Off The Beaten Path : the cayman islands. {grand cayman, north shore}

we made it to the last leg of the trip! such a bittersweet ending. personally, i feel as if there’s always a sadness when leaving a vacation spot, especially if it is somewhere that just captures your heart (which might just be the case of my relationship with guatemala :)), but there’s something so enticing & attractive about the idea of home, especially since i’ve moved up to chicago for school. i’ve come to realize that i’m the kind of person who loves to keep moving, who loves change, who loves to be active. and i think that’s why i enjoy traveling so much. i’m drawn towards the idea of a life that isn’t stagnant, a life that is filled with constant exploration & stimulus. don’t get me wrong, there’s always a need for alone time & ‘me-time’ at points, but that’s not how i want to spend the majority of my life. i love people too much.

anyways! on this third section of our trip we moved from the west bay of the island to the north shore. it was new years day when we transferred, so we were all pretty exhausted from our night of celebration at royal palms; we did stop at a cute little restaurant located right on the water called over the edge café, though. our last few days were pretty low-key. we had a house with a little private beach so we took advantage of the great snorkeling & kayaking. we spent countless hours on our ‘backyard beach’ trying to soak up the last rays of the trip & finishing our novels.

saturday was a fun day. we took a boat with our previous dive instructors, shaggy & dominick, to stingray city, a small area of the sea that boasts crystal clear turquoise waters & houses about 18 stingrays. we hopped in the water with shaggy & dominick & the sweet animals swam right up to us, gliding over our feet & nudging us like little puppies. they swam up our stomachs & backs, almost as if they were trying to hug us (just makes you realize the pure beauty & majesty of animals). dominick then handed us squid to feed the rays; it's such a funny feeling as they suck up the squid from your hand using their mouth located on their underbelly. although these animals do have the potential to be dangerous, these specific ones have been acclimated with humans for many years & recognize that humans = free food! so these sweet rays have no intention of hurting you (that is, unless directly threatened). we ended the excursion with a snorkel at a shallow coral reef & then grabbed some drinks & appetizers at kaibo beach bar with shaggy & dominick, two awesome guys (who, by the way, have the coolest life stories…i could listen to them talk about their global experiences all day). later that night, we cooked homemade pizzas & my dad experimented with a first time attempt at making conch fritters (out of conch that he caught himself, might i add) & they were delicious! maybe not the healthiest, but darn good.

we decided to spend our last day at rum point, a fun area with an open-air restaurant & a nice beach with a dock that’s perfect for watching the wild sunsets. we packed up our luggage for our flight the next morning then went out & ate at over the edge once more for a farewell dinner. i sure will miss you, warm weather...

well, let me tell you, nothing can really prepare your body for switching from balmy 85 degree weather to negative degree weather (that just so happens to be occurring in both st. louis & chicago). the island was a great getaway filled with amazing new experiences & amazing people but, as i sit here now in a quaint coffee shop in chicago, i can’t help but feel ecstatic to be back. i just love it here.

^^so, what are the chances?! i must have passed this sign plenty but it only caught my eye on a trip home from the grocery store. i had to do a double take & after i realized what i had just seen, my dad whipped the car around so we could take a picture. i mean, it must be fate...^^