Grand Cayman

Today, I, that girl, and two other couples fly off to Grand Cayman Island.

From the Continental United States, Grand Cayman lies on the far side of Cuba in the Caribbean Sea, not quite 200 miles northwest of Jamaica.  The Cayman Islands, comprised of Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac, were first “sighted” by Christopher Columbus on May 10, 1503, during his last voyage to the West Indies.

The islands are the low-lying outcroppings of a submarine mountain range extending from Belize to Cuba.  Grand Cayman is the largest land mass of the three islands and is about 22 miles long and some 8 miles across at the widest point.  North Sound very nearly splits the island in two with shallow seawater.

Grand Cayman is a tropical island with white sand beaches and plenty of palm trees in attendance.  Temperatures on the island range from warmish to hot for the entire year.  While we are there, we can expect temperatures modulating between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.  The island averages 55 inches of rain per year, with September and October as the rainiest months of the year.

The highest point of Grand Cayman is merely 59 feet in elevation and is without a name.  At present, the island supports a population of about 53,000.  George Town, the capital city, holds nearly half of the population.

In the early days of exploration by seafaring ships, Grand Cayman was regularly used as a stop-over point.  The islands were widely known for supporting a large population of sea turtles.  Christopher Columbus had, in fact, originally named the islands “Las Tortugas” for all the turtles there.

Permanent settlers did not arrive until around 1658, at which time deserters from the British Army in Jamaica took refuge on the island.  These settlers were soon joined by refugees from the Spanish Inquisition.

The islands are today territory of the United Kingdom.

Grand Cayman is famous for supporting rich marine biodiversity.  The reefs surrounding Cayman are home to 36 different coral species and 350 kinds of fish.

And, yes, sea turtles.

And, yes, pale Montanans temporarily escaping winter.

  

—Mitchell Hegman