We started out to see parrots in the parrot reserve. After ascending wooden stairs at the trailhead to get on top of the bluff, we were met with a jagged rock trail. The bluff that runs the length of Cayman Brac was formed millions of years ago and is made of limestone. Over time, the rains have dissolved the limestone into an acid that has eaten away the softer rock leaving what we see today. The geological name is karstic dolostone.
The trail was nothing short of treacherous. It all started to make sense as we thought about it. The trail map had indicated a hiking time of 1.5 hours for the 1.5 km trail. Regular hiking speed on a good trail is about 5 km/hr, and if you do the math, they had the hiking speed down to 1 km/hr but didn't alert us to why.
The rock was razor sharp. If either of us stumbled, we were going to be in serious trouble. If a hand went down on the jagged rock to break a fall, we'd have serious gashes. If we didn't break a fall, it would probably be worse. The trail rock was not only sharp, but totally uneven no matter where we stepped. There were deep holes or voids here and there that a whole foot and leg could drop into.
But, we were committed to seeing parrots if there were any, so we ventured on trying to find a place for each step. Our eyes couldn't leave the trail even for a moment. Eventually, it occurred to us, there could be parrots in the trees watching us, but we'd be missing them with our heads down focused on the trail.
Every once in a while, we'd hear something and stop, hoping to see a parrot, but there was nothing. Well along the trail, we realized it would be just as difficult to return on the trail we'd covered as it would be to forge ahead eventually meeting a road, that would take us back around to the trailhead. So we continued on, more razor sharp rock and no parrots.
After an hour or so, we met another couple of hikers that had started from the other end. We stopped and shared experiences; she was from Grand Cayman and he was from Houston, Texas. We went our separate ways and carried on. In no time, we reached the road and started our long but safer route back.
In 15 minutes or so, a car pulled up and a cheery voice asked if we wanted a ride back to Canada. It was the folks we had met on the trail. We'd had enough sun by then, our legs were tired, and the offer sounded really good. So ended our parrot hike with no parrot sightings but no blood either.
Click here for the next story in this series: A Poor Substitute for Pirate Treasure
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