Back to school...

Tonight is our last night of carefree living here in the Cayman Islands, as tomorrow Barn will be starting his new job. Still, no point worrying about that now. Instead we are making the most of our last hours of "freedom" before we are sucked back into the real world (or at least as real as the world gets out here). Example below.

Having spent our first week on island finding our feet and doing all the usual boring admin jobs that come with moving house/country, in the last week we have been able to spend a bit more time exploring the island and starting to settle in to island life. Oh, and we have also moved into our new house (but more of that later...).

Last weekend we thought we had better expand our horizons and develop our cultural knowledge of the island by visiting the oldest building (and for many years the only stone building) in the Cayman Islands, Pedro St James Castle. Although it is now a fantastic museum, this simple but impressive structure on the southern coast of the island near Prospect was originally built by an English farmer and landowner in the 1730s as the main house for his cotton plantation. Over the years the structure has been used for many different things, having been the site where the first Cayman Government sat, the place where the abolition of slavery was proclaimed, a family home, a small holding to be abandoned and left to fall into disrepair, a romantic ruin and picnic destination, a tourist attraction, a dive centre, a bar and restaurant, a ruin once more until finally it was purchased in the 1990s by the Cayman Government who have restored it to its former plantation-era glory. It provided a fascinating insight into how the Cayman Islands have developed from the forgotten mosquito infested backwater that they were right up until the 1940s into a global financial centre and tourist destination, as well as what life was like on the Caribbean plantations in the 18th and 19th centuries.

While Barn was absorbed by the history, Bonnie spent her time making a new friend in the only donkey left on the Cayman Islands, who now lives in the grounds of Pedro St James Castle.

Bonnie also became an Auntie for the first time on Sunday to a gorgeous little girl and we both wish we could be back home for a cuddle but have been spending all week on Facebook trying to catch a glimpse at the next photo! Congrats to N & M and also to S & P who welcomed their little bundle into the world on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, we decided to explore the Botanic Gardens, which we had heard a lot of good things about. As well as being a fantastic horticultural resource, they are also the home to the Blue Iguana, which is an endangered species, and until a few years ago there were only a handful left on the island. Thanks to a breeding ad conservation programme run by the National Trust, the numbers are now growing, and the gardens are a great place to see these beautiful creatures up close.

The gardens are a wonderful mix of indigenous plants, local Caribbean plants and more exotic species that nave been brought to the islands from further afield. They are set out in a series of areas, with the local species being displayed in the garden of a typical Caymaian cottage, a palm grove, a wonderful colour garden focused around an ornamental lake and gazebo and finally a woodland walk. Unfortunately, having remained bite free up to this point, the mosquitoes had their revenge and we both came away with one or two choice bites...

In between our cultural forays we have been to HELL and back (literally - it's a place at the NW of the island);

and spent a lot of time sat on the beach/by the pool topping up our tans and working our way through the large pile of books we picked up at the Cayman Islands Humane Society Book Sale (5 for $1 - bargain).
The second half of this week has primarily revolved around eating, drinking and moving.
Thursday was lunch with my new colleagues, and it was great to finally meet people I have been speaking to on the phone and over video conference in the flesh for the first time.

On Friday we picked up the keys to our new house. The experience was somewhat dampened when we received a call on the Thursday night from the estate agent to explain that unfortunately the repainting had not actually been completed yet, and we have therefore spent the last couple of days picking our way around the paint pots and dust sheets while the decoration has been completed. However we met one of the neighbours who seemed quite pleasant,

and have a palm outside our front door that seems to be growing something that looks like it should be from the film Labyrinth;

After some rain (you'll be pleased to know), the painters finally finished this afternoon, so now we are just waiting for our container (which arrived on Wednesday) to be cleared from Customs so we can start unpacking properly.
We finished the week with a Beer and Curry night at the Cayman Islands Brewery (www.cib.ky), which we had heard about last week when we went to restock our fridge. It was fantastic fun, and we met more than a few interesting people. We will certainly be returning for the next one.

Today we spent the day Skyping the folks, walking round the block to explore and then we headed into Georgetown for brunch buffet on the harbour where we ate a number of  dishes including goat, snapper, ackee, callaloo, rice and peas, conch fritters!! Not to mention the key lime pie, bread pudding, casava loaf and creme brulee!! (You only need one meal on a Sunday here!)

We also watch these chaps fish for their Sunday lunch!

Then we headed to our nearest beach where we snorkeled, sunbathed and watched a magical baptism service in the sea with full congregation and singing!

Anyway, now it is time for Barn to think about polishing shoes, ironing shirts, pressing suits, picking out ties and packing bags ready for his first day at the office.... Wish him luck!
Until next time.
Bonnie and Barny