Stingray City-Grand Cayman

On Thursday we decided to check out the famous Stingray city.  It's a sandbar off the coast where dozens of stingrays swim along your feet looking for squid.  The water is only waist high and you can hold and feed the rays.

Petting the sting ray

They made us do it

We were told that it would be a good trip for Mara and are so glad we took her.  She loved riding on the boat out to the spot and did great in the water.  We put her in her pool float and just let her hang out.  One of the guides did pull a ray out of the water for pictures.  I was super impressed that she wasn't scared just kind of confused.

holding the ray

The second stop of the trip was a snorkeling spot.  Here the water was a little deeper so Josh and I took turns holding onto Mara.  Again we just put her in her pool float and held on to her.  The water was super calm and she loved just floating.  The snorkeling spot was great and we saw a lot of small fish and another ray.

A sting ray massage

Mara was curious

For lunch I made brats and we all took a breather.  It was great to nap and just relax.  In the afternoon we decided to go to a distillery tour.  The Cayman Island Distillery makes Seven Fathoms Rum which is the only rum that is aged in barrels at 7 fathoms underwater.  We got to tour the factory and try all their flavored liqueurs.

ice cream break

Later that night we enjoyed sunset on the beach and Mara made a new friend.  Again she loved the sand and really enjoyed playing with her new friend's sand toys.

For dinner we splurged and made reservations at a fancy seafood restaurant, Royal Palms Hotel.  We got a cabana on the beach.  Mara loved being in the sand again and Josh and I loved the scenery.  We ordered the sea bass and lobster risotto and split it.  Amazing!

Daddy's pooped but Mara wants to play