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Trip Report | Lots of Pictures | June 2008

HOME Forums General Discussion Topics about the Cayman Islands Trip Reports Trip Report | Lots of Pictures | June 2008

Viewing 15 posts – 1 through 15 (of 43 total)
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  • #4331
    Bobdenver
    bobdenver
    Member

    This trip report is slow in getting posted as I had over 1100 images to look at and decide on only the best ones.

    FIRST AND FOREMOST…Don’t forget to get Travel Insurance and check it out well before you buy. It can be important. (See item 13 below for more details.)

    Grand Cayman trip May 10 to May 20, 2008.

    In spite of some issues we really did have a FANTASTIC time on GC.

    This trip report covers numerous items such as:

    1)Cayman Dollars verses American Dollars

    2)Places to eat that we (my wife & I) visited and sometimes why we liked/disliked it.

    3)Andy’s Car Rental and driving on the “other” side of the road.

    4)Shopping in George Town,

    5)Cathy Church’s camera shop,

    6)Sea Trek,

    7)Butterfly Farm,

    8)Atlantis Submarine night cruise,

    9)String Ray sandbar with Sato’s,

    10)Starfish near Rum Point,

    11)Botanical Gardens,

    12)Boatswain’s Beach (pronounced like bow and suns as one word) with its turtle farm, lagoons, and small aviary. (Across the street a dolphin encounter area is under construction, but I don’t know if it is associated with Boatswain’s Beach.)

    13)Seldom discussed subjects such as travel insurance and medical needs for a minor emergency.

    One item worth mentioning right away is that you should always check your restaurant bill to see if the tip has been included already. Most add a 15% gratuity, so check your receipt before paying. Add to it if your service deserves it. Some places take your CAG coupon and others just need to see it so you will return again.

    Always ask your waiter/waitress or sales person if they provide a CAG discount. We found some places that said they did not, but that they would provide one regardless. (I wish I could remember which ones so Joe could approach them for a regular discount in CAG. I wrote ‘em down, but the paper got wet, smudged, & thus unreadable.)

    We stayed at the Marriott Beach Resort on Seven Mile Beach (SMB). Unfortunately, our budget meant we had to settle on a courtyard room. The room was adequate as we didn’t plan on being in it excessively long, except to sleep. After all, we were on vacation! (BTW…The AC was VERY satisfactory.) We did not eat at the Marriott restaurants as we wanted to explore other places. The staff at the Marriott was outstanding and helped us on numerous occasions. For those interested, the rooms have a small fridge & a safe large enough for a woman’s purse, our return ticket pouch and a fair size camera case with still a little room to spare for more. Colorful sunsets shots were difficult to get during our trip.

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/SevenMileSunset-s117.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” /> http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/SevenMileSunset-s305.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    1) Money Conversion

    At the time of our trip $100 US equaled $80 Cayman Island (CI). If you pay for something in USD you should anticipate receiving change in CI money. We used credit cards whenever possible.

    2) Eating out

    You can print extra coupons online in advance at CAG. Prices mentioned below are for two adults. In no particular order, places we ate at were:

    Pizza Hut -across the street and a just a little north from the Marriott. It was very good pizza. It was a medium with everything for about $25 US. We ate there 2 times.

    Coconut Joe’s – across the street and a just a little south from the Marriott. They have only one meal on special through CAG. We ate there 2 times for about $21 US each time without tips. Food was good.

    Eats – Located about 1 mile north & across from the Westin. They also have a coupon in CAG for one meal. Four breakfasts averaged about $17 US each with no tip. We tried once for dinner for $27 US. All the food was quite good, filling, and very reasonably priced.

    Champion House is on Eastern Ave just north of Shedden Rd. It sits back off the road & is on the west side of the Eastern Ave. We ate there once to get a feel of local food. It was different, but definitely worth trying. Breakfast Price was $23 US without tip.

