Cooper (and us!) had a blast discovering the island wildlife. Especially the sea life!!! We had some once and a lifetime experiences – swimming with dolphins and wild stingrays. We snorkeled and saw amazing fish, Cooper kissed the tortoises, and so much more. It was a trip we will never forget!
Cooper was in awe with all the chickens and roosters walking around the streets everywhere.
Look at the big lizard hiding on the tree.
There goes another one…
The blue waters were amazing for snorkeling and there was a reef ten feet out in front of our hotel.
The fish would swim around us and Cooper got a really great look at them. He loved being out there with all the fish!
One of the highlights was our time with the dolphins! It was so amazing to pet them and swim with them – they were so friendly and soft and loving. Even Cooper loved them and gave one a kiss! It was priceless – something we’ve always wanted to experience.
We also got up close and personal with the stingrays – this was did not have a stinger though!
Cooper went to the Turtle farm and got to see huge tortoises that were 30-60 yeas old. They were amazing!
They let us hold the babies, which were really friendly.
COoper was scared at first, but then decided to give one a kiss! Way to go Cooper – it’s a TURTLE! (Which after BEACH, is his new favorite word.)
We also took a boat ride out to Stingray city sandbar.
It was about 5 miles off the shore out into the ocean, where it suddenly gets really shallow and there is a HUGE sandbar waist deep. So all kinds of boats go there because it’s this amazing place where the stingrays hang out. And you can get in the water and they swim around you and brush up to you and it’s so freaky cause they are MASSIVE and can STING and possibly even kill you! But the guides showed us how to approach and handle them, and they were totally lovable and only sting if they feel threatened. They are really used to people as people go all the time and the guide boats bring squid which they love to eat.
So we ALL went in the water and touched the stingrays. It was a thrilling experience as they swam around us and brushed up against our bodies.
Afterwards the boat took us out the the Grand Cayman Reef where mommy and daddy got to snorkel and look at all the amazing fish and coral life below. A lady on the boat (who opted not to go in the water) watched Cooper so we could both go in. We saw so many colorful fish and even an EEL!
Cooper also got to see some tropical birds back at the hotel.
We have a lot more amazing pictures of the fish and stingrays that we took with Water camera, so when those pictures get developed, I will post them in a separate blog.
