Cayman Islands Archives - Nancy J. Cohen

Grand Cayman – Pedro St. James

The entrance to this historic estate takes you through a gift shop. From here, we entered a theater and watched a multi-media presentation relating the history of the estate. It was quite interesting, especially the part where a daughter of the owner was killed during a lightning storm. She and her younger brother were fetching rain water in a bucket at the bottom of the stairs when she was struck and killed. The brother was knocked unconscious but survived. Thunder and flashing lights accompanied the tale. No ghost stories here, according to our local guide. Later fire destroyed much of the estate. It was reincarnated as a castle, and now has been restored to its original design.

The original structure was built by slaves. It’s a beautiful place with covered porches, slate stone flooring, mahogany furnishings, and thick stone outer walls. Wood shutters shade the windows and keep the interior cool. Mosquito netting on the beds was essential.

After viewing the building, we were led inside a café where we received tea and cakes. I liked the moist coconut cake better than the dense carrot cake and bread pudding.

We headed back to the ship from here. By now it was two o’clock. The last tender left at three, so we peeked quickly inside the shops at the port and then departed the island.

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We tendered into town on this island. Several gift shops selling souvenirs and craft items along with a café are located at the pier. Clean restrooms are available here, too. Outside the gates, you can find jewelry stores and other upscale shops plus a Margaritaville restaurant. We took an air-conditioned bus tour to the Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Gardens, which inhabits 65 acres. It took us about forty minutes to get there. We saw expensive homes, including a multi-million dollar mansion owned by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

We passed a beautiful modern school, shopping strips, gas stations, and more wealthy homes. At the garden, labels defined the trees and plants in sectioned areas. It could have taken us all day to view the various displays. Our local guide took us down the sandy paths and described the plants.

There is a small historic house on the grounds, and a gift shop that sells souvenirs and refreshments. We got stuck there when our bus broke down, and we had to wait twenty minutes or so for a replacement.