Travel & Vacation: Swimming with the Stingrays, Grand Cayman Island

Our family holding a stingray, what a neat experience!  He was a slippery guy!

After arriving at Grand Cayman Island and exploring a little bit we had a relaxing boat ride out to the reef.   My Mom found a really AWESOME tour where we went on a boat out to a reef and swam with STINGRAYS!!!  We could see the stingrays in the water even before the boat had anchored.

Pretty much any time you were looking down you could see a stingray swimming by.  The stingrays were HUGE, most were several feet wide.  It was pretty common for them to swim right underneath you and take you feet out from under you or you would feel one brushing up against you as they swam by.  It was a really neat experience!  Brina was a little scared at first because they were so big but she did warm up to them and even touched them several times.  Karlie absolutely loved it and would giggle whenever one came next to her.   This is one of my favorite activities we did on the trip!

This guy took the feet right out from under me while swimming.  Can you see his little eye?  I think his looking right at me, probably wondering why I didn’t hand him some food!  Our guide was hand feeding them while we were in the water swimming with them.

This one’s coming right at Karlie (you can see her reaching her hand out to pet it as it glides by)!

Two stingrays swimming side by side right in front of me.  The girls were absolutely fascinated at how clear the water was in Grand Cayman!  They loved being able to look down and see everything, including fish, stingrays, and even people!

Brina up close and petting one of the stingrays.  Glad she got to touch it but most of the time she was more content staying a safer distance away from them.

Stingray!  The stingrays were a dark gray on the top with white and speckled gray on the under sides. Beautiful creatures, so cool watching them glide gracefully through the water!

Silly Karlie girl!  This picture was taken underneath the water and looking up at Karlie.  She is holding her nose and breathing through the snorkel. She has a grand time swimming around looking at the fish and stingrays.  We even saw a HUGE fish, several feet long but wasn’t able to snap a picture in time!

Large stingray swimming by

Little Sis had an absolute BLAST swimming with the stingrays!  Karlie LOVED it and probably could have stayed in even longer if she could!

Another huge one swam right under me, they literally rub up against you and take your feet out from underneath you!  Such a cool experience!

Grandma, Brina, Nicko, and Grandpa sitting on the back of “Big John” as Jake runs into grab something

Now there’s a a big one!

Karlie’s feet rubbing against a stingray as it swims underneath her.  They were almost like “cats” in the fact that they liked to come really close and rub up against you.  The first time it was a little crazy because they feel slick and slimy but after a few times (and knowing they weren’t going to hurt us) it was kind of a neat feeling.  Karlie really liked it, Brina was ok with them as long as they didn’t touch her.

Daddy helping Karlie with her goggles.  See that grayish color to the right of them, that’s a huge sting ray.  They were everywhere and were HUGE!  Only saw a few little ones, most were several feet wide!

Large stingray swimming under Karlie and heading straight for Jake’s legs!  Look out!

Amber and Nathan holding a stingray!

Leo and Nicko swimming around with the stingrays

Jojo celebrating his birthday by swimming with the stingrays at Grand Cayman, how cool is that!?

Okay…..so this one just cracks me up!  Karlie is hopping along on the bottom of the ocean always with one foot up and one foot down just in case a stingray swims underneath her.

The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax.  Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away.  Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories.  It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine.  Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn.  You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!