{"id":2160,"date":"2017-02-26T10:24:28","date_gmt":"2017-02-26T17:24:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/?p=2160"},"modified":"2017-02-26T10:24:28","modified_gmt":"2017-02-26T17:24:28","slug":"let-the-cayman-islands-change-your-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/golf\/courses-and-travel\/2160\/let-the-cayman-islands-change-your-mind","title":{"rendered":"Let the Cayman Islands Change Your Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Get

Get a beautiful view of the Cayman Islands at Compass Point<\/p><\/div>\n

The phrase \u201cCayman Islands\u201d can conjure up the images of international banking and the espionage of Tom Cruise in the film \u201cThe Firm,\u201d therefore the perception that Grand Cayman is a busy beach island only for the ultra rich. \u201cPerception is not always reality,\u201d says Dr. John Wycoff, founder of the Wycoff Wellness Center in East Lansing. He and his wife Cindy have been taking the four-hour non-stop Delta flight from Detroit to enjoy the 85-degree temperatures, tropical sunshine and scuba diving there for over 30 years. \u201cGrab a liter of your favorite toxin at the duty free shop before departure,\u201d Doctor Wycoff prescribes. Upon arrival he also suggests lunch at \u201cHammerheads\u201d in downtown George Town. \u201cEnjoy the azure colored water and try the red snapper prepared Cayman-style.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before he drives his rental car (on the left side of the road) 20 miles through the quaint villages of Savannah and Bodden Town to his oceanfront place at the Compass Point Condos on Grand Cayman\u2019s East End, Wycoff gathers provisions at Hurley\u2019s Groceries, and, next door, Blackbeard\u2019s Liquor Store. \u201cWhen I see the yellow submarine in front of the entrance of Compass Point I know tranquility is about to begin,\u201d he insists.<\/p>\n

Compass Point rents two-bedroom, two bathroom condos with fully-equipped kitchens which provide what Wycoff describes as \u201cmesmerizing views of the aqua blue waters and the gentle sounds of waves lapping the pristine, sandy beach.\u201d Landlubbers like Compass Point\u2019s two swimming pools, hot tub, hammocks, flowers, bicycles, and the elevated oceanfront deck of \u201cEagle Rays,\u201d the thatched-roof, on-sight bar and grill that serves a daily drink concoction and lion fish tacos \u2013 caught that very day on the reef.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019Ocean Frontiers,\u2019 on the property, offers half-day Scuba courses plus experiences for experienced divers. \u201cA trip to \u2018Hell\u201d or the turtle farm is worth a half-day, and people can also swim or snorkel at \u2018Stingray City,\u2019 a sandbar in the ocean where you can feed and interact with the rays,\u201d Wycoff says.<\/p>\n

When he does leave the property, Wycoff suggests a day trip to Rum Point to walk on the Masonic Trail; with a stop at the Queen Elizabeth Botanical Gardens.<\/p>\n

For dining, he likes \u201cBombay Chopsticks,\u201d across from Compass Point. \u201cChef Remy prepares Indian cuisine and the sea bass is the best I\u2019ve had,\u201d he says. \u201c\u2019Tukka\u2019s\u2019 is a couple miles east with Chef Ron\u2019s Australian fare. And if you\u2019re in a romantic mood, \u2018The Lighthouse\u2019 or \u2018Kaibo Yacht Club\u2019 each has scenic ocean-side dining.\u201d Haute cuisine is on the west side at \u2018The Brasserie,\u2019 Grand Cayman\u2019s finest restaurant according to Wycoff. \u201cChef Max\u2019s \u2018farm-to-table\u2019 Harvest Dinners sometimes include Cayman conch hush puppies, smoked swordfish, lobster tea, Jamaica-cured oxtail flatbread, locally-caught Wahoo, honey and scotch-glazed pork shoulder, pumpkin, and okra,\u201d he recalls. Fine wines wash down each course and the jujube plum upside down cake, sorrel and spice sorbet and local coconut pie. \u201cThe quality of the food in the Caymans, compared to other islands, is one of the reasons we bought a place here,\u201d says Wycoff who also knows how good sunshine and not being sedentary in the winter is for his patients and himself.<\/p>\n

Michael Patrick Shiels may be contacted at\u00a0<\/em>InviteYourself@aol.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or via TravelTattler.com\u00a0His talk show can be heard weekday mornings in\u00a0Lansing\u00a0on 92.1 FM.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The phrase \u201cCayman Islands\u201d can conjure up the images of international banking and the espionage of Tom Cruise in the… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":2161,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[980581,1044565,6292,998829,998830],"class_list":["post-2160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-courses-and-travel","tag-tropical","tag-travel","tag-cayman-islands","tag-caribean","tag-vaction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2017\/02\/compass-point.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2160"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2163,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2160\/revisions\/2163"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}