{"id":78774,"date":"2024-04-18T06:11:06","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T13:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/?p=78774"},"modified":"2024-04-27T07:39:48","modified_gmt":"2024-04-27T14:39:48","slug":"lookout-stingrays-we-are-on-our-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/?p=78774","title":{"rendered":"Day 14 – Lookout Stingrays, We Are On Our Way!"},"content":{"rendered":"
Panama Canal Adventure: <\/b> Day 1 Departure<\/a> | Day 2 Sailing Off Baja<\/a> | Day 3 Cabo<\/a> | Day 4 Eclipse<\/a> | Day 5 At Sea<\/a> | Day 6 Huatulco <\/a> | Day 7 At Sea <\/a> | Day 8 At Sea<\/a> | Day 9 Costa Rica<\/a> | Day 10 At Sea<\/a> | Day 11 Panama Canal<\/a> | Day 12 Cartagena<\/a> | Day 13 At Sea<\/a> | Day 14 Grand Caymen<\/strong> | Day 15 At Sea<\/a> | Day 16 Ft. Lauderdale – Savannah<\/a> | Day 17 Soddy-Daisy<\/a> | Day 18 – Tracy TN<\/a> | Day 19 – Chattanooga<\/a> | Day 20 – Memphis<\/a> | Day 21 – Graceland & Home<\/a><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n

The ship was on time as we spotted the Georgetown harbor at 6:00\u00a0 am.<\/p>\n

\n

You Know?\u00a0 <\/b>When Columbus landed in the Caymans in 1503, he found tortoises and sea turtles in such profusion that he promptly named the islands Las Tortugas.\u00a0 But the name that stuck for the islands was the Carib word “Caimanas.” Fitting, since the caiman is a New World crocodilian, the islands were long the lair of pirates, buccaneers, and assorted freebooters.<\/p>\n

Despite their past, the Caymans are a Caribbean demi-paradise of white-sand beaches, coral gardens, and offshore waters harboring spectacular shipwrecks.\u00a0 Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman also boast the highest standard of living in the entire Caribbean.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"

The weather was perfect, and there were no mountains here; it was flat as a pancake!<\/p><\/div>\n

We had company; a Celebrity and a Carnival ship were there a little before us.<\/p>\n

\"\"

They were anchored in the bay and getting ready to use the tenders to go ashore.<\/p><\/div>\n

We arrived right on time at Grand Caymen Island.\u00a0 We landed in Georgetown and then took the bus to catch a small boat and ride to Stingray City!\u00a0 (See the map below)<\/p>\n

The Cayman Islands is a self-governing British Overseas Territory and the largest by population.\u00a0 The 264-square-kilometer (102-square-mile) territory comprises Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman islands.\u00a0 FYI: Catalina is 76 square miles!<\/p>\n

The Caymans are located south of Cuba and northeast of Honduras, between Jamaica and Mexico’s Yucat\u00e1n Peninsula.\u00a0 Georgetown on Grand Cayman is the capital city and the most populous of the three islands.<\/p>\n

\"\"

We took the bus from Georgetown a short distance and crossed the light blue area to Stingray City via a long boat.<\/p><\/div>\n

We hopped on a water taxi to the pier since the piers did not handle large ships!\u00a0 The city provided a fleet of tenders that could take 150 people at a time.<\/p>\n

\"\"

We were pretty small compared to the Mother Ship!<\/p><\/div>\n

The port provided efficient transportation to and from the docks using new boats.\u00a0 \u00a0 It was a walk-on\/walk-off arrangement.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The boats loaded and unloaded 2,000 people per ship in a half-hour.<\/p><\/div>\n

We were greeted with a Hula by the temporary mayor of the city (for today).<\/p>\n

\"\"

Hilo (Mary) Hatti waved to us!\u00a0 (Do you remember Hilo Hatti?)
Native Hawaiian singer, hula dancer, actress and comedian (1901-1979)<\/p><\/div>\n

We were taken to a tent where we awaited the bus, which had the driver’s seat on the wrong side of the vehicle.\u00a0 This is a British protectorate, so they drive crazy.\u00a0 I paid particular attention because we will be in Ireland in a few weeks and have rented a car.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Mary has the tickets, so we are ready to go!!<\/p><\/div>\n

Driving down the wrong way on the streets was a little exciting!<\/p>\n

\"\"

I just closed my eyes at every turn.<\/p><\/div>\n

We arrived at the dock and jumped onto a 50-passenger boat to the sandbar called Stingray\u00a0 City.\u00a0 About 25 minutes later, we disembarked\u00a0 (climbed a ladder off the back of the boat into the water) and met an experienced guide who instructed us on how to handle the stingrays.<\/p>\n

\"\"

