HELL and back....

I just LOVE days off....

FACT OF THE DAY: The next time you dine at an Irish pub and you see "black pudding" on the menu
                               don't be fooled into thinking that its a code word for chocolate, because its not.
                               Turns out its actually coagulated pig blood. (No comment)
                                      I hate mosquitos, (especially tiny sneaky ones that get in 5 bites before you even
                               know you've been hit) and mayonnaise.

  Well today we went to HELL...

      'Hell' is an actual town in the heart of Grand Caymen. (Which is strange because the Island is SO strictly religious) You can send out a postcard from there and the postmark will read: Hell, Grand Caymen.  It all began with a field of Ironshore (which is basically sharp black coral usually located on the shoreline) that happened to be inland. Some guy put up some ropes around it, built a mini wooden devil statue, and called it 'The Devils Playground'. The only other thing thats there is a souvenir shop and 2 of those pic posing boards. NOW...cruise ships will charge you up to 60$ to go on a 'tour' of it but BEWARE: It is a TOTAL rip off. Im putting these pics up so you can see it now, for free and not spend any money on the disappointment.....

You would think the Devil would be just a LITTLE taller than a 4 year old...

(And not need to be chained up)

 
                                             Ohhh Diana, what a little Angel you are....(HA!)

Isa is starting to realize what her dad is REALLY like...

    So after our 10 minute visit to HELL, we moved on to more exciting things, like searching for the Blue Iguanas in the Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Park.  The Blue Iguanas are almost extinct and the only 30-40 left in the world are housed in this park....

(ok so I know he doesn't look particularly blue but its because hes shedding)

  We saw about 4 of them today, ranging in all different sizes and colors, but we were not able to find a 'Large' one (which Diana was VERY upset about) It was however very hot so they were probably cooling off in the shade somewhere....(At least thats what we told Isa!)
   There were also water turtles, (who were super quick so I couldn't get a picture) water moccasins, (snakes - which I couldn't get because I was too busy running them off the road due to Morgans insane fear of them) FROGS......

And a lone Dragonfly.

    Being a Botanical Garden there were many other interesting things to see....including an herb garden (which I didn't get a pic of) but with which Morgan was SUPER excited about...(like a kid in a candy shop..an herbal organic candy store...) There were also some very beautiful flowers and plants, the likes of which I have never seen before....

This is Akee, its a fruit, which Ive actually tasted before but never saw fresh...

(Akee and saltfish is a traditional Jamacian dish, served scrambled in eggs)

'Ratan Palm' 

'Behive Ginger'

I have NO IDEA what this is...I couldn't find a sign..lets call it...a "spiny caterpillar"

Again..no sign...how does "Caymen hedges"strike you?

Ummm...'Tress in swampy water'

'Star Buds' (yup I made that one up too)

'Bamboo' (DUH!)

         And a big beautiful lake....

Precious...

This is the official sport of 'Palm Surfing'. Its HUGE here...Diana holds the "Golden Coconut" (get it? Like the gold metal of Palm Surfing? haha? )

And this is just Isa being Isa!

    We must have walked around for over an hour (and sweat off 100,000 pounds) building up a good size appetite. They took us to 'Blowhole' which is a quaint local...hum I don't know what to call it really..food spot? It is right across from the ocean, where you can see a large 'blowhole' (a place in the coral that is carved out from the inside forcing water to shoot out of upward to 100 feet when the waves crash) hence the name.

   I am always weary of places like this, especially when they serve fish, but I was pleasantly surprised. (And any place where the owner will swing in a hammock while having a full fledged conversation with you, HAS to be a good find) I had some fried Mahi Mahi and Caribbean Style Lobster and it was DELISH! They also served fresh Mango, Guava and Coconut juices (the mango was my favorite) and they had these big jars of peeled onions in a liquid that smelled of vinegar. Trusting Chris (which was clearly a mistake, I don't know WHY I haven't learned by now that there is NO trusting Chris) I tasted it and my mouth was on fire for the next 10 minutes. Im not sure what its called but its an accompaniment to fried fish and very popular. (But only to people who enjoy swallowing fire). THANKS CHRIS. dick.

   On the way home we stopped by the 'Secret Beach' which is a beach that only the locals know about and no one really goes to. It is hidden in-between 2 cliffs but during this time of the season the water level was too high for us to be able to get to it. Hopefully in the 'winter' (YEAH RIGHT like this place is allowed to use the word winter! HA!) the levels will drop and well be able to enjoy it. I DID however find my next place, which is good because I hate dealing with realtors...

Dont laugh Im serious. Theres also an old rusty bbq grill behind that green foliage which will serve well as my 'kitchenette' WHO WANTS TO STAY OVER??!!

   Finally we went to Eastern Star Bar, which is apparently a local bar (not many expats go there) which was right on the beach and beautiful. Isa played in the sand, we sat and sipped cocktails (or water..whatever) and it was the perfect ending to a perfect day. THANK YOU Chris and Diana!!

     Now its late and I must go, second to last day of training tomorrow. Thank goodness.....

P.S. (Can you PS on a blog?) "Brush your teeth and put on clean underwear." - Maria Romano