Port#2: Grand Cayman

The cruise ships are not allowed to pull right into the dock of Grand Cayman, in order to protect the reef, so we had to take a tender into the port.

On our short journey, Kyler was thrilled to see a real pirate ship.  Throughout the week, he found his true calling in life .... to be a pirate of the Caribbean.

Notice the pirate in front interrupting this princess picture.

After staring into the sun for a quick snapshot, we crammed into a local bus and took a wild ride on the wrong side of the road.  It was the first time our kids have experienced a foreign country. Of course, we were too cheap to pay for the planned-out Disney-sponsored excursions, so our family tried to experience Grand Cayman on our own, which led to a bit of an adventure.

Our kids loved the white sand beaches...

turquoise coastline and crystal-clear water.

While daddy and the girls splashed around in the warm ocean,

Kyler spent most of his time soaking in some rays at the beach.

We wandered the beaches for a little while, seeking the perfect spot to settle. But they were either too crowded or not enough fish (for Dave's taste), or rocky (not to mention the sting ray Jeni almost stepped on!), so we finally decided to take a local taxi to Cemetery Reef. The taxi was completely sketchy! The lady we had asked about it told us several times to make sure the driver agreed on the price before getting into his totally run down, not really marked van. Dave had snorkeled at Cemetery Reef during high school and remembered the schools of fish that swim all around you. He was determined to match that experience. So, trying to be the supportive wife, we carried onward with our four kids and swim gear exploring a foreign country. As a side note, Dave and I have explored many countries on our own without kids, but it was certainly a different experience with the four of them in tow.

Finally satisfied with this destination, both Ellie and Aubrie went snorkeling with mom and dad. After seeing a few fish here and there, we finally found the magical spot that had schools of fish swimming within inches of your face.  It was like pigeons gathering around waiting for a piece of bread.

Of all of our adventures, this was Dave's favorite experience and my most stressful! However, snorkeling was like nothing any of us had experienced before, especially being just right off the shore (even though this picture clearly doesn't do it justice). Amazing!!

 

Back at the beach, Kyler was munching on sand and snacks and flashing smiles at the locals. Even though we lost our sunscreen on one of the many beaches we sampled, and we all still burned, it was certainly another magical day on our Disney Magic Cruise.