Grand Cayman: Day 4

We went on a little road trip on our fourth day. We got up nice and early so we could hit the road before the crowds gathered in Georgetown.

Because of Pirates' Week, a few of the major roads were closed in town so we had to take a short detour.

We managed to weave our way through and found our way up to the north side of the island, greatly enjoying the scenery along the way.

STARFISH POINT

We parked in a little cul-de-sac but there was a huge dirt lot that seemed like an okay spot for parking. The only drawback was that there were some giant mud puddles; I feared our car might get stuck, which is why I left it a bit farther away.

The beach was lovely, quiet, and secluded.

Right past the dirt lot, we waded into the water and managed to spot one starfish.

We ran into an elderly couple who told us there were many more farther up the beach. We found dozens!

Despite feeling horrible about disturbing the starfish, we picked up a few out of curiosity. We kept them underwater, always, but I have a feeling they were probably annoyed and uncomfortable.

This is such a fun place and since the water is so calm and shallow, it's a great place for kids too. But be warned! My sister got stung by a jellyfish and ended up with an ugly red welt on her foot.

RUM POINT

After playing with the starfish, we headed to Rum Point to relax on the beach. Unfortunately, just a few minutes after arriving, I got stung right in the forehead by some sort of bug - I suspect a mutant mosquito or some sort of mosquito cousin - and had a giant welt on my face that semi-itched but mostly just looked grotesque. Then, my sister got a bite on her arm and on the side of her eye so we decided we had to leave.

It's a gorgeous spot to relax, have some tiki drinks, and enjoy the view. However, I highly recommend you bring bug spray. I guess it's because of all of the trees, but we could not deal with the bug bites we'd already gotten (or the risk of more bites) so we booked it out of there after snapping a few photos.

We actually ended up going back to Starfish Point to relax. We waded with the starfish and sunbathed until we were hungry for lunch.

OVER THE EDGE CAFE

For lunch, we went to Over the Edge Cafe on the north side. It was conveniently located between Starfish Point and where we were headed in the afternoon and it had decent reviews so it was the obvious choice.

We were given a basket of frybread to start and we also ordered some hot wings. They were actually really delicious. This was the first chicken dish we enjoyed and we contemplated whether they ate the wild chickens that roamed the islands; wild chickens walk around the way squirrels do at home. We never found out the answer but the chicken was delicious. The breading itself was seasoned with spices and it was super crispy and awesome. The frybread was great too; super fluffy and chewy and it made me wonder if I should always fry my bread.

For lunch, Dad went for the grilled snapper, which came with peas and rice, sautéed vegetables, and potatoes. The fish was super fresh and tender and awesome.

Sister and I both went for the mahi escovitch. (We've gotten pretty obsessed with the escovitch carrots and onion.) The fish was lightly fried with a crispy breading and the pickled vegetables were spicy and yummy. I think the contrast of the vinegary vegetables to the kind of oily fried fish is what makes this dish so good.

After lunch, we took the long way home. We headed along the north side and then along the east side to circle around back to the west side, where we were staying. We attempted to go snorkeling at the wreck of the Geneva Kathleen but the waters were way too rough and we were nervous to try to do it without fins.

COLLIERS BEACH

It's a gorgeous beach, super quiet, and I think you could snorkel right off of the shore, if you wanted.

The waters along the north and east side of the island were much rougher than on the leeward side. The waves were often large enough that one could surf, and we saw a few surfers heading down to the beach as we were driving.

BLOWHOLES

We also stopped to see the Blowholes, which are essentially giant crashing waves that shoot up like the water shoots out of a whale's blowhole. It was a pretty cool thing to watch but a difficult thing to photograph.

I think if the water had been a little rougher or the wind had been a bit stronger, we would've seen more aquatic violence, but the blowhole phenomenon only happened every few minutes and always when my camera was down (of course).

After our little road trip, we headed back to our hotel where we washed up and then enjoyed the sun setting (for the last night of the trip).

ANCHOR & DEN

For our final dinner, I wanted to enjoy some sushi. Considering how amazing and fresh all of the cooked fish was, I needed to try some raw fish. And because we had resort credits to use up and because we were feeling a bit lazy, we decided to enjoy dinner right in our hotel at Anchor & Den.

I started the meal with a special cocktail from the Apothecary happy hour menu (Fridays only from 5 to 7). I got the apple batch, which was light and refreshing. No one else wanted a cocktail so I was the only one to imbibe.

We were brought fresh, still-warm bread to munch on while we waited for our food.

We ordered the volcano roll, which was a spicy tuna roll topped with pieces of scallop. It was amazing and probably my favorite of the night. The spicy sauce and the unctuous scallop were incredible together. The fish was so fresh and sweet and tender.

We also ordered the anchor roll, which was eel and avocado sushi topped with pieces of tuna, hamachi, and salmon. The eel was incredibly tender and made even more delicious by the thin slices of tuna, salmon, and hamachi.

Our third roll was the rainbow roll, which was a salmon roll topped with pieces of tuna, fatty tuna, shrimp, and avocado. Again, the super fresh fish made this an amazing roll and probably the prettiest one to look at.

And, because we were starving, we also ordered the Thai-style ceviche, which had super fresh pieces of snapper marinating in a lime and coconut milk vinaigrette. It was really bright and punchy and delicious. The acidity acted like a nice pickle-like contrast to the unctuous sushi.

And knowing how amazing all the seafood is on the island, we got some fresh oysters. We asked for the mignonette sauce and the chimi sauce. The oysters were crazy fresh - they tasted just like the ocean - and I loved the presentation.

PIRATES' WEEK FIREWORKS

After dinner, we walked down to the beach by Wharf Restaurant and settled in to watch the fireworks. The fireworks lasted about 15 minutes and they were pretty spectacular.

It was a great final evening on the island. I have one more post to share, so come back for the last one!

xoxo.