“I only came here for six months,” says Jennifer Mills, “and that was 20 years ago.”
The cheerful English manager of the Southern Cross Club, my 14-room beach resort in Little Cayman, has no regrets about swapping the gray streets of Guildford for the year-round sunshine of this remote Caribbean paradise.
Just ten miles long and with 170 residents, Jennifer’s adopted home is the textbook definition of a tropical island, with white sands, calm days, and a warm sea teeming with marine life.
About 230 miles south of Cuba, the three Cayman Islands came under English rule in 1670 and are now a prosperous British overseas territory where you drive on the left and our late Queen still smiles on the banknotes.
British Airways flies to the largest, Grand Cayman, five times a week, but the journey passes through Nassau in the Bahamas, so it takes 12 hours.
Nigel Tisdall explores the Cayman Islands: Grand Cayman, Little Cayman (above) and Cayman Brac
Nigel describes Little Cayman as the “textbook definition of a tropical island” (file image)
Upon arrival, it’s a 35-minute small plane ride to Jennifer’s elegant bungalows, where the buffet lunch includes fresh seafood salad and excellent tomato gin soup.
Some guests come here to unwind (there are no TVs), others to admire Little Cayman’s many bird species, which include a colony of 20,000 red-footed boobies.
Diving is another key attraction: Bloody Bay Wall, which drops to 6,000 feet, is one of the best underwater sites in the Caribbean.
If you’re an active type, the nearby sister island of Cayman Brac will also appeal to you. Slightly longer and standing at 43 m (141 ft) high, the highest point in the archipelago, it resembles a fossilized whale and is good for hiking, climbing and stargazing.
Here I discover another alluring hideaway, the nine-bedroom Le Soleil d’Or Inn, which features a ten-acre farm producing pomegranates, sour cherries and dragon fruit and a sophisticated restaurant serving truffle ravioli and duck magret. It also just added an elegant beach club with a pool and beachfront cabanas.
Above is Cayman Brac, which Nigel says is “good for hiking, climbing and stargazing.”
Prized by connoisseurs, these boutique getaways stand in stark contrast to the tourist circus in Grand Cayman. Here you’ll find the high-rise apartments, cruise ships and clusters of faceless office blocks that are de rigueur in tax havens – some 12,000 hedge funds are based here.
And since most goods are imported, living costs are high. As I peruse the bar menu at Kimpton Seafire Resort, my eye is caught by a Monte Cristo cocktail with a rare pre-phylloxera cognac that costs just over £400. “We sold four last week,” the bartender informs me.
The positive side of all this wealth is that the Cayman Islands feel safe, service standards are high and there is an attractive multicultural energy – more than 130 nationalities reside here.
In Grand Cayman, Nigel visits the ‘stunning’ Seven Mile Beach (pictured)
Nigel says that at the Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Park in Grand Cayman, the rare blue iguana (seen here) is the “star sight”
There are also plenty of activities, from culinary and arts events to a Pirates Fest every November where locals discover their inner buccaneer. “People don’t just dress up,” confesses a regular customer, “they change completely.”
Unlike neighboring Jamaica, there are few all-inclusive resorts, reflected in a thriving restaurant scene. Most shops close on Sundays, when many islanders dress up for church and then enjoy a lavish brunch at luxury hotels like the Westin Grand Cayman, which takes pride of place on the stunning sands of Seven Mile Beach. “It’s actually more like five miles,” explains a local lady, “but then it was named after a man.”
If you prefer a more Caribbean vibe, head to the eastern end of the island, where the beaches are quieter and rustic bars, like the Grape Tree Cafe in Bodden Town, serve regional dishes like conch soup and jerk chicken. Don’t miss the Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Park, a charming 65-acre sanctuary of birds, flowers and lush foliage with much to admire, from rare orchids to the northern flicker, a woodpecker that sports a striking red cap.
A stellar sight here is a breeding project for endemic blue iguanas, so called because the males blush a deep turquoise color during mating season. Twenty years ago there were less than 30; now, with the help of UK government grants, there are around 1,000. Last year, one named Charles was released into the wild to celebrate the coronation.
It was also a polite reminder to the world that while the Cayman Islands seem to be all about money, there are also many natural riches.
