At the end of a quiet, mango and mahogany tree-shaded road
in Savannah, Grand Cayman, high
atop a limestone bluff, lies one
of the Caribbean's most
spectacular historic
restorations, the Pedro St.
James Historic Site. After seven
years and a $7.5 million
transformation, the Cayman
Islands government has created
the country's most ambitious
heritage attraction to date and
its first national landmark. One
of the most beautiful locations
in the Cayman Islands, Pedro St.
James is already a popular venue
for weddings and social events.
The grounds have been landscaped
as a magnificent natural
tropical park with native trees
and plants, as well as
traditional medicinal and
vegetable gardens representative
of a small early 19th century
West Indian plantation. Pedro
St. James Historic Site is
located in Savannah, Grand
Cayman and is open 8:30-5:00
daily. The multi-media historic
show starts on the hour from
10:00am to 4:00pm. Admission is
US$8.00. Children under 6 are
free and children 6 to 12 years
old pay US$4.00. Botanic Park
Grand Cayman's Q. E. II Botanic
Park showcasing botanical
displays, color gardens, nature
walks and natural wetlands enjoy
a stroll through the Heritage
Garden, the Floral Color Garden,
and stop for refreshments at the
beautifully landscaped café.
Migratory aquatic birds and
animals can be viewed in their
natural habitat. Complete with
an informative Visitor's Center
& Gift Shop, this could be a
full day's excursion. Located on
Frank Sound Road in the district
of North Side, the 65-acre
Botanic Park is about a
45-minute drive from George
Town, opens daily at 9:00 a.m.
and closes promptly at 5:30 p.m.
Visitors are advised to enter
the park by 4:30 p.m. Admission
fees are US$6.00 for adults;
$3.00 for children ages six to
12 and free for children under
six. STING RAY CITY is one of
the largest tourist attractions
in the world, Stingray City is
in 12 feet of water and mainly,
but not exclusively, visited by
scuba divers. The site was first
noticed about ten years ago,
when North Sound fishermen came
to the calmer, shallower waters
just over the reef to clean
their fish. Soon they noticed
stingrays, scavengers by nature,
hanging around the boats
inhaling any leftovers they
could get their suckers on.
Next, some particularly brave
dive masters got in the water to
hand-feed them, and before long
the stingrays had become tame,
almost pet-like. Swimming with
the Rays Today, you can swim
under, over, and along with the
rays. Their favorite food is
squid, which you can feed them
by hand. At Stingray sandbar,
which is only waist deep, you
can use a mask and snorkel and
watch the rays swarm around you,
brushing their velvety bellies
against your hands and feet.
Don't worry: this is the rays'
way of begging for food. The
rays have no teeth, but use a
powerful sucking motion to draw
in their food. Some are big,
nearly six-feet in diameter.
Their only means of defense is a
barbed, venomous tail. As long
as you don't lift the rays out
of the water and treat them with
the respect they deserve, you'll
have a wonderful experience.
Want to plan an excursion to
Stingray City?
Enjoying the Cayman Turtle Farm is
the only one of its kind in the
world; Cayman Turtle Farm is home to
over 16,000 sea turtles, ranging in
size from six ounces to six-hundred
pounds each! The farm is a
modern-day reminder of the turtle's
role in the history of the Cayman
Islands. When Christopher Columbus
first discovered the islands in
1503, he named them "Las Tortugas,"
meaning The Turtles. According to
legend, there were so many turtles
that the islands looked like they
were surrounded by rounded rocks.
The turtles are a protected species,
and you can witness the majesty of
these unique creatures hands-on.
Nowhere else can you see an
endangered species so successfully
raised for conservation? In fact,
since 1980, the Farm has released
29,000 turtles back into the sea to
help replenish the wild population.
The Farm is open seven days a week,
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cost: US$6 for
adults, US$3 for children (ages
6-12). Free for children under six.
The Wreck of the Ten Sailing 1794, a
great maritime tragedy took place on
the East End of Grand Cayman. "The
Wreck of the Ten Sails" is still
legendary on Grand Cayman, recalling
the tragedy of the Cordelia, part of
a convoy of merchant ships headed to
Britain from Jamaica. Cordelia ran
aground on the reef at the East End
and frantically sent a signal to
other ships to warn them off the
dangerous coral. Sadly, the signal
was misunderstood and, one by one,
they all ran into the reef.
Residents of East End were credited
with their quick actions that left
no life unsaved, an act that King
George III later recognized. Various
stories explain that King George III
granted the islands freedom from
conscription and other versions say
that the king gave the islands
freedom from taxation. Thousands of
tourists go to Hell each year. They
stare; awed by the blackened and
jagged rock formation that gives the
little district in West Bay its
unusual name. They send letters and
cards to friends with the HELL
postmark clearly stamped on the back
- and greetings like "This is a Hell
of a place" or "You saw me in Hell
first." Hell's intriguing formation,
which resembles the charred remains
of a hell fire, is a weathered form
of the local rock called iron shore.
Common around the island, but in
less dramatic form, iron shore has
been estimated at 1.5 million years
old. The formation looks like
volcanic rock but is actually made
up of very hard limestone, at one
time snow white, now blackened by a
surface coating of the algae which
are secreting acid and eroding the
rock into these unusual shapes. East
End Light House The reefs at the
eastern end of Grand Cayman have
long been a hazard to shipping. In
the past, East End was known as the
"Graveyard of the Caribbean". The
most notable wreck was that of the
Ten Sail, in February 1794, when ten
ships foundered off what is now
known as Gun Bay. Perhaps if there
had been a system of lights in place
at that time, the accident might
have been avoided, but it would be
another 100 years before the first
lighthouse was built. Today, the
lighthouse is administered by the
Cayman Islands' Port Authority who
has given permission for the
National Trust for the Cayman
Islands to enhance the site for
visitors. The Trust's East End
District Committee and numerous
volunteers constructed the 37 steps
that lead up to the summit. Work on
the Park is still underway, but
visitors will find the spectacular
view at the top well worth the
climb. CAYMAN BRACS' CAVES is well
worth the trip to Cayman Brac if you
want to see amazing caves on a tour
of the island's many Heritage
Attraction sites.
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