Snorkeling with the undulating inhabitants of Stingray City
                                                    Submitted by: Belkis Kambach

Friends say I live to mingle with other creatures and rekindle the deep, primal link that humans share with other animals. I've bonded with a motherless alligator in Florida, counted and studied countless herds of reindeers and Elks wander freely close-up in Finnish Lapland, hand-fed baby camels in Wadi-Rum, crawled around with apes in Gibraltar and swam with manatees and dolphins off the coast of Punta Cana. I've often been seen spotting humpback whales off the Samana Bay peninsula during breeding season, and witnessing the nesting activities of three different species of turtles in Grand Cayman.I've happily shared oceanic waters with all manner of fish, seals and other denizens of the deep. There is a certain sense of grace I experience in the presence of wild animals.

These beautiful experiences whetted my sense of adventure and have inspired me to always seek

One day in March, the M/S Vistafjord anchored off Grand Cayman. Having been onboard for several days, I was ready to take tender for a chance go anywhere ashore and get these sea legs moving. But to have a chance of being hickeyed and snorkel with the stingrays was much more than I had bargained for.

I planned to take my tour group out to the sandbar to get a close-up look at the stingrays, but the scuba-certified colleagues I had recruited to help me escort all the buses were so anxious to arrive they weren't interested in waiting anymore. I had divided buses by languages, leaving myself with the German bus, so they were the lucky ones to come along with me. We then traveled by a catamaran that took us to the sandbar.

As we got to our destination, my entire group thought I was insane to bring them here and expect them to snorkel with those prehistoric looking creatures. Three giant ones greeted me, swimming towards what they thought was their morning's first snack.This eerie trio of graceful beauties brushed by to suck up the morsels of squid and ballyhoo fish I had brought for the group to offer. They came in and just vacuumed the bits of fish right up (such an incredible feeling!). This was a somewhat surreal intermingling of species and an unimaginable ballet of stingrays. I found that I was both terrified and exhilarated.

I had no choice but to bribe my passengers one-by-one to dare join me and get in the water for their first time with these creatures lurking just below my toes."No one has ever been stung," I kept reassuring my passengers (while deep inside my mind I remembered seeing a documentary that proved differently). "Don't get excited and jump around. They don't like that." Yet I was the first one ready to jump out after the first ray kissed and sucked my leg!

The only thing stopping me, of course, was the fear of losing my job. I was the group leader and it wouldn't have looked good on my reference letter had they all gone back to tell the Captain I had left them alone in a sea, infested with killer stingrays off the coast of Grand Cayman after paying many thousands of dollars for this three month around-the-world cruise.I remained calm and let myself enjoy the moment. I also became not only the official Off-Shore Excursions Officer of Cunnard but also the official group photographer and got some great shots of each member with a wide grin holding a stingray or two. This expedition was a total success for all.

How did it all come to be? Until Stingray City was developed, stingrays were mostly just ignored in the Cayman Islands. Now, however, the island's tourism industry focuses on these creatures, and even the local beer is named after them. The"Stingray City" is the permanent home of over thirty of the graceful creatures,which are fed by more than 100,000 visitors a year. There are no nets to pen them in and free squid keeps them there year-round.

The sandbar is located in the shallow waters of the northwest corner of Grand Cayman's North Sound. Inside, a natural channel passes through the barrier reef,which explains not only where Stingray City is, but also why it is there. Fishermen used to dock here, and naturally it was here they used to clean and fillet their catch before heading to the harbor. They tossed the waste overboard, and the rays took advantage of this free supper. Makes sense when you think of it, as who really wants to have to grub in the sand for lunch?

Years went by, and eventually local divers realized that not only were there a lot of rays, but you could safely get in the water with them and feed them. A decade and a half later, Stingray City is known to divers throughout the world. The rays have become accustomed to and perhaps dependent upon the tourists who bring with them morsels of fish and squid to encourage their encounters.

These active, free-swimming rays love cruising along the walls and drop-offs, traveling singly and in pairs. They are both graceful and powerful as they travel up and down through the water column. They rise from the depths below two hundred feet right up to sixty feet along the wall edge and go right back down in just a few seconds. But mostly, they seem to love to just glide along the top of the wall in a seemingly endless reverie.

