Leaving BVI, Cayman Islands and Orlando

Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to add a last blog before we left the BVI. The last weeks were full of many exciting things including Andy’s visit, farewell Silo A drinks at the Willy T, a boat trip (perhaps to the Willy T again), International Dinner, a pub crawl around BVI and our leaving party. It was with very mixed emotions that we said goodbye as the friends we made there were and are truly special yet we also had exciting times ahead. Anyway, see facebook in the coming weeks for last BVI photos!

CAYMAN ISLANDS

Our first stop on our whirlwind adventures was to the Cayman Islands to visit Gareth who is working for Deloitte there for 18 months. We met Brett, another friend from JHB, at the Miami airport as he was also going to visit Gareth.

Welcome to Caymans

We were very excited to be back in warm Caribbean weather and after settling in and catching up with Gareth, we headed off to the beach. Caymans was not as built up as we expected after what everyone had told us but has a nice balance of having beautiful sea and beaches yet still offering more shops and entertainment. We had a nice dinner on the water and got introduced to Bushwackers, delicious.

Bushwackers

On our second day, we headed to the infamous seven mile beach which was amazing. We then went to Margaritaville for a truly American (read: HUGE portions) lunch and then made our way home and bumped into Will and Kate – we had a lot of fun with them.

Will and Kate aka Tashley

Will and Kate aka Tashley

That night we were off on the Jolly Roger, a pirate ship which sails around the bay while everyone onboard drinks, dances and has a “jolly” good time.

Jolly Roger

Aboard the Jolly

Tashley

Was great fun and ended up experiencing some Cayman nightlife after a much needed KFC meal. The next morning was a bit of a slow start as we prepared ourselves for our second bar crawl in 2 weeks, this time in the Cayman Islands.

Pub Crawl

Was a lot of fun and some of the bars were right on the beach which offered truly spectacular views!! After the pub crawl, we were treated to a most delicious braai, oh how we have missed those.
On Sunday, we were going to Sting Ray City. Being a bit apprehensive after Gareth mentioned they flick their tails like dogs, it was one of the most memorable days! We sailed there on a catamaran which was nice and relaxing and got to see some views of Caymans along the way.

ON THE CAT

We arrived and were surprised to see how many sting rays there were and also how big they were. After a quick intro by the guide, we made our way on our own and with the help of the boys, wrangled some rays down for hugs, kisses and forced love.

TASHLEY

STING RAY CITY

TASHLEY AND STING RAY

STING RAY CITY

We quickly learnt that having a squid in hand definitely helps attract the rays and we spent a while with our new friends. The cat then sailed onto Rum Point where we had more bushwackers and lunch and after a quick dip in the ocean, were on our way back home.

RUM POINT

Our last evening was spent enjoying another delicious braai and spending time with the boys which was great. Thanks again boys for having us!! The next morning we woke up the earliest we had woken up for about a year as we had to leave around 5:45…but onwards to Mickey Mouse we went!

ORLANDO – MAGIC KINGDOM, SEA WORLD, AQUATICA, UNIVERSAL AND WET AND WILD

On our first proper day in Orlando, we went to see Mickey, Minnie and the gang at Magic Kingdom, Disney World.

ASH

MAGIC KINGDOM

MAGIC KINGDOM

Sporting Minnie Mouse ears (surprisingly we were not the oldest ones wearing these), we made our way around the park, posing with the characters and enjoying the rides.

TASHLEY AND GOOFY

TASH

ASH

We watched parades and then finished a magical day by spending some time with Mickey, Minnie, Cinderella, Belle and Sleeping Beauty.

TASHLEY AND MICKEY AND MINNIE

ASH AND BELLE

TASH AND BELLE

Day two we went to Sea World. After meeting Shamu the Orca, we went to watch Free Willy in action in an orca show.

TASHLEY AND ORCA

It was insanely hot so we sat in the “soak” zone and definitely got a nice cool down when the orcas splashed us with their tails.

FREE WILLY

We walked around a bit more and went on their rides, one of which was Manta which was so much fun, and then made our way to Aquatica – the water park linked to Sea World.

MANTA RIDE

TASHLEY

The queues here were really long but we managed to make our way through them all including one where the ride goes through a tunnel where you see some black and white dolphins. Was a bit too quick to see them properly but had fun nevertheless.

Day three we went to Universal.

UNIVERSAL

Due to a late arrival by our shuttle, we had a late start so decided to leave Universal Islands of Adventure (which has the thrill rides) to the next day. We started off by visiting Shrek in his 3D adventure and had many more 3D adventures after this.

SHREK IN 3D

SHREK, DONKEY AND TASHLEY

The highlight was definitely a ride where you could choose your own song to listen to as you rode, makes the ride so much more enjoyable. After lunch, the heavens opened which resulted in us (and the rest of the park) buying a poncho to keep us dry and continue enjoying the park.

Day four we went to Islands of Adventure where the new Harry Potter exhibit has opened and this was unbelievable!! We headed there first as we heard queues were insane and wow were we impressed. Hogwarts looks just like it does in the movies, right down to the shops, trains and Butterbeer on offer. Tastes pretty much like a coke float but we enjoyed it.

HOGWARTS

HARRY POTTER

TASH AND BUTTERBEER

ASH AND BUTTERBEER

The Harry Potter ride was unbelievable which resulted in us going twice. The ponchos came in handy with all the water rides on offer and kept us from getting completely soaked.

GETTING READY FOR JURASSIC

On our last day, we decided to rent a car as there were no shuttles to Wet N Wild and with the cost of that plus the cost of a trip to the airport, a rental was cheaper. Arriving to collect it, they informed us they did not have a GPS navigation system as ordered but they would give us a map…we were stumped. Getting wearily into the car armed with a map that does not talk to us and tell us where to go, we made our way to Wet N Wild without getting lost!! Not only that, we also made it to the factory outlets, back to the hotel and to the airport without a hitch – we are still proud of ourselves!! Wet N Wild was not as adventurous as we thought it would be but we enjoyed some fun in the sun and will be quite content if we do not see a theme park or endless lines again for a while!!

THING TASH

THING ASH