Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The
Eastern Experience
takes travelers to East End on Grand Cayman.
Participants view an old lighthouse and see the Wreck of the Ten Sails Mon-
ument, recalling the seafaring days of the Cayman Islands. The tour also
stops at Old Prospect, site of the first fort, and Watler's Cemetery. In
Bodden Town, participants go on a walking tour to see early Caymanian
architecture and then travel on to the blowholes at Breakers.
A second historic tour starts with a walking tour of
West Bay
, including a
stop at Old Homestead to learn more about early Cayman life. Travelers
then head to George Town for a walking tour of the capital city and a visit
to the site of Fort George and Elmslie Memorial Church, built by a ship-
wright with a ceiling constructed to resemble a schooner's hull. The grave
markers in the adjacent cemetery resemble houses, a typical style on the
islands. The tour continues on to Old Prospect and the Old Savannah
Schoolhouse.
Sightseeing
345-
947-9462, www.botanic-park.ky. Situated about 25 minutes from
George Town, the Queen Elizabeth Botanic Park is a 65-acre area
filled with native trees, plants, and wild orchids, as well as birds, reptiles,
and butterflies. For more about the park's Woodland Trail, see page 133.
The Visitors Centre, Heritage Garden and Garden of Flowering Plants are
the newest additions to the gardens. The two-story
Visitors Centre
, built
in traditional Caymanian architectural style, includes displays on natural
history and botanical art, and small flower shows. Near the waterfall at
the back of the center is a snack bar, which serves sandwiches, patties, ice
cream and juices.
Visit the
Heritage Garden
for a look at Cayman history. A Caymanian
house from the East End has been restored and filled with donated furni-
ture. The three-room structure was originally a family home where nine
children were raised; today the yard is filled with the plants and fruit trees
that a Caymanian family would have raised earlier this century. A cistern
collects valuable rainwater and a separate kitchen keeps the heat of the
stove and fire danger separate from the house. Beside the home, cassava,
sugarcane, plantains, bananas, and sweet potatoes are grown in small
open pockets in the lowland forest. Fruit trees are grown in soil found
among the ironshore, much as they would have generations ago. Medicinal
plants commonly grown around a Caymanian house, such as aloe vera, are
found here.
Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park
, Frank Sound Road,
