Bodden Town

Bodden Town Review

In the island's original south-shore capital you can find an old cemetery on the shore side of the road. Graves with A-frame structures are said to contain the remains of pirates. There are also the ruins of a fort and a wall erected by slaves in the 19th century. The National Trust runs tours of the restored 1840s Mission House. A curio shop serves as the entrance to what's called the Pirate's Caves ($8), partially underground natural formations that are more hokey (decked out with fake treasure chests and mannequins in pirate garb, with an outdoor petting zoo) than spooky.

Mission House. The Mission House is a classic gabled two-story Caymanian home on wooden posts, with wattle-and-daub accents, dating to the 1840s and restored by the National Trust. The building earned its sobriquet thanks to early missionaries, teachers, and families who lived here while helping establish the Presbyterian ministry and school in Bodden Town. Shards of 19th-century glass and ceramics found on-site and period furnishings are on display. The posted opening hours are irregular, especially during the off-season. 63 Gun Square Rd., Bodden Town, KY1-1205. 345/749-1132. www.nationaltrust.org.ky. CI$5. Wed.-Sat. 9-5:30.

Pirate's Caves. You enter the Pirate's Caves through a surprisingly good curio shop (the owner is noted for jewelry fashioned from doubloons). Outside, ceramic "skulls" embedded into banyan trees and mini gravestones enhance the supposed spookiness. Younger kids should adore the playground and mini zoo with freshwater Brazilian stingrays, turtles, parrots, macaws, iguanas, agoutis (a large rodent), mountain goats, and farm animals like chickens, the pig Percy, and the horse Spirit. The caves themselves are pure yo-ho-hokum, tricked up with more faux "skeletons," swords jutting from limestone formations, and other rusted artifacts of dubious authenticity (such as fake treasure chests), lanterns, and conch shells, as well as an authentic fossilized bone or two. Beware the steep descent (with only rope handrails). Very informative sheets on history and the native plants are provided, as well as good interpretive signage within the grounds. South Shore Rd., Bodden Town. 345/947-3122. $8. Daily 9-6.