I've been to Hell and back

I was recently in Grand Cayman for a day as a stop on a Caribbean cruise and had the opportunity to stop in Hell — a small suburb of West Bay — amongst many other tourist attractions.

If you have never been to Cayman before, the thing to do is to take a trip out to Stingray City in the North Sound to pet the fish.

If you don’t book it on the ship, the cost is about $45 per person.

The boat will take you out to a sand bar and you’ll be able to stand on the ocean floor and see dozens of ray.

If you’ve already done the Stingray City tour or would like to try something different, you can rent a vehicle from Cayman Auto Rentals. The shop is about a half-mile walk from the cruise terminal and the cost is $50 for the day for a scooter.

During the high season you could also rent a car for as low as $50 for the day.

I headed out to Seven Mile Beach, Cayman’s most famous swimming area. There are plenty of bars, restaurants and water toy rentals along the park to make it enjoyable for the family.

Another popular tourist attraction is the turtle farm along the North West Point. Despite its name, the turtle farm functions as an aquarium/zoo-wildlife area so you’ll get to see sharks, butterflies and other animals at the facility.

It has a 1.3 million gallon lagoon in which you can snorkel and is well worth taking your underwater camera to snap photos.

If you take your time driving and admire the scenery, you will probably be lucky enough to see iguanas crossing the road or hiding out in the bushes.

Within two miles of the turtle farm is Hell. The area includes a group of black limestone formations, a gift shop and a post office from where you can send postcards from Hell. It’s kitschy, but a  place you can have brag to your friends that you’ve seen.

While I was there several buses filled with tourists from the cruise ships pulled in, quickly jamming the place with people.

If you travel along the southeast road away from Georgetown, places to visit that are not as heavy with cruise ship passengers include Pedro’s Castle and St James Historic Park.

History buffs will love what has been nicknamed the “Birthplace of democracy in the Cayman Islands.”