We are ready for them; are they prepared for us?<\/p><\/div>\n

The boat tied up and dropped an anchor, and we went into the wonderfully warm water.<\/p>\n

We went for a swim in waist-deep water and discovered friendly white southern stingrays at Stingray City, a group of sandbars located 25 miles off the shore of Grand Cayman. The water surrounding the sandbars is pretty shallow, which makes it ideal for people of all ages to join in the fun. We had 90-year-olds in the water with us, and I assisted an older lady who was scared of the stingrays in climbing back up the ladder to safety.<\/p>\n

The graceful southern stingrays glided around us as we entered their natural habitat’s clear three to four-foot-deep waters.\u00a0 A couple of those rays were licking their lips, a worrisome sign.\u00a0 \u00a0These giant sea creatures are so used to humans that they allow us to feed, play, pet, and take pictures.<\/p>\n

\"\"

There were a lot of people, but it was not crowded.<\/p><\/div>\n

The winds brought in some large waves, meaning about five feet tall, so you had to keep an eye out, or you would swallow salt water!<\/p>\n

\"\"

It was a perfect day to chase the little critters around.<\/p><\/div>\n

We got up close and personal with one little guy named Seymour.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Go ahead, Mary, touch him, but be careful of the poison stingers.<\/p><\/div>\n

They dared me to kiss Seymour, so I puckered up and planted one on his nose. Ah, I think it was his nose.<\/p>\n

\"\"

SMOOOOOCH!!\u00a0 \u00a0Mary got a kick out of that!!<\/p><\/div>\n

Then, all of a sudden, I was attacked by a “StingMary,” a rare fish that finds decrepit old men and plants kisses on them!<\/p>\n

\"\"

We think Seymour was getting jealous!<\/p><\/div>\n

One more little pat on Seymour’s head, and we were off to get dry.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Hello S\u00a0 mour!\u00a0 Keep your lips puckered!<\/p><\/div>\n

After getting on the boat, we were warm, but after an hour in the water, our wrinkles had wrinkles!! Mary has a new nickname for me: Wrinkles!<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the secret to having a smoking hot body as a\u00a0 \u00a0senior?\u00a0 Cremation!<\/p>\n

One benefit of old age is that your secrets are always safe with your friends \u2026 because they can\u2019t remember them!<\/p>\n

After getting in the boat (no easy task, I may add), I got in the sun, and within a few minutes, I was somewhat dry!<\/p>\n

\"\"

Read the T-shirt;\u00a0 \u00a0It says, “WARNING, I Bought The Drink Package.”<\/p><\/div>\n

We headed back to the island and through the mango groves to the hidden base from where we began the journey.<\/p>\n

\"\"

In thirty minutes, we will be on the 16th floor in a hot tub, recalling our harrowing adventures today and how we got away from the man-eating rays!<\/p><\/div>\n

Just before boarding the tender, the crew gave Mary the T-shirt since she whispered to all the rays in the local area.\u00a0 They are now lining up to go to the aqua-eye doctor.<\/p>\n

\"\"

#1 Ray Whisperer!<\/p><\/div>\n

OK, back to the ship. We will go by bus and then the tender! When we arrived, we were starved, so we went to the pool area and ordered a burger and a dog. They disappeared immediately. From there, we went to the adult’s hot tub and enjoyed the 96-degree water!<\/p>\n

We returned to the room before heading to the 18th floor and meeting David, our new friend.\u00a0 David joined us at about 7:15 pm. We had a few drinks before we decided to crash!<\/p>\n

\"\"

Dinner on the 18th!<\/p><\/div>\n

David went his way, and we decided Mary needed to see the shops before they closed.<\/p>\n

Whilst heading for the shops, we decided to pick up some of our pictures from the cruise.\u00a0 This is where I met Grance!<\/p>\n

\"\"

What can I say?? (Note: it was staged by the photographer)<\/p><\/div>\n

The shops are near the ship’s center, and we heard danceable music, so we sat and had a drink (or two).<\/p>\n

\"\"

I said we would go to the room when I could carry the martini glass without spilling it. Mary was attempting to make it smaller so we could go.<\/p><\/div>\n

It was 10:00 p.m., and it was time to head home, so we did. We pushed the elevator button, rose two floors, and walked to our suite, a mere 10,982 steps away!<\/p>\n

\"\"

See you tomorrow!<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Panama Canal Adventure: Day 1 Departure | Day 2 Sailing Off Baja | Day 3 Cabo | Day 4 Eclipse | Day 5 At Sea | Day 6 Huatulco | Day 7 At Sea | Day 8 At Sea | … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,184,236],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventures","category-fun","category-just-us","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=78774"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78774\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79124,"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78774\/revisions\/79124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=78774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=78774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=78774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}