Tuesday, June 10, 2008

In a nutshell

When I first said I was moving here to Cayman, some of my Bermudian friends failed to understand why. Some said Cayman is not as developed or nearly as sophisticated as Bermuda. Of course I expected them to be biased, but did not expect them to be so vehement about it. Some that had been down here to Cayman said they liked it, and others said they couldn't wait to get back to Bermuda. Some said Cayman was FLAT, like it was a bad thing (and at that point I had to suppress a laugh). Flat land is not such a bad thing, especially when one has to consider the slopes and dips that one has to manoeuvre on a bike or on foot in Bermuda. Balance with speed is required for the former, and stamina for the latter.

After having been here in Cayman for about three months, I will say this and it's as unbiased and objective as it comes: Cayman is WAY more developed and sophisticated than Bermuda. It is much more Americanised and has way more of a nightlife when the sun goes down (of course this depends on where on the island you are). And not to mention the roads here are much more wider and Cayman has highways (only here they refer to them as a BYPASS instead of a highway - and of which most are in the process of being converted into two lanes each way). Cayman is also much bigger than Bermuda, with its main island of Grand Cayman measuring at 76 square miles (largely uninhabited - but still large) compared to Bermuda's diminutive 21 square miles.

What Cayman is not is as beautiful as Bermuda. There is a certain beauty and charm to Bermuda's hills and dips, especially when it is consistently layered with flowers, trees and all sorts of tropical foliage. Not to mention the touch of colour the houses add to the island they appear to peek from the green that surrounds the island. Bermuda's various beaches are unparalleled in beauty and personality, and while Cayman does have beautiful stretches of beach, it lacks that certain personality that Bermuda seems to have. The thing I miss the most though, is the pink Bermuda sand. Cayman has none of that and that is quite unfortunate.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

congratulations on the new address! mscutepants, you rock!

Anonymous said...

congrats on the new sight dear.

My expectation of Cayman wasn't much. You have to experience it and go around to appreciate it. Those people who haven't been to Cayman are missing out. Can't make a comment if ya haven't been there.

fortify98 :)

Anonymous said...

Poor thing having to compare and contrast which tropical island you have lived on is better. Wish I had that problem. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

May: Thank you!

Fortify: I totally agree. Folks should not be warranting an opinion of a place when they haven`t been there themselves.

Carla: Funniest comment I`ve had in a while. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I thought you could start a weekly column in one of the local papers, even a community paper, confidence will come automatically!

wish you good luck.

U. Lawrence