Abby and I recently had the opportunity to fly to Grand Cayman Island, three hours to the south of Bermuda. Eric was one of the pilots on the flight and the owner of the Longtail Aviation Falcon gave his permission for Eric to bring us along since the plane wasn't full. Check out www.longtailaviation.bm. to see the Falcon and read more about Eric's place of employment.

I can't recommend the Caymans unless you're very keen on bonefishing, scuba, or other water sports. Taxis are very expensive to get to other parts of Grand Cayman ($40+ round trip), so we didn't see the Turtle Farm or swim with the skates. One of the women in my Art Group told me that when she visited the island, she was very unhappy to see the Turtle Farm because a number of turtles had been set aside in a too small tank for purchase (read: eating).

And if you thought Bermuda was expensive, everything in the Caymans is more so! Sandwiches start at $8 in little cafes and go up from there. The currency is the British-based Cayman dollar, so the U.S. dollar was worth about $.80. Not a good deal.

Abby and I did have fun going to a Butterfly Farm where representatives of over 35 species flitted about. Our guide told us a secret: if you lick your finger and hold it out near a feeding butterfly, the butterfly may amble over onto your finger to enjoy the salty sweet taste of saliva and sweat. The technique worked well for Abby: she had a hitchhiker on her finger for over 1/2 hour. The huge moth that landed on this girl's chest sort of creeped me out. It was just TOO BIG an insect. Insects shouldn't be that BIG!