H-O-L-I-D-A... Why?

With the Cayman AI Conference and Legends Tennis over, and with both of us having accrued a reasonable amount of leave to take before the end of the year, we decided to take a week off in the middle of November.

When we had booked the week off we weren't exactly sure what we were going to do with it, but a very convenient solution presented itself. A few months ago we had visited the Cayman Living fair - it's like the Ideal Home Show for the Cayman Islands - and while we were there we had entered a few of the competitions (after all, when there are only a few hundred people around your odds of winning are pretty good), one of which was a chance to win an apartment at one of the timeshare resorts in the East End of the Island. We didn't win the apartment, but we did win a 5 night stay at the Morritts Tortuga Club Beach Resort at Colliers Beach in East End.


On one level, staying 20 miles away at the other end of the tiny idylic Caribbean island which we already live on didn't sound like much of a break from the norm - particularly when there are so many great destinations to explore on our doorstep. However, we soon found there were plenty of advantages to holidaying less than an hour from your front door. First of all, there is no packing panic and no need for passports - you can simply throw everything you need in the car and drive off, safe in the knowledge that you can always go home to pick up anything you forget. And you don't need to worry whether you have left any liquids in your hand luggage...


We were staying in the Morritts resort, which is located in a fairly isolated part of the eastern end of the Island. It is a timeshare resort, full of vacationing Americans and the rooms are rather tired and the decor is very late 80's / early 90s - all a bit reminiscent of "The Firm". However, it was free.

When we arrived we were shown to our room and presented with a sheaf of vouchers for drinks at the "Welcome Party" they were holding that evening for their new guests. Despite our better judgment, with a little cadjoling from the reception staff (and the promise of free drinks) we decided to go along to the party. We were greeted by an overly camp compare singing welcome songs and encouraging everyone to join in with the games (actually, non-particiation was not really an option) - not really our thing, but the majority of the guests were loving it. It was a bit like being on a cruise ship, but on land. We decided to call it a night when the MC started encouraging the men to take off their tops and have a "who has the best muscles" competition (lets face it, most of the guests were more "Bobby George" than "Magic Mike"...).

The next morning we decided to have an explore of East End. Although we had been out there several times before, our trips have usually been to Rum Point or Kaibo. This time we decided to explore a bit more off the beaten track, and took a drive out to find a restaurant we had been recommended called Kurt's Corner. It took us a while to find, as it's not exactly obvious - the restaurant consists of an open sided hut behind a barn on the cross island road - but it was well worth the hunt. They had a huge menu of Caymaian specialities, with an emphasis on seafood. We tried the Conch fritters, the Crab cakes and some jerk shrimp, all of which were fantastic. Definitely one to take our guests to...

On Wednesday Barn woke up to find a treat waiting for him. Bonnie had arranged a kite surfing lesson as part of his Birthday present, and for 2 hours he learned the basics of handling the kite and the board.

In the evening we decided to treat ourselves and try one of the other East End restaurants that had been recommended to us. It was a place called Tukka, an Australian/Caribbean fusion restaurant with a fantastic location right by the water. We were shown to a table on a balcony overlooking the sea, and we sipped cocktails as the sun went down and watched the Man o War birds picking off the scraps thrown to them by the chef from the restaurant. As dusk settled in we were even amazed to see a couple of small sharks come right up to the beach to feed on the sprats there. Definitely a Cayman first for us...


One of the things we have been wanting to do for ages is go on the Blue Iguana safari at the Botanical Gardens - unfortunately as we have both been working when the tours are on, we haven't found the time to do it. The Blue Iguana is a unique species of Iguana that is native to the Cayman Islands. 20 years ago there were less than 25 left in the wild, but thanks to the efforts of the National Trust of the Cayman Islands now there are nearly 700, and the population is steadily growing. Although the species is still endangered, it has been brought back from the brink of extinction. We turned up at the appointed hour, only to find that there was a party of 65 school children visiting the Iguanas that day, so we reluctantly got back in the car and spent the day at Rum Point instead.

However, we returned the next day and made it on to the tour. Seeing these majestic creatures up close was a fantastic privilege, and we were taken round the botanical gardens and the breeding pens, and had various aspects of the Blue Iguana life cycle pointed out to us by our very knowledgeable guide from the National Trust of the Cayman Islands.

The Iguana tour rounded off our weekend off, and we returned to South Sound very relaxed, well rested and well read (having spent most of the time siting on various beaches reading), all ready for the pre-Christmas onslaught...

Gaarrr, tharr be Pirates!

November marks the most important event in the annual calendar in Cayman. No, it's not the Tennis Legends, which we told you about in our last post. Nor is it Remembrance Sunday, or Thanksgiving (although both are pretty important). It's not even Bonnie and Barny's birthdays, which both fall in November. No, November is important because it marks the annual Pirate's Week festival, and "pirates" from all over the world descend on the island for a week of plank walking, timber shivering, grog glugging, wench worrying fun and games. Or, in plain English, a great big party.

As a precursor to the main events of Pirates Week, a 5k run had been organised through the centre of George Town, and as part of his marathon training Barny had decided to enter. He finished 53rd out of a field of around 200, which he was not particularly happy with, but is not too bad considering it was his first race for many years. 

The festival formally opened on Friday 9 November with a huge fireworks display over George Town harbour, and we joined some friends for dinner at Casanova's on the waters edge towards the North end of George Town to enjoy some pasta while we watched the display. Unfortunately it seemed that half the island had had the same idea, so the waiters were struggling to cope keeping up with the orders, but the impressive fireworks display made up for the rather shoddy service.


















