New Years Vacation Day 5 - Grand Cayman Island

How lucky are we that we got to be at Grand Cayman Island for he 1st day of the year? I would say very lucky. And blessed. I can think of no better way to start the beginning of the year than a fun day with my family.
After breakfast (I will stop harping about it now) - we got ready and headed off the ship to figure out what we wanted to do. These ports of call are always full of locals trying to get you to do the activities they are touting and this one was no different. We had made the decision not to book any excursions on the ship because they were very expensive and we figured we would be able to find our own for much less. We were right.We walked around for a bit to get the lay of the land and see some of the shopping they had close by. They always have a lot of jewelry stores and stores full of knickknacks. After we had enough of that we found a local that was offering a tour of the island for a good price with stops in some interesting places. We decided this would be the best way to spend our time and so we went for it. It was a good choice.
Our driver was a local man who was very funny and entertaining. Also full of information. We sat in his bus with about 12 other people. He showed us so many interesting things. He started with showing us all the banks on the island and made several jokes about people and their secret accounts in those banks. We saw the Governor's House, the place Tom Cruise stays when he comes (which is also the place where some great scenes in his movie The Firm were filmed). We saw the 7 mile beach and the oldest houses on the island. This alone was very impressive because the amount of hurricanes and tropical disasters that have hit the Cayman Islands is intense. They are still trying to recover from a hurricane in 2004. You can see this destruction a lot as you drive around.Our first stop where we got to get out and have a look around was in Hell. This place took its name from an interesting lava rock formation there. It is a small village and it has a post office and a few little tourist shops. We stopped at one of the tourist shops and got to take a closer look at the cool rock formations and wildlife. We saw a massive iguana in a tree but I wasn't able to capture it on film.We got back on the bus and the next stop was at a Rum Store where we were able to sample many flavors of rum cake and others were able to sample the different flavors of rum. It was a neat little store but therein was the problem - it was little and there were a lot of people in there. After buying some rum cakes to give out at home as gifts, we were back on the bus to see more.Our final stop before heading back was the turtle farm they have on Grand Cayman. The island was once called Tortuga because it was heavily populated with sea turtles but since there was so much hunting of them for their meat and shells, there were in danger of extinction and so now they have a place where they control the turtle population. To save a little cash, Lorne sent Jasmine and I in to the farm to see the turtles and I learned so much from our tour guide there. I learned that here they breed turtles, they release them back into the wild and they consume a certain percentage. It is illegal to hunt turtle so the only place you can eat turtle meat and soup is to come to this place.Jasmine was fascinated and her favorite part was when she got to hold a turtle herself. These were 12 month old turtles and she wasn't scared at all. She was so excited and smiled for the camera. I too, decided to hold a turtle because I knew if I didn't, I would get teased by Lorne. It was actually kind of cool to hold it and I enjoyed it a lot. Jasmine was so taken by them that she kissed the turtle twice while I was holding it and told the story to everyone she got a chance to talk to afterward.As we drove back to where we had been picked up, we were shown some of the beautiful golf courses on the island and more hotels. We were pretty tired when we got back so we got on the boat that would take us back to our ship. I just loved the color of the water there in the Caribbean and wished we had a bit more time for swimming. The only other thing I would have loved to do was to go on a glass bottom boat, as they have beautiful coral reefs and fish there but when we went investigating, they weren't running as many boats that day because they were giving people time to recuperate from the New Years festivities.After re-boarding the boat, Jasmine had her next special VIP activity to attend. She went backstage at the theater and got to meet the cast and try on some of the costumes. Mommy and Daddy were not able to go so we sent the camera with her again and they got some cute pictures. She loved being able to try on the costumes and we were happy she got to have a special thing she got to do on her own.While she did that, Lorne and I relaxed on deck and watched the boat leave the dock. The views of Grand Caymen were so pretty I couldn't help but snap some parting shots and take it all in.Pretty soon it was time for dinner and we got another night to enjoy on our own as Jasmine decided she wanted to eat with her Fun Factory friends. Food again, excellent and we got a special treat for dessert. They had baked Alaska on the menu and so all the restaurant staff had a baked Alaska parade and we were introduced to the various chefs on the boat. It was fun and we were told to wave our napkins during the parade. The baked Alaska was very yummy and the whole spectacle of the thing was hilarious.After dinner, we went up a few decks to one of the nightclubs where they were doing kids disco night and took a few pics of Jasmine dancing. We only stayed 10 minutes because when Jasmine saw we were there she no longer wanted to dance and started being a bit bratty. I don't think she wanted us there because as we started to leave and she looked around and thought we were gone, she stared dancing again - what a little sassy one!We headed back to the theater for the 4th time to see the show Liverpool Nights - which is a show that takes place in London and has very 60's costumes and rock music. It was pretty good but a bit hard to follow. Still, the quality was good and we were entertained.We headed back to the fun factory afterwards to pick up Jasmine and she was engrossed in a movie - Beauty and the Beast that they were showing there and it was cute to see her sitting with the other kids and paying attention - I snapped a few pics and we waited a bit so she didn't feel ripped away from her activity. When she was ready to go, she came running to us and was happy to come back to the room, eat the chocolate on her pillow and fall fast asleep.