Submitted by Rachel Narcho on the 2018 spring semester program in the Cayman Islands sponsored by the College of Education and Human Development…
I am very excited about this week because… we had Track and Field Day on Monday and MY FRIEND KIRA CAME TO VISIT! Don’t get me wrong, I love it here so far. A little bit of home sickness has started to creep in so seeing a familiar and friendly face is just what I needed.
I purposefully planned ahead and had completed all my work for the following week before she arrived on Wednesday so that we could spend as much time together as possible.
We started off the week by having Track and Field Day. Students from the first and second grades at CIS made their way early Monday morning to the stadium, where we would conduct mini track races against classmates for the first half of the day. The students really loved it!
Kira arrived on Wednesday afternoon and we started out her visit by enjoying dinner at The Wharf. Located right on Seven Mile Beach with a short dock, we were unaware of the tarpon feeding, but received front row seats anyway. At 7:30 m, the staff came out onto the edge of the dock, and started feeding the tarpons. They were 3 feet long, swarming and jumping out of the water for the food. What a sight to see!
Thursday evening, we continued the festivities by catching a catamaran out to Rum Point Beach in the evening, and enjoying dinner while gazing at the sunset off the shore. We came back looking up at the night sky on the catamaran, seeing thousands of stars that are not visible on land due to the light pollution.
We headed out Friday afternoon to Hemingway’s, the IT spot for Friday afternoon fun. With a DJ, right on the beachfront on Seven Mile, and Asian fusion food, we were living it up.
We woke up early Saturday morning for the Stingray City tour. I was not letting her leave without seeing them! I was surprised at how much more interactive this trip would become. Our guide was very comfortable in the water and with the stingrays, and convinced the two of us to hold one! What an experience!
We then made our way to the Turtle Farm, at the most northern part of the island. Here, we learned about sea turtles, and were able to spend ten minutes in a tank filled with 7 and 8 month old baby sea turtles.
We ended Kira’s stay by dining and spending the evening on the water at Cocoloba at The Kimpton. We watched the sunset and walked by the water’s edge.