That means making sure all Reef Staff members are trained to assist guests in an emergency. First Aid Training Courses are being held for team members  and I recently completed my course along with two of our front desk agents and a member of the marketing/reservations team. A special thank you goes out to our instructor Doug from Red Sail who put our skills and knowledge to the test with a series of  reenactments.

Once the life-saving training was over it was time for some side-splitting laugh out loud stories from some of Cayman and the Caribbean’s greatest story tellers! Gimistory- a storytelling festival put on by the Cayman National Cultural Foundation- is a favorite among both young and old, residents and guests.

Gimistory Storyteller

Held every year over a one week period in each of the districts and on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, Gimistory brings together renowned story tellers and singers from the Caribbean and the U.S. who share traditional stories and songs using an array of props, musical instruments, costumes and sometimes members of the crowd. It truly is one of the most relaxing, enjoyable evenings you can spend with friends and family and something well worth checking out.

With Christmas just a few days away be sure to check back soon for a look at another popular Christmas Tradition in Grand Cayman- the Festival of Lights.

So what do you think of my posts? Drop me a line at crichardson@thereef.com  I would love to hear from you!

Happy Holidays Cathy the concierge

crichardson@thereef.com

In celebration of the pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock,  millions of Americans will gather with their family and friends and enjoy the traditional feast of turkey, ham and all the trimmings.

Here at theReef Resort we have employees from all over the world that celebrate a variety of holidays. We have Canadians, Jamaicans, English, Filipinos and Caymanians as well as a few employees from Serbia and one from Australia.

For me Thanksgiving is about being grateful, it’s a time that forces us to stop & reflect on what we have & appreciate all the good things in life. I live here in Cayman on a beautiful island with my family. I have a really fun job as a concierge where I get to meet new guests & make friends every week, and every week I go on a catamaran and play with the Stingrays when we take our guests out, who wouldn’t be thankful for that.

So in this holiday season I encourage you to be grateful for what you do have and not dwell on what you don’t have and let us all be thankful for all the wonderful things we get to experience, for sunrises & sunsets, for laughter & for love, for always learning and for the simple joys of life, like hearing your favorite song on the radio or seeing a child smile.

Happy Thanksgiving !

Cathy

 It’s also Pirates Week, a festival with fireworks, a parade, street dance & lots of great Heritage Days celebrating the food, culture & traditions that make up our beautiful islands. It’s also a great excuse to dress up like a pirate & say “arrgghh” a lot.

One of the events at Pirates Week that many people miss, is the Cardboard Boat Race, this takes place on the final Saturday of Pirates Week in George Town Harbour. In it’s 6^th year, teams make “boats” out of cardboard & race out to a specific spot in the water & then back to shore, teams were judged on design, team spirit & of course finishing. As you can see by the picture, many boats completed the course, but just as many didn’t. The batman team, while especially creative, came in almost dead last, it was blamed on the joker.

Overall it was a great race and the long green boat full of lawyers won bragging rights as the new champions, arrrgghhh!!!

theReef Resort has partnered with Bragfire to introduce VideoMaker- an easy to use application that creates a lasting video of the Ultimate Island Vacation you can instantly share with all your friends, family, colleagues, everyone you know.

The best part, VideoMaker does all the work. All you have to do is visit  video.theReef.com  choose your favorite pictures and then click preview and watch VideoMaker combine those pictures with a pre-made video of theReef Resort. You can be as creative or traditional as you want to be there are no rules, just pure fun! Once your video is made you can then instantly share your masterpiece on facebook, twitter, pininterest, or email.

Here’s my video … now it’s your turn to make your own lasting memories of yourvacation at theReef.

Have fun!

Happy Holidays from everyone at theReef!

My answer, “Walmart”, but that’s just me. Until recently I hadn’t been off this little island called Grand Cayman in four long years and my vacation motto is “when your on vacation you have to do things you can’t do at home” for me that’s shopping as sadly there is no Walmart in Grand Cayman.

I realize that many of our guests live by my vacation motto too. Trying new things like visiting Stingray City, getting out on the water with kayaks or simply relaxing on the beach with a Cayman Lemonade (highly recommended by our guests from big cities!).