    Cimboco on Lawrence Blvd, across from the Butterfly Farm, was a nice change of pace. The help was very friendly and the food different, yet rather good. Breakfast averaged about $26 US and tip was included. I do recall that they are not in CAG but did provide a discount anyway. Their French Toast is different from what I am used to. It’s 4 or 5 bread slices that are about 1 inch thick and 9 inches long and has a fry coating of some sort. It’s not bad, yet not great, just different. I had it 2 of the 3 times we ate there.

    Café Mediterraneo was recommended by a store in town. It’s located in the Galleria Plaza. It wasn’t Italian food as we like it. We ordered Bolognese spaghetti. It was angel-hair pasta and the sauce was too bland for our taste. All Bolognese spaghetti we’ve had in the past has more spice to it. They did not give a CAG discount but because we were referred by a salesperson they did give a small discount. Dinner was $39 US and tip was included. We ate there only once.

    Burger King on the water near George Town provided burgers for us for about $9 US. They were good, as expected, but we wanted more than just fast food.

    Quiznos on Lawrence Blvd, across from the Butterfly Farm, made us 2 sandwiches for about $17 US. This occasion we weren’t too hungry so decided on a smaller meal. As expected, it was also good.

    Casanova on the water at George Town provided our best Italian food. We had their Bolognese spaghetti two times. One time we had lunch @ $36 US and the second time we had dinner @ $50 US. Tip was included. Pricy, but both meals were worth it.

    Dairy Queen in George Town cost us $8 CI for one small and one large Blizzard.

    One restaurant I will not call out by name as negative feedback in this venue would not be appropriate. Suffice it to say that when we ordered our meals the waitress told us they came with fries. We preferred something different and asked if there were any substitutions available. She said sure and named some options. We selected 2 that were offered. When the bill came we paid it, added a tip and left. A short time later I glanced at the receipt as the meal seemed more costly than I calculated it to be. It turned out that we were charged $5 US extra for the substitutions. My gripe is that if she was going to charge extra then she should have told us in advance.

    3) Car rental & driving tips

    Across the street from the Marriott is Andy’s Car rental on SMB. I ordered the rental online some time ago and asked for the CAG discount when I arrived. I was told that the amount provided by ordering it online was the same as getting the CAG discount. Be sure to fill the tank on return. The only time we had to get gas it cost $5.75 US per gallon. We got about 10 gallons. We were charged an extra fee as by the time we returned the car it no longer had a full tank.

    Renting a Pontiac Sunfire for 9 days cost us $466 US, which also includes Andy’s rental damage insurance cost of $130. I have doubts that I would use their insurance if I had this to do all over again. There are good and bad points either way, so it comes down to what your comfort level is.

    For those concerned with getting the local driving permit it is very simple. No test to take. Just pay $7.50.

    Andy’s ran out of right-side driving vehicles by the time we arrived so I took what I was used to. (This ended up fitting my comfort zone better so I didn’t press the issue.) Driving isn’t bad once you get used to cars coming at you on the “wrong” side of the road. My biggest problem was in parking lots and entrance/exits to parking lots, which are reversed in position to what I’m used to. Also in a parking lot I often found myself driving on the wrong side while looking for a parking place. Just be sure to look right first instead of left, as that’s the way traffic comes at you.

    It appears that all rental cars have a prominent sticker on the front and back of the car. I think it’s less for advertising and more likely to warn the locals that a foreigner is amongst them and to therefore watch out. :drive: I was VERY pleasantly surprised by how courteous the locals are. There were instances when I was trying to enter the traffic flow and an approaching driver would stop, even blocking traffic behind him, to let me enter his lane of traffic ahead of him. This happened several times. :clap:

    Watch out for bicycle riders as they are hard to see, especially when it’s getting dark. I don’t think I saw any with reflectors, let alone lights.

    Remember to enter a Round-About in a clockwise direction and vehicles in them have the right-of-way.

    4) Shopping in George Town

    We saw lots of nice things in the stores but only a few that we wished we had bought. There are a fair number of jewelry stores in town but there wasn’t much variety of gem stones to select from. The best time to shop is when the cruise ships are not in port. If you do shop on those days it helps to casually let the sales person know early on that you “might be back tomorrow”. Then they realize you aren’t from the ships and will treat you a little differently. At least that’s how I found it to be. From my limited cruise ship experience I realize that people from the ships have a much tighter schedule and can get pushy.

