23 replies to this topic

[Terri]

Hey Stan....Sorry to hear Sunset House isn't exactly what you were hoping for...but REAL hard to feel sorry for you at the end of your month-long Caribbean diving trip!!!

Enjoy the diving! (I'm stuck back in Dallas working on a Sunday!) Wanna change places!?

[Capn Jack]

Hey Stan....Sorry to hear Sunset House isn't exactly what you were hoping for...but REAL hard to feel sorry for you at the end of your month-long Caribbean diving trip!!!

Enjoy the diving! (I'm stuck back in Dallas working on a Sunday!) Wanna change places!?

The owner of our LDS is moving to a new location, so another DM (a licensed contractor), the owner and I spent today framing out his new store.

Sunset House sounds terrific.

[Desert_Diver]

Hey Stan....Sorry to hear Sunset House isn't exactly what you were hoping for...but REAL hard to feel sorry for you at the end of your month-long Caribbean diving trip!!!

Enjoy the diving! (I'm stuck back in Dallas working on a Sunday!) Wanna change places!?

It's not that Sunset House isn't what I'd expected, it's just not worth $2K USD per week. They really ought to give a break on the 'single supplement' in the off season. Everything here is higher priced than elsewhere 'round the Caribbean, for no apparent reason. That, or I haven't found the 'economically priced' places yet. A calzone, antipasto salad, piece of pie & a liter of coke was $50 USD delivered. Woof!! The mushrooms came out of a can and the rest was similar, so figure the value at around $20 in the US. The most reasonable place to eat has been Sunset House, and the food is good (no canned mushroome *here*!)

The dives are OK, although briefer than I'd been doing elsewhere. With the concentrated diving the last week in the Bahamas, I've gotten real good at my air consumption. I'm coming back from these dives with >1400PSI in a 72cf tank. The water's kinda messy down to around 70-80', then it clears up suddenly to 150' vis below 80' (it's maybe 50 to 60' vis up shallower). We're only doing one 40min deeper dive, the next is around 40-60' for 50min, and that's it for their dive package per day. I did a 60min shore dive afterwards with an instructor that'd moved here from Phoenix (small world...) and still had 1200psi left. I'm sure WW could beat me, but she has an unfair advantage being a gal and a non-breather.

One plus to the 72s: it's noticeably easier to get back on the boat at the end of the dive with the lighter tank! I'm liking that a lot. If I can keep my air consumption down, maybe I'll switch to 'em from now on. I'm about 10 to 12 pounds heavier after the Aqua Cat, due to absolutely excellent meals. Mmmmmm. Of course, it wound up in all the unflattering areas.

The rooms have free wireless Internet, but it's running around 2.7Kbit right now.... sssllllloooooowwwww.

It was *hot* when I arrived, but the thunderstorms have cooled it down to the 'comfortable' (for a desert rat) range the last two days.


Naw, I wouldn't trade with you for the world! I'm pretty sure your clothes would be a bit short on me. Work??? What's that???

It'll be nice sleeping in my own bed on Sunday, though. Click your heels together three times and say "There's no place like home... there's no place like home...." After 5 weeks goofing off in the Caribbean, I'll be ready for Dallas and The Real World again.

[Desert_Diver]

Darn! Just missed it by a week. Seems Grand Cayman runs a Pirates Week Festival the second week of October! Arrrgh.

Note to self: don't forget to mention it to WW if she plans a trip down here next year!


Luckily my head and ears cleared up last week, so I've been hitting the dives between trips to town. I gotta ping the Tech operators at the north end of the island for those of you that think 72s will cramp your style. I've been coming back from the dives with between 1100 and 1600 psi left over, and I'm pushing their 40 and 50 minute limits as far as they'll allow without squealing. I'm not counting the 'extra safety stop' time on the first deep dive (1min @ 40, 2min @ 20, 4min @ 10 feet). They have a big sign on the boat saying 'NO DECOMPRESSION DIVING', and I'm weary of explaining simple physics to instructors toeing the party line. I understand the desire to not scare the public, but it's impossible to dive without undergoing decompression. My schedule may not be perfect, but it's better than blowing through a 'safety stop'.

