Rare Critters and Party Plans

Pictured is a rare harlequin pipe fish cohabitating with a red-spotted hawkfish and a brittle star. I took this shot a few days ago on a dive site on the south side of the island. The water here has cooled down, but the diving is still critter-filled.

The holiday season continues in Little Cayman...tomorrow is our New Year's Eve celebration. Little Cayman Beach Resort will have its fireworks, then Southern Cross Club will have its sparkler show. After that, I'm told the locals often head down to Point of Sand (a very cool beach on the East End of the island) for a beach party. Count me in for all of it!!! I'm only here for another two weeks, so I plan to ring in the new year with all the island festivities. Of course, hitting the water to lead a dive the next morning might require extra strong coffee, but I'll rally. Spending the first day of the new year underwater will be an excellent start!

Tropical Xmas

How do you like our Xmas tree at my condo complex on Little Cayman? I took the photo after last evening's sunset on Xmas Eve.

Merry Xmas to all, wherever your travels take you!!!

Cool Wall Diving Photo

That's me, leading my dive group on the famous Bloody Bay Wall on the north side of Little Cayman. One of the divers in my group took this very cool shot.

I love our groupers, but our wall dives are spectacular and they're what brings people to Little Cayman.

Update: Santa was listening...our barge came in yesterday, finally! Everyone is very relieved. So we have our Xmas presents and our holiday food supplies.

All We Want for Xmas is a Barge

Dear Santa,

We've been good, really we have. So we know you'll listen when we tell you that all we want for Xmas is a barge. Pictured are our barges, which are currently anchored on the south side of the island when they should be unloading on the north side. They've been stuck over there for days, waiting for a weather window to allow them to get to the pier, which has been getting slammed with wind and waves. All of the supplies for the resorts on Little Cayman come via the barge from Grand Cayman, which is supposed to come every week. But we've only had 3 barge deliveries since the beginning of November. Needless to say, the cupboards are getting a bit bare and some of our Xmas goodies for our holiday meals are, well, adrift at the moment. In fact, it got so desperate that the resorts went in together and chartered a plane that flew in a load of food today. But we really need the barge supplies as well. We're counting on you Santa...

Grouper Love

One of the fun things about some of our dive sites here on Little Cayman is our friendly groupers. Some of these guys just love to follow us around and enjoy a scratch under the chin or a belly rub. We don’t feed them – they’re just begging for attention. The red grouper pictured followed me around for a good 10 minutes the other day underwater. But the funniest part is he didn’t like it when another diver got between him and me and he nipped the other diver on the heel! That’s never happened before. So not only do I have a grouper boyfriend, but he has a jealous streak!

Underwater and Island Romance

Been busy, so I’ve been remiss in updating the blog. PPR is gearing up for Xmas – Santa will visit on the 25th in the morning, then we’ll all go diving.

In the meantime, love has been in the air (or in the scuba tanks) here on Little Cayman. Pictured at left are David and Andrea. David proposed to Andrea the other day while diving from our dive boat, Yellow Rose. He took the engagement ring down on a dive and pointed it out in the sand to Andrea, as if he was just finding it. Then he pointed to his underwater slate (pictured), on which he proposed (he laughed about the misspelling....just blame the nitrogen narcosis). Andrea didn’t seem to mind, she accepted and came up wearing the ring. We toasted them with sodas and took pictures.

Then today I set another guest, Ralph, up with champagne. He was planning to propose to his girlfriend, Katrina, at sunset. They’re teachers from the U.K. who are currently working teaching high school on Grand Cayman. It’s their first trip to Little Cayman, and it’s sure to be a memorable one.

Tropical Sunset

Had the day off, so I was able to enjoy the sunset from my condo. Just thought I'd share...

Truckee and snow are hard to imagine.

Seasons Greetings to all from the land of pink light and warm breezes.

East End of Little Cayman

We dove the East End of Little Cayman today, an area that is rarely accessed by the dive boats due to the predominate winds. But it was calm today, so Captain Michelle, Bob and I took our 14 divers and went exploring. We did two great dives on sites called Splitsville and Lucas' Ledges. Saw a lot of interesting critters, including two good-size green moray eels (pictured). We also saw turtles, a 5-foot baracuda, blue lettuce leaf slugs, lionfish, a spiny lobster (better hide Buddy, it's lobster season) and a nurse shark.

This was my fifth day of diving in a row. And even though I'm convinced I was a fish or other sea creature in a previous life, I'm feeling a bit water-logged. No worries, I'm off tomorrow and can dry out a bit.

