Anniversary surprise

This past weekend was Blake and I's first anniversary. I knew from the beginning that I had wanted to do something special, so I told Blake that I was going to take him out kayaking in the bioluminescence and a drive up the coast, and instead I booked us two tickets to Little Cayman- a relatively untouched sister island 90 miles west of Grand Cayman. He was shocked on Friday when I picked him up from work for kayaking and sprung the tickets on him. An hour later we arrived at the airport and boarded the smallest commercial plane I have ever been on. It was so small that we could see out the cockpit window and my butt was nearly halfway into the aisle (and I must admit, I do have a small one)! 30 minutes later we arrived in Little Cayman on a runway that is only 30 feet from the only road, and actually crosses the road to get to the "airport" which is a small building that also houses the fire station (1 fire truck) and the post office (all 60 mailboxes). We were picked up at the airport by our resort staff and ushered to a beautiful dive resort right on the beach. That evening we had an ocean front room and relaxed with some drinks by the pool. We later walked to the only grocery store on island and bought some ridiculously priced sodas and fruit. For dinner we walked the lonely road from our resort to the only independent restaurant on island for a delicious meal. Our walk back in the dark along the poorly lit and very rutted road will forever burn a hole in my memory as the scariest venture ever. The entire walk back I could hear the larger than normal land crabs crawling about in their ditches. Due to the lack of light I nearly stumbled over one of the behemoths, which sent me into a fit of hysterics. Blake had to grab my hand and we walked down the centre line the rest of the way while visions of alien crabs attacking us danced through my head.
The next morning we woke bright and early for a two tank dive trip to the world famous and much acclaimed Bloody Bay. Listed continuously as one of the top five dive destinations, this bay blew our mind! Never in the previous 10 dives have I ever seen coral and life like we did on this untouched and unspoiled reef. It was teeming with bright pink and purple sea fans, huge coral formations and tons of colourful fish, not to mention large turtles and small rays. There were exhilarating swim throughs and little cave like tunnels to swim into as well. On one of our dives a large Nassau Grouper (about the size of small dog) took a fancy to Blake and followed him around, trying to playfully nibble his hair and and pull at his board shorts. I was able to get close enough to pet this friendly fish and he loved it! He stayed with us for the remainder of the dive. Once back on the boat we heard that some reef sharks had been in the area too, but we hadn't spotted one. The remainder of our afternoon was spent on a gorgeous bike ride around the peaceful island that was once the first settlement in the Cayman Islands. There are now less than 150 people who live on the island, and the pace of life is the slowest I have ever seen, but the feeling of calm and serenity was heavenly. We returned from our ride sweaty and ready to jump in the pool. That evening we watched a thunder storm and sipped some wine on the beach, reminiscing about this time last year.
Sunday morning we took the old school bikes out for another spin and then packed up for the airport. Arriving only 15 minutes before our flight we were not even I.D'd when the attendant printed off our tickets. What a way of life! Now that we are back to the "bustling metropolis of Grand Cayman" we appreciate our special island all the much more. I would recommend a visit to Little Cayman for anyone who desperately needs a break from civilization, or anyone who loves to dive. We had the most amazing time! But it is also always nice to be back to our home! I can't believe that Blake and I have been married for a year, no doubt it has been the best year of my life and I can't imagine sharing this experience with anyone else!!!