    5) Cathy Church’s Photo Shop

    I wanted an underwater camera to replace all those throw-away ones I’ve used in the past. Cathy Church’s had the best price in town for what I wanted. Their prices easily beat prices I found elsewhere and the camera is tax and duty free. They don’t have the fancy store front the other stores have, but their prices are great. They’re located in Sunset House about .5 to .75 mile south of Atlantis Submarine dock in George Town.

    I bought an underwater camera good for a depth of 33 feet. I also got an upgraded chip, extra battery, arm holster for swimming with it secured, plus other items, all for less than just the basic camera here in the States.

    6) Sea Trek

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/SeaTrek-0043.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    This is a walk on the bottom about 20 to 30 feet deep without getting your hair wet. The air is supplied to you from the surface. One major drawback is that there are no signs that indicate where to park or even which dock to use. (For us it was the middle of 3 docks just north of the Lobster Pot.) We eventually made it to the dive platform and were joined by 4 others folks from a cruise ship. My wife & I were the last to go down the long ladder.

    For this to work for you it is necessary that you are able to equalize pressure for both ears. This is essentially the same as having your ears “pop” when gaining elevation, only in the reverse direction. While descending the ladder you equalize the pressure by slipping your hand under the helmet edge, squeeze the sides of your nose shut and blow with your mouth closed. This equalizes the pressure in the ears. You might have to repeat the process until you’re on the sand.

    During the tour you walk along the sand within a roped-off area. The guide points out some items in the coral and you eventually end up back near the ladder. Then as a group you try to toss a device to each other. It is not as easy as it sounds. I tried to toss the object 3 or 4 times and it went very high or very low. The object is not too easy to catch either. However, rather than playing this game I would rather have spent the time seeing more of the coral.

    While all of this is happening another scuba diver is taking pictures with a digital camera in an underwater housing. Unfortunately, most shots were rather poor we later discovered. This was primarily due to everyone stirring up the bottom sand. It was compounded by the chum used to bring in fish. As it turned out my new underwater camera took better shots as I was not shooting into all the disturbed sand that was trying to settle back to the bottom. As a result of stirring the bottom sand and chumming, the water was not as clear as I hoped it would be. This was not a snorkel spot so I can’t base the water clarity on this area.

    Overall, I am glad we did the tour as I might not get the opportunity again. This was supposed to be a CAG discounted tour but we did not get it, even though I specifically mentioned it. We paid $150 US for 2 adults. edited by scubachar (per request from OP) to add that Sea Trek actually DID grant the CAG discount after all.

    7) Butterfly Farm

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Butterfly-Cayman-s091.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Butterfly-LaceWing-S002.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Butterfly-Peacock-s128.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Threeisaparty-s182.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    The best time to get to the farm is when they’re opening for the day at about 8:30. The butterflies are gorgeous and some will be emerging as butterflies for the first time. Our guide happened to be the manager and she did an excellent job of explaining. Entrance fee was $15 US for each and, as a tourist, you can return as often as you like during your stay on the island. It was so interesting that we went a second day.

    8) Atlantis Submarine – night tour

    There are 2 submarine runs on Tuesday and Thursday nights. The story is that the colors are supposed to be more vibrant at night and that creatures that hide by day come out at night and you might be fortunate and see some. We did not find the colors to be exceptional. We did see a puff fish and a good size crab. There were game fish that came into view from time to time. I understand that it is a large operation to run a submersible, but even with the CAG discount, $160 for us both was not the best use of our funds.

    9) Sting Ray Sandbar with Satos

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Stingray-female-ol133.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” /> Female – about 4 feet across tip to tip.

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Stingray-male-ol140.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” /> Male – only about 18 inches across. The blurred area is not censorship, just me not realizing a tiny droplet of water was on the lens.