 But this year I finally did get off the rock, and besides shopping (lots of shopping!) my family and I went to the Smokey Mountains, to the forests and rivers of North Carolina and Tennessee. I must tell you first hand, that driving down a winding, twisting mountain road at night with nothing but your headlights on, is ten times scarier than any roller coaster ride I have ever been on. We went White Water Rafting and tubeing down a creek. As many of our blog readers know, Grand Cayman is really a small island, so we took advantage of the open American roads and embarked on a few road trips. Something you really can’t do on an island which is less than 100 square miles.

The majority of our staff here at theReef go home to visit family and friends; it can be difficult to be away from loved ones. Others go on road trips like I did, and some explore Cuba and nearby countries throughout the Caribbean & Central America.

We came back to Grand Cayman, our bags filled with bargains and hearts filled with memories. I returned with a renewed energy and enthusiasm ready to make sure you enjoy your vacation as much as we did ours!

At theReef our guests join us from all over the USA, Canada and Europe and many of our staff are from far away places too; that is I think makes Cayman so interesting, a culture combined from many continents, different cuisines and a wonderful history.

Being on vacation gave me insight as to what our guests at theReef need while they are on holiday, for me it was fun family time. So whether you are looking for an action packed family vacation or relaxing romantic vacation, stop by and see me at the concierge desk.

Even though our island is small there is still loads going on! 

- Cathy Richardson, Concierge

The man behind the drive for electric vehicles in Cayman (no pun intended!), is Mr. John Felder. Mr. Felder has been working on this project in Cayman for six years and earlier this year he sold the first electric vehicle, a Chevy Volt, to Caribbean Utilities Company (CUC). These charging stations are the first of its kind in the Caribbean and theReef is very proud to support this innovative green movement.

At the moment 14 solar panel chargers are planned for Grand Cayman, including the station at theReef. The chargers have wind-resistant solar panels which will form a canopy over the car (bonus your car is kept shaded too). Surplus energy will also be fed back into Cayman’s national grid.

You can read more about Mr. John Felder’s plans for electric cars in Cayman here.

The Toronto Outdoor Adventure Show provided visitors with information on adventure destinations. Guest visited canoe and kayak experts in the Whitewater Demo Pool, Scuba Demos in the dive tank, climbing wall or visited some exhibitors which ignited passions for biking, hiking and or running.

The Reef Resort offered visitors a chance to win a five night all inclusive stay at the Reef Resort in Grand Cayman. Our lucky winner was Mr. Drew Baker and here he is being presented with his prize from Tammy Van Zyl, from the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism. Upon receiving his prize Mr. Baker said ,” We are sure looking forward to this trip. We are so lucky!”

We look forward to welcoming Mr. Baker to the Reef soon.

 TheReef is proud to announce that 5 of our very own have been nominated for these prestigious awards! And theReef’s nominees are…

• Linera Grant - Accommodations Employee of the Year
• Eadaoin Douglas – Restaurant Manager of  the Year
• Constantiono “Tony” Vailoces – Restaurant Employee of the Year
• Sarah-Jane Whitehill – Rising Star in Tourism Award
• Michelle Hayes – Long Service/Special Contribution Award

On Tuesday 9^th November, the nominees will attend an awards dinner held at the Marriott Beach Resort on Seven Mile Beach.

 We wish them all the best of luck! Check back here to find out if our Reef Stars are winners.

This year, Cayman Night will be held on Saturday, September 25^th at the Carl Parker Multipurpose Center from 5.30 to 11.30pm.

Barefoot Man, Chuck and Barrie Quappe, and Andy Martin, “The Cayman Cowboy,” will be heading the festivities. The pre-show will feature, the OutRigger Band, featuring Bob Brammer and K.O. Harlow!
Island Cuisine and Cayman Rum Punch will also be available for purchase, as well as soft drinks and other beverages. There will be children’s activities, limbo contests, door prize give-a-ways, and photos among the festivities for the night. Tickets are US$20 per adult and kids under 12 are free!

For tickets and further information please visit www.caymannight.com. Special hotel rates are also available.