 1 After a long day of travel, we arrived at the Ritz in Grand Cayman. Thursday night dinner at the informal Periwinkle restaurant. |
 2 Friday night dinner at the best restaurant on the island, Blue by renowned chef Eric Ripert |
 3 The Sunshine Grill, a hole-in-the wall joint located in the middle of rental appartments, serving great (and cheap!) Cuban food |
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 5 Two days of red and itchy eyes led me to explore the Grand Cayman health system Monday afternoon after a morning of diving with my contacts in that only made things worse |
 6 More specifically, the emergency room at the public hospital. Good to know the hyperbaric chamber and the mental institute are right nearby if needed! |
 7 A 3 hour wait, finally seen by a very nice and competent doctor. Diagnosis as we had suspected- conjunctivitus or pink-eye. Visit = $150, ointment = $7, well enough by Tuesday to put contacts in for a couple of hours and dive again. |
 8 My favorite part was the sign posted in all the waiting rooms and clinics |
 9 Walking along a 3rd floor hotel corridor one day, I happened to notice this huge blue iguana climbing up the side of the building and peering in |
 10 Osetra Bay was an interesting restaurant in Morgan's Harbour that we tried for the first time. The food was excellent but the service and ambiance didn't live up to expectations. |
 11 Everything is in white at Osetra Bay, including the waitstaff all in white billowy uniforms. I think they were trying to go for South Beach Miami chic, but the effort was so visible and strained that it was distracting. |
 12 Get a load of the amuse bouche! A hodge podge collection of completely unrelated items, all well executed, but not very harmonious together. The killer was the absolutely plain (and bland) plantain chip held aloft by some type of forcepts/grabber device. Definitely a bit on the ridiculous side. |
 13 The wildest and favorite dinner of the trip was at Roland's Garden. We tried to eat here last year, but he was still in process of opening at the new location in Georgetown. |
 14 Roland's Garden is in a former butterfly farm. Roland himself is an amiably crusty German and he has a beer garden in addition to the dining area. |
 15 Despite the extensive beer and wine list, Roland is happy to let diners bring their own (no corkage fee) and the detritus serves as decoration. |
 16 Seating is outdoors at rustic tables tucked into the foliage, all underneath the netting that remains from the butterfly farm. |
 17 Tobi, a young chef from Bavaria, does most of the cooking at the outdoor grill and prep station while Roland flirts with the guests. The food is inventive, definitely not typical German cuisine in any way, and it keeps on coming! I think we lost track of the number of courses at about number 7 or 8. Next time we'll know not to eat lunch, or maybe even skip breakfast as well. |
 18 Dinner is over for the happy diners. As a final twist, there is no bill! You are asked to simply pay what you think the meal was worth. |
 19 Max and Roland pose as we say goodbye |
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Stingray CityFor all our visits to Grand Cayman, Max had never been to Stingray City. We remedied that by chartering "Cap'n Chris" to privately take us out to the sandbar for the afternoon. 15 images |
Sunset HouseMy brothers and sisters in-law sponsored me for a terrific half-day underwater photo course at Sunset House. The instructor worked with me closely on llighting and exposure techniques that had been eluding me. 15 images |