Cayman Crystal Caves, Grand Cayman – Uncommon Attraction
In the years that have passed since my first (and still only) trip to Grand Cayman, I’ve routinely found myself pining over the many great reasons I have to make a return visit. Most of those reasons are wrapped up in the fun and fantastic people and places I got to know during that first trip.
Rum Point, The Retreat, Grapetree Cafe, and love interests like Boo Boo all have me perpetually checking flights and looking for windows in my generally jammed travel schedule to sneak away to the Caymans.
Then, there’s the stuff I didn’t see. Stuff like caves.
Caves? In Cayman?!
Grand Cayman is so flat (highest elevation: 79 feet) that it’s hard to imagine any caves of any substance here. The touristy Bodden Town Pirate Caves, complete with fake treasure chests, skeletons, swords, and other Disneyesque kitsch, furthers the notion.
Cayman Crystal Caves, however, are different…
Among visitors to Grand Cayman over the years, these ancient caves were known almost exclusively in geocaching circles for offering a great half-day of hiking and cave exploration in a place not known for either.
Local tour guides would also take people here despite “No Trespassing” and “Private Property” signs.
Echoes of Barbados?
In more recent times, though, the owner of the caves, Christian Sorensen, has embarked on a development project. The plan is to convert the area into an eco-attraction. A nature trail and the caves themselves will serve as the focal points.
If you know your Caribbean caves then the name Sorensen may sound familiar. It might also give you some assurance that we’re not in for another pirate cave tourist trap here.
You see, Christian is related to Ole Sorensen. He’s the guy who developed Harrison’s Cave in Barbados back in the 1970s.
Assuming a similar plan is followed with the Crystal Caves, we’ll have another great reason to return to Cayman soon.
* Lead photo credit: Paul via Flickr.
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