Greg J. Hipius'
Online Photo Gallery
Caribbean Cruise -
July,
2005:
Stingray City Observatory (Grand Cayman)
In Grand Cayman, we had a disappointing repeat of our experience regarding our shore bookings in Jamaica... one of our bookings, our only other submarine ride, was cancelled just like the other one, although this time they claim it was because the air conditioner was broken. I don't mind saying I was pretty disappointed because the chance to ride in a submarine was one of the cornerstone opportunities I'd been looking forward to on the vacation... but things had been so much fun so far, I didn't mind anywhere near as much as I'd feared I would.
Our booking that wasn't cancelled took us to three stops, the first of which was the "Stingray City." The "city" is really just an underwater shallow reef area quite a ways out from shore whose unique combination of shallow waters (protection from many sharks, predators of rays) and distance from shore (providing safety from traffic and plentiful food for rays) make it a rare opportunity to view the animals in an almost tame behavior from the submerged section of a glass bottom boat. We spent about half an hour watching a diver interact with and feed the rays, who behave oddly like friendly dogs. I tried some shots, knowing that the combination of the glass and the water made getting anything good unlikely... I was very impressed with what I found when I got home and uploaded the files, though, as you will see!
Don't miss the barracuda in the last few shots. He floated around nearby for most of the time, and the diver later told us that their feared reputation is largely unfounded, as they are relatively docile creatures most of the time and won't bother anything that does not actively antagonize them.
