There’s a great thrill when you walk out onto the balcony of your state room and all you can see is a turquoise sea. We have arrived at Grand Cayman a British protectorate. I remember hearing that the Island was devastated by hurricane Wilma just a few months ago. There was some discussion at the dinner table last night as to what we would find on the Island as a result of Wilma. It appears that the entire Island was under 4 ft of water. Most of the trees had been flattened and as we drove around we noted the damage.
Columbus discovered Little Cayman and Cayman Brac during his fourth and last voyage to the New World, on May 10, 1503. While sailing from Panama to Hispaniola, severe winds pushed his ships off course west. The ship's log reported "... we were in sight of two very small islands, full of tortoise, as was the sea about, inasmuch as they looked like little rocks." Consequently, Columbus named the islands Las Tortugas after the abundant sea turtles sighted.
They came under British control in 1655 when Jamaica was captured from the Spanish by Oliver Cromwell's army. They officially became part of the British Empire under the Treaty of Madrid in 1670, after which Spain recognized British possession of "all lands, islands, colonies and places situated in the West Indies." For almost 300 years after that, the islands were administered as a dependency of Jamaica.
Home to many expatriates we had the opportunity to visit with a quilt group on the Island. They met us at the National Museum and we were transported by car to the home of one of the group.
It was an interesting day; we learnt about the history of the Island, shared quilting ideas over lunch and returned to the ship a little wiser for the experience.
'Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.'
