When You Think of Me, I am in Paradise

It's been just over six weeks since K and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary, and as we come up on the end of July, we are at the one year mark for our honeymoon trip to Grand Cayman Island. It is bittersweet to look back at our escape to paradise, especially since a year ago the life of an electrical engineer and dental student didn't leave much time for vacation. As the current chapter of our life together comes to an end (I am now officially Dr. Vera DDS, the official “honeymoon” period of marriage is over, K is now a full-time Texas Instruments employee, and this past weekend we moved out of the apartment that has been our home for the last three years), it is a perfect time to reminisce about our one week jaunt to the Caribbean.

Day 1: Wednesday July 23^rd
We arrived at DFW airport mid-morning, and the entire process of checking in and traveling to Grand Cayman Island was by far the least stressful travel experience I have ever had. We checked our luggage at the smallest ticket counter either of us had ever seen: only 2 computers, 2 Grand Cayman Airline workers, and 0 people in line. We went through security and took a shuttle bus across the tarmac and boarded the plane without delay. The flight was smooth. The flight attendants friendly, and four hours later we landed on the only runway at Owen Roberts International Airport, which required us to do a U-turn in order to taxi to a gate and disembark. Like I said, it was the least stressful travel experience I have ever had.

Our hotel, The Grand Cayman Beach Suites, was located on the famous Seven Mile Beach. Our suite included a separate bedroom, kitchenette, giant Jacuzzi tub, and a living room with a patio overlooking the hotel pool, bar, and beach shoreline. Not wanting to waste a second of the experiences the island had to offer, K and I quickly unpacked and then found ourselves walking along the beach to eat dinner at the Beach House at the Westin Hotel. The Caribbean Ocean was aquamarine and the sound and smell of the salty water blew in with the breeze. We ate dinner on a beautiful porch lit with tiki torches and watched the sunset over the ocean. After an absolutely delicious dinner and desert, we walked back along the Seven Mile Beach in the dark, the stars twinkling in the sky and the water lapping at our toes.

Day 2: Thursday July 24^th
The first morning of our honeymoon was a lazy one. When we finally mustered the energy to get out of bed, we headed to George Town for brunch at Bread & Chocolate (a recommendation from my third year dental school faculty leader). The food was fantastic, and with full bellies, we walked to Eden Rock Drive Shop and rented snorkel gear, eager to try out our newest purchase-- a waterproof digital camera that was chosen specifically for this trip; it worked PERFECTLY.

With blistered toes from the flippers and tired muscles from a long session of snorkeling, we explored George Town on foot. We walked past the steam powered clock erected in honor of King James. We went into almost every gift shop in an attempt to get out of the sun and humidity; AC was a blessing every time we stepped through a door. We got mistaken for cruise ship passengers and were given free popsicles-- not that we were complaining because by then we were incredibly hot and sweaty. Eventually we found a bench to sit on in the shade outside of Margarrittaville, and listened to the sounds of Jimmy Buffett float through the Caribbean air. After mojitos and dinner at Breezes by the Bay, we returned at the hotel and turned in early, after a much needed shower, of course.

Day 3: Friday July 25^th
Friday morning we both awoke feeling much better than the night before. It turned out that a day in the sun had left me sunburned and K dehydrated. Thankfully, by morning the redness had faded from my skin and K was back to feeling like himself; this was all key to what was by far the most exciting day of the honeymoon for me-- today was dolphin day! Part of the reason we ended up picking Grand Cayman as our honeymoon destination was due to the fact it is one of the places you can swim with dolphins. It was kind of a big deal! Unfortunately, the day did not get off to a great start; as we attempted to check in for our reservation, we discovered that our taxi driver had dropped us off at the WRONG dolphin place. All in all, it ended up totally fine. We took a bus to the proper location where the staff put as at ease with their laid back demeanor, despite our late arrival.
K likes to say that dolphins are my spirit animal. Several years ago I was not able to contain myself while feeding the dolphins at Sea World and gave all my fish away very quickly; I did not want a repeat of that, and I was actually nervous before all of my own interactions with our groups' dolphin, Galileo. I was also very excited, I mean, we got to pet the dolphin's back and belly. We got to kiss the dolphin. We got to ride belly-to-belly with him, and watch him do jumps and touch our hands with his nose. He danced with us. He pushed us while we rode a boogey board. It was all really freaking awesome. When we finished, we headed across the street to the Cayman Turtle Farm where we got to wade in with the small, younger turtles. It was quite the interactive day. We headed back to the hotel for a late lunch at the hotel's beach bar, followed by a quick dip in the ocean and hotel pool. We had dinner at Cimboco (another lovely recommendation from Dr. McWatters), and we ended our night with drinks at the hotel bar.

