‘I solely got here right here for six months,’ says Jennifer Mills, ‘and that was 20 years ago.’
The cheery English supervisor of the Southern Cross Club, my 14-room seashore resort on Little Cayman, has no regrets about swapping the gray streets of Guildford for the yr-spherical sunshine of this distant Caribbean haven.
Just ten miles lengthy with 170 residents, Jennifer’s adopted house is the textbook definition of a tropical island, with white sands, unhurried days and a heat sea pulsating with marine life.
Some 230 miles south of Cuba, the three Cayman Islands got here underneath English rule in 1670 and are now a affluent British Overseas Territory the place driving is on the left and our late Queen nonetheless smiles on banknotes.
British Airways flies to the biggest, Grand Cayman, 5 instances per week, but the journey is through Nassau within the Bahamas so takes 12 hours.
Nigel Tisdall explores the Cayman Islands: Grand Cayman, Little Cayman (above) and Cayman Brac
Nigel describes Little Cayman as being the ‘textbook definition of a tropical island’ (file picture)
On arrival, it’s a 35-minute hop by small aircraft to Jennifer’s neatly dressed bungalows, the place the buffet lunch options contemporary seafood salad and an excellent tomato soup laced with gin.
Some company come right here to change off (there are no TVs), others to admire Little Cayman’s quite a few fowl species that embody a 20,000-robust colony of purple-footed boobies.
Diving is one other key lure – Bloody Bay Wall, which drops 6,000ft, is without doubt one of the high underwater websites within the Caribbean.
If you’re an lively kind, the close by sister island of Cayman Brac will even enchantment. Slightly longer and rising to 141ft (43m) – the very best level within the archipelago – this resembles a fossilised whale and is sweet for climbing, climbing and stargazing.
Here I uncover one other seductive concealaway, the 9-room Le Soleil d’Or Inn which has a ten-acre farm producing pomegranates, bitter cherries and dragonfruit and a classy restaurant serving truffle ravioli and magret de canard. It has additionally simply added a sleek seashore membership with an ocean-entrance pool and cabanas.
Above is Cayman Brac, which Nigel says is ‘good for climbing, climbing and stargazing’
Such boutique escapes, a lot prized by these within the know, are in marked distinction to the complete-on vacationer circus on Grand Cayman. Here you’ll discover excessive-rise flats, visiting cruise liners and clusters of faceless workplace blocks that are de rigueur in tax havens – some 12,000 hedge funds are based mostly right here.
And with most items imported, residing prices are excessive. When I peruse the bar menu on the Kimpton Seafire Resort my eye is caught by a Monte Cristo cocktail that includes a uncommon pre-phylloxera cognac that prices simply over £400. ‘We sold four last week,’ the waiter informs me.
The optimistic facet to all this wealth is that the Cayman Islands really feel secure, service requirements are excessive and there is a fascinating multicultural vitality – over 130 nationalities reside right here.
In Grand Cayman, Nigel visits the ‘spectacular’ Seven Mile Beach (pictured)
Nigel says that at Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park in Grand Cayman the uncommon blue iguana (seen right here) is the ‘star sight’
There is a lot occurring, too, from culinary and arts occasions to a Pirates Fest each November wherein the locals uncover their internal buccaneer. ‘People don’t simply gown up,’ a daily confides, ‘they completely change.’
Unlike neighbouring Jamaica, there are few all-inclusive resorts, which is mirrored in a thriving restaurant scene. Most outlets are closed on Sundays, when many islanders dress up for church then get pleasure from a lavish brunch at luxurious accommodations such because the Westin Grand Cayman, which has a main spot on the spectacular sands of Seven Mile Beach. ‘It’s really extra like 5 miles,’ a neighborhood girl explains, ‘but then it was named by a man.’
If you favor a extra Caribbean vibe, head to the east finish of the island the place the beaches are quieter and rustic bars such because the Grape Tree Cafe in Bodden Town serve regional staples akin to conch soup and jerk hen. Don’t miss the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, a fascinating 65-acre sanctuary of birds, blooms and lush foliage with a lot to admire from uncommon orchids to the northern flicker, a woodpecker that sports activities a putting purple cap.
A star sight here’s a breeding venture for endemic blue iguanas, so named as a result of the males blush an intense turquoise throughout mating season. Twenty years in the past there have been lower than 30 – now, with the assistance of UK Government grants, there are about 1,000. Last yr one known as Charles was launched into the wild to have fun the coronation.
It was additionally a well mannered reminder to the world that whereas the Cayman Islands might seem to be all about cash, there are loads of natural riches too.
