All posts tagged: caymanian heritage

A Good Old Fashioned Christmas…

The New Year might be on a roll, but I still can’t believe Christmas has yet once again come and gone.  The holidays seem to just fly by and sometimes it is hard to feel present in the moment.  I find it is after the holidays I look back and reflect on the holiday season. Over the holidays I had the pleasure of writing a guest post on the National Trust for the Cayman Islands official blog Cayman Heritage. Please click here to read the blog post Cayman Christmas Past. Enjoy, xo

Silver Thatch: Cayman’s National Tree

Our beautiful island that is set in the deep blue Caribbean Sea, is graced with a handful of majestic trees, such as the Cayman Logwood, Mahogany and Silver Thatch Palm.  The Silver Thatch Palm is Cayman’s sacred national tree.  A unique tree which is indigenous to Cayman.  I find that there is a greater abundance of Silver Thatch on the eastern side of the island.  It is a spectacular view to see the Silver Thatch palms swaying in the refreshing sea breeze, untouched, scattered along the remote and undeveloped areas in East End and North Side. When I hear the words Silver Thatch the first thing that comes to mind is Caymanian Heritage.  I think of the wonderful items handcrafted by Caymanians such as Silver Thatch, baskets, hats, fans and rope.   Back in the olden days Silver Thatch had two primary uses, such as: making thatch rooftops and rope.   A thatch roof would last up to 5-6 years.  There is an old folklore claiming that the thatch palms would be harvested during the night of …