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During this year's hurricanes Larry and Wendy decide to go on vacation to the Caymans
Dateline December 2nd, 1998
On Oct. 24th I flew to Miami to meet Harlow who had completed 3 very successful performances of "Sofrito" w/a smaller band for 5000 kids in 2 days. The night before I had started to hear about this hurricane. By Sunday morning it wasn't looking good. We were bound for a package vacation on the Grand Cayman and that's where Mitch was hanging. We tried to detour to another island but we didn't have traveler's insurance so we risked losing all our money if we canceled. We were glued to the weather channel for 2 days. They allowed us not to fly on Mon. So we figured maybe it would either be better on Tues. or upgraded (that would allow us to switch to another island). Meanwhile Miami was bright and sunny and beautiful. The ocean was rough but everything else was perfect. I was ready to stay there even. But Tuesday morning we had to fly into a dark rainy Grand Cayman it was like been in one of Steven Spielberg’s movie going into a hunted Island. Everything was pretty sodden. There were sandbags everywhere. The Hyatt Regency is on 90 acres of land with a luxurious golf course. Just what you don't want to navigate under a foot of water. Our first room had 2 small beds so we complained and we were switched to a king size in another building involving getting soaked again. We unpacked and it was a little clearer so we went out looking for groceries to replace the mini bar items (a liter of water would have cost $14 in the hotel). Found an amazing chicken restaurant that had been recommended. Found the only Movie Theater on the island that had two-year-old movies. And got drenched. Spent more time watching the Weather Channel on this trip than most people do in a lifetime. It was the sport of the week. Just hoping to hear that Mitch was moving at all. But we found a place (The Lone Star) w/an all you can eat lobster night for that night, just a block from the hotel. What we forgot was that Caribbean lobsters don't taste as good as the Maine ones. There were huge tails, dry as cardboard, w/an undercooked baked potato and some pretty good corn. It cost as much as dinner at Lutece. And we got drowned on the way home even w/umbrellas. The next morning we woke up to dark gray clouds but no rain and to the sounds of jackhammers. We'd been warned that there might be "a little construction". This happened to be right outside our door. We headed out for coffee and walked to the beach across the street. All the hotels and condos were boarded up. There was no one out. But you could imagine that it was a beautiful beach. We walked in the other direction and then back by land. Found a supermarket and stocked up some more. Then it started to pour so we raced back to our room. We stepped gingerly over the 8 construction workers who were ripping the paint off the outdoor walkway outside our door. We dried off to the sounds of New York at it's worst so Harlow called the front desk and asked to be moved. We were one of very few actually staying there. They decided to move us into the Regency Club at no extra charge. These rooms we found out later go for $500/day. They included a personal concierge and breakfast, tea, cocktail hour, and dessert in the lounge every day. The room was fine. We took the shuttle bus to the health club. It was way too flooded to walk the 1/4-mile. Worked out awhile and checked out the truly gorgeous little spa that offered all kinds of massages and treatments in beautiful aromatic little rooms; for the price of a month's rent. I took a walk in the other direction to look at the Marriott; no beach left there. Treasure Island, was also low on beach. I got inundated and went back to the room. The cocktail hour consisted of huge platters of sushi. Really good local fish; and a great salad. Plus, hot smoked salmon fillets in sauce. There was saki that night, very nice red and white wines and a bottle of champagne every night, a huge assortment of beers (Sam would have loved that setting). I fell in love w/the local Stingray sodas, and top shelf liquors. All this from 5 to 7 every night. We went berserk "time to OD". We got to know a honeymooning couple who hadn't been able to get off the island and had resigned themselves to a wet vacation. They gave us the best advice about where to go when it was pouring. Then for the night's entertainment we watched the walkway from our lounge to the lobby fill up w/water. Then we watched hotel staff in hip boots trying to set up pumps. It looked like Venice. Finally they got them working. We cheered. and we found out that there was a little grill in the golf club less than a block from us so we went there and split a sandwich and got so eaten up by mosquitoes