Through My Lens --Grand Cayman

A Scorpion, Eels, And A Brain

My favorite fish to find is a peacock flounder. Unfortunately we didn't see one this trip. Bob's favorite fish find is a scorpion fish. They are hard to find because they look just like a rock or piece of coral and unless they blink--move their eyes, you would just pass them by. Our keen eyed grandson found a scorpion fish on one dive. It was a beauty as far as you can call an ugly fish a beauty.


Scorpion fish are also very dangerous. It is one fish you want to be sure you don't touch. Their spiny fins contain a poison and could be deadly.

Old Blue Eyes

We also managed to find a couple of eels on our dives. Several green ones and a guy that was a very plain brown but still had glassy eyes. Eels really can't see well if at all. They find their food by smell.

For some reason I seemed to see a lot of brain coral this time. There were some pretty big brains down there. My funny thought for the dive: If people don't have a brain in their head is this where they went?

Diving--So Much Ocean, So Little Time

The Cayman Islands' reefs are abundant in corals and sea fans. One of our dive sites had not one but three large pillar corals. The soft look of the coral comes from all the little "fingers" that are rippling constantly.


The one coral pillar had fallen over at some time and was now beginning to grow from the horizontal pieces giving it the look of a giant toothbrush.


One of the other things that we like to look for as we dive are the flamingo tongue snails that are on the coral fingers and sometimes the sea fans. They are actually inside out with the soft body wrapped around the shell. The ones we found were not as fancy as some we've seen but I am always amazed and glad to find them.


Another little creature we often find tucked in among crevices in the coral reef is the arrow head crab. It looks like a daddy-long-legs spider but like its look alike is harmless. It gets its name from the pointy head it has.

Flamingo tongue snails

Arrow head crab

Fish photo bomb

The Ballerina Of The Ocean

The adult spotted drum fish is a black and white patterned fish that looks like he doesn't have anything in his wardrobe that matches. The front of him is bold black and white stripes but his fins are spotted. I'm sure that the markings have something to do with his survival. Maybe camouflage?


Before becoming an adult however, the spotted drum is a graceful and energetic little fish that seems to dance the day away. They are quite small, no bigger than a child-sized palm. It's the long slender fins that add the charm.



If you have ever seen dancers take long ribbons and use them to enhance their dance routine, you can imagine more what these marine dancers look like. But better yet, take a look at the video that Bob got of several that we saw while diving this year. We were so happy to find that the lion fish hadn't eaten all of them.

Wordless Wednesday

Scuba Diving --2019 Adventure

Diving the East End of Grand Cayman with Ocean Frontiers was excellent as always. The dive operation takes good care of us.

The Caymans are always a place to see turtles and we weren't disappointed. We saw several small ones and one huge loggerhead.

I'll share the turtle pictures and video today and then show you some of the other things we saw that Bob actually got a picture of. It's not easy taking pictures when the motion of the ocean is moving you around and the subject of your photo can run and hide--make that swim and hide. He does a good job but we have at least 30 pictures for every good one that we get. So, wading through them still and I will continue to post more for those who like to see what we saw.

Scuba Diving - 2019

Our annual trip with our grandson was a week ago. As usual we went to Grand Cayman. While Grandpa and I have earned our Green Shorts, he's still working on his--only five more dive sites to go.

It was a great nine days even though it started out a bit rough. We landed in a downpour after circling the storm for about a half hour. As luck would have it, when we came down the mobile stairway (there are no jetways at CIAA) the last of the umbrellas they handed out went to the lady in front of me. I tossed my sweater over my head and ran as best I could for the covered walkway into the airport. By the time we all made it we were drenched. I wrung my sweater out and wondered how long it would take to dry.

We didn't think about our luggage getting wet until we got through customs and picked up our duffel bags with our clothes and dive gear. Our grandson knew we were in trouble when a little water trickled out of the bottom of his. But wait--it got wetter.

I stayed at the airport while the two guys went to get the rental car. It took almost an hour which is only about 20 minutes longer than usual. It's the Caribbean--nothing gets done quickly there. When they returned, Bob was literally sloshing in his shoes. They had to wade through water six inches deep on the road.

So picture this. We now have to get used to driving on the left side of the street again and the road is flooding. We ended up following others through a parking lot to get around one deep spot. Once we were away from Georgetown and on the east side of the island, the roads were dry. We stopped to check in and fill out our dive forms at Ocean Frontiers. They were surprised to find out it had rained let alone so much. The sun had shone all day for them. Go figure.

Thankfully the start to our dive trip did not predict anything for the rest of the trip. The weather was great. Not nearly as hot and humid as usual most days and the diving was spectacular as always. I'll share some more of Bob's pictures tomorrow.

A Look Back At Some Cayman Diving

We don't take a whole lot of pictures diving any more. There are few people who would want to sit and look through all of them. Bob has learned to edit the videos pretty well and this is one he put together a couple of years ago that is nice.

If you watch it and feel sleepy, you'll know why we like diving so much. It is very relaxing. We don't fall asleep during the dive though, just in case you were wondering.

Grand Cayman - Green Shorts!!

We have been diving the East End of Grand Cayman since around 1996. There are at least 55 marked dive sites in that area. Originally we were diving with the East End Dive Lodge but when Hurricane Ivan wiped it out completely, we switched to Ocean Frontiers and now have been diving with them for 13 years. Several years ago they set out a challenge to their divers: Dive all of the 55 sites and receive a pair of their iconic green shorts.

They allowed us to count the dives we'd done with the Dive Lodge as well since they were recorded in our dive logs. Still there was always that one elusive dive, Old Wreck Head, that never seemed to be within our reach. The problem with the site is that the dive boat has to anchor. There is no mooring pin because of its location near the cut-threw channel where the boats go in and out of the area surrounded by the reef.

Because it is in that cut-threw area, there is also the danger of current, the anchor not holding if the wind and waves are strong and with all of that, the visibility reduced because of the motion of the water.

Wouldn't you know it--the time I decide not to dive because of my bad knees it the time the weather decides to cooperate to dive Old Wreck Head. Bob came into the condo all excited with the news that the weather was to be good enough to get to Old Wreck Head the next day. Did I want to try it?

Will a donkey or a mule not pursue a carrot on a stick in front of her? Of course I couldn't pass up the challenge. But would I be able to get back on the boat?

We went down to the dive center and I filled out all my disclaimer forms and signed up. Debbie assured me that the crew would handle my equipment. I could put my gear on and plop into the water from the swim deck and they would take the gear from me at the back of the boat before I had to climb the ladder. And if I couldn't climb the ladder? Would they tow me? She laughed and said there were lots of ways to get me out of the water and on to the boat--trust the crew.

I did. They were wonderful. And I did make it up the ladder, slowly, but on my own. Best of all back at the dive center we were rewarded with medals, champagne, a special cake and yes! our very own green shorts! Next year I'll return wearing my green shorts and sporting a new knee.