grand old time

ah the islands. warm sun, the sand beneath your feet, a cool drink in your hand as the warm breeze runs through your hair. i i wish.

a few weeks ago i traveled to grand cayman to shoot a financial story for der speigel. the idea was that the caymans tend to be a haven for big business and banks to hide from the tax man. billions of dollars flow through the country and there is now tax paid on a single cent. so with the financial markets around the world doing less then stellar are the caymans feeling the pinch as well? to tell you the truth i am still not to sure what the answer is to that question. the writer, who was great, and i had a hard time getting access to the people who had the answers, and the no banks would touch us with a ten foot poll.



on top of access problems the weather just didn't play along and foiled my plans to cover the second biggest money maker on the island, tourism. there were seven foot swells off shore which prevented the cruise ships from docking which meant no tourists.



on to plan c. i decided to cover the islanders. they live well, but when compared to the amount of money that is flowing through their shores you could say they were poor. the businesses that call george town their home don't have to pay a dime to work there after their intial set up fee. most of them hire workers from their home country which means a lot of natives work else where and don't benefit from the money. i thought that kinda sucked so i hung out with whoever i could find.





there was a great roadside fish market that i stopped by each morning. they guys were great, and gave me a lot of info that helped out the writer. plus they were kind enough to allow me to make their picture.

i would say it was a great trip.