Happy Caymanniversary!

Today is my Caymanniversary! It is one year to the day since I landed in the Cayman Islands on 27 May 2016. 

My favourite spot on island - Smiths

Taking a break from paddle boarding

My morning commute

Gal pals at brunch

Aside from working in a job that I LOVE and that affords me both exciting and interesting work AND a good work/life balance, in the past 12 months I have been lucky enough to:

(a)   spend inordinate amounts of time on Seven Mile Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world;

(b)   frequently swim with tropical fish, turtles and stingrays;

(c)   sail the high seas (aka, 200 metres from shore) on numerous occasions like a pirate aboard the Jolly Roger;

(d)   on average, go on at least one boat party a month for someone’s birthday/arrival/departure/because we feel like it;

(e)   make countless new friends (some of whom even work outside of the accounting and legal fields!);

(f)    play huge amounts of sport – netball, touch football, tennis, Gaelic football, beach volleyball;

(g)   visit Cuba, the Bahamas and the USA (and Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney); and

(h)   parade down the street in feathers for carnival and a pirate outfit for Pirate's week.

Doing justice

Cuba

My fab Gaelic team

Boat trip to Kaibo 

In the interests of full disclosure and providing a balanced picture of life on the Rock, I have also:

(a)   failed (well, not really tried that hard) to remedy the tragic state of my love life (small pond, few fish);

(b)   been mauled by mosquitos more often that I care to remember;

(c)   sweated excessively in extreme heat and humidity (not in a light, glowing way, more in a drippy and awkward way);

(d)   consumed more cocktails than my hips and liver would like;

(e) dodged wild chickens, iguanas and crabs on a regular basis;

(f)   had heart palpitations when I’ve seen my grocery bill at Kirk’s or my monthly electricity bill (US$200 to $400 per month). 

Drink receptacle Cayman style

A day in hell

Standard breakfast views

Wild chickens to avoid at supermarket

Obviously packing up my life and moving by myself to a place I had never seen in person and where I didn't know anybody was a big, scary decision. But it was nowhere near as scary as the idea of where I would be now if I hadn’t taken the leap and I'm so glad that I did. It is definitely hard to live so far away from my family, on a remote little island in the Caribbean, but 365 days in to Cayman life, I figure it's not a bad place to spend a few years :) 

Cheers to Island life!