Day 4: Saturday July 26^th
This was the first time we had to wake up early during our honeymoon; we even had to set an alarm! We were picked up early at our hotel and taken to the local docks. We were then taken out to the Stingray City sandbar known for it's waist high water where the stingrays wait for tourists to feed them by hand.

Historically, this behavior was developed by fishermen of the past who would clean their fish in the calm, shallow water and discard chum over board. Eventually, the stingrays would associate the sounds of a boat with a free meal and the practice would become a tradition for tourists, like us. Once in the water, the giant creatures glided around us, bumping into you and and waving their fins in what seemed like an attempt to climb up your back, side, or chest. Apparently this is how they make friends. K and I kissed a stingray together; supposedly it would bring us seven years good luck. Back on the boat, we had two more stops for snorkeling, but since my eyes were tired from back-to-back days of wearing contacts, I opted to skip out on the snorkeling and chose to simply swim and float around in the warm waters while K took the water proof camera out for a spin.

After our early morning excursion, we returned to the hotel for lunch at Britannia, the golf course restaurant at the hotel. We sat on the patio and watched storm clouds brewing in the distance, bringing previously unseen cloud coverage and a noticeable decline in temperatures. After the brief summer shower passed, we took another dip in the ocean before dinner.

Day 5: Sunday July 27^th
Before picking up our rental car, we grabbed a quick breakfast at Coconut Joe's, enjoying the view of iguanas climbing in the trees above us. Now, as part of the British common wealth, the Cayman Islands are a left-side of the road country full of round-a-bouts. I'd had second thoughts about our original plan to rent a car earlier in the week, but K was confident he could handle it. The first stop on our island road trip was to the Mastic Trail in Bodden Town where we had a short hike through the native mangrove swamp and woodlands in the center of the island. Hot and sweaty, our journey continued with a stop at the Southern part of the island to see the Blow Holes before heading East. At the eastern most part of Grand Cayman, we climbed to the East End Lighthouse and peered out at the Wreck of the Ten Sales in the distance. We returned to Bodden town and grabbed a much needed bite to eat at The Lighthouse before stopping at Pedro St. James Castle. Hot, sweaty, and tired, we returned to the hotel for a night in.

Day 6: Monday July 28^th
Finally, a lazy day. We lounged about our room recovering from days in the sun. We had drinks on our patio, watching the sun dance across the sky and children splashing in the pool. We had a couple's massage, K's first massage, and he did not like it. I have become a fan of massages over the last few years and this one was one of the most enjoyable-- the sounds and smells of the ocean as relaxing as the massage itself. That night, we had dinner at Hemmingway's where the sound of island jazz played in the background and the sun set on the distant horizon.


Day 7: Tuesday July 29^th

Our last day in paradise, we wanted to soak up every ray of light, feel every grain of sand, and splash in every wave we could. We had breakfast at Eat's Cafe and spent the day alternating between the coral sands of the Seven Mile Beach and the chlorine of the hotel pool; snacking, sipping, laughing.

As the day passed to evening, we prepared ourselves for our reservation at Rum Point. With the ocean breeze pushing our sail, we took a Catamaran to the Northern shore at Rum Point for our last supper. We feasted and drank. We walked along the lamp lit dock back to the Catamaran before heading back to the Western half of the island under the stars. Our last night in paradise, tomorrow, we would return to Dallas and begin the rest of our life together.