES ON
THE WEB
|
