Even if you’ve never been to Grand Cayman, you can probably create an image in your head… beautiful beaches, turquoise waters, palm trees, bikinis and dolphins. Those in the know will tell you that there are two important treasures that you must add to your Grand Cayman day dreams, Tortuga Rum Cakes and Stingray City.
The history of Tortuga Rum goes back to 1984 when the husband and wife team of Robert and Carlene Harmaty decided to embark on the adventure of creating a rum for the Cayman Islands. They chose the name “Tortuga” (“turtle”) as it was the orignal name of the Cayman Islands, created two blended rums (Tortuga Gold and Tortuga Light) and were off and running with their new venture. The couple kept their “day jobs” but nurtured their company as a labour of love. In 1987, Carlene started making rum cakes from an old family recipe and discovered that she had a hit on her hands. The cakes were so popular that they built a commercial bakery in 1990 to keep up with demand. The trademark ingredient is a generous helping of premium five-year old, oak barrel aged Tortuga Gold Rum but the recipe is still a secret! From a small family business, Tortuga Rum has turned into an international success, with a broad range of rum and rum-based products being enjoyed all over the world. Today, the Tortuga Rum Cakes are a symbol of Grand Cayman, the essential souvenir (if you can resist eating them on the way home!). Dolphin Discovery Grand Cayman is proud to offer the Tortuga Rum Cakes in our Dolphinmania Boutique, be sure to have a little taste, buy a few for you, a few for Aunt Lily, a few for your house-sitter (and a few more for you).
Stingray city
After swimming with dolphins and having sated your taste buds, it’s time to head out to the world-famous “Stingray City”. Located in the shallow waters of Grand Cayman’s North Sound, Stingray City is renowned for the large numbers of stingrays that congregate in the area. Stingrays love calm, sandy-bottomed areas such as this where they can dig in the sand in search of food. History suggests that it was the fishermen using the area to clean their catch that attracted such large numbers of rays, looking for the offals that were thrown overboard. Stingray heaven! In 1987, Skin Diver magazine discovered this “secret” spot where divers and snorkelers could feed rays by hand and soon the whole world was abuzz about Stingray City. These days there are many tour operators offering excursions to Stingray City where you can swim and snorkel with these creatures and feed them by hand. Tourists are encouraged not to wear footwear, even a simple water shoe can damage the sensitive skin of the rays and please, do not remove the rays from the water, it is essential that they stay submerged in order to breathe. Many tours will take you to the reef for some snorkeling after your encounter with the rays, a great addition to your day on Grand Cayman. This is a truly unique place, a Grand Cayman excursion that is not to be missed!
Whether you are cruising the Caribbean looking for a Grand Cayman shore excursion or spending your vacation on the island, be sure to visit Dolphin Discovery Grand Cayman for the experience of a lifetime! Our friendly staff are not only dolphin experts, they are ambassadors of Grand Cayman and will go out of their way to ensure that our guests have a great island adventure.