All the feeding going on can confuse them, and since they don't feed by sight, they just start sucking as they approach the food source. It's not rude manners on their part; after all they're just after a free lunch! So be sure to have cut-up bits of squid or ballyhoo fish and you'll easily be able to hand-feed the rays.

Many tourists just let go of the bait the first time the ray misses the fish, and it gets taken by one of the ever present Caymanian Piranha (Sergeant Majors and Yellow Tail Snappers). These fish are actually the real threat here, as they can come and give you a rather sharp bite on the finger to help encourage you to give them the bait.You should also understand that sometimes the rays are rambunctious and can actually bump into snorkelers in attempting to get fed.

The Cayman Islands are with no doubt the best place in the world to snorkel with these magnificent creatures, peaceful and serene in this aquatic paradise.The water is warm, turquoise and clear, the stingrays are friendly, playful and eager to interact with humans. With a gentle attitude, strong legs and a good pair of fins, you will be allowed to approach and even accompany them in their patrols.

Such moments as these are what make travel so grand and gratifying. And what is more thought provoking than imagining what it is like not to be human while sharing the waters for a brief encounter with these ancient sea creatures?

Further information: The islands also offer plenty of diversions above the sea. Located on the west end of the island is Hell, and well worth the trip. Plenty of travelers take the short drive from Seven-Mile Beach to this rural community that's little more than a post office. Should you wish to send someone a postcard, the post office in town will be happy to stamp your card with a postmark that proves you've been to Hell and back. The village was so named for its rugged, surreal coral rock formations of eroded limestone and dolomite rocks found there. Stained black by algae, the sharp, pointy rocks are best avoided, but a stop at Club Inferno is a must. Settle back and read the walls filled with hellish sayings.

STINGRAYS: a"ray" is a type of broad, flattened, cartilaginous fish closely related to the sharks. Rajiformes consists of approximately 340 species of rays that can be classified into seven major families: Electric Rays, Sawfish, Guitarfish, "True" Rays,Stingrays, Eagle Rays, and Manta Rays. In Grand Cayman, although there are also found many eagle rays and an occasional manta ray, generally the most commonly found is the Southern.

• Atlantic Stingray (Dasyatis Americana) the most common of the stingray family and which can be found from New Jersey to Brazil. Stingrays take their name from the barbed spines at the base of their long, whip-like tail. Rays have broad,flat, almost disk-shaped bodies with no distinct head. They have eyes on top, a blunt but slightly pointed snout, and large pectoral fins on the side with which they gracefully swim. Stingrays have strong, heavy cartilage dental plates with which they crush their food. Southern Stingrays have white underbellies and slate gray, brown, or black upper surfaces. Wingspan can reach six feet; however males are noticeably smaller than females.Stingrays bear live young.

• Eagle Ray (Aetobatus narinari) common throughout the Caribbean and certainly common along the North Wall in Grand Cayman. Like other rays, such as the stingray, eagle rays feed on mollusks and crustaceans. They can reach up to 8 feet across the wingspan. An average to large size eagle ray of 5'6" wingspan can weigh approximately 150 pounds.

• Manta Ray (Manta birostris Mantas ) the largest of the rays and can grow to a wingspan of over twenty feet and weight over three thousand pounds.Apart from size, the most noticeable difference between mantas and other rays are the"cephalic fins" extending forward from the eyes, sometimes carried rolled up. Mantas are dark brown to black. Mantas have live births, and in all recorded cases have had only a single embryo. Embryos weigh twenty pounds and measure over fifty inches.

Facts at a Glance:

• Official name: Cayman Islands
• Capital city: George Town (on Grand Cayman)
• Population: 28,000
• Land area: sq. mi.
• Language: English
• Currency: Cayman Island Dollar
• Political Status: British Dependent Territory
• Head of State: President
• Official Religion: Roman Catholic
• Electricity: 110V,
• Weights and measures: Metric
• Time zone:
• Climate: average temperatures between75 and 85 degrees

For more information and related links: Contact Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, Cricket Square, PO Box 67 George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. Fax: 1.345.949.4053: E-mail: tourism@cayman.org or visit: http://www.cayman.org/fauna/rays.htm