So the wife and I are currently on a cruise (yay, satellite internet) and today we stopped at Grand Cayman. We've been here several times, so we actually had the "let's just stay on the boat and chill" conversation, but soon decided that heading on shore would actually be "fun" so we went in and got our rental car and did some snorkeling.
JG's helpful marriage tip of the day: Take a piece of bread roll you stole from the breakfast buffet on the ship, tuck it into the butt cheek of her swimsuit while you're snorkeling, and laugh as the fish surround her in a hilarious feeding frenzy. Damn I'm glad that woman still tolerates me.
Anyhoo, after our dip, we had some time to kill before we went back to the ship, so we drove around a bit. Just north of Seven Mile Beach, right next door to the Cayman turtle farm attraction, my wife spotted a handsome new building we didn't remember being there the last time we visited the island.
"Hey. 'Cayman Motor Museum.'" says the wife. "That looks interesting."
So we stop and walk in and it's clean a new and there's a neat gift shop, but we're still not expecting much. We pay our entry, and after we're settled up I play the "press" card (I'm not a dick so I didn't try and haul it out before we paid). The girl behind the counter calls a British gent over who introduces himself and I explain who I am, but we're still not expecting much.
Then he opens the magic door and walks us back into the museum area and both my wife and I nearly pooed ourselves. Three Ferrari 250GTs right when you walk in, a 330GTC, numerous 308s, Boxers, an Iso Grifo, Maserati Khamsin, Alfa Giulieta, 2002 Turbo, and that's just what your brain processes on the first glance through the doors.
Turns out the museum is actually the private collection of Andreas Ugland, a shipping magnate and serious car enthusiast who decided to display a large part of his collection here in the Caymans. Peter Dryden was the nice Brit fella who curates the collection and took the time to show us around. Honestly and unfortunately, it looks like he has some time on his hands. As amazing as the collection is, it's a little out of place on a touristy tropical island, and I think Peter would have taken the time to show pretty much anyone around, press or not.
My greatest regret is that I didn't take my good camera off the ship, but here's a few shots from my underwater point and shoot. If you're ever down here. It's entirely worth checking out.
Oh yeah, and they have a real Batmobile, the last Mini to ever roll off the assembly line, and Idi Amin's old Benz.
jg
