Cayman feature/Redheads/Nominations for heroes/Wellness
UK’S DAILY MAIL FEATURES THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
In deep in the Cayman Islands: I waited sixty years to kiss a stingray …and I liked it!
By Tim Bentinck From The Daily Mail, UK
When I told friends that I had spent my 60th birthday learning to scuba dive in the Cayman Islands, most of them said: ‘Oh, stashing your offshore millions there, were you?’ Sadly not – I’m still waiting for the call from Hollywood.
No, we’d come for what lies beside, on and under the ocean. The coral reef is a magical place – another world that is endlessly fascinating and beautiful. Now that I have kissed a stingray, swum with my hand touching a grouper fish as though it were a puppy, and been circled by massive reef sharks without panicking (too much), my relationship with the sea has altered completely.
Qualifying as an open water diver has been a life-changing experience. If, like me, you’ve only ever been snorkelling in the Mediterranean and are bored by barren rock, then learn to dive. A new world awaits that no amount of watching David Attenborough films can replicate. It’s not difficult – two evenings spent in a pool in the UK before your trip, a comprehensive online learning guide, then four dives in two days at the resort of your choice (mine was at Dive Tech on Grand Cayman).
The PADI course is designed to be friendly and inclusive, and my fears about being too old, overweight and untanned were unfounded as all the Americans I dived with (or ‘dove’ as they insisted on calling it) were far older, fatter and paler than me.
The Cayman Islands – Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac – lie northwest of Jamaica and south of Cuba. Claimed by Britain in the mid-1600s, they were part of the colony of Jamaica until 1962, when they became a separate Crown Colony. The Cayman accent is charming – a soft American with a hint of Caribbean, the British influence manifesting itself otherwise only in driving on the left and introducing mini-roundabouts.
While the visitors are mostly roundabout-averse Americans, a lot of the services are run by expat Brits, most of whom came for a holiday here and never went home. There’s a reason for this: the diving is world-class, the climate fabulous, the food terrific, the crime rate low, and the islanders are about the most friendly and welcoming people you could wish to meet.
While I was discovering a new underwater world, my wife Judy was finding out what there was to do for non-divers. We had both been working pretty hard, and could have happily spent the whole holiday strolling along Grand Cayman’s blissful Seven Mile Beach or relaxing at our three-bedroom apartment at the Caribbean Club (the couple in a nearby apartment stepped out on to the beach one day and got married, with the deep blue sea and setting sun as their altar). Judy could have tried out any of the other water-based activities – kitesurfing, water-skiing, snorkelling, kayaking.
She could even have donned a jetpack and flown above the water à la James Bond in Thunderball, but being a more land-based creature, she took me horse-riding instead. While Judy’s mount was sedate and well-behaved, mine decided to head into the sea, leaving me hanging on to the mane. It wasn’t a problem – cantering back along the beach after our little detour, I dried off in no time.
Later that day, while I drooled over the original Batmobile at the island’s Motor Museum, Judy took a nature tour with the doughty and extremely knowledgeable Ann Stafford and met blue iguanas at the QE2 Botanic Park. We both went kayaking at night among the natural bioluminescence of the undersea plants and creatures off Rum Point, and afterwards dined like royalty on the huge seaside terrace at the Grand Old House. The food was spectacular and the wine list the length of a short novel. It’s not often that towns get built from scratch, but that’s what’s happening at Camana Bay near Seven Mile Beach.
Officials grew the trees first, then built the town around them. There are shops, restaurants, art galleries, cinemas, homes and offices but the only traffic is from bicycles. From the harbour at Camana Bay, we boarded a motor launch that took us to Stingray City. I was quietly hoping for an underwater Supermarionation- type secret base, but it’s actually a shallow sandbank where, for generations, stingrays have congregated to feed on scraps discarded by fishermen returning to port. Standing waist-deep in the lagoon, huge stingrays swarm around you and like to be cuddled. If you kiss one for two seconds, you’re supposed to get seven years’ good luck. I was snogging away like crazy so I’m expecting a lottery win imminently.
Boy did we eat well during our stay. On our first evening, we had the freshest of tuna steaks on a wooden terrace at the Calypso Grill at West Bay while water lapped beneath our newly-bared feet. We also tried lionfish, which are a real problem for the reef as they aren’t native to the area and have no natural predator. On the plus side, they taste great and there are plenty of them. You can get lessons on how to prepare them from the delightful Jen at the Greenhouse Cafe, while watching the divers coming out of the water, catch in hand.
At another lazy lunch, we supped mojitos with owner Jane at Morgan’s Harbour, and watched as the barracuda for that night’s menu was brought from the boat to the kitchen. After our stay on Grand Cayman, we flew to Little Cayman. It’s like taking a journey back in time – after landing in a light aircraft on the tiny airstrip of what felt like our own private island, we walked straight to the waiting car and headed to the Southern Cross Club, whose motto is ‘Barefoot Elegance’ – if you’re wearing shoes, you’re overdressed. It’s also the first place we’d ever been where you don’t need a key for your room.
