Cayman Islands - The Cayman Islands are a small chain of islands lying about 480 miles south of Miami, FL. Grand Cayman is the largest and only significantly populated island (about 30,000 of The Caymans 32,000 population live on Grand Cayman). The Caymans are world renowned for their Diving , snorkeling, and beautiful beaches. They are also known for their offshore banking. The Caymans are somewhat upscale - there are nice shops and great restaurants - but the main focus is on the enjoyments that can be derived from the sea, and not from nightlife and other entertainment.

In contrast, modern times have been typified by a complexity of political problems. In 15 to 20-year cycles we see South American countries that were thought of as stable fall to the trials of hyper-inflation and to ruling bodies that are either too laissez-faire or too heavy handed in their government, while at the same time we see countries that seemed condemned to insurmountable problems make remarkable progress and install governments of fairness and foresight.

The regularity of change in Cayman Islandsn governments used to make that country the butt of jokes and earned for it the informal designation as the world's least stable political arena. Military coups d'etat occurred on an average of every 11 months, and while they were almost always peaceful, they nonetheless prevented any long-term policy planning to be put in place and never fostered the development of any visionary government. Since 1982, however, the country has been governed by a multi-party democracy, and it now enjoys its highest degree of stability in this century.