This is the New Island Info Page.

While writing the Grand Cayman dive report I wanted to put down as much information on the island as possible. I kept remembering how I was searching the internet before we left looking for the kind of info that I'm now writing down. Well, it got quite cumbersome for the dive report as I ended up rambling on for about two pages. So, I decided to separate the travel information and recommendations (or warnings) on a separate page. This will lean down the dive report page and provide a separate location for travel/island information. Your comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome. Let me know what you think.

Island (Travel) Report #2. Sri Lanka, May 2003
This was to be first a missions trip with us assissting Pradeep at his crusade in Negombo and second a vacation of sightseeing in Pradeep's home country. Go to the DiveReport page to read about our not diving there.
Joan and I really felt led by God to go with Pradeep on this trip. We didn't know ahead of time what we would be doing for the crusade but we were willing to do anything even just carry Pradeep's bags. God had something more in mind. During the crusade services I video taped and Joan sat in the front row until her ears began to hurt from the volume. There was a half a tractor trailer of speakers on either side of the stage. They had the sound up so that it could be heard a mile away. And, the people came. There were thousands in attendence. Pastor Rohan and Pastor Pradeep (another Pradeep) opened up each night with hours of original Christian words sung to traditional Sri Lankan sounding music. The people loved it. Hundreds of people came up for the altar call each night. The way God used us was during morning meetings in Pastor Rohan and then in Pastor Pradeep's church. In Pastor ROhan's church we shared and then prayed for the people. What was interesting was that while we were speaking there one morning a man drove up to the back of the church on a motor cycle (the church has a front wall and one side wall but the back and the other side just have columns). We saw him drive up and talk to Pastor Rohanb for a minute then sit down. after a while he got up and drove away. Later Pastor Rohan told us about his conversation with the man. He told the Pastor that his wife had run off with another man. That very morning he had caught up with them and killed the man with a knife. His wife was so upset that she drank poison to try to kill her self. She survived and was in the hospital. He had gone to a priest to ask him if he should forgive her and take her back. The priest told him no. The man wasn't really satisfied with that so he came to Rohan's church where we were speaking. After hearing his story Pastor Rohan told him to sit down and listen. I shared about the woman at the well. Jesus had offered her living water. The living water turned out to be acceptance and forgiveness in spite of the fact that she was a social outcast and had been married five times and now was living with a man that was not her husband. It changed the woman's life and she ended up evangelizing the whole town. Joan then shared about the feeling of acceptance and forgiveness that she felt from me after we were married in spite of some things in her past that she felt condemned about. After hearing that the man got up and told Pastor Rohan that he knew what to do and drove away. Praise God. The big miracle turned out to be God's hand extended to the people of the churches through us (mainly Joan) praying for them. Most of the women didn't understand what Joan was praying as she held them. It didn't matter God touched them. We also had the opportunity to spend some time in Pradeep's Father's church in Kandy. Pastor David the pastor at that time asked us to share. We ended up praying for the people again. From the oldest to the youngest the women wept like babies as Joan prayed for them. We had been to a Shiloh Place seminar with Jack Frost the month before. We didn't relize that anything had been imparted to us but it had. It was the Father's Love. Here are some pictures from the crusade.

______ ______ ______

In Negombo we stayed at the Royal Oceanic Hotel. They treated us very well. Across the street and down a little was a small jewelry shop called Blue Moon Jewellers. The owner gave me a good deal on a white saphire ring custom made for Joan. I'll be getting some pictures on. He said he could give me a better deal because I didn't come in with a Sri Lankan guide. If I had he would have had to share the proceeds from the ring, up to 40 percent. He says he owns a mine where they get the stones. Sri Lanka is known for it's semi-precious stones. He did a great job and had the ring completed in two days. He threw in a few extra white saphires for me to do something with at home. If you're ever in Negombo go see this man.

