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I've just arrived back from a three day R&R break at the Royal Reef Resort (Castaways Cove) on Grand Cayman. The pictures on the IPG website don't do it justice.

Although they'd had record rainfall the day before on the heavily developed west side of the island the east had been luckier and was spared the deluge. Weather on the first day was unfortunately mostly over cast with occasional light showers and a brisk breeze. This was a good opportunity to explore the island and by mid afternoon the skies were clearing and the sun breaking through. Whilst not the kind of weather you normally expect in the Caribbean this time of year at least the temperature was a pleasantly mild 82F/28C which made a big difference from the UK.

Back at the resort good use was made of the hot tub which was warm enough to make one head for the sea just to cool off a bit. Chatting with some of the guests who had been there for a while gave me the impression that they were very happy with their acommodation and in particular the less hectic atmosphere of the east end of the island.

Acommodation was literally right on the beach. Just open the patio doors and you literally step out onto the palm dotted sandy beach. The sea was about 150 feet away. On the second day the weather was much better and after a relaxing morning on the beach I headed off to the Ocean Frontiers dive shop for a two tank dive on the south side of the island. Equipment was top class and the dive group was very small, just four of us.

Needless to say, the dives were spectacular and the variety of fish and coral were world class. All the dives were from a fully equiped aluminium cruiser with easy access into and out of the water. I also dived the next morning a bit further along the the same reef and again was very happy with the quality of the service, professionalism of the staff and of course the beauty of the dive.

The second night we went to the bar/restaurant at the resort and were entertained by Barefoot Man. The show was relaxed and very entertaining. I did sneak off to the Internet Cafe earlier in the afternoon to check up on PPRuNe and had no problem getting on-line. The fact that they all use high quality Apple Mac computers for the access made especially nice as that is what I use myself.

Besides the dives on Wednesday morning I relaxed on the beach that afternoon before we headed off to Portofinos restaurant which is about a mile or so down the road. The food was excellent and the atmosphere very pleasant as we sat outside. Later we went down to the dock to watch the owner feeding the fish. The water is very shallow there and the huge Tarpin were very active which was a complete contrast from their docile behaviour during daylight when I was diving amongst them. We also saw a little Lemon Shark feeding amongst them.

When it came time to leave the next day I was sad to go but was determined to come back. I thought the motto "The only good thing about leaving the resort is looking forward to coming back" would be appropriate and I am willing to donate it gratis to the IPG for use in their advertising. ;) The drive to the airport on the west side of the island is about 30 minutes and then it was back to Miami to catch my Virgin flight back to London.

Of all the Caribbean Islands I have visited (Barbados, St Lucia, Margarita, Dominican Republic and St Vincent), Grand Cayman was by far the most friendly. Unike other islands where you can feel threatened or uncomfortable outside of your resort or hotel, Grand Cayman was, by contrast, very relaxed and secure. The people were very friendly and the island is extremely clean and tidy. Oh, and another nice thing is that they all drive on the left... very civilised!

Considering the development that is going on at the resort and the more relaxed atmosphere of the east side of the island I would think that it is an up and coming area. As I already mentioned, the west side is heavily developed and property prices were very high. Seven Mile beach and Georgetown, whilst very pretty are very busy and have less of the 'island atmosphere' and if you are used to Miami beach you would nt feel out of place there. The resort, on the north east end of the island has beautiful beaches and just enough development to provide variety of choice in entertainment. All that's needed now is a golf course which I believe is being planned as I write.

Overall, a great place to visit and even better if I could live there!!! I hope to arrange a small PPRuNe Bash there around June. If anyone wants to use that as an opportunity to check out Castaways Cove and the Royal Reef Resort then watch this space.

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