See also: Cayman Islands Part I – Island Dining and Cayman Brac Day Trip

After a memorable meal the previous evening, breakfast seemed unimportant until we arrived at the AAA Four Diamond The Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman for a magnificent buffet. The fresh juice bar offered everything from watermelon to classic orange juice.

We boarded a boat for Stingray City with Captain Marvin’s tours. I was told the stingrays are friendly, but that’s not the half of it. They’re like enthusiastic puppies begging for attention. Once I got past my initial reaction (squealing and chant, “Don’t touch me, don’t touch me, don’t touch me”), I enjoyed the wet-mushroom feel of the stingrays as they vacuumed the food right from my hand. The sandbar they frequent is warm, calm and shallow, so no swimming skills were required and people of all ages had a great time.

We stopped at two snorkeling spots around the barrier reef teeming with amazing corals and fish. I spotted barracuda, trumpet fish, rays, angelfish, butterfly fish, surgeon fish and parrotfish. Eventually I gave up chasing the fish and settled in over a coral-encrusted craggy rock to watch them come and go. It’s no wonder the Cayman Islands are considered a diver’s paradise.

Exhausted and sunburned, I grabbed a short nap at our second hotel, the AAA Three Diamond Caribbean Club before dinner. I ordered “Cayman style” fish at the Grand Old House, a AAA Three Diamond oceanfront restaurant managed by the honorary Austrian Consul to the Cayman Islands. The fresh mahi mahi covered in a slightly spicy sauce of tomatoes and peppers had me ready to throw manners out the window and lick my plate. The restaurant offers an extensive list of Austrian wines.

The next morning we visited the AAA Four Diamond Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort for a breakfast of fresh pastries, frittatas and glazed plantains. The strong European presence in the Cayman Islands means breakfast often also includes cold cuts and cheeses.

We toured the AAA Approved Pedro St. James National Historic Site, a 1780 plantation house restored to its original verandah-enclosed style. A great multi-sensory theatrical presentation introduces visitors to the site and its history before you explore the house and surrounding grounds.

That afternoon, another agent and I visited Hell, one of the island’s most notorious tourist traps. While the limestone and coral islands are typically marked by white stone, this spot’s spiky, eroded limestone is covered with black fungus. The gift shop was closed (on Sunday), but I’m told they’ll cancel your outgoing mail at the Hell post office and even stamp your passport.

We continued to Boatswain’s Beach, a AAA GEM attraction for a personal tour of the turtle farm. We held turtles of all sizes including tiny “Famous,” the runt of his nest and my personal favorite. Unlike land turtles, sea turtles live in saltwater and don’t spread salmonella. The farm does an excellent job educating the public on sea turtles and their conservation programs. The park also offers an aviary, water park and saltwater snorkeling pond.

Next morning at the airport I couldn’t resist a stop at the duty-free shop for a Tortuga Rum Cake, a few bottles of Tortuga Rum for gifts and a bottle of Seven Fathoms Rum. It’s manufactured in Georgetown and aged on the bottom of the Caribbean Sea, seven fathoms deep — worth the effort to repack by my bag on the floor of the Miami airport.