The afternoon of Saturday 10th November was the main event of the festival - the invasion of the pirates. During the invasion a band of maurauding "pirates" (in reality a motley assortment of lawyers, accountants and dive instructors) attempt to invade the island, and are repulsed by a band of "redcoats" (also a motley assortment of lawyers, accountants and dive instructors), and a pitched "battle" (lots of running around, waving swords and shouting "Gaarrr" at the top of your voice) is pitched in the streets of George Town.
















As a build up there was some entertainment for the crowds in the form of a demonstration by Caymanjetpack.com of their new toy - a water powered jet pack. For all those boys who have grown up watching Bond films and dreaming of the day they could have their own Thunderball jet pack, the time has now come.
 

The device works by pumping sea water through a 10m hose to a back pack with adjustable nozzles, shooting the water out at high pressure and thereby lifting the wearer off the ground. The nearest equivalent is probably riding a high pressure fire hose, but either way it looks pretty cool. It has certainly moved up the christmas wish list for Santa this year...!
Anyway, back to the pirates. The maurading mob far outnumbered the redcoats, who were quickly overpowered and this year the governor was successfully stolen, following which the way was paved for a "victory" parade of floats sponsored by various Caymanian businesses and promoting various aspects of Cayman. Our favourite was the East End float celebrating the survival of a local sailor from a ship wreck, complete with a moving papier mache shark...

The Piratical festivities continued throughout the week, but unfortunately some of us out here have to work, so we weren't able to take full advantage of the fun. However, the following Saturday saw further Pirate antics, and also running. This time it was a 10k race, with the promise that you would be running to Hell and back. Literally.

For those of you who are not versed in the geography of the Cayman Islands, Hell is a settlement in the West Bay area, where you can see a fantastical limestone moonscape. And it has its own resident devil (and a post box so you can send a card from Hell to your loved ones...). Once again Barn had decided to sign up for the run (as preparation for his half marathon), and so found himself standing on a portion of West Bay road at 6.30am being told to "Go to Hell" - along with 300 others.

The festivities were rounded off with a ritual sentencing of the Pirates, another parade and yet more fireworks. If we paid tax here, we may have been saddened to see our tax dollars going up in smoke, but then it was such a good show maybe we should be happy the government choose to spend some of their money putting on such a fantastic show!

Balls, Bushes and Branson

We would like to apologise to our reading public for the recent lack of blogging on our part. We can assure you that this is not because we have forgotten you, but because we have been rather busy over the past few weeks. No, really. Despite what we may have lead you to believe with all the photos of palm trees and beaches we have been posting over the last few months we do actually have to work (well, some of the time at any rate).

In the past it has been Barn who has found himself spending long days and late nights dealing with lawyers, bankers and investors in London, New York and California, but earlier this month the tables were turned, as it was Bonnie's turn to put in a few shifts burning the midnight oil as two of the events she has been responsible for running finally came to fruition. And like all good things, you never end up with just one at a time...!

The start of November saw two of the largest events of the year come to Cayman in the form of the Cayman Alternative Investment Summit, and the Legends Tennis Tournament. This meant that nearly 500 delegates from across the world of investment and finance descended on the grand ball room of the Ritz Carlton to discuss the latest issues affecting the Alternative Investment world. At the same time 10 of the world's top tennis players (including Stefan Edberg, Martina Hingis, Jimmy Arrias and Murphy Jensen), and a couple of celebrities, headed down to the courts of the Ritz Carlton to battle it out on the courts for the crown of Legends Tournament. And it was Bonnie's job to make sure that everything went to plan.

To top it all, 3 days before it was all due to kick off, Hurricane Sandy rolled into New York, causing widespread devastation and, more signifcantly closing down the airports. Thankfully, Cayman Airways were to hand and put on an extra flight just to fly those delegates affected by the storm down for the event, which was very nice of them...

Although a task like this would be daunting enough in its own right, there was event more pressure on the team as the keynote speakers were none other than the 43rd President of the USA, George W. Bush, and the founder and CEO of the Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson.

While Bonnie and her team were busy behind the scenes making sure that everything went to plan for the events, Barn was able to make the most of the experience, and went to watch the tennis, as well as the Bush and Branson keynote speeches.

George W. Bush was perhaps the biggest surprise of the event. The image which the media had portrayed of him during his presidency was as rather a buffoon who couldn't string a sentence together and relied on aides to tell him exactly what to do. However, the George Bush which we got to see on the podium was an entirely different character. He was polite, charming and witty, and I think it is fair to say that everyone in the room questioned the preconceptions they had about him. I for one left the talk feeling that, presidency aside, Dubya was not such an idiot after all.

Richard Branson, on the other hand, was almost the opposite. Where George Bush was confident on the stage and took the lead in the talks, Branson came across as far less confident, nervous almost. However he is not a politician, and you would not expect him to be as polished. The message which Branson gave, however, was incredibly inspiring, and he is certainly a force for good in the world, using his wealth and power to help others however he can, often quietly and behind the scenes.

After the keynote speeches, Barn was able to enjoy watching the old masters at work in the Legends Tennis, which featured some great play from Hingis, Jensen, Tom Blake, Jimmy Arras, Iva Majoli, some good play from Richard Branson and some not so good play from Greg Norman (who should probably stick to golf...).

While Barn got to watch Bush and Branson speak and the tennis players play, Bonnie got to meet them all. She even managed to get photos with Bush and Branson.

After such a hard week working (in Bonnie's case) and schmoozing (in Barn's case), it was time to kick back and relax, and we had a fantastic buffet breakfast then spent the day sprawled out by the pool at the Ritz Carlton.

Maybe it's not such hard work, after all...