A C T I V I T I E S
ACTIVITIES
A
new book - "Adventuring on Cayman Brac"
- see below !!
A STEP
BACK IN TIME
Life on Cayman Brac has been
described as a remnant of earlier times.
The island was first settled in the 1830's by three pioneering families from
Grand Cayman, and in a recent census, there were just over 1800 people counted
as residents of "the Brac". They share 15 square miles of
interesting land that makes up the island, living unhurried, peaceful and
prosperous lives without air pollution, traffic congestion and the constant
demands and stress found throughout much of the world. Historically, it
can be said that Brac remained unconnected from the rest of the world until 1937
when the first wireless transmitting station was installed. The first
airstrip was not built until 1957 and there was no public electricity on the
island until 1960. When one thinks about it, things like this contributed
to the very unique charm one finds here today. The resulting
tranquil style of life
sets the mood for enjoying rest and
relaxation to its fullest extent
(don't worry, if you must engage the modern world, the latest technology for
internet access is close at hand). One can further appreciate the rather
brief (human) evolution of this special place by visiting the
Cayman Brac Museum
at Stake Bay. Much of the natural flora that has evolved on Brac is
identified for you in the Community
Park (iguanas too!) at West End.
NATURAL
HERITAGE
Nature tourists will
find heritage sites and walking trails that wind through
wetlands, tropical forests
and on beaches to
birdwatching spots, past
sinkholes in Karst forestation and to
caves
which served as hurricane refuges. In fact
35 nature and heritage tourism
trails have been opened
through the efforts of the Sister Island District Administration.
There is a recently dedicated
Heritage House
and Interpretive Center near Spot Bay where books on local crafts and history
are found and services of
Nature Guides can be
obtained.
SAND
AND SUNNING
While much of Brac's shoreline is
ironshore, a form of limestone rock, there are
pristine beaches
for soaking up the sun and enjoying the tepid Caribbean waters. One of the
best is owned by La Esperanza, so feel free to inquire about it. There are
big shade trees should you need to escape the sun, and just offshore one
finds healthy coral formations and plentiful fish. Of course there are
other great beaches. Just ask for directions.
THRILLS
OF THE DEEP
Snorkeling
sites are found around
the island and one of the best is at our private beach. Some adventurous
souls have gone out the boat slip here at La Esperanza (the photo at left).
Perhaps the most popular sites are found
at the Buccaneer's Cut
at West End and Radar Reef
at the end of Kirkconnell Drive in Stake Bay. In fact the entire north coast of
the island offers shallow underwater scenery that is worthy of exploration.
Please bear in mind, one should seek advice from a local or other knowledgeable
individual prior to entering unfamiliar water for the first time.
Of
course Cayman Brac is a widely coveted
dive destination.
While there are over 75 established dive sites, much of the underwater terrain
remains in very pristine and untouched condition. There is superb diving
from the shore and three operators, Brac
Reef Divers, Brac
Aquatics and
Dive
Tiara offer boat trips and instruction.
Dee
MacKenzie owns the Village Scuba School and specializes in more
personalized instruction and guiding. La Esperanza will either assist in
engaging you with these operators, or make arrangements for you.
HIKING
There are trails that take
visitors through wetlands, tropical forests, on beach walks past blowholes, to
birdwatching hot spots, along cliff edges, thru tropical forests and over
terrain so isolated it might even frighten you. You can hike near
populated areas or not. Remember it is rugged, uneven ground in part, so
wear sturdy shoes like light hikers or approach boots - tennis shoes will get
eaten up quickly. Remember this is a tropical climate, so take along extra
water and/or sports drink with metabolites, a hat, very light but protective
clothing, and sunscreen.
ROCK
CLIIMBING
Rock climbing began on Cayman
Brac in 1994 when two climbers from Colorado (Skip Harper and
Ernie Johnson)
discovered the Bluff cliffs on the north end of the island. They put up
two bolted sport routes
and went back to tell some climbing friends about the unique climbing
environment they found. Early the next year, Harper returned with a group
of experienced climbers (Craig Luebben, George Bracksieck, Jeff Elison, Liz Grenard and Jim
Roberts) and all began putting up more high quality sport routes. Today
over 75 climbs exist on Brac and climbers even maintain a home here.
Climbers now come from all over the world to sample
superb limestone climbing
on Cayman Brac. For more details of the climbing story, see
Skip Harper's website and for
up-to-date interactive information, go to the
TradGirl website, Cayman
pages maintained by John Byrnes.
