Grand Cayman - Cobalt Coast - trip report

[jellyfish325]

Grand Cayman Trip Report -- February 28 - March 9, 2003
After Air Transat pulled out of Honduras three weeks before we were scheduled to leave, thus killing our plans to go to Fantasy Island for two weeks for about US$2000 each including 10 days of diving, we made a last-minute booking using Air Canada`s seat sale and managed to get from Montreal to Grand Cayman for about US$415 each. That was about the only thing that was cheap about this vacation, however. The total cost for 9 nights, 7 days of diving, as well as meals and a car rental was about US $5800 for two people.
The flights via Toronto were unremarkable, and we arrived on time at Georgetown airport. The trip through customs didn`t take too long, and the shuttle to the resort was close at hand. Our driver gave us a bit of an extra tour to show us the governor`s mansion and a nice part of Seven Mile Beach, and then headed to West Bay to the Cobalt Coast Resort.
As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by the resort`s owner, Arie, a tall Dutchman, who has chosen to retire in Grand Cayman after long years as a hotel manager in Las Vegas, and who built this resort a few years ago. The resort, as well as the on-premises dive outfit, Divetech, are purposely built away from the commotion of Seven Mile Beach, but are easily reached by car if not staying on location.
We had booked the vacation directly with the resort, and had therefore obtained a 10% discount on the going rate, as they had no commission to pay to a travel agent. The usual deal includes the room, as well as a full breakfast, a two-tank dive in the morning, as well as unlimited shore diving at Divetech`s two locations. Both Arie and Dora, the assistant manager, were very helpful in setting things up for us, and were quick to respond to our emails. Their toll-free number was also useful, of course.
A meal plan is available at US$50 per person per day, with a 3-day minimum, to add lunch and dinner to the breakfast, but this would only be recommended if you have a really good appetite. Since we`re used to more normal-sized Canadian portions, we opted oftentimes simply to split an appetizer and a main course, which was still ample for the two of us. (We tried getting one of us only onto the meal plan, but that wasn`t allowed, as it obviously defeated the purpose! :-)
They had generously upgraded us to a larger room given the length of our stay, and so we found ourselves in a one-bedroom suite on the second floor. The rooms are all quite generously proportioned, with a king bed, large, modern bathroom, air conditioning, ceiling fans, TV, small fridge, coffee maker, table, wicker furniture, etc. It is definitely easy to feel comfortable here. We would have liked to see sheer curtains on the windows to let some light in during the day, while blocking the view from the outside, in addition to the very effective blackout curtains for the night.
The bathroom had a full-size bottle of good quality shampoo and large bars of soap, as well as a hair dryer. The towels were a little bit on the small and thin side, not quite up to par with the rest of the amenities, though there was an ample supply of extras in the cabinet. Beach towels are provided, as are towels for use on the dive boat, so you don`t have to bring your own. (On the last day, the air conditioning stopped working, and Arie immediately and generously offered us another room to sleep in comfortably.)
After Arie helped to bring our luggage to the room, we went to check in with the dive shop. They took note of our C cards, we signed the required waiver, and were then free to go on our checkout dive. As we had dived within the last few months, they let us go off and do our own thing.
The morning boat dives were always done from the Yacht Club, a 10-minute shuttle bus ride away, and the boat ride was usually under 30 minutes. On their brochure, this does not come across, and one would believe the boats leave from the dock on premises - not so, as the water is too shallow to do so safely. However, this was only a minor inconvenience, and it let us talk to the other divers on the bus before getting to the boat. Our dive equipment, as well as replacement tanks for the boat, was always carried in Divetech`s pickup truck.
During the time we w
14 ere there, for 6 day
1f80 s out of 7, diving took place on the north wall, while we went to the west side of the island only on the last day. They told us the water was unusually calm, and for the first few days it was really very smooth, while on the second-last day, the dive boat was rocking quite a bit, and a few whitecaps were forming on the waves.
Some of the dive sites we visited included Hammerhead Reef, Lemon Drop, Blue Pinnacle, Black Forest, Leslie`s Curl, Tarpon Alley, Queen`s Throne, Dream Weaver, and Bonnie`s Arch. This last one is a beautiful site, and I could well imagine people planning an underwater wedding in this setting!
