Sing a song of Sixpence

I stumbled upon this on the net:

The nursery rhyme, 'Sing a Song of Sixpence', orginated as a coded message used for recruiting pirates.

Well, I'll be damned! Nice bit to bring up at this year's Pirate's Week.

A Pirate's life for me

Saturday Nov 15/08. Pirates Week Float Parade. GeorgeTown. Where all anyone could see were pirates with swords, running up to random bystanders and 'pretending' to slash their throats. Even dogs were in on the Pirate action, looking for their next victim (do not miss the Pirate hat on his head).

Police Officers were not spared. Pirates charged toward the cop that stood right by us, while one of them pulled out his sword and held it flush against the cop's neck, a little aggressively I might add, Arrring at the same time. The cop all cool and zen like, says: It's going to take a lot more than that to scare me.

Me with my eyes wide open, shocked at this display of what would normally be considered enough to haul one's butt to jail. I mean you've got assault on a cop with a deadly weapon. That's more than enough. I looked at the cop and said: Well, I guess this is the one day they can get away with doing something like that to you. He smiles and says: Oh, you got that right.

Of course, I was a little slow in capturing that shot but I did get the Pirate's next victim. Although I don't know she wasn't afraid...

Steel Pans

One of the things that makes Cayman so special to so many people (locals and expats) is its ability to make people from any and all countries feel so welcome, whether they are visitors or foreign workers. I have truly experienced the warmth of the Cayman people and their willingness to even learn and want to integrate other's cultures as part of their own. This was none to evident during the Pirates Week Float Parade as this particular section began to walk by. Take a look at the collage and you'll see what I mean.

Not only does Cayman make it a point to acknowledge this fact but it has also integrated others cultures and made it part of their own. I give you Steel Pans, introduced from Trinidad about 20 years ago and heartily accepted and integrated into Cayman's culture. This is an important fixture of Pirates week that competitions were held over the course of the week. I have so many videos and pictures to depict particular heritage, but I leave you with these ones taken during the GeorgeTown Heritage Day on Thursday night. Enjoy!

All fired up

The one thing about Pirates Week 2008 that everyone is talking about is the fireworks. It was definitely the best we've seen yet. I heard that big money was spent on the fireworks showdown on Saturday that lasted for about 10 minutes. How big? Oh about $100,000 big. Check out the video and you'll see why it's the talk of the town.

Pirates Week 2008 Fireworks

Pirates of terror

Of the pirates of yesteryear, perhaps the two most popular ones are Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard and Calico Jack Ratham (rumoured to be the inspiration for Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean). They both reigned and terrorised the Caribbean during what was known as the Golden Age of Piracy.

Blackbeard (British by birth) was one of the most notorious pirates known to plunder the Caribbean islands in the early 18th century. The Queen Anne's Revenge was one of his best known ships. There is much at the Pirates Soul Museum on Blackbeard and I quote the following from Key West's Pirates Soul Museum:
"November 1718: Famous for his blood-curdling looks and terrifying manner, Blackbeard died during a bloody battle in Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina. He was killed by the Royal Navy's Lieutenant Robert Maynard. The cause of death was decapitation. It is said that Blackbeard received 20 cutlass slashes and five shots before he finally fell. Blackbeard's reign of terror lasted less than three years but made him a legend. He was survived by 14 wives."

Blackbeard's head was hung from the bow of the ship belonging to his decapitator and was later hung from a pike in Bath. The Museum had a little replica of Blackbeard's head hanging from a pike and though it was just a replica, it was quite gruesome. See for yourself!

Calico Jack Ratham was also and English Pirate and the calico clothes he wore gave him his pirate name. The thing that made Calico Jack most famous was the two female pirates, Anne Bonny (Calico Jack's lover) and Mary Read, whom he hired to be a part of his crew. Anne Bonny disguised herself as a man for long time in order for Calico Jack to have her aboard. Their 'close' relationship forced them to reveal her true identity. One night as the authorities invaded Jack's ship, Anne Bonny and Mary Read were the only ones left to fight off the invaders and held them off as long as they could. Calico Jack and his crew were in too much of a drunken stupor to fight the invasion aboard his ship and were captured. Calico Jack was executed in Port Royal, Jamaica in 1720. As a warning to other pirates and in an attempt to deter them from a life of piracy, Calico Jack's body was tarred and hung in an iron cage and his body was left there to rot. A replica of Calico Jack's body is hung at the Museum beside a sign that reads: Had you fought like a man, you might not have been hanged like a dog - Anne Bonny.

So, whatever happened to Anne Bonny and Mary Read? They pleaded for their lives and 'for their bellies' in Court as they were both pregnant at the time. They were both granted a stay of execution until their babies were born but had to serve that time in prison. Mary Read died in April 1971 during childbirth while, Anne Bonny managed to escape prison. It is said that her father ransomed her out of prison, soon after which she gave birth to Calico Jack's second child. It is also said that she lived out her days in Colonial America and died at the ripe old age of 85.

The other thing that made Calico Jack famous was his version of the Pirate Flag, which was from then on adopted by the other pirates and was recently used in Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

The Pirates of Las Tortugas

Did you know there IS buried pirate treasure here in Cayman that has yet to be found? Oh yeah! I had read about this before moving to Cayman and found it fascinating but when I asked a local about it, she quickly dismissed the idea, saying if there was any treasure to be found, it would have been long time ago. But that's not what a pirate told me yesterday.