[WreckWench]

Welcome home my dear! Or should I call you WW2???

Sounds like you've become my air clone and travel clone! Looking forward to your reports and findings on all your destinations! I have so much enjoyed where in the world is DD???

[Desert_Diver]

Oh, lest I forget:

Here's a picture of one of the mermaids out catching lobster for our Thursday dinner in the Bahamas!

shot taken by her husband:
Boy, they sure limit you on what you can use to take lobster in the Exumas! No scuba gear, *nothing* but a spear...

Thanks for sharing, folks!

[Sonny Beaches]

I know when I took a cruise several years ago, we stoped in Grand Caymen , and went to a hamburger joint for lunch, a burger, no fries and a glass of tea was around $20.00 us.. But the Rum was wonderful and a good price. the over 100 proof, you could drink straight and not burn,,, a couple and really buzzed.... The rum cakes were almost $20 ,us... so just ate enough samples to get full of cake.. and a slight buzz.

Enjoy the fun D.D.. Soon it will be back to the real world and work...

[Desert_Diver]

Sigh. Last day....

I've been bombing around Grand Cayman on a scooter to check out some alternates for future trips. The resort here is probably as easy and inexpensive as any others, and it's got a good bar and restaurant. Most of the similarly-priced resorts I looked at were dumps, and the price goes WAY up along 7-Mile Beach.

The other option is Cobalt Coast waayyyy up on the North end of the island. They're the preferred resort for DiveTech (the only tech dive operator on the island). I stopped by there yesterday to see the place and talk to the resort and dive managers. Looks like a nice spot if you need doubles, mixed gas or rebreather support. We'd have to do a 'Singles Special' trip and arrange it in advance with Cobalt Coast, though. Most of the rooms I saw had a single King bed, which we'd need to convert to two Twins or Doubles. Dunno 'bout you, but I'm not crazy about sharing a bed with another guy... . The rooms are large, and have a full (but small) separate living room and a mini kitchen. Sunset House just has a tiny refrigerator in the room. They're both around the same price, from what I looked at briefly.

This place (Sunset House) is about a kilometer south of town, if it's a concern. Cobalt Coast is a long way North of anything. It'd be a possibility if we had a significant number of tech folks on the trip. The walls along the North side are more pristine than the ones down here, with more wildlife if reports are true. I haven't seen much but tiny reef fish on the dives I did. Oh. One barracuda, and one stingray that nobody saw but me.

Can ya guess that I'm a LOT more brown after 5 weeks, bumming around the Caribbean?


One funny story from the Exumas in Bermuda: (sorry if I spelled it wrong)
on one dive I was doing the last deco stop at 10' under the boat, and I was slightly head-down and a tad to the left, totally motionless for 4 minutes. Someone was concerned that I'd died or fallen asleep 'cos I wasn't moving, so they tapped me to see if I was OK. Grin. I wasn't hanging on a line or anything, just free-floating below the boat, so I suppose it's understandable. I'd gotten so comfortable after all of the diving I'd done that I was enjoying the rest break on the stops.


I'm sending this from the bar at Sunset House, Grand Cayman.

[Desert_Diver]

And for another installment of "the world is weirder than you thought..."

The Nekton Rorqual musters it's divers at the Sunset House in GC, I'm guessing 'cos they have a *huge* bar & a nice restaraunt, as well as being close to the airport. Folks show up at the airport on Friday, get a taxi to Sunset House to chill out for a few hours, then the boat collects 'em around 6pm.

On Friday afternoon while taking a break from scootering around the island, I stopped by Cathy Church's photography shop there at Sunset House to see if they had any photos I could buy (reasonably cheaply) to upload as I didn't take many myself. While I'm looking around, I hear a guy say "We're living in Wickenburg" and I turned around and said "Well howdy, Arizona!" He turns, and it's my ex-brother-in-law. I haven't seen him in 16 years! Apparently he took up diving just after he and my sister parted company. To those that don't know me, I've only recently moved to Texas from the Phoenix area.

(The chipmunk rendition of "It's a small, small world..." playing non-stop in the background of my mind)