__________ __________

The pictures are as follows: Blue Moon Jewellers, Negombo, Sri Lanka, The ring they made for Joan, The owner of Blue Moon Jewellers with a gold shrouded stone studded hand carved wooden elephant

Island Report #1. Grand Cayman, 12/3-12/02
In Grand Cayman we first we stayed at Treasure Island Hotel and the south end of Seven Mile Beach. We were in three different rooms there. For the rest of that story read below. We did a lot of sight seeing with a rental car. For the rest of that story see below. Treasure Island is conected with Bob Soto's Reef Divers. Next to the Turtle Farm and under The Cracked Conch restaurant is Dive Tech (look for a coupon in Cayman Activity Guide for DiveTech dive, lunch, and a beer (or soda) for $25 ). We went snorkling at three different locations one of which was Stingray City (a must see). I don't know the name of the tour company but they had 3" by 8" pink cards all over the hotels for CI$ 15 OFF (CI$ is Cayman Island $, worth $1.25 US by decree of the Cayman Islands government). That made it 15$CI for each of us which was about half off. If you get to Grand Cayman you have to do this (look for the pink cards).
We stopped by the Cobalt Coast Resort. Their package deals were okay (they're all simularly priced). They have North Wall shore diving through Dive Tech. The owner is a great guy and highly recomended the fish soup at the Heritage Kitchen (see below for more details).
Back to the Hotel. At Treasure Island The people were fantastic. They couldn't do enough for us. But, the facilities were a little worn. The first room smelled a little musty when we first arrived. We cranked up the air conditioner and it seemed to straighten out in a little while. There were a couple minor things that they took care of right away. There was also a drip in the bathroom from the vent over the toilet. Just a little leak. Only a drop every couple minutes or so. There wasn't even a puddle on the toilet seat. The maintenance man (Mitchell) had come in to check it out once but the front desk had told him I reported the air conditioner had a leak. When he saw it wasn't leaking he went away. A day or so later I brought Mitchell into the room and showed him the leak. When he saw for himself he told us he would have to move us to another room. The water was coming from the toilet in the room above ours (I'm sure it was from the toilet supply line). The second room must have been closed up for a while (they'd been doing some renovating). As a result (with the high humidity levels in Grand Cayman) the room was moldy and mildewy smelling. We cranked up the air conditioner again, but by two the next morning I couldn't sleep for coughing with a nasty tickle in my throat (alergies, you know). I went down to the front desk and they gave us a room on the 5th floor. They had offered us a room on the fifth floor after the first room but the other room was only three doors down and we thought it would be easier moving all our things. There must have still been a problem because I couldn't lay down without that tickle in my throat and coughing all the time. I spent at least a portion of two nights sleeping in the rental car for relief before I broke down and changed hotels. Treasure Island was very kind about it and they said they understood. We checked the Hyatt a little further north on Seven Mile Beach (it's really only about 5 and 1/2 miles). The Hyatt gave us a great deal and we moved in that afternoon (we were getting very good at packing up and moving our things). The Hyatt has a beautiful facility. They will arrange for a resort (diving) course but I don't think they have a lot of divers there. We take all our own gear except for tanks and weights. I think we we the only ones.
We rented a car from Island Style Car Rental (located at Treasure Island Hotel and Trafalgar Place). We got a Hyundai Altos for $33 US a day and the seventh day is free. It's a good size vehicle (more mid than compact) that doesn't know if it wants to be a small car, a minivan, or an suv (lower case on purpose). It was fun to drive and we were able to put ALL our luggage behind the back seat. The steering wheel is on the right, driving is on the left, and you must purchase an $8CI driving permit from the rental company to be able to drive on the island. They also add 10 percent tax onto every hotel room (what do you want, they don't have income or annual property taxes).
