The excursion we had booked to Stingray City was cancelled due to high winds so we decided to strike out on our own. The taxis right off of the pier are regulated so there is a standard price for various locations on Grand Cayman. We decided to go to Sea Turtle farm which was on the other end of the island. The fare was about $8 each. We really liked our taxi driver. She told us that we could save a lot of money by taking the public bus back to the port. She showed us that they all have a colored banner with the words "PUBLIC BUS" on the wind shield. All you have to do is wave and they will pull over for you. They will drop you off anywhere along their prescribed route for only $2.50.
A view inside the taxi.
On the way to the turtle farm, our taxi driver almost swerved off the road when another car turned into our lane going the wrong way. It was terrifying and we all screamed because we thought we were going to die. Apparently tourists often rent cars on Grand Cayman but then forget that they are supposed to drive on left. This is such a common occurrence that rental cars are given differently colored license plates and there are "drive on the left" signs along all the roads.
The sea turtle farm was about $12 per person. You can pay more if you want to swim in their lagoon. We didn't.
Our first stop was to the breeding pond which was really neat.
We had never been so close to sea turtles before.
Looking at these pictures now, I can see that there is no frame of reference for just how big they are.
Here is a photo of Sweet Pea next to a silhouette that will give you some perspective.
We watched an interesting movie about sea turtles and then headed over to the tanks. We were looking in when a worker asked Sweet Pea if she wanted to get in a wading pool. Of course, our little adventurer hopped right in!
At first she just followed the baby turtles around, but soon she had figured out how to pick them up.
How fun is that!
Ross wanted in on the action too.
After picking up the turtles, we observed a giant crocodile. This is a rare American / Cuban hybrid crocodile that showed up on Grand Cayman one day. He can not be deported back to either the USA or Cuba so he living out his life in a cage at the turtle farm.
After the turtle farm we took a quick walk across the street to see a "swim with dolphins" place. This one wasn't nearly as nice as the Discovery Cove version in Orlando. Sweet pea and Ross watched the Dolphins for a bit and then we were ready to head back. It was past lunchtime and we were all getting really hungry.
As instructed, we hailed a public bus, which turned out to be more of a large van. It was empty for about one minute before the driver pulled over and loaded in way more peoe than the van was ever designed to hold. Sweet Pea had to sit on Mimi's lap and other people were doubled up in the other seats.
As soon as the van was packed full of people, the driver made a u-turn and started heading away from the port! We got to see a lot of Grand Cayman that was off the beaten path. At one point, Ross started wondering if we were being kidnapped. We drove this way for about 30 minutes until we finally started to recognize our surroundings again. The driver eventually let us off a few blocks from our cruise ship. I can't say that the bus ride was worth the $30 in savings.
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