Grand Cayman 2013 Day 3

January 7, 2013

We had reservations at Ocean Frontiers on the East End to do four dives today.  We needed to check in by 7:30 so we had to get up early in order to get going.  It is about 1/2 hour down the road from Turtle Nest Inn where we are staying.  On the plus side we got to see a really pretty sunrise on the drive to the dive shop.  

We managed to get all our gear loaded and get on the road by 7 a.m. and arrived right at 7:30 to check in.  We did the first two dives on their boat the Ocean Hawk.  I think there were about 11 or 12 people on the boat.  The water was a little rough, especially once you got out on the outside of the breakers.  We did two dive sites on the morning trip, Jack McKenney’s Canyons and Maggies Maze.  

At Jack McKenney’s Canyons we saw three caribbean reef sharks (that is more sharks and we have ever seen in all of our caribbean diving combined), lobsters, really big groupers, and of course lots of colorful coral.

Unfortunately, the boat ride was a little too rough for Eric and he ended up feeding the fish his breakfast.  The only other time he has ever gotten sick on a boat was when we were here diving with Ocean Frontiers on the same boat two years ago.  Back then we thought it may have been what he had for breakfast, but I guess that theory is now dead.  

At Maggies Maze we saw another caribbean reef shark and a bunch more Lobsters, and several different types of jawfish.  Also, at the end of the dive we saw a nurse shark.  After the second dive we headed back to the dive shop.  We had to be back within an hour to check in for our afternoon dives.  

So we all hopped in the car and headed down the road to where we thought there was a Subway.  On the East End there are not a lot of choices as far as places to eat.  Unfortunately, we wasted about 15 minutes driving around trying to find the Subway that the the sign said was “just ahead.”  We finally drove back to the dive shop and asked them where the closest best place to eat was and they told us right across the street at Bamboo Chopsticks or another three miles down the road at the Subway.  

We decided to go just across the street to the Bamboo Chopsticks.  It was actually a really nice little restaurant.  We finished our lunch and headed back to the dive shop to check in.  This time we went out on a different boat--the Nauticat, which is a catamaran style hull.  We thought this might make it a little more stable out in the rough water.  Getting through the breakers in the channel this time was a real ride.  Just as we headed through the channel a huge wave hit the front of he boat.  The entire boat almost went vertical.  

It was not too long after lunch when Eric started feeding the fish again.  He pretty much spent the whole day feeding the fish.  The two dives for the afternoon were Three Sisters and Big House.  We saw another two caribbean reef sharks, some really big lionfish, flamingo tongues, pufferfish, barracuda, a turtle, and at the end Jody and Tim saw a squid after they dove back in for a bathroom break.  

Then the boat headed back to the dive shop and we rinsed all our gear and loaded it into the car.  We sat at the picnic table outside the shop and had some sodas and snacks before heading back to the condo.  We all took a shower before dinner and then we all went over to the gas station to get some ice cream for dessert.