Third Time is a Charm or "You have a beautiful garden, Liz!"

 

The third time was a charm. During our visit to Grand Cayman in December 2014, we tried to go to the Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Gardens. We arrived after it had closed for the holidays and did not have a chance to return. On our visit during November 2015, we tried again. We arrived at the Visitor's Center just as the skies opened up and a torrential downpour began. Tours of the Blue Iguana Recovery Center were canceled and they were not sure if they would close the gardens for the day. Since we had already paid admission,  but had only seen the Gift Shop, we decided to head off in search of rain gear and sustenance (okay, lunch items) in a small town on the East End of the island.


We drove away from the gardens, the rain stopped. Looking at the skies we decided that it was a fluke and continued on our original plan of finding some rain gear. The rain held off as we drove past the Blowholes, so we decided to get out and experience the waves crashing and spraying up into the air.


We walked across the street and checked out some art made from palm fronds and driftwood by local artists. 


Flowers made from Palm Fronds

Liz does not know what to think about the pig made from driftwood.

 

After finding some ponchos and food for a picnic lunch, we headed back to the Gardens. As well as boasting some amazing flora, the gardens are home to the Blue Iguana Recovery program. Blue iguanas are an endangered species (due to loss of habitat and providing a tasty dinner to the island's feral dog and cat population) and are native to the Cayman Islands. Since 2004 when they started with what were believed to be the last 12 blue iguanas on the island, the conservancy program has released over 700 captive bred Grand Cayman blue iguanas. We were excited to see some of these amazing creatures during our visit.

One of the Blue Iguanas we saw at the gardens

Notice the different color of the ubiquitous green iguana

 We had a lot of fun walking through the gardens. (And yes, you have to use your best John Oliver impersonates Queen Elizabeth and do a royal wave and say "Hellooooo!" to people as you pass them on the trails. Garden rules. I did not make this up.) It is divided into several sections such as the Heritage Garden (what traditional Cayman houses and gardens would look like) and contained many fruit trees and herbs.

Conch lined pathway of the sand garden in the Heritage Garden area

A traditional Cayman House in the Heritage Garden

Peeking through the window of the outdoor kitchen in the Heritage Garden

 The Color Garden was divided into sections based on, yes, color! As we were walking through here it started to pour for a few minutes, so my camera went back into my bag. I was lagging behind the rest of the group and so was lucky enough to see an agouti cross the trail right in front of me.

I actually was not sure at first what type of animal I had seen, so was glad to find this sign that helped me out.

Pinks in the Color Garden

Bougainvillea

Posing by a palm

"Use your foot for scale so we can show how big the snake is." Sure. Now he follows our directions.

Big air plant, tiny lizard

Lots of swampy areas. Pack your mosquito repellant!

This tree bark looked like eyes

Water lily after the rain

Sad face :-(

Gabs and a Blue

I am not sure what type of flower this is, but it reminded me of a pom pom



This looked like an exotic type of hibiscus
 



The Lake area



 We were all so glad we had finally managed to get to visit the gardens. It was great to get off the beaten path, away from the crowds of tourists, and see these incredible plants and wildlife and learn a bit about traditional Cayman life. These gardens and the Blue Iguana Recovery program are a treasure to Grand Cayman. Plus, if you don't drive away from Georgetown and Seven Mile Beach,  you would miss this...


Tempting, though it was, we did pass on the Traditional US Thanksgiving dinner as well as Cayman Elvis. Sigh...



I have a feeling this would have been spectacular...

Wait...I meant THIS! This place has the best smoothies on the island. We found it in 2014 and had to make a return trip. The produce is fresh, fresh, fresh, the portions are huge, and the owner/smoothie maker is very friendly. If you are in Cayman, stop at the Pink Smoothie Shak.


The kids love the Mango/Papaya but my sister thought the Banana Mango was amazing.