The Misadventures of Joe and Tara: Cayman Islands 11/11/11

David and Jessica

Wedding bells are ringing...in the Caymans!

David & Jessica, (Joe's brother and sister-in-law) got married 11/11/11 in the Cayman Islands.
It was beautiful!

Getting there and staying there:

Due to hectic work schedules, Joe and I had to make it a quick trip to the Cayman Islands to attend the wedding. Flights were easy and hassle free. Yay. Cayman Airways is awesome. Very nice, very laid back...the island attitude starts here. I had a Mimosa and Joe had his first of many Cayman beers, Ironshore Bock. Isn't that what you are supposed to do at 10:00am??? I think so.They offer complimentary Rum Punch but they ran out before they got to us...were we on the party plane?

We arrived about noon at a tiny little airport in the Grand Caymans. We flew through customs...thanks Caymans, you made that easy and we appreciate it. Taxis are really easy to get and not expensive. The cabbies work on a rotation, so they don't run up to you and drag your luggage away like in some places. I really like that.

View from our balcony

We were at the Villas of the Galleon less than 30 minutes after we landed - NOT BAD. We were met by a HUGE iguana. Iguanas are all over the island. So cute.

As we will find out this weekend, the Caymans are pretty darn expensive. (If you use US currency, there is a 25% markup and everything is more expensive anyway.) If you want to stay awhile and don't mind a little extra work, I really suggest the Villas. You have a real house -full kitchen, washer & dryer, etc...and it is really in a perfect location. GORGEOUS beach on one side....grocery and liquor store across the street. What more can you really ask for?

Balcony view

The Wedding!

Dave and Jess

My super sexy husband!

Joe and Tara

Roland & Kathy

Julie & Damian

Random pics & thoughts from the Caymans:

CayBrew, CayLight & Ironshore Bock

are Cayman beers and all are very good

Tara & Joe

Me NOT about to snorkel

Snorkeling: I don't snorkel. Joe does. Joe, Damian and Julie (brother and sister-in-law) went snorkeling a lot and they loved it. They all said it was absolutely beautiful. All kinds of awesome fish.

Joe about to snorkel

It's great place for snorkeling and a big reason Joe liked the Caymans a little more than I did. It is absolutely beautiful; I just like a place with a 'story', some history or something special. The Cayman Islands are basically just a tourist destination, it's very commercialized....but I have to say again - VERY BEAUTIFUL.

Food

We went to The Wharf for the wedding dinner. Delicious, expensive food...but you can feed the tarpon!!! I don't know how I didn't get pics of this...but David and Damian basically had tarpon all the way up their arms! David has the scars to prove it! ha ha We even caught the PirateFest fireworks display from across the harbor.

PIRATE FEST!!!!

Woo hoo! Ok, so I have a slight obsession with pirates. I was SOOOO excited about the festival. Several of us (Me, Joe, David, Julie, Kathy & Roland) headed to the bay for the festivities and to catch the parade.
So much going on.....food, drinks, contests, shows, etc.
We were able to see a reenactment of a pirate attack, which I LOVED.

The parade:

Damian, Julie, Roland, Kathy enjoying the parade

Reminded me of a family-friendly Mardi Gras.

Great music, awesome floats, food & drinks, beads, give-aways....and PIRATES!

SO MANY PIRATES

Did I mention I LOVE PIRATES?

Later that night:

My sister-in-law and I both took pirate costumes and believe it or not, our husbands jumped in and participated too when we were getting ready to head back to town for the evening festivities.I think I can let the pictures speak for the festival too.