Living in Grand Cayman

Well, Irene decided to take a northern turn upon entering the Caribbean.  Good for Cayman, very bad for my friends in the Turks & Caicos Islands and in the Bahamas. As of writing,  Irene is a Category-2 storm and is forecasted to grow to a 3 and maybe even a 4, effectively becoming what is know as a “Major Hurricane” (a hurricane Category 3 or above).

I have been exchanging BBM’s (Blackberry messages) with friends in Turks (on the Island of Providenciales) and although the storm is not yet upon them (will be sometime tonight) winds are already very strong and howling.   Not looking great.  The Bahamas are in preparation mode and expect to feel it sometime on Wednesday and Thursday as the storm works its way north towards the US coastline. Note the red zones below ; they are all under “hurricane warning”, which means that impact is almost certain.

We have what looks to be the first hurricane of 2011; currently named Tropical storm Irene.

The good news for us is that Irene will pass a few hundred miles north of the Cayman Islands and bring lots of rain to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic,  Haiti (they cant get a break …), Cuba, the Bahamas and possibly Florida.

That being said, the weather here right now is fabulous.   Blue skies, super warm and not too humid.  On my dive this morning, the water was 86 degrees ; no wet suit needed.

Invest 93 became Tropical Storm Harvey and is currently giving us a little bit of rain and giving Central America copious amounts of rain.  It passed a few hundred miles south of us.

Now invest 97 is taking aim at the Caribbean, but will likely turn north to my friends in Turks & Caicos and the Bahamas. However, it is still far out in the Atlantic and anything is possible.

There is a 3rd system, Invest 98 that just left the African coast.  That one will also need to be monitored, although initial computer models seem to all agree it will take a northern route.

After fizzing away in the Atlantic 2-days ago, this system has somehow reappeared out of oblivion!  Interesting.  The bad thing is that the course has not changed. 🙁

Seems like on a direct course for Jamaica & Cayman and most of the computer models seem to be in consensus.   It may not develop into a Hurricane, but at this stage its probably safe to say that we should expect lots of rain sometime in the next 3-days or so.

The US National Hurricane center gives it a 10% chance to develop into a tropical depression, but by looking at the satellite pictures below, my uneducated meteorological guess would put the odds higher than that.  What do you think?   The system is currently east of the lesser antillies, approaching St-Lucia and the likes.

Stay tuned!

Imagine the scene ; you are on Seven Mile beach, you have a tropical drink next to you, there is a slight breeze, the sky is perfectly blue and you have a great book to read!  NICE!

Well, I can make it even better!  Imagine if that book you are reading had helped a great cause. Wouldn’t that be great?

Here is a gem we have in Grand Cayman.  I have picked up many, many books in the last few years.  Its the Cayman Islands Humane Society (our local equivalent of the SPCA that takes care of and finds homes for stray dogs/cats)

They have a “book loft” on the second floor above where the animals are.  The place is packed with books and many of them are very recent.  I have picked up lots of business books as well as novels for the missus!  The collection of donated books (mostly locals who drop off books when they are done with them)  is impressive and chances are you will find some books from your favorite author.   The best thing however  is the cost.  Most book are 2, 3 or 4$ each.   So next time you vacation in Grand Cayman, don’t bring your books and pick some up for this worthy (and very close to my heart) cause.  You may even be able to save on baggage fees on the way here without any books in your luggage! 🙂

Below is what I picked up for 10$.  Impressive don’t you think?

This is the place you need to look for.  Somewhat tough to miss due to its blue color.

Here are some shots of inside.  This is just a fraction of what they have.  You could easily spend an hour (or even more) here looking at books.  Books are sorted by category and then by author for novels, so finding stuff you are interested in is quite easy.

Here is the spot on North Sound Road.  Its right next to A.L Thompson’s (our local Home Depot) and just south of the main roundabout in George Town and facing the Audi/VW dealer.  If you have even been to the East end from Seven Mile beach, there is a good chance you passed right in front of it.

Here is the link to their website with operating hours and other information.   They are open Tuesday-Friday 11-2 and Saturday 9-3.

http://www.caymanhumanesociety.com/donate_thrift.php