Grand Cayman Driving Adventure

Had a day off today, after working 27 days in the month of November. So I decided to treat myself and fly over to Grand Cayman for the day to do some shopping, touring and have a nice lunch. I rented a car for the day, which was brave of me because in the Caymans they drive on the left and my rental car was a right drive car (see photo). Not so easy for a dyslexic, ha! The wiper control was on the left of the steering column and the turn indicator was on the right – needless to say each time I turned it looked like a rain squall had hit.

I drive the Pirates Point trucks and vans on Little Cayman, but we have just one road, little or no traffic (if you don’t count iguanas) and no traffic lights or traffic circles. Anyway, I did well on the driving – didn’t crash, sideswipe anything or go down any streets the wrong way. I enjoyed shopping at a variety of stores (we have just two stores on all of Little Cayman) and I took myself out to lunch at the Sunset House (pictured), which is on the water on the south end of Georgetown, Cayman’s Capital.

Tomorrow, it’s back to the boat…

Dive 'Wisdom'

Divers say some amazing things…here are three that had the staff falling down laughing:

“What kind of air do you have here? Because I find that different air makes a big difference in my bottom time.” (And no, he wasn’t talking about Nitrox.)

“Do you have Nitrox available, because when I use Nitrox my mask doesn’t fog.”

And my personal favorite:

“I take Valium when I dive because it helps me clear my ears. It makes the hairs in my ears stand up and that helps with the clearing.”

I SWEAR all of these are direct quotes, though of course I’m not going to provide attribution. Pictured at left divemaster Michelle pets a friendly grouper, as others wait their turn. Over and out.

Gladys: Pirates Point's Leader

Gladys Howard is the owner/manager of Pirates Point Resort. She’s a 78-year-old Texas tornado. She’s also an award-winning cookbook author, who studied cooking with Julia Child, James Beard and Jacques Pepin. And she operated a cooking school and gourmet catering service for more than 20 years before coming to Little Cayman.

In 2003, Gladys was awarded the Queen's "Badge of Honor" by Prince Edward during the Cayman Islands Quincentennial for her volunteer work in environmental conservation with the National Trust in Little Cayman.

And Gladys is going strong – next year will be Pirates Point’s 25th anniversary. Guests will find Gladys greeting them at the dinner buffet, organizing bird watching outings, playing dominoes into the evening or costumed for a party. Gladys LOVES any excuse for a party. She’s pictured here in a dining room portrait and at this year’s Halloween Party – she called herself “Princess Laos” and she’s wearing a headdress from Laos, which she picked up on her tour of Southern Asia this fall. Despite two knee replacements, she also made 23 dives around Komodo and took the two-hour dragon walk on Rinca Island.

Toilet Bowl Surprise

Look what appeared in my toilet this afternoon. Yep, somehow this little green frog was chillin in the bowl. When I left for the boat this morning, the toilet was empty and I left the lid down. So his navy seal invasion is another one of those weird little island mysteries. And yes, I did execute a man overboard drill, or in this case a man in the bowl rescue drill. I put my hand in there and nabbed him so I could release him outside; no I didn't send him for the big spin.

But what if I hadn't noticed him before, um, recycling some ice tea??? Let's not go there.

Diver Betty

Meet Betty, a diver who’s staying at Pirates Point this week. Betty took up diving at age 56 and now she’s 84 and still at it. She’s an inspiration. She’s been diving at Pirates Point for 11 years, but she also dives all over the world. In February of this year, she went diving in Truk Lagoon in Micronesia. She says she loves diving in the South Pacific, in addition to diving at Little Cayman. She’s pictured here with her dive buddy Walt; they’ve been diving together since 1993. They met diving in Cozumel. Neither of their spouses dives, so they team up to dive down.
Betty dives using Nitrox and recently learned about Pirates Point's new Nitrox analyzer. So she not only keeps up her dive skills, she stays current with the latest dive technology too. So when you’re whining about some aching muscle or stupid little wrinkle, think of Betty and just get over it.

