Dolphin Swimming

A Virtual Visit to Grand Cayman

// April 20th, 2010 // View Comments // Grand Cayman, Locations

The old expression states that a picture is worth a thousand words, so my question is, how much is a video worth?

These days there are very few people who haven’t used Youtube, for music videos, for a laugh, to keep up with the world.  I personally use Youtube as means of taking a virtual vacation, finding videos of places I’ve loved in the past and places I dream of visiting in the future.  Seeing destinations through the lens of a camera may not be quite as good as the real thing, but it sure can give you a good idea of what to expect. If you are heading into the “unknown” of a new experience or destination, watching a video can ease any anxieties and more often than not, build your expectations and excitement for the upcoming adventure!

I could write all day about Dolphin Discovery Grand Cayman Island, but I thought I would let the wonderful world of video take you on a little tour.  Here’s a sample of what you will find on your Grand Cayman adventure,  join me on my virtual vacation!

We’ll start with a tour of the island, including a helicopter fly-by, check out the amazing colours of the water!  This is a great video, you’ll visit the Boatswain’s Turtle Farm and the famous Stingray City too (don’t forget that when you swim with dolphins at Dolphin Discovery Grand Cayman, your visit to the turtle farm is included in the price!)

Grand Cayman is full of excitement and adrenaline, but why not take a few moments to enjoy some peace on the famous Seven Mile Beach?  Here’s a little virtual getaway for you, gently lapping waves, crystal clear waters and soft white sands, takes less than a minute to relax and enjoy this experience through video, but wouldn’t a few hours of this reality be divine?

Finally, no trip to Grand Cayman is complete without a visit to Dolphin Discovery.  You’ll learn a little something about our marine animal friends, get a friendly, fishy kiss and feel the thrill and excitement of swimming with dolphins in paradise.  There is no better way to spend the day in Grand Cayman, here’s a video peek of the experience of a lifetime, picture yourself in the water with our dolphin friends and let the worries of your working day fade away.

Thanks for virtually traveling with me to Grand Cayman, I hope you enjoyed the video journey.  If you will be living the dream and visiting this beautiful island, we invite you to join us at Dolphin Discovery, a unique experience for memories that will last a lifetime!  Whether you are spending a week on a Grand Cayman diving trip or making a Grand Cayman port call from your cruise ship, we’d love to have you, contact Dolphin Discovery reservations today!

NORCECA Beach Volleyball in Grand Cayman

// March 26th, 2010 // View Comments // Grand Cayman, Locations, News

Dolphin Discovery was a proud sponsor of the NORCECA Beach Volleyball tournament in Grand Cayman the weekend of March 18-21, 2010.  “NORCECA” (the “North/Central America CaribbeanVolleyball Confederation”) is a non-profit sports organization that represents 35 countries in the International Volleyball Federation and is responsible for the staging of qualification tournaments for the Olympics and the World Championships.  The Cayman Islands Beach Volleyball Tournament marked the start of the qualification process to the 2012 Olympics in London and the last stretch to the Central American and Caribbean Games in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico next summer.

After an exciting weekend of tough competition, the Canadian duo of Martin Reader and Ray Sewell grabbed the men’s gold, leaving the silver to the Puerto Ricans and the bronze to the United States.  In the women’s competition, Puerto Ricans Yarleen Santiago and Dariam Acevedo won the gold, the silver went to the United States and the bronze to the Mexican team.  The next tournament of the circuit takes place in El Salvador March 25-28, 2010.  The full schedule for this year’s tournaments can be found on the NORCECA website and includes several stops in Mexico, including Puerto Vallarta.

The participants in the Grand Cayman beach volleyball tournament worked hard, but they were also able to take time out to enjoy the island, including swimming with dolphins courtesy of Dolphin Discovery Grand Cayman.  Gold medalist from Canada Ray Sewell said: “As a tourist I had some unique experiences, going to the turtle farm, the dolphins and Stingray City and I would recommend them to anybody back home. Your white beach is fantastic and the people are so friendly and accepting.” Well Mr. Sewell, it was an honour for the dolphins to have you, come back anytime!

Dolphin Discovery is grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of this fantastic event, we look forward to next year and wish all the NORCECA beach volleyball players the best of luck in the upcoming tournaments!

Grand Cayman- Tortuga Rum Cakes and Stingray City

// February 4th, 2010 // View Comments // Grand Cayman, Locations

Even if you’ve never been to Grand Cayman, you can probably create an image in your head… beautiful beaches, turquoise waters, palm trees, bikinis and dolphins.  Those in the know will tell you that there are two important treasures that you must add to your Grand Cayman day dreams, Tortuga Rum Cakes and Stingray City.

photo courtesy www.tortugarumcakes.com

The history of Tortuga Rum goes back to 1984 when the husband and wife team of Robert and Carlene Harmaty decided to embark on the adventure of creating a rum for the Cayman Islands.  They chose the name “Tortuga” (”turtle”) as it was the orignal name of the Cayman Islands, created two blended rums (Tortuga Gold and Tortuga Light) and were off and running with their new venture.  The couple kept their “day jobs” but nurtured their company as a labour of love.  In 1987, Carlene started making rum cakes from an old family recipe and discovered that she had a hit on her hands.  The cakes were so popular that they built a commercial bakery in 1990 to keep up with demand.  The trademark ingredient is a generous helping of premium five-year old, oak barrel aged Tortuga Gold Rum but the recipe is still a secret!  From a small family business, Tortuga Rum has turned into an international success, with a broad range of rum and rum-based products being enjoyed all over the world.  Today, the Tortuga Rum Cakes are a symbol of Grand Cayman, the essential souvenir (if you can resist eating them on the way home!).  Dolphin Discovery Grand Cayman is proud to offer the Tortuga Rum Cakes in our Dolphinmania Boutique, be sure to have a little taste, buy a few for you, a few for Aunt Lily, a few for your house-sitter (and a few more for you).