Oh yeah, I met a few pirates yesterday in Georgetown for its Heritage Day. Real pirates! Cayman has about 35 pirates and they're all real and known as the Pirates of Las Tortugas. At first I didn't believe them, but it's true. It was their pirate ancestors that one might have been afraid of. There is a reason why Pirates Week is integrated with Heritage Days all over Cayman. It is partly their heritage. Back in the day, pirates took refuge in many Caribbean islands during their raids, in a attempt to avoid the 'authorities' sent forth by the British. It's only natural that they planted roots in many of the Caribbean islands, and not to mention buried treasure as well. According to this pirate, there are about five treasures that have remained hidden for ages, that no one has been able to unearth. No one knows where they are and the search continues. Fascinating!


As we began talking about the Pirate Soul Museum in Key West and of the world's only surviving treasure chest, which I have re posted here, he began to regale us on how the owner of the Museum has collected quite a wealth of pirate artifacts from all around the world, especially difficult since 99% of the world's pirate treasure has been lost to the seas. He made mention of the silver coins and how back in the day how each pirate would a pay of a silver coin (Also known as Piece of Eight) as they docked off. Each coin weighed about 28 grams each and was each worth 8 reales, to later have little bits be cut out it to pay for various different things like food, rum, lodging. He made mention of how many times the coins would have a V shaped cut in them. Of course, I had to come back and dig through my photo archives of the Spanish Coins that currently lie at the Museum. And sure enough he was right!

The Pirate Flag

Everyone loves Pirates. What's not to? Especially after Johnny Depp played the exceptional role of Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean. We shall forever think of Johnny's Jack Sparrow as the ultimate pirate going forward. The pirates we've always 'encountered' in today's world are funny, savvy & jolly. Well, if this were a few centuries ago, we'd not think so. Just the presence of a pirate ship out yonder in the ocean, only recognisable by the pirate flag, the sighting of which would invoke the start of chaos and panic that would have made us run for the hills. We'd be terrorised by pirates because if they were in a looting mood, one could kiss everyone and everything good bye.

And everyone knows what a pirate's flag looks like right? We may not recognise flags of different nations, but a pirate flag has been embedded in our memories for as long as we could remember. But what is the pirate flag really and where did it come from?

At the Pirate Soul Museum in Key West, we were treated to the answer. The flag pictured here is one of the only two existing original pirate flags in the world. Next to it the inscription reads:
"ONLY TWO PIRATE FLAGS STILL EXIST
And this is one of them. It's the popular Jolly Roger design. What's so jolly about it? Nothing! Like all pirate flags, it was designed to strike terror into its victims' hearts and minds.
The name Jolly Roger probably came from the French words jolie rouge, meaning 'pretty red' and referring to the days when pirate flags were often red. The skull with a pair of crossed bones underneath may have been borrowed from gravestones."

Fascinating!

Now not only do you know the origins of the pirate flag, you also know what Jolie stands for in Angelina Jolie (yes it fits, as some of you may know that her mother was French Canadian).

West Bay Heritage Day

Pirates Week has begun. We drove on down to the West Bay Heritage Day at the Turtle Farm yesterday. It was a fabulous hot day and after six weeks of rain, I'd completely forgotten how hot Cayman can really get. Amid the heat we were treated some of the things that were done yesteryear in Cayman, like how to thatch rope and to plenty of goods made using straw and of course spinning tops (both of which were and still are so similar to the ones made in India).

Many times I find souvenirs here are not really made here but rather 'outsourced', with the Cayman Islands stamp on it. It can be quite difficult looking for Made in Cayman souvenirs, but not this week. Heritage Week is THE place to take something truly and authentically made in Cayman by Caymanians. I snapped up one of the ceramic green turtles shown here and am now kicking myself for not also buying the ceramic orange starfish. But I think I shall get my chance this Thursday in Georgetown, where Heritage Day is set to take place there. If you're visiting, don't miss out on the chance to take home something truly Caymanian made and you get to support local artisans by doing so. Also shown are some old Cayman treasures that have probably been around for a century, of course none of those were on sale. And what was also interesting to see was the traditional garb that most of the women at the event wore. Interesting because until I saw their Gingham dresses, it never occurred to me that Cayman had its own distinct and traditional dress.

There was also plenty of local food to be had, of which I will get shots of later on this week. If you've never been privy to local Caymanian grub, then this is the time and place to try some out. Of course the Pirates had to show up and even though it was while we were leaving, they were gracious enough to pose for a quick shot with us. Of course this is not the only pirate shot I will leave you with this week. Stay tuned because there's plenty more to come. The revised Pirates Week schedule can be found HERE.

Pirates week sneak peek

I have been looking forward to Pirates Week Festival here in Cayman, pretty much since I got here, and entire week of fun, devoted to piracy, Caribbean style. The only style there is! It had already been postponed from it's original slot in October, since we've been having unusual inordinate amounts of rainfall here in Grand Cayman. And now, as of today we're preparing for a category 1 or 2 hurricane. And here I thought we were done with our share of hurricanes. Paloma, you can take a hike in another direction, like perhaps inch more towards the West. The extreme West. For now many events are cancelled/postponed and revised dates can be found here.

STAY TUNED NEXT WEEK, AS I WILL BE DOING A WEEK LONG SESSION OF PIRATE POSTS, tales and pictures from the Pirate Soul Museum in Key West from our recent cruise to Key West/Cozumel and of course from all the Piracy that's going to take over Cayman over the next week. Here's a sneak peek!