Regular Reefians may remember that we have had 12 lovely framed prints hanging in and around the lobby since last summer.

They are the creation of talented Caymanian Photographer, Patrick Broderick, who has finally confirmed pricing of US$350 per print. The prints are not framed but are limited editions and signed by the artist. They would make a very special gift or souvenir of your relaxing time spent here.

Patrick’s keen intuitive eye connects to his photography subjects with a very quiet sense. His use of a natural composition and lighting draws the viewer into the works. One feels Patrick knows his subjects well, as the intimacy is obvious, be it a landscape or portrait. His attention to detail enhances the work as well as his use of available photographic technology.

- Lesley Bigelman, Former Director
National Gallery of the Cayman Islands

More information is available on Patrick’s website, his contact information is below :

Patrick Broderick
30180 Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman
Ph. 345-947-8400    Cell 345-925-9247
E. pbp@candw.ky

 
AND GET THIS: If guests order and pay for their prints whilst at the resort, we will extend a discount of $20 on each print.

But no worries, he is in the very capable hands of Gerald Dilbert. Gerry will be opening an aviary/parrot Jungle within a few months. He will have 1 acre of land under netting so that Castro and his new found friends can fly to their heart’s content!! Gerry said he was taking Castro home to meet a female bird, her name is Cheetah!!. I will go visit him later this week, to take pictures of him in his new home, and will of course blog them for you all to see. Since the aviary is not yet ready, Gerry has built a temporary aviary behind his house where he will keep Castro and the rest of his birds.
We are all excited for Castro, as now he has the opportunity to meet friends of his own, of course he has “people friends”, but he was lacking in “bird friends”!! He will be greatly missed by the staff and the owners of the resort, but the good thing is that the aviary will be located behind the Frank Sound Fire Station, near the Mastic Trail . So in reality he is only 15 minutes away!!

This got us to thinking about our own staff and how lucky we are also, to have such dedicated workers.

Papi started at The Reef Resort on February 9th, 2001. He is the beach attendant and with ours being one of the largest resort beaches on the island (1600ft) he takes pride in keeping it looking tidy and beautiful.

Papi is very dedicated. The other day he was having severe back pains but continued to work. Mr. Lawrence the Resort Manager really had to force him to take a day off and rest up. In all his years that was his first sick day. He’s 71 years of age (and looks great in a cowboy hat

Ms. Barbara Forbes works for Housekeeping at The Reef and is very reliable. She can sometimes be heard muttering away as you walk past her, maybe this is the secret to success because she is always here when scheduled. She’s 64.

Vida Christian, one of our Housekeeping supervisors, also has a fantastic attitude to work. She’s 52 years of age going on 32 with boundless energy and good humour – Vida is totally dedicated to the keeping the resort clean and our guests happy.

Many employers these days are reluctant to hire individuals who are considered to be reaching the end of their careers – The Reef’s policy is not to discriminate in any way and to employ people for their abilities and positive attributes – after all, age is just a number and besides, the three staff mentioned above would put many a 21 year old to shame!!!

Further to our blog on the Cayman Sea Sense initiative – Conservation of Cayman’s rich environmental diversity received a further hefty boost last week with the official launch of the Cayman Islands Darwin Project.

The UK Government are funding the project with a US $300,000 grant – Cayman’s bid for this was successful in the face of global competition.

The Caymanian Compass covered this story and Monday’s edition outlined the plans;
which include the creation of satellite imagery maps of the Islands’ physical features that will be used as baseline information.

In addition to the satellite mapping, it seems the other two main components of the CI Darwin project are:

1) to aid the development of a biodiversity action plan for the Cayman Islands outlining a specific set of actions that need to be taken to preserve the extraordinary diversity of species on the Islands.

According to the Caymanian Compass, the plans will focus on habitats and species of both ecological and commercial significance, such as conch and lobster; indigenous species unique to the Cayman Islands, such as the silver thatch; and threatened and endangered species, such as the Grand Cayman Blue iguana and the Nassau grouper.

2) Funding from the Darwin Project will be used in providing public education on preserving biodiversity. Workshops and activities will be planned around practical conservation projects.

One such project is the proposed native tree nursery at the QEII Botanic Park in the hope of establishing a nursery as a self-financing sourse of native plant material to encourage the use of native plants in landscaping.

A website has been set up called caymanbiodiversity.com – the site is currently ‘under construction’ but I’m sure we’ll be telling you more about this project as it continues.

We have reduced the flat connection fee for calling toll free call card numbers from your suite – down from US$3 to US$1 flat fee.

The Thirsty Surfer will be selling $10.00 and $20.00 calling cards.
Now you can use these cards from the comfort of your own beachfront suite, for just a dollar.

This might come as a surprise in the light of today’s news that the cost of living in Cayman has increased by an average of 7 percent in 2005…

These figures are reported in the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) and it’s thought that major contributors to this rise are increases in the housing sector, as a result of higher rental and insurance premiums.

The following information on the CPI is taken from today’s Cayman Net News:

In 2005, Cayman’s annual average index rose in six of the eight major groups. A high of 18.7 percent was registered in the housing group, which includes rent, maintenance, insurance and utilities.

Increases in alcohol and tobacco were second with 5.2 percent, followed by transport and communication, 3.9 percent; food, 2.8 percent; and personal goods and services, 2.6 percent. The lowest rise of 2.2 percent was in the education and medical group.
The two groups that showed a decline in 2005 were clothing, by 2.3 percent; and household equipment, by 2.2 percent.

The Cayman Sea Sense project is a sustainable seafood education program dedicated to helping restaurants and their customers make informed and environmentally positive seafood choices.

Castro’s Hideaway at The Reef is already upholding principles of sustainability – there is an inspection process to go through and we are waiting for this to happen.

What is sustainable seafood? The Cayman Islands National Trust’s website lists it as the following:

A species that is abundant and resilient to fishing pressures.

A species that has a method of catch which ensures there is limited habitat loss associated with the harvesting method.

The project will assist local chefs and restaurant owners in general, in reducing the number of non-sustainable seafood items on their menus. Participation is open to any restaurant that provides at least one sustainable option on their menu, with a commitment for continuous improvement. Full certification comes when all seafood items on the menu are sustainable.

So be sure to look out for the Cayman Sea Sense icon on menus which will allow you to choose sustainable seafood options as certified by the Cayman Sea Sense Team.

For those of you who have not yet visited us here in Grand Cayman, the sandbar at Stingray City is a MUST do. Our trip goes out every Tuesday afternoon. For those of you who think you wont get in the water, no worries, you can see them as clear as day just sitting on the boat (I should know as it took me my second trip before I got in!!). Nothing to be afraid of though, as Leona puts it, they are like great big tame cats!! Just remember to let go of the bait otherwise you’ll get a stingray hickey from the suction!!