The rooms do not have locks – crime doesn’t exist here. I say room – it was a sweet little bungalow just a few minutes’ walk from the beach and the jetty where the dive boat waits to take you off every morning. You really don’t need to leave the Southern Cross Club. Although there is a market on the island and a couple of tourist shops, that’s not really what you’re here for.
We only stepped outside to experience the Hungry Iguana restaurant, where the lionfish ceviche and conch fritters were outstanding. We both loved the laid-back but efficient service at the Southern Cross, expat Brits displaying saintly patience with the more pernickety guests. Meanwhile the Americans I ‘dove’ with were a wonderfully eclectic bunch – a firefighting gal and her mom from Virginia, Jack Nicklaus’s landscape gardener, and a feisty New York agent with her softly-spoken, punk band playin’ man with the coolest name in the game – Rusty Pistachio.
About the only thing Judy and I didn’t try was fishing. I spent what was probably the most boring day of my life when I was 12 with a child’s fishing rod (free from Weetabix) catching nothing by the canal in Berkhamsted, and I think it scarred me for life. But if you’re into it, or want to learn, this is the place to come. Here you can complete that rarest of feats – a ‘Flats Slam’ – bonefish, permit and tarpon in one day. Yup, means nothing to me either, but there were anglers around us in raptures so I guess it’s special.
We Brits have all stood on a freezing cold station platform at some point and stared longingly at posters advertising paradise islands. Well, for me, this was the realisation of that dream: swinging in a hammock, looking out at fishermen on the deep blue lagoon, listening to the wind in the palm trees under a blanket of stars – sights, sounds and smells that haven’t changed for millennia. Care is taken to ensure that it always stays that way – a research centre on the island teaches children about the fragility of the undersea eco-system, and visitors are asked to ‘take only memories, leave only footprints’.
My 60th birthday lasted the whole 12 days. That’s a memory I’ll cherish forever.
Travel facts
For further information on the Cayman Islands visit caymanislands.co.uk or call 020 7491 7771. Oyster Diving (oysterdivingholidays.com, 0800 699 0243) offers snorkelling and diving holidays to the islands. A ten-night holiday including five nights on Grand Cayman and five nights at the Southern Cross Club on Little Cayman costs from £1,490pp.
The price includes return flights from Heathrow with British Airways, inter-island flights and transfers. Oyster Diving can arrange for you to take your PADI Open Water Referral Course before departure from the UK from £470. Alternatively, book a trial dive in the Cayman Islands for £110.
PHOTOS: Up close: Tim’s unforgettable time swimming with stingrays in the Caymans
Gateway to Cayman heaven: The marina and jetty at Camana Bay Marina
Puckering up: A smooch with a stingray is said to bring seven years’ good luck
Shopper’s paradise: The newly-built Camana Bay mall
Lounging lizard: You’ll find the blue iguana on the Cayman Islands
In at the deep end: The amazingly coloured reef off Grand Cayman
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HAIR WE GO! ONLY REDHEADS ALLOWED ON A SPECIAL PLANE COMMISSIONED FOR GINGERS
By Travelmail Reporter From Daily Mail UK
Nicole Kidman, Isla Fisher and Prince Harry are all famed for their flaming locks, but despite a handful of high-profile gingers, redheads are often much maligned.
Redhead Day
Not so in the Netherlands, where a special Redhead Day festival in Breda celebrates all things ginger. And if you’re an auburn traveller heading to the event, what better way than to travel on a plane entirely staffed and occupied by fellow carrot-tops?
Flybe [a UK airline] has commissioned a designated redhead flight to whisk Scotland’s gingers from Inverness to Amsterdam on August 30, so they can travel to the festival.
Even the pilot and cabin crew on the sold-out flight have been chosen for their rust-coloured locks and the drink on board will be Ginger Grouse ginger beer.
Captain Gaeron Kayley, who will lead the redheaded staff, said: “I’ve always been proud of my natural red hair so it’s a real honour for me to pilot this special flight from Inverness to Amsterdam.”
An assortment of redheads will also be on hand to wave the passengers off, from Inverness MP Danny Alexander to singer Caroline England – a self-proclaimed ‘proud to be ginger’ redhead, who will serenade passengers.
Special assignment: Captain Gaeron Kayley will pilot the plane on its all-ginger flight to Amsterdam
A 95-year-old Inverness resident, believed to be Scotland’s oldest natural redhead, has also received an invite.
The idea is to create an unofficial world record for the largest number of redheads on a scheduled passenger flight .
Simon Lilley, Flybe’s director of marketing, said: “This is a fun initiative and we hope that everyone enjoys being a part of what we hope will create a little bit of aviation history.”
Festival media manager Mike Klaassen will also be on board. He said: “I’m hugely excited to be part of this Flybe flight that will take many people from Scotland to Holland for this big celebration.
