Thursday, May 01, 2008

Cayman Adventure Day Two

April 24, 2008

Day two arrived and saw me having to fend for myself. Deb had to work all day so it was up to me to find something to do. Debi of course left me perfect directions to get to the best beach (and lots of food too) and I did have to make my way over to the Ritz Carlton later that night for my spa treatment so I also got very good directions to there as well. Deb and I both figured I would sleep until noon but I think the heat kept me awake so I just decided to go to the beach.

Deb's place (old place, she has since moved to a very cute little one bedroom place on the other side of town. The new one has roosters!!)

The view from Deb's bedroom window. That big piles of dirt in the background.....the dump. The new place has trees and stuff like that. Much nicer.


I found the beach with no problem….Debi’s directions were very good. Day two was officially the start of the worst sunburn I have ever had but I did not let it bother me. I must admit I was pretty pale going down but did not really have a big problem with the sun a few years ago when I was in Cuba….of course I was in Cuba in November and I completely underestimated how much hotter the sun is this time of year.

Speaking of Cuba....how 'bout a little drink in this Irish pub on the island. I just found this funny.


The beach Deb sent me to was very nice although a little busy as there were quite a few people from the cruise ships spending the day there. I didn’t have to walk very far though to find a much less crowded part of the beach. A lot of the condos along the beach were pretty empty so even lots of open beach chairs to steal. So really I just spent the day lying in the sun (burning), relaxing in the water (burning) and walking down the beach (burning). This was my first visit to the Caribbean ocean and I was very surprised with how blue the water really was (My visit to Cuba found me on the atlantic ocean side of the island and the water isn't nearly as pretty).

A pirate ship......in the caribbean....how fun.

A view of the water from the beach. Even with the sun burn I certainly enjoyed my time in the water.

I learned a little bit later on my trip that the water is also a little bit colder than in other parts for the Caribbean but I assure you I did not notice one bit. I of course had to also grab a nice cold daiquiri before I headed to the Ritz and the Silver Rain Spa.

The first iguana I encountered. Yes I know it is dead....ok maybe I didn't know until this other guy kicked it but really you can't get much closer because the live ones usually run away.

Just one of the many fun road signs you will find on Grand Cayman.


Of course having a sister work at one of the top spas in the world pretty much means I had to have a spa treatment. No family discount or anything like that but I did get some sweet VIP treatment that apparently only really, really rich people get (you knew there had to be a perk). I had never even been to a spa before so Deb signed my up for a treatment that you can only get at the Silver Rain Spa and then one other spa (that happens to be in NYC). She also booked me in with one the best girls.

Deb in her spa uniform. Everyone seems to agree that they are horrible (especially the pants) but they also all agree the Deb somehow pulls it off.


Anyway, I headed there about an hour before my appointment and spent time relaxing in the hot tub and then in the lounge area while enjoying some cookies and fruit and pastries and all kinds of fun stuff like that. I actually fell asleep before my treatment even started (could be left over tired from the day before or just really relaxed in the quiet spa setting). Needless to say I also feel asleep on the table……twice.

I can’t even completely tell you what my 90 minute treatment entailed but there was some massage, a seaweed wrap, a rain shower, some exfoliation and stuff like that. It was great, I felt great and it totally relaxed me (hence the falling asleep on the table). I topped the night off with a glass of champagne before heading back to Debi's for the night.

Relaxing after my treatment with a glass of champagne.


Deb and I were both exhausted by the ends of our days (although I think I had more fun getting exhausted than she did) so we spent a nice quiet evening at home (not many of those I can tell you). The rest was much needed because the next two days were pretty long......and a little bit crazy.
Julie

No comments: