GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands (17 Dec 2004) -- Christmas decorations were among the many household casualties of Hurricane Ivan, whose mountainous waves and 200-mph winds mangled about 90% of island homes when it roared through this affluent British territory on Sept. 12. But the holiday spirit hasn't been dampened at the Westin Casuarina resort, one of the few Grand Cayman lodgings to come back on line since the storm. Commanding center stage in the lobby is a Caymanian-style gingerbread village fashioned of brown sugar sand and coconut grass — and two plastic dump trucks next to a pile of graham cracker debris. "We're rebuilding our own way," says the Westin's Marcus Repp. "You have to look forward, not back." That's a daunting challenge on Grand Cayman, largest and most populated of the three Cayman Islands, a banking and scuba-diving haven 150 miles south of Cuba. Three months after Ivan ripped apartment complexes off their foundations and stacked cars like Lego toys, this 76-square-mile outpost is still reeling. It is "like a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle," a local Web site quotes one former resident and recent visitor, "and we have just finished all the edges." Cruise ships resumed calls Nov. 1 at the lightly damaged capital of George Town, where most of the shops and restaurants that entertain some 1.8 million passengers a year (six times more than those who stay in island lodgings) are up and running. The most popular shore excursion was also the least affected: Stingray City, where Atlantic Southern stingrays cavort with their human admirers. Well aware that the rays had been trained to expect squid handouts, Caymanians kept feeding them after the hurricane. Their efforts paid off, and tour boats packed with cruise-ship passengers are once again converging on Stingray City. Last week, the delighted squeals included those of Utah resident Georgene Strong. "I grew up in Miami, so I know hurricanes are part of the cycle of life," Strong says. "This warm, gorgeous water is why people come here, and it's just as incredible as when I was here a year and a half ago." | | Indeed, while some of Grand Cayman's dive and snorkel sites lost sponges and corals from the storm, many others were untouched — and are still home to a kaleidoscopic flurry of tangs, triggerfish and sergeant majors. Above the surface, however, Ivan's lingering influence is far more stark. Portions of Seven Mile Beach, the island's most popular strand, actually gained sand from the hurricane. But with a few exceptions — including Avalon condominiums, Hyatt Regency Beach Suites and the Westin — most of the hotels and condos that line its flanks are still repairing everything from soggy guest rooms to smashed swimming pools. Island-wide, meanwhile, only 25% of approximately 4,500 hotel and condo rooms have reopened, a number officials hope will increase to a third by February. Many Caymanians called Ivan "the great leveler," and a drive along the ravaged shoreline east of George Town shows why: Multimillion-dollar mansions stand empty, windows and doors open to reveal gutted interiors, while modest, 100-year-old frame houses escaped relatively unscathed. But even in the hardest-hit areas, bougainvillea is blooming and casuarina trees are sprouting new leaves — signs of rebirth that weary but optimistic residents view as heaven-sent. "This is a very religious island, and we did a lot of praying before the storm," taxi driver Rita Bush says. "It didn't stop the hurricane from coming, but it's given us courage, hope and faith to rebuild." SOURCE - USA Today |