Generally, the first dive of the morning is a guided dive to about 100 feet, while on the second dive you can do whatever you want, as long as you go with a buddy. Usually they aim for 40-50 minutes total dive time if you have a computer, quite a bit less if you`re on tables.
The shore diving is also pretty good at Cobalt Coast, but it is a 15- minute swim out to the main wall, though the mini-wall (60`) can be reached in about half that time. We even saw an 8` reef shark above the outer wall on one dive - certainly makes your heart beat faster and air consumption to go up slightly! Night diving is definitely recommended, with many Caribbean reef octopi, lobsters out in the open, tarpons, free- swimming morays, and so on.
Some of the fauna we saw included lots of green sea turtles, courting orange filefish, flying gurnards, honeycomb cowfish, spotted drums, lots of eagle rays, southern stingrays, and lemon stingrays, tarpon, large angelfish (gray, French and royal), barracudas, impressive schools of grunts, abundant parrotfish, and black durgeons and many more.
The dive staff at Divetech, as the name implies, are mostly technical divers. This could partially explain their behavior toward "regular" divers: friendly, helpful, but a bit reserved. On the dive boat, they would mostly keep to themselves, and did not engage in much conversation with the passengers, as we`ve seen them do on other trips. (Habitat Bonaire or Cura?ao or CocoView in Roatan come to mind, where there was always animated conversation and even friendly joking around with the divemasters on the boat.) When talked to, they were quite friendly, of course, and willing to share their experience and knowledge. Perhaps this is part of the island culture, as we noticed this in other places, not just at the dive operation, and in fact, even among the divers on the boat to some extent.
A trip to Stingray City is planned several times a week in the afternoon, and is an experience not to be missed! This is $50 extra each, but well worth it at least once in your life. Each diver is given a small portion of squid in a container, and a dozen southern stingrays are all over you while you first tease them with the food, and then feed them bit-by-bit. Quite amazing! After 10-15 minutes the spectacle is over, and you continue on a short, shallow dive. We played with a tame, large green moray, which followed us for most of the dive.
We took one day off from diving, rented a car for the last four days of our stay, and drove around the island.
A word of warning is in order here: do not rent from Budget on Grand Cayman! The car we got was the filthiest one I have ever rented. It must be that since we selected an Economy car (Hyundai Atos) they chose to treat us as second-class citizens. The windshield had a layer of grime on it that required several applications of Windex to get rid of, and the steering wheel was actually sticky to the touch, and left black marks on the paper towel when I cleaned it! Also, the windshield washer container was completely empty and I had to fill it. The interior of the car had not been cleaned for weeks, and was quite unpleasant too. At the car rental return, the employees had an attitude of "I don`t care, speak to the manager", which was quite unfortunately unprofessional.
On the other hand, Arie told us that they rental company they recommend (I don`t know which one, but they can book it for you before or during your vacation) is always very good, the cars are clean and well maintained, and they`re no more expensive than the major players.
The island of Grand Cayman is quite easy to drive around in half a day, stopping here and there. We drove around counter-clockwise to Rum Point, which is party central for many people of Seven Mile Beach, who take the ferry there from the Hyatt hotel. Many sunbaked bodies could be seen here enjoying their drinks and the sunshine.
We visited the Turtle Farm in West Bay, which, while interesting, is a sad sight, too. Imagine a poultry farm, and substitute turtles for chickens. I suppose it`s part of the island`s traditions and culture to eat turtle, and it does help preserve those in the wild, but it is sad to see hundreds of smaller and larger turtles piled into shallow tanks, with nowhere to go but round and round in circles. The farm does also release about 10-15% of its population into the wild every year.
We stopped for lunch at the Lighthouse at Breakers. Wow! What an experience? Just the desserts alone are worth the visit, with such selections as "Traditional Hot Sticky Toffee Pudding with Guinness Ice Cream" or "Macadamia Coated Dark Chocolate Mousse on a Mudslide Sponge Base with Fresh Berry Coulis". While everything here is pricy, lunch for two at approximately US$60 was well worth it.
The restaurant at Cobalt Coast, "Duppies", is decent, if a bit expensive, ..

[rallekcm]

Great trip report! Cobalt Coast is one of my favorite places to dive at in Grand Cayman. We use Andy`s Rental Car in Grand Cayman. Wonderful cars and great prices when you book through their website. http://www.andys.ky.cob-web.org:8888/

[jellyfish325]

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