Stingray City

So there we were, on a boat in Cayman's crystal clear waters. "Big John" took us out into the open sea. We first made a snorkel stop at an area known as the Coral Gardens. Clad in fins, snorkels & masks, (and a backup pool noodle) we immersed into the colorful world below. 

Post-Coral Gardens we boarded the boat, had a quick pizza snack and headed toward a shallow sand bar where we saw a couple of boats in line for a place called Stingray City. Though it sounds intimidating, it was actually quite peaceful. As we pulled up, these large docile creatures were slowly gliding past us, flapping their fins, no worries, no hurries; the animal equivalent of our vacation.

As you can see, we were absolutely terrified by these magnificent creatures. (So much so that I still required a pool noodle.) They felt soft and smooth and they were obviously used to being around small groups of humans. Especially humans with squid. Our guide brought along tasty squid treats, which the stingrays sucked up from underneath with a vacuum-like force. It was truly a one of a kind experience, and lots of fun to be out in the water with them! Nobody mentioned Steve Irwin, either.

We also stopped at a place called Starfish Point. There were tons of starfish in the shallow surf, as the title explains. This was more of a lounge-in-the-warm-water stop and lounge we did. 

Sean took a few selfies with his GoPro, so I'll add those for entertainment value. I would recommend checking this place out if you're in Grand Cayman, it was quite an experience!

*Most of these photos are courtesy of Acquarius Sea Tours. They are fantastic tour operators--amazing staff, great with kids, wonderful excursion.