that we fled before we finished. There were platters of pastries and coffees and teas and fancy liqueurs. That night I realized I'd left something in our old room. When they went to look for it they found an entire drawer full of clothes (Harlow's) that we'd forgotten. Thus started a four-day odyssey into trying to reclaim our clothes. It took till Saturday to actually locate them in this almost empty hotel. The next morning we almost missed breakfast because we slept late. But we came out of the elevator to a spread of breads and pastries (and a toaster) and spreads and cheeses and cereal and fabulous fruits and yogurt and cold cuts and coffees and teas. We scarfed it up quickly. (coffee and a bagel cost us $10 at a local shop) It was wet again. We broke down and rented a car and set off to find the turtle hatchery. It was pretty cool. There was a tank of turtles you could pick up and play with. Then there were some huge breeding turtles on the beach. I mean huge. They seemed to swim in pairs too. There were some bird and local wildlife exhibits, all outdoors. It rained pretty hard. There were tanks of young baby turtles and then graduating pools of older and bigger guys till you got to the gargantuos. It was fun. There was only a handful of vacationers at that place altogether. Got drenched! Again. Tried to drive to town but at that point it was raining so hard that traffic had backed up from Georgetown to our hotel so we gave up. Watched some more Weather Channel. I shuttled to the gym to make room for the cocktail hour bash. This time it was smoked salmon and smoked marlin (local staple) and crudite's and a pasta w/read sauce and scallops and shrimp. We met Eleanor and Bob who live in NJ and have a Hungarian restaurant. She wanted to go dancing so at 8:00 we drove to a club. We were the only ones there. We talked to the bartender for awhile and drank rum punch and then headed for a Chinese restaurant that our newlyweds had recommended. The food was great. We overate for a change. And rolled home. Harlow had discovered that you could by real Cuban cigars on this island so he became a chain smoker for this trip. It was not an endearing habit. But it did make him very happy (and stinky). On Fri morning we woke up and it was clear. We bolted breakfast. I checked the beach. The water was calm. We hit the pool. The sun came out. We talked with Michele and Tim, the newlyweds. Then, 15 minutes later, it started to rain. We moved to the hot tub until we were afraid our stuff on the deck chairs would liquefy. On their recommendation we found the Parrot Park. They told us to buy a bag of peanuts at the supermarket because the place charges $1 for a tiny bag of nuts and grains. We did that and were the only ones there. There were huge parrots in cages. Many even talked. They all accepted their peanuts very gently then cracked the nuts into tiny pieces…which they nibbled daintily. We got a downpour and had to stand under the pavilion for awhile where we did some damage to the bag of peanuts ourselves. There were peacocks and fantailed pigeons (like miniature turkeys) and ducks and roosters who ran around loose and followed us like puppies. One peacock kept stealing the nuts from Harlow's hand while he was looking at other birds. There were ducks in the pond to feed and huge scary black fish that would leap out of nowhere and and grab the nuts before the ducks could even make a move. There was emus in a cage, turkeys even, an enormous sow, and the cutest little goats. All caged. Plus some smaller parrots and other pretty birds in cages. Some way too shy to come near us and others ready to pick our pockets. We drove to Georgetown to find lunch. The place was basically under water at this time. We blew out a tire and fortunately there was a gas station close by. You couldn't pull over because there were no roads or curbs; just lakes on the side of the road. Harlow changed the tire and we found a joint and had a beer and some conch salad and mahi mahi. And drove back. I hit the treadmill while Harlow napped. Plus more weather Channel. For cocktails there were lots of marinated veggies, hearts of palm and artichokes etc..Cold cuts and a pasta. We ate lightly and didn't drink because we were going to the Lighthouse for dinner. A pretty restaurant on the other side of the island that we'd heard people kvelling about. It took awhile to find. It was almost empty. We had a seafood appetizer and a salad w/a fried goat cheese cake. To die. And a pasta that sounded better on the menu but was just fine. On Saturday the sun was out. We got up early and ate and hit the beach.The water was warm.Still a little murky,but lovely. We had lunch at the pool and then we had signed up for a snorkel trip w/Bob and Eleanor. We were picked up at 1:15 and driven to the boat.There were about 25 