Caymans Confidential

They only sting if you step on their tails, so we shuffle through the water. You must go barefoot to avoid injuring the rays.

The tour guide briefly lifts one from the water and turns it so we can see its white underside. Their little piggy eyes are on top of their heads, but underneath, they have a scrunched face that seems to be smiling. I am mesmerized.

Budget B&B

We are on a high that quickly plunges when the tour operator's bus drops us at our second night's budget accommodation, the one with the rattling, inefficient air conditioner.

The owner, who seemed very kind on the phone, was off island attending a funeral at the time of our visit. She might have addressed our problems had she been around. The guest book in the entryway had nice comments from some guests, so I can't find it in my heart to name the place and ruin a family business that may satisfy others.

But this B&B is a short drive from both the beach and the shopping and entertainment areas. My conclusion, after a night there, is that there is no use traveling to the sea unless you are on, or within a couple blocks of, the water.

The two-story house has a series of bedrooms and a common area for breakfast. Another guest is sunbathing on the weedy lawn overlooking a neighborhood of modest homes.

We escape our room by going to dinner -- but the highly recommended Almond Tree is also a disappointment. The food is described in gourmet language, but our meals don't match the descriptions or the prices.

We pack before going to bed. The minute we awaken, we head out to spend our savings until it's time to check into our deluxe hotel. A rental car is one of our splurges, and we head to West Bay and stop for a tour of the Turtle Farm.

Sea farmers raise 14,700 green sea turtles a year in giant tanks here. They determine the number of turtles per tank by allowing five gallons of water for each pound of turtle. They can even control the sex of turtles to be born: If the water temperature is higher than 82 degrees, females result.

Later, exploring the island, we keep our eyes peeled for affordable hotels that might have been omitted in guidebooks. I skid to a stop when I see the Spanish-style, two-story Turtle Nest Inn.

A red-tiled breezeway leads to a small pool, a sandy beach, then the sea. A tangle of seaweed mars the water's edge, but it clears just off shore, near a coral reef.

The rooms and one-bedroom apartments are furnished with wicker, filled with light and have clean tile floors. Each has a patio or balcony. Best of all, with rooms starting at $89 a night, the Turtle Nest is perhaps the best buy on the island.