    This was one of the highlights of the trip. I do not recall the price, but remember that it was quite reasonable. You hold your tour spot by using a credit card and then must pay with cash or travelers checks and then the credit slip is returned. (I believe we were taken to the Sting Ray Sandbar as everyone could stand. I recall someone saying that Sting Ray City had deeper water.) The water was very clear. To say that the stingrays were awesome is an understatement. This is something that I would do again and already regret not doing so. I do recall that the CAG discount was accepted. Satos even arranged to pick us up at our hotel as their boarding location is not easy to find.

    10) Rum Point & Starfish

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Starfish-9in-ol252.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” /> 9 inches tip to tip.

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Starfish-12in-ol285.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” /> 12 inches tip to tip.

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/ShadesofFantasia-OL236.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    You can drive to Rum Point, but it’s about 45 minutes from George Town using the Frank Sound Drive shortcut. I was planning to give detailed driving directions, but decided the fragile coral there needed a little protection.

    On the island’s windward side we found shells washed ashore by storms.

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Coralwashedashore-ol201.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Stormybeach-ol203.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    11) Queen Elizabeth II – Botanic Park

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Bee-s353.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/PepperTree-s331.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” /> http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Dragonfly-green-s365.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Dragonfly-red-s400.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Flowerlavender-s035.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Flowerlavender-s406.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Flowerpinkandwhite-s343.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Flowerwrustlikeleaves-s367.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Flowerwhite-s383.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Flowerwhite-s388.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Grapesintree-s368.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Haliconia-s345.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/HeadUp-LookDown-s461.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Plumaria-s369.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/BlueIguana-s446.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    The Botanic Park is near the middle of Frank Sound Drive. The park is hot and humid, with little breeze, but well worth the trip and $10 US for each of us. There are many flowers in bloom and they are set out along the path by color groups. Eventually we headed toward the endangered species Blue Iguana Habitat. On the way we discovered this male Blue Iguana and 2 females out loose. Later on we came to the actual habitat location.

    12) Boatswain’s Beach

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/SchoolColors-ol406.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Fish-trimmedinblue-ol524.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/Fish-vibrantblue-ol431.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk317/bobdenver08/Cayman05-08/BlueGeko-ol450.jpg” alt=”” title=”” class=”bbcode-image” />

    This cost us $44 US each, provided we used our American Express card for the entry fees. This was for full access all day. The park consists of a nice sized gift center, 3 major lagoons, a small aviary, and the turtle breeding areas. It was very interesting to swim in their irregularly shaped sea water lagoon. The bottom was designed to resemble the coral world just a short distance away. The lagoons have varying depths. Unfortunately, we came on the day they were cleaning the sea water lagoon. On our first dip it wasn’t that noticeable. By the time we took our second dip the debris floating at the one end was not pleasant to swim through. Once beyond that area it was OK again. There are 3 lagoons end-to-end. Both of the end lagoons has a large viewing window that looks into the middle (predator) lagoon. We were in the sea water lagoon with sharks swimming only a few feet away. The fresh water lagoon is more like an irregular swimming pool, but we didn’t enter that area. It also looks into the predator lagoon with its own window. A third window is for folks to walk up to and not get wet.

    13 One Reason for Travel Insurance

    Unfortunately, sometimes not all goes as planned on a vacation. On my birthday I got to swim with the sting rays in the morning and must have relaxed too much and got careless. A beach chair & I had an argument, and it won. When I looked down I saw my little toe was at an odd angle. Since it did not hurt I figured I must have just dislocated it. To make a long story short, I broke it. This is when you learn about why you get trip insurance.

    I had to contact the insurance agent right away and then fax back what they needed. After the initial contacts were done I wanted to know what to expect next. (They requested our passport numbers and flight data so we thought they were going to send us back home on the next available plane.) We waited around the hotel much of the next day. No messages were left at the front desk. We returned to our room and discovered the message light was on, but no message. :crazy: The next day we left for only short periods and returned for a phone message light that again had no message. :tantrum: When we called them they said someone would contact us right away. They did not. The travel insurance people claimed that they called and did not reach us. Any reasonable person would have left a message of some sort. After 3 days of this it became obvious to us that they had no intention of sending us home early so we made the best of the remainder of the trip. They finally called the day before we were scheduled to leave.