people. We made 2 snorkel stops. The water was pretty rough. The guides bring an underwater camcorder.They film us and point out stuff. There were also a lot of things that we were warned about. Like rip tides and scary things. It put a cramp in my style and a lot of others so I didn't venture out as far as I would have in better weather. There was some beautiful stuff to see. We also got to watch a huge black storm hit the island and move across it. We didn't get rain, but it was pretty gray. Then the last stop was Stingray City; the best. It was shallow so you just stood on a sandbar w/water up to your waist, but w/the waves it was higher.The stingrays come and rub against your legs like cats. They're very soft and docile. You can feed them. I wish I had. I was alternately totally exhilarated and scared to death. They won't sting unless you step on them or actually attack. But I was being buffeted by the waves and was sure I'd step on someone's tail. I would look at Harlow talking to someone and see 3 enormous (3 ft in diameter) stingrays surrounding him. He wouldn't even know it. It was pretty amazing. The males were smaller and much softer. They were really pretty sensuous. Some of them really butt into you and up against you. I did a lot of screaming but loved every second of it. We came back to find even worse flooding than before. Everyone on the island said it was a horrible storm. More sandbags than ever. We were happy and hungry. Dove into piles of peel-and-eat shrimp and smoked salmon. We showered and rested. Then Bob and Eleanor met us and we walked to a restaurant a few blocks away called "The Bed". Normally the wait staff wears pajamas but we were in the middle of Pirates Week; which this Island takes very seriously. Most of the festivities had been cancelled because of Mitch. But the costumes were out in full force. And this restaurant was bursting with amazing pirates. The waiters were gorgeous. The booths were like 4 poster beds. And the food was the best on the island. Sunday was our first sunny day. We started at the hotel beach and then rented some fins and a car and went searching for good snorkeling sites. We found a great beach that had some pretty fish but not too much happening. We met our beach doggie, a great looking German shepardish amber colored w huge ears. He demanded nonstop scratching behind the ears and pulled my hand back whenever I stopped. He even tried to follow us when we couldn't take any more sun. We drove into town to do some last minute shopping only to find that Sunday is a seriously closed down day on this island. Even some restaurants were closed. We had lunch at a joint overlooking the water and the biggest cruise ship we ever saw. It was a find. Perfectly cooked mahi mahi island style. Best lunch of the trip. Hung out at the pool awhile. I paid my last visit to the gym but this time I could walk there and back. I tried to get us all packed before dinner. The cocktail hour was mostly meat that night so Harlow was in Pig Heaven. We decided to have our last dinner at The Wharf, a romantic Oceanside restaurant that got raves from everyone. It was lovely. Mostly outdoors. At 9:00 every night they feed giant tarpon - big black fish who live there and show up like clockwork. It was a hoot. The food was good, not great. Our waitress was a brainless wonder who remembered nothing and did it slowly. Possibly she was what took the elegance away from the experience. It took over 21/2 hours and we didn't have 6 courses. Monday was the most spectacular day. We got up really early and ate and hit the beach. It was too hot to get out of the water which was very clean and clear. I snorkeled for a few minutes and found a big rock so I swam over it because I thought there would be fish. But the rock had 4 legs and a head and slowly swam away. A giant turtle. Only 20 feet from the shore. I followed it and tried to get Harlow over to it but lost it. A great ending of the trip for me. We had to catch a van at noon for our 2:00 flight. It was hard to leave the island now that everything was so beautiful. The hotel turned out to be spectacular in the sunshine. Everyone on the island seemed incredibly nice. Two flights and 9 hours later we were home. It was cold. Sophie and Sasha were thrilled to see us. Our kitchen renovations had been started and left looking really unfinished and not right. Welcome home. But we always love coming back to our own bed and our own pillows and our own kitties and Sophie let us sleep till 9:00. Till later, Wendy Caplin.Larry Harlow's Latin Legends Band is the leading worldwide Latin music band ready perform the very best of classical salsa to audiences around the globe. We have a long history of producing quality Latin music commonly known as Salsa..
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