Divemaster 'Skills'

Think being a divemaster is all about guiding divers underwater? Certainly that’s part of the job. But here’s a list of divemaster skills that you might not have contemplated:

1. Slinging 25 to 50 scuba tanks in a typical day.
2. Lassoing elusive buoys with tangled lines in choppy seas.
3. Helping divers up a bucking boat ladder, without getting throw off the boat yourself, or if in the water without getting smacked in the head by a tank, fin, weight belt.
4. Observing inexperienced divers do some amazingly clumsy and hilarious moves, without spitting out your regulator laughing. And still offering to help them even when they haven’t listened to last five things you’ve suggested.
5. Watching guests blow chunks, without gagging, and then offering them water and a paper towel, and rinsing the boat, gear, their buddy, if needed.
6. Responding to different Captains’ styles of driving/docking/anchoring/etc./without comment or complaint even if you’re secretly thinking he or she might be a distant relative of Captain Bligh.
7. Responding to equipment failures quickly, with calm action, even if you’re thinking “holy shit that could have been bad.”
8. Answering the same questions every week with new guests, all with a smile on your face and laughter in your heart.
9. Having creature encounters that result in a happy dance underwater by the divers and the divemaster.
10. Seeing the daily different moods of the water and loving every minute of it.

Pirate Parade

This is Pirates Week in the Cayman Islands, an annual celebration of the nefarious part of the island chain’s history. Little Cayman kicks off the festivities with its Pirates’ Parade. Resorts and businesses build floats and drag them down the main street, ending up at the Hungry Iguana, the island’s only stand-alone eatery. It’s an excuse to dress up and party down. Pictured at left "pro" pirates from Grand Cayman, blue Avatar pirates and Pirates Point’s float, depicting greedy pirates of yesteryear, and green eco-pirates of today.
Diving news: We’re diving the south side of the island due to some strong north winds and big swells. Yesterday’s excitement included a small, curious Caribbean reef shark bumping a diver’s video camera. It’s clear from the video footage that the little shark scared herself more than the diver.
The temperature dropped below 80 degrees last night, burr! But weather service promises improvement by Wed./Thurs.

Waves and Work

Enjoying my first day off after 7 days of work. It’s a blustery day with high winds and waves at the condo (seas in front of condo pictured, along with a picture of the front of the condo). We’ve had rain squalls go through the past couple of days and I expect we’ll see more today.
I’m working very hard trying to learn all the boat skills, tank handling and filling tasks and the restaurant and serving duties. Divemasters at Pirates Point do it all. About the only time I feel relatively competent is underwater. I’ve guided 5 days of diving now and I haven’t gotten any divers lost yet. Success! But getting divers to pay attention to their environment, the dive route and their safety is definitely like herding unruly, excited kindergartners at times. The job also is very physically demanding. I spent 2 hours underwater yesterday, loaded a truck with gear, loaded and unloaded gear on the boat and helped move a truckload of scuba tanks. I also cleaned up after breakfast and helped set up the dining room for dinner…and that was a short day because I didn’t have to come back and work dinner. One of the guests said to me this week, after observing all that the crew does, “this isn’t a slow island pace is it?” Nope, far from it.

Sharks, Dolphins and Whales

Attended a presentation last night by researchers from the Cayman Islands Department of the Environment. They're in Little Cayman for a few weeks doing research on sharks, dolphins and whales. Although the Caymans aren't a tourist destination known for these animals, they're definitely here. We have a variety of sharks, but the ones we see most often are Caribbean Reef Sharks, Nurse Sharks (pictured at left) and Blacktip Sharks. The researchers are tagging sharks, so it was fun to tell them last night that we'd seen one of their tagged Caribbean Reef sharks on one of our dives that day at a site called Mixing Bowl on the north side of the island. They've asked divemasters and divers to report back to them when we see tagged animals. The bad news: They've seen Honduran fishing boats finning sharks in the Caymans, and they're worried about declining populations of sharks. They've also been hearing some dolphins in our area with their hydrophone (they heard one just last week). The Cetaceans in our area include Bottlenose Dolphins, Atlantic Spotted Dolphins, Pantropical Spotted Dolphins, False Killer Whales, Pilot Whales, Beaked Whales and Sperm Whales.

Yesterday, I guided my first divers. We had 2 great dives and all returned to the boat safely. Whew! We saw Caribbean Reef Sharks, a seahorse, a turtle, a huge barracuda, several big lobsters, and many other fish and creatures. The resort is up and running for a new season and is filling up. Now it's go, go, go!

Lionfish Fight Back

OK, so I received my first lionfish sting today. Mother of God, it hurts! I've had 3 Ibuprofen and 3 G&Ts and it STILL HURTS!!! I feel like a twit for letting him get me. We were bagging fish we'd speared, but one wasn't dead and he twisted and got me. The remedy for the toxin is nearly as bad as the pain -- you have to put scalding hot water on the affected area. In my case that means my right ring finger, which now has a water blister from the scalding water in addition to the black and blue from the lionfish toxin. The back of my hand is swollen too. Very attractive. But will I stop going after this new invasive species? Hell no, I'm getting my own spear gun. Revenge!!!

