We arrived into the cutest little airport on Grand Cayman. There was a small band playing music by the entrance from the tarmac to the airport. To get off the plane, you had to walk down steps directly onto the tarmac…something I’ve only done a handful of times.
We found my bag (the only one we had too check because I brought so much sunscreen, hah!) quickly, once we got through customs. And then went through immigration. It was hot and kind of humid outside, but that’s somehow okay if there are palm trees and coconuts everywhere. We were a bit warm wearing jeans and sneakers, though.
We hauled our very full luggage over to the car rental area and upon arrival found out that Mike was not able to be the driver of our car since he’s not 25 yet, and is not eligible for the insurance. Darn. That left me to be the driver. Yikes. Not only do they drive on the left side of the road here in Grand Cayman, but the driver sits on the right side of the car, which we learned when we walked out to our very European-looking car that had no butt. Also, no power locks, power windows or a clock.in.the.car. “Island time” in the truest sense of the phrase. So after orienting myself, we were off. Mike nicely and other times urgently reminded me that I had to stay to the LEFT about 47 times during our drive to the Turtle Nest Inn. The things I found to be most challenging about driving are the roundabouts because you have drive clockwise, and using the blinkers because I kept hitting the windshield wipers instead. Every time, I would get flustered and hope that other drivers knew what I was trying to do and then just put my blinker on all.the.time so that there was no mistaking my intent.
Mike and I pulled into the lot of the Turtle Nest Inn and were not quite sure where we needed to go. Turns out we were in the parking lot for the condos, located next door. We lugged out luggage over to our hotel and were taken aback by the stunning view, lovely breeze, and welcoming pool that we found. Marliene and Keisha greeted us at the desk, and were so very kind, welcoming and gave us the details for what we needed to know. They offered to make us a reservation at a restaurant for dinner. We chose The Lighthouse and they suggested sometime around sunset. Perfect! Our room wasn’t quite ready, but that was fine with us since we were there and on the beach. They offered us complimentary wine on the porch (terrace?) while we waited for our room. We accepted and changed into more island-appropriate clothing. We sat outside and enjoyed the incredible views and inhaled a pumpkin muffin that I had bought at the airport. We enjoyed meeting the Caybob the cat, who came sauntering in with a gecko in his mouth. The gecko promptly escaped and ran up a wall and Caybob stared at the gecko in disappointment.
^^ The view from the porch while we enjoyed our drinks.
We left our bags at the hotel and journeyed to Fosters, the local grocery store, for some provisions. They had most things that we wanted but at much higher costs. When we returned with our groceries, our room was all set. It’s more of a small condo/apartment. Cute little kitchen, bathroom, sitting area, bedroom and deck.
We had enough time to sit on the beach for a bit before getting ready for dinner. While we were on the beach we met a woman from Canada who came over after she got a whiff of the sunscreen that I sprayed and thought it smelled really good. Thank you, generic Target sunscreen! We chatted with her for a while, and she was really nice.
^^ A photo of the incredible view just outside our door. Breathtaking.
It was time to get ready for dinner so we came back up for showers and to organize. We headed down to The Lighthouse which was empty when we arrived, but it was so quiet and lovely to be sitting over the water on a pier hearing the waves crash and watching the colors in the sky become brilliant, and change while the sun set. It was truly a perfect first evening on the island! Mike and I opted for gourmet pizzas, and a garlic bread basket that had some of the best rosemary garlic focaccia bread I’ve ever sunk my teeth into. I had a glass of pinot grigio and Mike had a beer. Since we are staying at the Turtle Nest, we got 10% off our dinner and came home with lots of leftovers. We came back to the hotel and pretty much crashed since we had been up early, travels, and gotten our bearings.
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