I got up early one morning and went to the lobby to read my Bible for a while. I felt like the Lord was directing me to take a little ride. I drove north for a while and drove past a church with all the windows and doors open and the lights on (at 5:30 AM). I went inside and sat in the back as they were having a prayer meeting for special services that coming Sunday. I had left the hotel room in shorts and a T shirt with no shoes. After the meeting I told the Pastor it was because we were on Holy ground. Joan and I went to church there Sunday. It's the Church of God with Assistant Pastor Garrett Haylock (by the way he has his own plumbing business). We really enjoyed the worship (same Spirit, go figure). After the service they invited us downstairs to eat with them. We stood in line and a lady told us to sit down she would bring us ours. We said no thanks we'll stand in line like everyone else. I added that she could sit down and I would bring her's. She refused. Then Pastor Haylock came and brought us to sit with the senoir pastor and his wife in an air conditioned side room where the food was brought to us. We had great fellowship sharing about what God is doing in our lives. The food was all local cuisine, conch, jerk chicken, etc., etc, it was delicious.
We took a ferry ride from the Hyatt (they have a canal along side the property heading east to the North Sound) to Rum Point. The ferry goes near Stingray City on the way. Rum Point is a nice place to snorkle, swim, or just relax in the hammock. They have a gift shop, bar, and restaurant (managed by the Hyatt). You can stay there as well, if you like.
Eating can be very expensive. We ate at Outback Steak House (just like home), stopped at TCBY (where I asked if the girl could change a US $100 and she said sure, it's only $80 CI). Our favorite place to eat was the salad bars at the supermarkets (Kirks was better). Hot or cold food, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, pick what you want to eat, and very resonable.
We drove around the west side of the island and to the north on the first day. We stopped at Morritt's Grand Resort and went through their timeshare tour. There are a number of timeshares available on the island. Grand Cayman is always Red. Morritt's has a good deal with a second free week. We didn't buy a timeshare but we got $40 US Cash, a coupon for snorkling or diving, and a free lunch. I checked for resales on the internet after I got home and found them from about $5,000 to $11,000 (compared to up to $30,000+) including the second week free. A considerable savings. Someone told me you could find red weeks in some locations for as low as $2,500 on the net. Why would anyone pay full price? We also stopped at the Pirates Caves (tacky, $5 each, but kinda cute in a weird way). The museum in Georgetown (I forget what the enterance fee was but I think it was between $5-$8) is a good place to learn more about the Island. I saw a painting by Helene Schindler there that I really liked, "Still seaworthy", I think it was called. There was another museum on the island that I think was worthwhile, Powell's Museum Of Caymanian Heritage & Gifts. This one is less formal and admission $2. They also sell "native souvenirs" and its the only place I found to buy rough Caymanite. It's located on the North side of Seven Mile Beach at West Bay, 4 Corners (a four way stop). Head north on West Bay Road (the one Seven Mile Beach is on) stay to the left (I think it might be as far as North West Point Road but if not the Turtle Farm and Dive Tech are). When you get to the four way stop sign turn left and the Powell's Museum is on the left. Right next door was Heritage Kitchen. This place was highly recomended by the owner of Cobalt Coast for their fish Soup. On the Heritage Kitchen building they advertise "Fish Tea, Fried Fish, and Fritters." They weren't open the two times we stopped by, (I think they're open for on Fridays and Saturdays). Both of these places look like a hole in the wall, but for a "taste" of local flavor I would recomend them both. Pastor Haylock's Church Of God Assembly Hall is just a block north of 4 Corners.
We stumbled on the home of Marcus Powery in the West Bay area. His card advertises Native Art. He makes nice black coral jewelry and sells it at reasonable prices. We stood and talked with Marcus and his parents for about 45 minutes. Very nice people. Marcus' phone number is (345) 949-3427. I'm sure he would meet you at your hotel if you would like to look at his work. See him after looking but before buying at the jewelry stores.
We avoided going to Hell (a small town with souvenir shops and a post office in the West Bay area) up until the last day when we accidentaly drove past it. We didn't stop.
There are many things to see on the south, east and north sides of the island. Check out some of them on the Cayman web sites. I'll try to get some of them up on my links page.

