Agreed, Suzuki is very a flimsy car. Even my wife laughed when I floored it to pull out onto the road and they exhaust had a high-pitched "tinny" note, sort of like a scooter.:rofl: But it served us very well on the island, and I do prefer a small vehicle in that environment (roads and parking spaces are small).

I did, in fact, see 2 M3's and a couple of MB AMG's. There's even a Porsche dealer near the airport. Just for the bling factor on the islands, imho, since (as Rooster said) you can't open it up in those places. The fastest I drove was about 45mph out on the east end of the island while on a trip up to Rum Point, and I was going over the speed limit!:p

Believe it or not, the car rental place listed that as a "upscale midsize vehicle".:boogie:

Western Caribbean Cruise is awesome- Will post pics shortly
 

PeteG, Welcome Back! Great pics & always a welcome topic :)
Katt & Kaefer- The Western Islands cruise covers a pretty incredible slice of the Caribbean! I also had never expected to like cruising, but a foray on the Alaskan 7-day Princess Cruise with family was really captivating- One morning I was reading on deck at dawn when 100+ porpoises and a few small/medium whales all decided to jump in & over the wake from the boat. Just incredible.

Then in summer '05 we did the Western Caribbean cruise on Princess, also with a large group of family (perhaps 20 of us)- simply beautiful. A few highlights:

• Great service, decadent (and endless) food, entertainment, movie night under the stars, gym/spas, etc.
• Favorite Spots: Caymans & Mexico's Mayan Riviera. For the cruise, I'd recommend being pretty ambitious at Cozumel to take a mainland day-trip if possible, since the port where the cruise brings you is really just a little retail village built solely for cruisers... The real magic of the Mayan Riviera is from Playa del Carmen south to Akumal Bay or even Tulum. Also the water parks, which feature the incredible mix of sea life & fresh-water cenotes are unbelievable experiences if traveling with kids.
• True to its name (Akumal means 'turtle'), my daughter & I swam within 20 ft of a sea turtle on our first day in town!
• Then there's the opportunity to swim with dolphins, which we did at Ocho Rios, Jamaica! The staff & dolphins were great there.
• In the Caymans, we talked to several US & Canadian folks who'd relocated there over the past 5-10 years. Most were very pleased, and their only caveat was to really get to know the islands & area before buying anything (as always!).

Sorry for the long post, but that trip inspired many memories. I'll post pics if time allows- Enjoy!
M

PeteG: Nice pics! Love the Caymans, though it's been a few years:
got SCUBA Cert'd on G.Cayman in '86, back again in '88 and '89. Then 2 weeks on Lil'Cayman in '92 and back on G.Cayman in '95 and last in '97. The "growth" on BigCayman is remarkable, though they got their azzes kicked in the 'canes, a yearish ago: a good friend had his "under construction" condo blown away; he's still fighting to get his large deposit back, via the courts there.

NEway, pics brought back fond memories.
Thanks & BR,md

MD,

Grand Cayman along 7 Mile Beach barely looks like Ivan was ever there. The property I was at was perfectly manicured, landscaped and pristine, as was the beach. Lots o' construction going on due to many buyers-real estate is crazy there!:loco:

Where I did see more Ivan damage was in the south Bay area and eastern part of the island. Despite any damage, it still looks beautiful.

As I said before, real estate is crazy there, a little too rich for my blood for a vacation condo (nothing good for under $1mil US). My wife and I have been thinking of investing in a vacation condo somewhere possibly in Florida in a nice beachy town. We just have to find the right place where we can get a good investment and would be a great place to visit.:cool:

Pete: I hear you...my Bud's GrCayman deal was on a nearly $2 Mill condo.

I always wondered how "they" got away with devaluing our buck so much even way back in freakin '86?! That, and a trip to the one of only two Burger King joints back then, on the big island, was about 12 bucks a head.

Lovely place, but we came to dislike the packed traffic, strip mall plague and bs diving "rules", cattle boats, etc., that most of the dive shops operated under.

You would like FL beach or...in the winter; beats the hell outta my Mtn in NC, and most certainly Maine, lol!

My advice is make vacay trips and look around this state, hard: they, (condos), pop up like mushrooms and the mid "value" joints are dime a fookin dozen; they'll be begging you to buy one in the next 6 to 36 months, imo. If one is shopping for a 1 dot 5 to 3 dot and up, eg $1.5 to $3 mill and up), the noveau-riche still line up to buy those, but the middle america condo versions are overbuilt by the minute.

No Xpert and it really varies by location, part of state, beach, waterway, etc. There are a few of us on here in FLA and I suspect you'd get a boat load of good opins and advice to at least point you in some directions, lol!
BR,md

Thanks, MD. Where are you in FL? I have family in south FL (as every good Cuban does), but do not want to be in the Miami area. As most, prefer gulf coast. Just researching now, so any 2 cents is appreciated. I'm not looking to retire at 36, just like having real estate and would like a place of our own to escape to.

I initially did not want to cruise, my sister had to convince me to go. I wanted to just make a return trip to Hawaii, but now I am very excited about it. I hear tale it's a "party" cruise line..........but that is ok with me,hehe.
:dance: :dancing: :drunk: :beerchug:

I'll be sure to post plenty of pics.


Mindfull.......Thanks for all the great info. I'm trying to do as much research as possible on all our stops and you've really helped.

Sorry Pete for thread jacking a lil bit.

Katt :D

It's OK, Katt. I don't own the thread.;)