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 The
Cayman Islands - The British Crown Colony of the
Cayman Islands consists of Grand Cayman and the sister
islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, in the Caribbean
Sea. None of the islands has any rivers, but vegetation is
luxuriant, the main trees being coconut, thatch palm,
seagrape and Australian pine.
The
islands were first sighted by Columbus in May 1503 when he
was blown off course on his way to Hispaniola. He found
two small islands (Cayman Brac and Little Cayman) which
were full of turtles, and he therefore named the islands
Las Tortugas. A 1523 map of the islands referred to them
as Lagartos, meaning alligators or large lizards, but by
1530 they were known as the Caymanas after the Carib word
for the marine crocodile which also lived there.
World-famous
for their underwater scenery, there are tropical fish of
all kinds in the waters surrounding the islands,
especially in the coral reefs, and green turtles are now
increasing in numbers, having been deliberately restocked
by excess hatchings at the Cayman Turtle Farm.
Grand
Cayman, the largest of the three islands, lies 150 miles
south of Havana, Cuba, about 180 miles west northwest of
Jamaica and 480 miles south of Miami. Grand Cayman is
low-lying, 22 miles long and four miles wide, but of the
total 76 square miles about half is swamp. A striking
feature is the shallow, reef-protected lagoon, North
Sound, 40 miles square and the largest area of inland
mangrove in the Caribbean. George Town, the capital of the
islands, is located on the west side of Grand Cayman.
Cayman Brac (Gaelic for ‘bluff’) gets its name from
the high limestone bluff rising from sea level in the west
to a height of 140 foot in the east. The island lies about
89 miles east northeast of Grand Cayman. It is about 12
miles long and a little more than a mile wide. Little
Cayman lies five miles west of Cayman Brac and is 10 miles
long and just over a mile wide with its highest point
being only 40 feet above sea level. Owen Island, an islet
off the southwest coast of Little Cayman, is uninhabited
but visited by picnickers.
The
total population of mixed African and European descent is
estimated at 36,600, of which nearly 33,000 live on Grand
Cayman, most of them in George Town, or the smaller towns
of West Bay, Bodden Town, North Side and East End. The
population of Cayman Brac has fallen to 2,000. Little
Cayman is largely undeveloped with only about 120
residents and frequented by sports fishermen. The Cayman
Islands are very exclusive, with strict controls on who is
allowed to settle there, although the proportion of
Caymanians in the resident population fell from 79 percent
in 1980 to 58 percent by 1997. Consequently the cost of
living is extremely high. On the other hand, petty crime
is rare and the islands are well looked after (described
as “a very clean sandbank”). Although Caymanians have
considerable affection for Britain and do not seek
independence, their way of life is Americanized. Higher
education and advanced health care are usually sought in
the USA and their geographical proximity influences travel
choices. Many visitors to the islands never meet a
Caymanian. To get to know local people you will have to
get off the beach and drive into the districts. The high
standard of living has deterred Caymanians from going into
the hotel trade, regarding it as servitude, not service,
and preferring the financial services industry. District
days during Cayfest in April and Pirates’ Week in
October are good times to meet people.
Click here to go to Cayman Island web site. |