Cruise to Nassau, San Juan, and St. Thomas 8/02

Fifteen people from our church went on a cruise in August. We went on the Carnaval Paradise (a NON-SMOKING ship) out of Miami. We stopped at Nassau, Bahamas the first day, then "a fun day at sea" then San Juan, PR for a day, then St. Thomas for a day. After that we had two more "fun days at sea" and we were back in Miami. I'll give you a run down on the ports in order (I'm saving the best for last).
Nassau was okay. Joan wife and I spent a lot of time the whole cruise with a great Christian couple from our church, Rick and Molly. We had good fellowship. We all got a taxi ride over to Paradise Island and did some sunbathing, swimming and snorkling for the day. While snorkling I found a dive mask and a Carnaval beach towel (the ship wants $22 to take one home with you) on the bottom. Apparently the wind blows toward the water because there were about a dozen towels on the bottom (if you go there make sure your towel is secure). The water was about 18' deep by the ropes where most of the stuff was (if you go beyond the ropes you are apparently free game for the jet skis and parasailing boats). There were a few other snorklers there but I guess not many people know how to free dive that deep (or maybe all the things we say on the bottom were lost on that day). It was a good day of snorkling and walking on the beach and spending time with my wife (Rick and Molly took a long walk as well). We then took a taxi back to town and did a little shopping before retiring to the ship.
San Juan was okay. Joan and I had been to San Juan twice before and spent a little time shopping in Old San Juan each time. we didn't feel like hanging out there all day. So the four of us (including Rick and Molly) rented a car and drove east about 30 miles ending up at the Westin Del Mar Hotel. There was a guard at the gate. We told him we wanted to eat lunch there. No problem. They have a beautiful facility with condos, hotel rooms, a golf course and quite a bit of private beach. We had to pay for parking ($8). They told us the rooms range from $400 to $3500 a night. But August is the off season and you could get a room for $200. We ate lunch for about $12 each but that included a chesseburger, chips, and a soda. We then used their beach, beach chairs and some of us went in their pool (and restrooms) for no additional charge. The snorkling wasn't too good because we were on the Atlantic Ocean side of the island and there were waves. But Rick (he and Molly are originally from Atlantic City, NJ and spent a lot of time in the ocean as kids) and I had a great time body surfing the waves. The housing in many places on the way out and back looked fairly depressed. We did see many of the windows with bars on them.
St. Thomas was the best. Joan and I tried to touch base with Mike and Linda Ratcliff the Managers of The Green Iguana hotel but they weren't in when we got there. They are Christians and great fellowship. In St. Thomas the whole group from our church got a taxi driver with a 15 passenger van to take us around the island all day for about $250. His van wasn't new but it worked well and he was very personable. His name is Luke Pacquette, phone number (346) 714-1223, Taxi number 0091. Luke took us to Coki Beach for the morning. Some of us sun bathed, some swam, some snorkled, some went to Coral World (right next to Coki Beach) and Joan and I went scuba diving. The rest of the cruise was uneventful. We had two "fun days" at sea. We don't drink, we don't gamble, and we don't enjoy "Vegas style" shows (too risque). So the fun days at sea were only fun because Joan and I were together and we were able to fellowship with others from our church and get to know them better. Six of us rented a van to get from Miami to Fort Lauderdale airport (we flew down from Atlantic City Airport on Spirit Airlines very resonable). We stopped at the beach in Fort Lauderdale before going to the airport. They have a great fishing pier there. The water was so clear we could see the fish swimming around. All in all it was a good cruise.

St. Thomas 5/02 St. Thomas, USVI. We flew down on Delta from Philly to Atlanta then to St. Thomas. Delta had the most reasonable flight ($399 each). We stayed at The Green Iguana. The managers, Mike and Linda Ratcliff, are Christians. They are a real blessing. We got to go to church with them Sunday night at the St. Thomas Assembly of God. Great fellowship. We arrived on Thursday evening. We rented a car through Budget. I didn't have any problem driving on the left side of the road but it did bother me to see other cars coming over a hill toward me driving on the wrong (left) side of the road. It took me a few days to get over that. Red Hook is a nice place to stop. The Marina Market there advertises itself as the store that has everything, they do. The first day we dove at Coki. Sunday morning we went on a day sail on The Nightwind. They served us a continental breakfast and a great luch. We sailed over to St. John and went snorkling in two different places. We saw turtles and reef and fish. I recovered a snorkle and a gear bag at the second site (20'-30'). We then had a leisurely sail back to St. Thomas. We had dinner in town (The Green Iguana is only a five minute walk from downtown) and went to church that night. Monday we went out on a boat dive with Chris Sawyer. It was a good day. Tuesday afternoon we were flying out so we took a little tour of the island in the morning and went shopping in the afternoon. There are a couple places I would recomend. First go see the Gemstone House on Storetvaer Gade (Gade means Street) . They are very good if you're looking for deals on jewelry and loose gemstones. They have great prices and they try harder. Second Go to Carnival 21 at 21 Main Street (ask for Persha). They have clothes and things at decent prices. We shopped in town (Charlotte Amalie) and at Havensight Mall (near the cruise ship pier). We prefered in town. I thought the prices were a little better. By the way, St. Thomas has two Kmarts. There you can buy almost anything you can get on the mainland at about the same prices. So if you're on a cruise and need something you can stop in one of the Kmarts. I think one is close to the cruise ship pier. All in all we had a great trip with some great diving and met some great people. We would highly recomend St. Thomas, just don't go out walking around by yourself in some parts of town in the middle of the night. We had no problems.

Jesus' Divers Home Page

 

Last updated on 1/17/09

All Rights Reserved. Contents Copyright, Stephen Beamer, 1999-2009.

Since 7/4/2002