    We have the medical expenses of the hospital, x-rays, and pharmacy to pay ourselves. Now that we’re home we have to submit the bills to our own insurance. Whatever they do not pay (and we expect none due to our high deductible) we then have to send the bills and the “Refuse to Pay” statement to the travel insurance company. If they do not pay then AAA Travel and Apple Vacations will hear from us loud and long. Any guesses as to how long this is all going to take?

    Yet another item I failed to mention earlier…We were going to rent our snorkel equipment for the duration of the trip. :diving: We found Divers Supply open on Sunday and they told us that to rent for the time we wanted the equipment it would be a little cheaper to buy the equipment outright. We did, and brought the stuff back with us. The new equipment cost for us both was $135 US. They are located just north of Lawrence Blvd.

    One disheartening thing that we noticed during our driving around was the rather high number of homes for sale. It’s sad to see so many homes just rebuilt from the hurricane and for sale signs going up. – Grand Cayman

    #51475
    Knees
    knees
    Member

    I cannot help you with your trip report…….but I want to know how your vow renewal went and how you did. I’ve been wondering about you.

    #51480
    MadtownTim
    MadtownTim
    Member

    Bob – I’ve had similar problems with some of the posts that I’ve had.

    My recommendation would be this –

    If it’s a long(er) trip report, see if you can break it up into multiple posts. Take a couple paragraphs and paste it into the first post, then the next couple, etc, etc. That way, you can at least trying and figure out which section is giving you the problems.

    Give that a shot and see how it turns out. ?

    #51481

    Anonymous

    bobdenver – Please PM me your post and I will see what is preventing it from displaying.

    #51482
    Bobdenver
    bobdenver
    Member

    Knees:

    Our Sea Trek plans to renew our vows didn’t work out. Sea Trek was willing to talk to us and to help us even. Unfortunately, they wanted $700 to run the tour just for us. I replied to them that it would be just the 2 of us plus a minister of some sort and not a wedding party. I never heard back from them after that. They did give us the CAG discount. (My Trip Report says they didn’t, but I stand corrected. I hope Joe sees this and corrects my error.)

    After being on GC a few days, and having a little extra time, we thought we’d set up another attempt. Later that afternoon I broke my little toe, so those plans went out the window. From that point on we were playing catch-up on sites we wanted to see and decided to renew our vows on another trip.

    Madtown Tim:

    Your suggestion to send several smaller files is good. Joe Stebbins said to send the file to him in a PM so I did. Hopefully he will see the errant data and let me know what I need to fix. If Joe can’t find it then I likely will follow your suggestion. There are a number of photos and that could be the problem too.

    #51484

    Anonymous

    bobdenver – I just posted your report in your first post in this topic. I don’t know why you were not able to; it all looked fine to me. Hopefully it was an isolated incident.

    Thank you for posting about your vacation and for sharing all the wonderful pictures. ?

    #51486
    Bobdenver
    bobdenver
    Member

    Joe:

    My thanks for posting the report. Thanks also for telling me the file was OK and that gremlins were responsible for it not working. :clap: :clapping: :clap: :clapping: :clap:

    #51487
    Shelly
    shelly
    Member

    hi bobdenver

    great trip report with lots of good tips and pix. I loved the shots of the botanic garden flowers and the insect shots were terrific.

    We had opportunity to use our trip insurance in GC when my husband dropped a wine bottle trying to put it back into the frig…..he ended up with 6 stitches. We paid the bill and then when we got home we submitted it to our trip insurance company and it was totally covered by them.

    I also had occasion to spend a night in the Cayman hospital a few years ago when we had just our regular insurance. You have to pay the bill at the hospital and then submit to your regular insurance when you get home. Mine paid 80% of the bill. (Out of network hospital of course)

    Now we always get trip insurance….more for the medical than for the trip cancellation features.