“The town of Breda is eagerly awaiting all the Flybe redheads coming our way and we are preparing a great welcome for them.”
PHOTOS: Red alert: More than 5,000 redheads gather in Breda each year for a special festival
Portrait of pilot Capt Gaeron Kayley
Businesswoman using laptop on airplane
Flaming fashion: A series of events take place during the festival
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NOMINATIONS FOR HEROES DAY BEGIN
National Heroes Day, one of the Cayman Island’s most memorable and patriotic annual observances, will focus on the theme: ‘Cultural Heritage’ next year.
Accordingly from today (Monday 2 September 2013) through 30 September 2013 residents will be able to nominate persons that they believe have helped to build local culture, to receive a National Heroes Day Awards for Cultural Heritage.
To plan the event, the Ministry of Health, Sports, Youth & Culture has partnered with the Cayman Islands National Archive, The Cayman Islands National Museum, the National Gallery and the Cayman National Cultural Foundation.
An organising committee led by officials from these agencies will sift through nominees to recognise those who have made a significant contribution to the growth and development of the Cayman Island’s cultural heritage. Categories include Early Pioneers, Pioneers, Memorial Scroll, Long Service and Emerging Pioneers.
Urging local residents to take advantage of this opportunity to express their appreciation for cultural workers, Minister responsible for Culture, Hon. Osbourne Bodden, noted: “Celebrating our heroes is a way of giving thanks to those people who have changed our lives through their selfless actions. So let us return the favour, show our admiration and appreciation and make a difference in their life.”
He added, “A public nomination such as this help to boost national pride which in turn, elevates our country’s presence to the rest of the world.
Minister Bodden also paid special tribute to the hard work of individuals and organizations, and stressed as well the benefits that young people reap from the various programmes that they offer.
Heroes Day is scheduled to take place on Monday, 28 January 2014. Copies of the nomination form for the Heroes Day Awards for Cultural Heritage are available online at www.ministryofhealth.gov.ky and www.gov.ky. For more information, or to submit your nominations, contact the NHD Committee at email [email protected]
PHOTO: Cayman Turtle Farm
CARIBBEAN EXPORT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WELLNESS
From Barnacle
Caribbean Export launches regional sector strategy and standards recommendations for the Spa and Wellness sector.
Bridgetown, Barbados. The Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export), in collaboration with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DfID) has officially launched the Industry Standards for Spa and Wellness Entities in CARIFORUM Territories and the Caribbean Spa and Wellness Sector Strategy 2014-2018 for the region.
During the month of August Caribbean Export has conducted the Spa & Wellness Strategy road show which has taken the team to Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Saint Lucia and finally Barbados where they have announced the implementation plan for the Development and Promotion of Caribbean Health and Wellness Tourism Sector, a project funded by CDB under the Caribbean Aid for Trade and Regional Integration Trust Fund (CARTfund) Programme, with financing from UK-AID that will benefit the wider Caribbean.
“The Health and Wellness Sector is considered a specialized sector within tourism and in our view presents an opportunity for diversifying the tourism product offering across the wider Caribbean region” commented Executive Director of Caribbean Export, Pamela Coke-Hamilton at the opening of the launch event held at the Radisson Aquatic Resort, Barbados on August 28, 2013.
As part of the road show Caribbean Export in conjunction with the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and CARICOM Regional Organization for Standards and Quality (CROSQ), conducted a workshop for Spa & Wellness practitioners and stakeholders that covered three main components of the project ; Strategic Development, Marketing and Brand Development, and Standards and Quality Development. “It is imperative for the growth of the Spa and Wellness Tourism sector here in Barbados and as a region that we secure endorsement from national policy makers and other stakeholders who can effect change to raise our standards and make the region more competitive internationally” stated David Gomez, Manager of Trade & Export Development at Caribbean Export at the recently held launch event in Barbados.
The Industry Standards for Spa and Wellness Entities in CARIFORUM Territories was developed by the University of the West Indies withDr. Damien Cohall serving as the Chief Consultant for the assignment,. He expressed, on behalf of the UWI Consultancy Team, their pleasure in being able to provide input to the Health and Wellness project and viewed that “the efforts to build this segment of the Caribbean’s tourism product has not maximised the region’s full potential”.
The growth of the health and wellness segment of the Caribbean tourism industry will inevitably lead to job creation and corresponding economic growth of the CARIFORUM countries. According to a recent Commonwealth Study the global Health and Wellness industry is a US$40 billion international market and is growing at 30% per annum, the study has also predicted export earnings of around US$175 million for the Caribbean.
“Health and wellness has been identified as one of the region’s growth sectors. The sector features a high percentage of women entrepreneurs and its products and services contribute directly to the health and wellbeing of its largely female client base” stated Ms. Valarie Pilgrim, Operations Officer, Caribbean Development Bank and importantly, “this Regional Spa & Wellness Sector Strategy is intended to be a working document. We are committed to not just the development of the strategy but more importantly – its implementation.
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