The 2009 Beach Walk Part Three

Looking back, one thing we took for granted was how clean Seven Mile Beach was.  I never saw one piece of trash except back in the bushes in an undeveloped section.  Everyone obviously takes great pride in keeping their wonderful beach pretty.

I was told that pets were allowed, but I didn't see one animal all day.  The absence of animals indicated to me that the year-round residents of Cayman must live somewhere else on the island.  No pets meant no locals lived on the beach.

I didn't see many people on the beach either.  The condos were completely empty and the hotels looked to be no better than 20% full.  That seemed odd because it was still summer - we visited during the week before Labor Day. 

It was fun having this glorious beach mostly to ourselves, but I did wonder why on the final week of summer the beach was so deserted.  Except for all the cruisers who congregated down at Calico Jack's, the beach was practically empty all day long. 

The private residences were empty as well. This led me to believe that most of these homes were "second homes" for getaway vacations.  Whenever I go to Colorado ski areas, lots of stunning homes sit vacant awaiting a weekend visit from the owner.  I assume the same situation held true for these homes.  Must be nice to have that kind of money.  I hate it when people have a better second home than I have a first home.

The Coral Stone Club.  Deserted.
 

The Water's Edge.  Deserted.
 

The Water's Edge featured a unique sort of swimming pool/wading pool that doubled as an entrance to the hotel. You can either walk around it
or walk straight through it on your way back to the hotel.

 

Here's a close-up look at its design.  Nice way to get the sand off
your feet. That said, there wasn't a drop of sand in any pool.
That's because this place was... you guessed it... deserted.
 

We haven't checked in with Google Earth for a while.  Notice how the Ritz Carlton extends to the other side of West Bay Road. Big place!
 

The Beachcomber
 

The Meridian
 

Turtle Run
 

Good grief. I have seen snow plows groom the ski runs, but I didn't know they groomed the beaches too. The funny thing is there weren't any footprints besides ours.  He erased our tracks.
 

Here is a look back at where we came from.  The crescent shape of Seven Mile Beach is pretty obvious.  That yellow dot is over the "decadent place" we saw at the start of the day's trip.  Look how far we've come!
 

The Caribbean Club

 

The Caribbean Club features a place called the Luca Restaurant.  Might be a nice place to get a rest in an upscale location.
 

By chance, while I was playing on the Internet, I came across an unusual feature of Google Earth that showed a stunning 360 panorama of Seven Mile Beach.

The panorama used the Caribbean Club as its main focus. If the link above doesn't work, the same 360 can be seen on the Caribbean's Club's home page under "panoramic view". 

Very impressive display.  You should try it!

Notice the nicely groomed beach.  I guess they got their ski plow out for the video.
 

If you are standing in front of the Caribbean Club looking to the right, here is a look at the area we have come from.
 

And here is a look at what is up ahead of us.  What a beach!  I guess you don't get ranked as the "Best Beach in the Caribbean" by accident.
 

After the Caribbean Club came the Casa Caribe
 

Onward we continued.  Peggy Mac looks for seashells.

Island Club.  This place was completely empty. 
So were the condos on either side of it.
What was that word I keep using again?

 

Colonial Club.  There are so many of these empty places that I found
it hard to believe they ever fill up.  I had wondered earlier why there
was so much undeveloped area on the most distant part of Seven Mile
Beach.  I suppose the demand just isn't there yet.
 

Let's track our progress with Google Earth

 

Beach Suites.  I thought this was a very attractive hotel. 
It had a much different design than the rest. 
 

The Beach Suites featured a lovely walk-in patio complete with an outdoor restaurant known as "Hemingway's".  I later learned that the Beach Suites were originally part of the Hyatt chain.

Hemingway's Restaurant must have been popular because I saw several boats literally 'parked' in front of the Beach Suites Hotel.  I imagine the people left their boats and waded in to eat.  Interesting lifestyle.
 

'Red Sail Sports' seems to rent space at the Beach Suites Hotel.
 

I suspect that any of us could have rented a sail boat or some of their
jet skis and taken off into the water right on the spot
 

This was a busy little area.  I noticed the "Bus Stop" sign. 
Right next door to Red Sail Sports was some competition at the Beach Club Colony known as 'Resorts Sports'.  This place rents floats, snorkel equipment, kayaks, waverunners, and parasails. 
It also schedules tours to the nearby Turtle Farm and Stingray City.
 

These two colorful houses were most likely part
 of the Beach Colony Club

La Covia
 

I believe this was a private residence.  I see footprints inside the restricted area.  Does someone actually live here? 
 

I believe this too was a private residence.
 

Judging by the 'keep out' sign, this was a private residence
 

This place was called The Cayman Club
 

The sign said 'The Sovereign - Private Residence'
 

In front of the Cayman Club was a spot labeled 'sensitive environmental area'.  Since our group was feeling a little sensitive themselves, we thought this would be a nice spot for a picture. Sam, Wendy, Kevin, Elizabeth, Mary, Peggy, Marla, Carol, Mark, Frances, Edward, Roberta
 

I had a feeling this was the same spot we took our picture back in 2008.  Sure enough, I was right. I see the area was sensitive back then too.   The 2008 people are Kurt, Tiffany and Jean Wind, Rick & Marla, Phyllis Phrog, Leslie Goldsmith, Patty Harrison, Joe Lachner, and Albertin

The sign said 'private property'
 

Camana Bay
 

This private area was the property of Camana Bay
 

We were really getting tired. 
It had been quite a while since our last stop.
 

A cloud cover messed up some of my Google Earth fun.  Fortunately there wasn't anything all that interesting to look at.
 

Fortunately at the end of the Camana Bay wall we saw the Royal Palms. 
Thank goodness.  Time to eat!  The Royal Palms would be the starting point for the final leg of our journey.
 

BEACH WALK 2009 CONTINUED - The Fourth and Final Leg