    Glad you had a good trip and thanks for taking the time to post your pix and report!

    Shelly ?

    #51488
    MadtownTim
    MadtownTim
    Member

    Bob – Glad things worked out! ?

    Too bad about the toe. But it does give you more reason to go back again and see more sights. ?

    Great report and pics. I’m under 200 days until we depart. Can’t wait!

    #51495
    Knees
    knees
    Member

    bobdenver,

    Just saw this as I was searching the forum……absolutely loved your trip report and photos….what kind of camera did you buy from Cathy Church? Also, I saw the starfish and coral pictures……where were the coral pictures taken….if you don’t want to post it, pm me. I would love to go there next time.

    Sorry about your toe…….ouch…..put it this way……could have been worse. A woman…….very tall woman….somewhat plump, broke her tibia bone in one leg and some bones in her foot on the other leg…..fortunately it was her last day, but she spent it in the ER…..I have no idea how she got up that ramp and into the plane.

    A tip on Apple……we had problems with things being stolen out of a room on another island……they did nothing……their insurance was pretty much worthless……last trip we will ever book with them. I have found much more reasonable places to book……have not had to file any claims though. I would never go without trip insurance though.

    #51496
    Tracya
    tracya
    Member

    bobdenver,

    Great pics and trip report! I enjoy every pic from my favorite island.

    #51522
    Bobdenver
    bobdenver
    Member

    ? ?

    #51535
    Bobdenver
    bobdenver
    Member

    Knees:

    You asked where the coral shots were taken. The shots I had were of broken coral and shells on a beach. If this is what you are referring to it was some unknown beach on the East end.

    The camera I got from Cathy Church’s is an Olympus 1030SW. It’s good for 33 feet underwater. Beyond that depth there is a housing that will allow another 100+ more feet in depth. It shoots 10+ megapixel shots at max size, has a meager 3.6 zoom, can be used above the water (as in the coral and shell photos), slips into a shirt pocket to name only a few items. I got it and an upgraded memory chip, extra battery, tiny tripod, arm holster for swimming and a couple of other small items for less than $500US. I couldn’t get the camera in the States for that price. Its also tax and duty free.

    #51545
    Knees
    knees
    Member

    bobdenver wrote:

    Knees:

    You asked where the coral shots were taken. The shots I had were of broken coral and shells on a beach. If this is what you are referring to it was some unknown beach on the East end.

    The camera I got from Cathy Church’s is an Olympus 1030SW. It’s good for 33 feet underwater. Beyond that depth there is a housing that will allow another 100+ more feet in depth. It shoots 10+ megapixel shots at max size, has a meager 3.6 zoom, can be used above the water (as in the coral and shell photos), slips into a shirt pocket to name only a few items. I got it and an upgraded memory chip, extra battery, tiny tripod, arm holster for swimming and a couple of other small items for less than $500US. I couldn’t get the camera in the States for that price. Its also tax and duty free.

    We were on that same beach last year but couldn’t find the spot this year….darn…..it was a great place to get shells……we brought 5 conch shells back from that beach last year.

    Is the Olympus self contained for 33 feet? Your pictures are really beautiful.

    #51622
    Bobdenver
    bobdenver
    Member

    The camera needs no housing unless you want to dive deeper than 33 ft. I had it in my arm holster and would take shots above water. A number of people thought I was about to ruin my camera as I was taking it into the water with me. They cried out and pointed to what I was doing.

    Later, when back aboard the ship, they were sure I had ruined my camera. They couldn’t believe it could be used above or below water. They also couldn’t believe the quality of the shots it takes.

    You do have to remember to soak it in fresh water a little to wash off any salts. You also have to be careful how you open it to prevent water still attached to the seals from getting inside. These are trivial problems when compared to the quality of shots you can get. No more underwater throw-away cameras for us.

    One other issue to be aware of is after being underwater and then coming out, you could have a droplet on the lense and not notice it. An air bubble can also attach to the lense and not be noticed when going into the water. I ruined several good shots because of these unforseen items. Now I know to check.

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