photo courtesy Fevi Yu

After swimming with dolphins and having sated your taste buds, it’s time to head out to the world-famous “Stingray City”.  Located in the shallow waters of Grand Cayman’s North Sound, Stingray City is renowned for the large numbers of stingrays that congregate in the area.  Stingrays love calm, sandy-bottomed areas such as this where they can dig in the sand in search of food.   History suggests that it was the fishermen using the area to clean their catch that attracted such large numbers of rays, looking for the offals that were thrown overboard.  Stingray heaven!  In 1987, Skin Diver magazine discovered  this “secret” spot where divers and snorkelers could feed rays by hand and soon the whole world was abuzz about Stingray City.  These days there are many tour operators offering excursions to Stingray City where you can swim and snorkel with these creatures and feed them by hand.  Tourists are encouraged not to wear footwear, even a simple water shoe can damage the sensitive skin of the rays and please, do not remove the rays from the water, it is essential that they stay submerged in order to breathe.  Many tours will take you to the reef for some snorkeling after your encounter with the rays, a great addition to your day on Grand Cayman.  This is a truly unique place, a Grand Cayman excursion that is not to be missed!

Whether you are cruising the Caribbean looking for a Grand Cayman shore excursion or spending your vacation on the island, be sure to visit Dolphin Discovery Grand Cayman for the experience of a lifetime!  Our friendly staff are not only dolphin experts, they are ambassadors of Grand Cayman and will go out of their way to ensure that our guests have a great island adventure.

Grand Cayman Events January 2010

// January 5th, 2010 // View Comments // Grand Cayman, Locations

January is a great time for a Caribbean escape and Grand Cayman is an excellent choice for anyone looking for sun, sand and tropical temperatures.  This month the island is proud to be the host for a couple of great events, if you are going to be in Grand Cayman be sure to check these out!

The Taste of Cayman Food and Wine Festival is in its 22nd year and just keeps getting bigger and better.  The event has become so successful that the island has deemed January to be “culinary  month”.  January 9-16th, 2010 more than 30 vendors will participate in the festival and the event promises to please your taste buds with samples from the finest chefs and restaurants and over two dozen wineries.  Children will love the special kid-sized events with face painting and jewelery making.  Grown-ups may sip a mojito or glass of champagne, enjoy the fireworks and live music, indulge in divine dishes and perhaps even win a great prize in the raffles, this event promises to be spectacular!

January in Grand Cayman is a scuba diver’s delight!  Each year the International Scuba Diver’s Hall of Fame hosts a dinner and induction ceremony for new honorees in the field of scuba.  People inducted into the hall of fame are the movers and shakers in the dive world, educators, photographers, researchers, explorers and more.  The event kicks off on Friday January 29th with the International Underwater Film Festival, featuring some of the finest underwater photography from around the world.  Saturday January 30th the newest hall of fame members will be inducted and honored with a dinner and ceremony.  This year’s inductees include Dr. Eugenie Clark (also known as “the shark lady”), Wyland, Nick Icorn and Francis Toribiong, each having dedicated their lives to the field of scuba and marine life.   We at Dolphin Discovery congratulate the inductees and thank them for their continuing efforts in the scuba industry and the underwater world.

Dolphin Discovery is proud to be a part of a great community in Grand Cayman and we wish the best of luck and much success to the organizers of these fine events and thank them for their contributions to the island.

Dolphin Discovery Proud Sponsor of the Cayman Islands Marathon

// November 27th, 2009 // View Comments // Grand Cayman, Locations, News

Dolphin Discovery Grand Cayman is proud to be participating in this year’s Cayman Island Marathon on December 6, 2009.  The marathon is an annual event supporting local charities and includes a full marathon, half marathon and a kids’ fun run.  Each year 13 groups compete for the “Best Water Station” prize,  chosen by the runners based on the enthusiasm, creativity and efficiency of each stop.  The winners this year will receive Royal Swim packages donated by Dolphin Discovery.  Winners of the races will also receive swim with dolphins packages as part of their prize packages.  Members of the Dolphin Discovery Grand Cayman staff have volunteered to work the race, ready to place medals around winners necks, serve refreshments and help with the registration process.

“We were so excited when Dolphin Discovery approached us about coming on board as a sponsor,” said Race Director Rhonda Kelly.

“As a relatively new member to our community, we were heartened to see the enthusiasm with which the management embraced the opportunity to support the Cayman Islands Marathon. We commend them on their corporate citizenship and look forward to a mutually beneficial, long term partnership.”

“Dolphin Discovery is absolutely thrilled to be a part of this great charity event which promotes a lifestyle of exercise and good health,” said Montserrat Maristany, Sales Supervisor at Dolphin Discovery.

The Cayman Island Marathon is a charitable race, supporting the Cayman Islands Cadet Corps and the Cayman Islands Cancer Society.  Dolphin Discovery is thrilled to be able to contribute to this important event and we wish all the competitors the best of luck.  See you at the finish line!

(thanks to CayCompass.com for their report from the islands)