Hello Everyone! My name is Matt, and have only 3 dive under my belt. Me, my wife, son and 21yo nephew went to Grand Cayman August 2004 and had a blast despite what sounds like a horrible vacation. We made the best of all situations.
- We drove to Dallas to leave from DFW and pick up my nephew (Ryan) that was interning there. Saturday morning we get to DFW 1.5 hours before takeoff when Ryan suddenly realized he did not have his wallet. I gave him my keys and he speed back to his apartment. On the way back to DFW he got pulled over doing 98 in a 55 which equals about $200. OUCH! He made it to the airport as we were boarding. Lucky, lucky I tell you!
- We arrive in Cayman Saturday 1pm and rented a Suzuki Samurai. I think it had a total of 35 horsepower. Seriously the slowest car I've ever driven. We get to the Marriot, unpack, and head straight for the beach. As soon as we get in the water a thunder storm moves in. No more water for us that day.
- Sunday, Ryan and I going diving with Brian from Marina Labs and had a blast. We did 2 very deep dives. Ill have to look at my charts again but I think they were 100ft and 115ft. A little scary for my very first dive! And probably pretty stupid now that I look back. But I did it with no problems. Swam with a sea turtle which was the coolest thing ever!
- Monday morning, Ryan and I go diving again with Brian. First dive we go 119ft! On the way up I stop at 80ft for 2minutes, and then stop at 60ft for 2 minutes. 4 people go up before me so Im the 5th one in the boat. After everyone is in we head to our next location. On the way my hands start cramping up and tingling real bad. I get light headed and sick. I tell Brian the Dive Master and he puts me on oxygen ASAP. He calls the hospital and heads back to shore to meet the ambulance. They rush me to the hospital while Ryan drives behind me (never haven driven on the wrong side before). After being there for 1.5hours they tell me I need the decompression chamber and they dont accept American insurance. I try calling my wife but shes at the beach with my son. So, I go into the chamber for 5 hours. Ryan goes back to the hotel to give my wife the bad news. Now she has the chore of contacting our banks and moving some money around so we can pay the $3000 bill. As they leave the hotel my wife wrecks the car (save that for another time). 5 hours later I get out and fell great! But they tell me I cant dive for 3 months. I was planning to do 6 to 8 dives this trip.
- Tuesday we go to Hell, the turtle farm and the pier right north of that. I have fun snorkeling there while Ryan did a shore dive. We get to Rum Point about 4pm and they start closing up for Hurricane Charlie thats going to hit Wednesday. We snorkeled there and saw tons of fish under the board walk. We also went to the arboretum to see the blue iguanas.
- Wednesday, Everything is closed down because hurricane Charlie hit! Were stuck in the hotel all day long. Waves only got a couple of feet tall.
- Thursday we are suppose to come back home but the airport is closed. The soonest we can fly out is Saturday. W00t w00t! 2 more days in paradise! Ryan does 2 more dives with Marina labs while I shop with my wife.
-Friday, We did the pirate ship and snorkeling.
-Saturday flew back home.
We laughed about all the bad stuff. And my insurance ended up reimbursing me all but $100 for my hospital stay. I even got a hyperbaric t-shirt and plenty of pictures!
Next Trip?
We are going on a cruise to Cozumel and Playa del Carmen the first week in April and I want to set up at least 2 dives while Im on shore. There will be 6 of us diving.
Sorry, for the long letter but Im sure you dont have anything better to do! LOL
Thanks for listening,
Matt
P.S. here are some picts from my trip.
http://www.mattrandolph.com/cayman/
- We drove to Dallas to leave from DFW and pick up my nephew (Ryan) that was interning there. Saturday morning we get to DFW 1.5 hours before takeoff when Ryan suddenly realized he did not have his wallet. I gave him my keys and he speed back to his apartment. On the way back to DFW he got pulled over doing 98 in a 55 which equals about $200. OUCH! He made it to the airport as we were boarding. Lucky, lucky I tell you!
- We arrive in Cayman Saturday 1pm and rented a Suzuki Samurai. I think it had a total of 35 horsepower. Seriously the slowest car I've ever driven. We get to the Marriot, unpack, and head straight for the beach. As soon as we get in the water a thunder storm moves in. No more water for us that day.
- Sunday, Ryan and I going diving with Brian from Marina Labs and had a blast. We did 2 very deep dives. Ill have to look at my charts again but I think they were 100ft and 115ft. A little scary for my very first dive! And probably pretty stupid now that I look back. But I did it with no problems. Swam with a sea turtle which was the coolest thing ever!
- Monday morning, Ryan and I go diving again with Brian. First dive we go 119ft! On the way up I stop at 80ft for 2minutes, and then stop at 60ft for 2 minutes. 4 people go up before me so Im the 5th one in the boat. After everyone is in we head to our next location. On the way my hands start cramping up and tingling real bad. I get light headed and sick. I tell Brian the Dive Master and he puts me on oxygen ASAP. He calls the hospital and heads back to shore to meet the ambulance. They rush me to the hospital while Ryan drives behind me (never haven driven on the wrong side before). After being there for 1.5hours they tell me I need the decompression chamber and they dont accept American insurance. I try calling my wife but shes at the beach with my son. So, I go into the chamber for 5 hours. Ryan goes back to the hotel to give my wife the bad news. Now she has the chore of contacting our banks and moving some money around so we can pay the $3000 bill. As they leave the hotel my wife wrecks the car (save that for another time). 5 hours later I get out and fell great! But they tell me I cant dive for 3 months. I was planning to do 6 to 8 dives this trip.
- Tuesday we go to Hell, the turtle farm and the pier right north of that. I have fun snorkeling there while Ryan did a shore dive. We get to Rum Point about 4pm and they start closing up for Hurricane Charlie thats going to hit Wednesday. We snorkeled there and saw tons of fish under the board walk. We also went to the arboretum to see the blue iguanas.
- Wednesday, Everything is closed down because hurricane Charlie hit! Were stuck in the hotel all day long. Waves only got a couple of feet tall.
- Thursday we are suppose to come back home but the airport is closed. The soonest we can fly out is Saturday. W00t w00t! 2 more days in paradise! Ryan does 2 more dives with Marina labs while I shop with my wife.
-Friday, We did the pirate ship and snorkeling.
-Saturday flew back home.
We laughed about all the bad stuff. And my insurance ended up reimbursing me all but $100 for my hospital stay. I even got a hyperbaric t-shirt and plenty of pictures!
Next Trip?
We are going on a cruise to Cozumel and Playa del Carmen the first week in April and I want to set up at least 2 dives while Im on shore. There will be 6 of us diving.
Sorry, for the long letter but Im sure you dont have anything better to do! LOL
Thanks for listening,
Matt
P.S. here are some picts from my trip.
http://www.mattrandolph.com/cayman/
