Living in Grand Cayman

No, thats not the heat here today.  Its the type of turn that Hurricane Tomas is taking.

From what seemed to be a straight line from Barbados to Cayman, is a line from Barbados to 1/2 way though the Caribbean and then north to Haiti. I am glad, but feel sorry for the Haitians who have more important things to deal with.

Here is the forecast ; all computer models seem to agree.

Definitely the first time I see a storm make such a turn.  I agree these are just forecasts, but they all seem to agree, so could they all be wrong?  Hope not.

Was a gorgeous week-end here.  Lovely diving on Sunday.  The water temperature is down ; most likely because of all the rain in the last 3-4 weeks.  Its down from 87 to … 84! 🙂  Still more than acceptable.   This winter it will go down to +-77 degrees which is still quite nice, although on deeper dives a wetsuit is nice.

Well that was fast!

We now have one Hurricane (going to Bermuda) and one Tropical Storm.  The TS may potentially come to Cayman around next Thursday if it stays on its current course.

The current forecast calls for Tomas to be a Category 3 hurricane by Wednesday somewhere east of Jamaica. Great!  The computer models are not too sure but from the ones I saw, some say it will turn north before getting Jamaica.  We shall see.

Locals reading this : check your hurricane supplies just in case.   Ill be following this closely and posting this week-end

Long time no post; I am still alive! Lots of travel, busy at work and quite frankly things have been very quiet on island. For summer time, that’s awesome news.

But now we have a trio out in the Atlantic and one unfortunately looks quite “promising” in my opinion. That would be No 3 that is currently off the coast of South America and nearing Barbados.  Ill keep following this one closely.

I recently came across the video below that perfectly reflects the business environment for all expats in Cayman.  Ok, not really but it gave me a good laugh.   It certainly would be fun if it were true.

Diving this week-end … hopefully some pictures coming up!

A Tropical depression formed almost by magic just above Cayman yesterday evening and today dumped copious amounts of rain on the Islands.  There were areas of the island that were impracticable due to deep rain.

I am actually off island right now and in the (almost) direct path of where this system is now going : The Bahamas. I  am now expecting to see lots of rain sometime Wednesday and/or Thursday.

Pictures of the Bahamas coming soon!  Nice place.

Well, what to discuss in this post?  Oh, its been raining in Grand Cayman! 🙂

Seriously, its the end of summer and the peak of hurricane season, so I guess it’s expected.  The swimming pools are overflowing, cisterns are busting at the seams and people are sitting stuck in their cars.  Sometime it will rain so hard (imagine those scenes from Forrest Gump) that you are basically stuck in your car for 5-10 minutes.   Even with an umbrella its useless unless you want to be soaked.  Form me with leather shoes and a dress shirt that’s not an option so I sit tight and stay in the car.  But when its raining like that, you have to run the car A/C so not to suffocate.  Oops … my A/C is now shot and needs to be repaired.  Doh! Donations accepted.  Ah, the joys of life in the Caribbean.

Here is the week-end’s forcast ; TS Mathew is south of us and should bring us lots of rain.

Did you know that lobsters can grow back any limbs they lose?  I did not know.  There is a scientist here in Cayman, visiting from the USA and who plans to pull off the legs of 200 lobsters in the ocean to see if local species are infected with some bug.

Here is the story in the local paper.  Kinda freaky!

http://www.compasscayman.com/caycompass/2010/09/23/Scientist-search-for-spiny-lobster-killer

I have received quite a few messages about that place with the underwater vents.  (see a few posts back)  The easiest way to find it is to cross the island at Frank Sound Rd then right when you get to the other side.  Then drive for a while and you will get to a very large house on the right (you will know it when you see it)  Then its about 1 mile after ; its the next entrance. Dont drive too fast you could miss it.

One last thing for visitors to our islands.  I recently updated the maps on a Garmin GPS and noted the with the North America maps, the Cayman Islands are now included ; Points of interest, road names and all.  I am sure that can be useful for first time visitors.