ASCSA Cruise Day 5 (Wednesday)
I was up before 7 and headed up to Deck 15–the activities deck. I planned to get some fruit to take on the excursion today because we were going to be on a catamaran for about four hours with no food.
I got a banana, an apple, and a muffin, then ran into Catherine, one of our group. We decided to read the Weekly Bible Lesson together as we listened for the call for our tender. As we were reading, a few more of our folks gathered around to munch on breakfast, too.
Once we heard the call, we headed to the gathering point. With so many people on board having to move on and off the ship, it’s inevitably a cattle call. Get in line, wait, move, wait, load onto the tender, wait for the boat to load fully, travel, wait to get off. Not my favorite thing.
Our first destination on Grand Cayman was a place to check in for our prearranged tour, sign a waiver, (wait) then head to the bus that would take us to the catamaran.
You can see the shape of the island from the map picture. What you can’t see is that, unlike Jamaica or other islands in this area I’ve seen, Grand Cayman is virtually all flat. The highest point is about 60 feet, so it’s easy to see over everything.
The bus ride was pleasant, and then we were delivered to our hosts for the day on the Buccaneer. Seemingly like many Caribbean days, this morning had clouds with some slight showers. With hopes for more sun than clouds, it was shoes off, hop on board, quick hop off to take a picture (not all of the folks in the picture were part of our group), and with a short introduction from the captain, we were off.
First destination on the water was “Stingray City.” I didn’t take any pictures here–or anywhere on board today–but I did get a postcard that shows what we experienced. On a sandbar about 30 minutes sail from the harbor is a place where the water is only about 4-5 feet deep. The stingrays come swimming right up to people, brushing against us and generally being fascinating. The crew held a couple of them and let us do the same, holding and petting them–even getting a kiss! They’re incredibly soft on their undersides and pretty soft on the top. Our captain was holding one while everyone on board posed for several pictures. Talk about trust! Apparently this captain and this particular stingray have a long-standing relationship and trust each other.
Paula and I decided to do this experience together and then bought the pictures. I’ve put three of them below (one is of me getting a “stingray massage”). It was really amazing. And as you can see, the clouds had all cleared up by this time and we had sunshine, which brought out the bright Caribbean-blue water. Gorgeous.
Last thing we did here was feed the stingrays. We held a small piece of fish sticking up so they could take it. The captain told us how important it was to not let our thumbs stick up and we found out why. They have incredible suction. When they sense the food, they literally “suck it up.” Wouldn’t want our thumbs sucked up with the food!
The rest of the day was two stops to snorkel on a reef and then at Coral City. Lots to see, including a lot of fish in incredible varieties. At the first stop, I didn’t hear how long we were supposed to spend, so I just swam along, occasionally looking up at the boat. When it began looking full, I headed back. Apparently I was the last one on board and they had been waiting for me! Well, get me in the water and I don’t want to get out.
At the second stop, I stayed pretty close to the boat. Here I saw lots more fish (the captain fed them from the back of the boat), a few stingrays, and also an eagle ray, which looks like a big stingray with a kind of double-decker head. Looks like it has a snout. Quite impressive.
Then we headed back to shore. It was a great day on the water, shared with a really nice group of folks. Great weather and a great crew, too. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Back at the dock, I found a couple sourvenirs…refrigerator magnets and postcards. Then it was into a reeeeeaaaaaalllllyyyy long line to get onto the tenders to head back to the ship. By the time we set foot on the ship, it was about 3-3:30. I was hungry, so I headed straight to the buffet to get some lunch. Of course, with our dinner being at 5:30, this put me all out of whack. At dinner, I had two appetizers–and dessert! That worked pretty well.
After dinner, it being Wednesday, we had a Wednesday testimony meeting. Really a nice service. It’s been great sharing this experience with these folks, and I’ve enjoyed meeting and learning a little more about each one of them.
Tomorrow is the day I take off on my own with a different tour–to the Tulum Mayan ruins. We don’t leave ’til 10 AM, so I can sleep in a little. Since today was a pretty tiring day, I’m glad about that. I was so tired that when I got back to my room tonight, I actually took a nap before doing this blog. Now that it’s done, I’m headed to bed for real!
And, oh, the towel animal of the day was a frog! 😉