A Matter of Respect

The clean-up at the resort continues. We’re power-washing everything, cleaning up yard debris from the storm season (while it’s still storming – Tropical Storm Richard is kicking waves, wind and rain at us, but it’s still predicted to bypass us to the west) and the maids are getting the rooms put back together. My jobs today: power washing, interior window washing and hauling lounge chairs out to the pool deck and the beach. Meanwhile, Bob, another divemaster, cleaned the Jacuzzi, which involved netting tadpoles. How tadpoles survive in chemical-laden Jacuzzi water is a mystery to me, but there was an entire hot-tub party going on in there. French, a Jamaican landscaper, is working on clearing the yard. At the end of his long hard day, I brought him some cookies and muffins to take home. When Jamaican workers say thank you, they say “respect” – acknowledging your kindness and respect.

Diving in the Rain

I’ve been in Little Cayman now for more than 48 hours, and I started work yesterday. Right now, we’re doing all kinds of chores and setting up to re-open on Oct. 29. However, I made my first dive this afternoon at about 4:00. Ahhhh. Gay, Bob and I went shore diving at a site called Salt Rock. We did a 70-minute dive, during which Bob speared 15 lionfish (pictured, Martha bags a lionfish). So for those skeptics who think the lionfish problem in the Caribbean is overblown…come and count our catch. Or better yet, have some lionfish sushi with us. It was pouring while we were diving – I love looking up and watching the rain drops dimple the sea’s surface. Here's what the weatherman says about our unsettled situation: “Heavy thunderstorm activity has increased and grown more organized over the past day over the southwestern Caribbean between Honduras and the Cayman Islands in association with a tropical disturbance. A surface circulation may be beginning to form, and the Hurricane Hunters are scheduled to investigate the area this afternoon (Oct. 19) to see if a tropical depression is forming. The storm is currently moving north-northwest at 5 - 10 mph, but is expected to move west or southwest beginning on Wednesday, making the storm primarily a threat to Honduras, Mexico.” Hopefully, the main part of this depression will just side-swipe our little island.

T Minus 11 and Counting

Photo shows just the beginning of the packing Tetris for three months of underwater fun. Rubber wardrobe? Check. Fins, mask, snorkel, booties, regulator, BCD, rash guards, dive light, dive computer, regulator, spare batteries, etc., etc., etc.? Check, check and check. Dive dreams? Every night now…

And of course I need my work permit and work visa and passport. I'm an official migrant worker, a new experience for me. Cayman Immigration required a police background check, which came up clean (no snickering out there). Also required, mug shots and other background documents.

LC Facts and Flotsam

Okay, here’s the low-down on life on LC. First a few facts: LC’s coral runway is only suitable for prop planes, no jets. Iguanas rule the island – in fact road signs inform visitors that “Iguanas have the right of way.” Many of these leathery reptiles are quite tame – “Handbag” hangs out at Pirates Point and will pose for pictures when fans offer grapes or other fruit tips. Other island inhabitants include tarpon in the pond and visiting red-footed boobies. As mentioned in the title of this blog, the island is roughly 10 miles long by 1 mile wide. Most of the island is at sea level – the summit elevation is 40 feet. (Mountain friends, if you visit, you may experience oxygen toxicity.)

According to Wikipedia (the source for all facts cited by bloggers) the first recorded sighting of Little Cayman was by Christopher Columbus on May 10, 1503 on his fourth and final voyage, when heavy winds forced his ship off course (early human flotsam, way before Gilligan got all the cred, a TV series and that painfully memorable jingle we can all sing after a beer...or 10). Later LC also was reputedly a pirate haunt – even today divers fin past cannons on one dive site and a very large anchor on another. Locals use recovered cannonballs as paperweights. Dive addicts flock to LC for Bloody Bay Wall, an underwater drop-off that goes from 18 feet to roughly 1000 feet. Topside, waterlogged divers nitrogen nap at one of four small resorts, including Pirates Point, my employer. PPR (www.piratespointresort.com) is an all-inclusive resort with 11 rooms, a small pool, gourmet food and..., drum-roll please, an honor bar. No phones, no TVs, no attitude. Other notable PPR facts: Dominos is a blood sport; hermit crabs dine on catfood (see photo at left); guests sculpt tide trash into bar art; and the resort’s computer printer occasionally jams when crabs take up residence in the paper tray.

Countdown to Little Cayman

Ah computers, always annoying, never easy. I'm trying to get this blog set up and getting organized for the big sojourn. Fishie dreams and packing nightmares...

[At left, two incoming tarpon, Bloody Bay Wall, Little Cayman, March 2010.]