CAVING
Geologically, the Cayman islands
are the tops of very large undersea mountains. They are also 'Karst'
formations, limestone for the most part, and the potential for cave formation is
ever present. Because of its much greater elevation,
hence more exposure to the elements, Brac has larger caves and more of them. Four caves are more popular with
visitors, although there are other caves that are more remote and visited much
less frequently. These caves are not particularly extensive like those on
Cuba or Puerto Rico, but they lend themselves to fun exploration without
becoming an expert spelunker. So take your flashlight and go check out the
BAT's CAVE,
the GREAT CAVE,
and REBECCA's CAVE,
all on the South Shore.
PETER's CAVE is near (actually above)
Spot Bay, its well marked, but you can stop in at NIM's Things and ask for
directions.
CHARTER
A BOAT
You may want to
charter a boat with one of the local boat owners and take a
sightseeing tour by
water
around the island. The area around the Bluff and Northeast Point is
particularly fascinating. Many legends and folk tales have arisen from the
sea and the Bluff, and this is a great way to learn about it.
Fishing
can also be accommodated by one of several local boatmen. A trip across
the water to Little Cayman
is another captivating way to spend a day.
Picnics
on Little Cayman's 'Point of Sand' and
snorkeling
in turquoise blue shallows over there are worthy experiences.
Shelby Scott
(in the photo)
and Steve Bodden
are but two of the friendly captains available.
FLYING
CRITTERS
Patricia Bradley
(current Director of the Cayman Islands Nature Tourism Program) has several
passions, one of which is Birds of
the Cayman Islands - coincidently
the title of her beautiful book first published in 1985. In it, she
describes over 200 species of birds that inhabit the Caymans and consequently
whets the appetite of any birder, novice or expert. There are many
birdwatching sites
designated on Cayman Brac such as
The Westerly Ponds
and The Marshes
on the Southwest end of the island. Here one can observe the wetland
species like Herons, Egrets, Shovelers and Sandpipers. The
Parrot Reserve
is found about 1/2 mile east along Major Donald Drive as one turns east from
Ashton Reid Road (Crossover Road) in the middle of the island. This is the
reputed home of the Cayman Brac Parrot,
one of the rarest Amazon parrots in the world, having less than 400 individuals
present only on Brac. Learn more about this bird on the
Cayman Islands National Trust
website - Environment Page. The
Northeast Point is a place to observe
another very rare species, the Brown
Boobie. Found only on Brac, it
can be seen soaring on the ever-present thermals along the seacliffs. If
you are interested in the birds found here, get a copy of Ms. Bradley's book
(usually found at The Treasure Chest in West End). Its a masterpiece.
Bats
are the only native mammals in the Cayman Islands and several Cayman
species are found on just a few Caribbean Islands. Only six species
inhabit Cayman Brac. You can see bats flittering about nearly every
evening at dusk, and there are some caves along the Bluff that they stream -or
'emerge' - out of so thickly that it resembles heavy smoke. This is quite
a sight. As Lois
Blumenthal ( the well
known Cayman Islands' "bat lady" - actually the Bat Conservation
Director for the Cayman Islands National Trust) quickly points out, they are extremely
important in insect control and pollination of many plant species on the islands.
To help perpetuate the species, Bat Houses have been built and placed on Cayman
Brac. Ms. Blumenthal asks anyone going into caves known as bat habitats to
be especially respectful of the bats who live there, especially in the late
Spring and Summer months when the mothers are birthing. Bats at the front
of these caves are mostly the
Common Fruit Bat
and are fairly tolerant of visitors, while the very deep cave recesses are home
to the Buffy Flower Bat,
a very rare bat found only in the Caymans and Jamaica. This little bat is
responsible for the pollination of ALL the impressive cactus and agave plants
growing on top of the Bluff and is EXTREMELY INTOLERANT of human disturbance.
For more info on bats, you can Email the Bat Conservation Director at
ntrust@candw.ky or
blu@candw.ky for copies of materials developed
for the public interest. The bats thank you for your kind attention.
Find
out more about all these subjects in a new book
about Cayman Brac entitled . . .
"Adventuring on Cayman Brac:
A guide to great adventures
on this small Caribbean Gem".
Available here (at La
Esperanza) or on
AMAZON.com .
*
Read a REVIEW of the book HERE.
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