ISLAND MACRO DIVINE RELAXATION, DELECTABLE DINING IN GRAND CAYMAN.

Byline: Larry Lipson Correspondent

GRAND CAYMAN ISLAND, British West Indies - Jamaica may be the recognized destination for jerk chicken, but there are certain people in the know on Grand Cayman who swear that the world's best jerk chicken can only be found on this, the largest of the Cayman Islands.

One of them is Les Gold, a Detroit businessman who has a vacation home on Grand Cayman. He introduced me to the marvelous cooking effort of Lewis Ebanks, a self-styled jerk chicken chef who produces his specialty on a backyard grill at a residence/takeout cafe dubbed Margine's in the West Bay area of Grand Cayman.

Lewis is one of several Cayman ``jerkers'' - as they're called - other prominent ones being Tony Bodden, Seymour Silburn and Merilda Wright.

Lewis, though, doesn't exactly do it all by himself. He is the deft barbecuing expert, while wife Margine actually makes the fiery jerk sauce along with the rice, beans and potato salad.

And, in case you're interested, Margine usually has a pot of turtle stew simmering on the stove.

But this culinary couple's gem of a gastronomic find is obviously not the main reason for a Caymans visit.

It's the sun, the seven-mile stretch of white-sand beach, the calm and warm Caribbean waters and such delightful oceanfront resort hotels as the Westin Casuarina.

Grand Cayman happens to be a place for snorkelers, for serious scuba divers and for not-so-serious puddle-splashers like myself who discover the joys of bonding with friendly stingrays on a large sand bank out at sea called Stingray City.

The big, gray females that grow as large as 6 feet across - the males are much smaller - look and feel like giant portobello mushrooms.

They enjoy noshing on the squid pieces given to them by the hundreds of tourists who visit Stingray City daily. And they good-naturedly allow humans to pick them up out of the water and nuzzle.

It's an absolutely amazing experience.

But vacationing beach-lovers like me prefer relaxing in the sun with a good mystery novel to just about anything else on Earth. And the beach in front of the Westin is oh-so-fabulous for that simple pursuit.

Yet, if and when you want to do something other than just lazily recline there and once in a while take a cooling dip in the sea (or the hotel's pool), there's always the possibility of a personal watercraft rental, which allows you to race back and forth across the bay for an hour.

More enthusiastic visitors will find a submarine tour where the wonders of the underwater world may be viewed in all their splendor without the discomfort of strapping on scuba gear and getting wet.

Back on dry land, an observant tourist may be reminded of a fairly recent disaster.

Visiting Grand Cayman only a year after Hurricane Ivan left its destructive mark on the island, I was astounded at the evidence of quick recovery.

Yes, there are still a few boarded-up buildings and occasional piles of foliage to remind visitors that Ivan was indeed ``the terrible.''

Yet surprisingly, hotels like the Westin actually were back in business, some partially, others fully, within a couple of months after the hurricane struck.

For the uninitiated, Grand Cayman, 22 miles in length and eight miles at its widest point, has two sister islands, Cayman Brac (14 square miles) and Little Cayman (10 square miles).

All three are actually underwater mountain peaks located south of Cuba in the Caribbean Sea.

Grand Cayman, whose seductive beach resort areas were memorably featured in the movie ``The Firm,'' starring Tom Cruise, is unquestionably a great place to shop.

Or to send a postcard from Hell. Really. There is a dead coral area known as Hell, which features little more than a post office and a few stores located on a road that leads to the Caymans version of Hades.

Yep, if you're inquiring about it, just ask anyone to direct you to the road to Hell.

Meanwhile, the best shopping place is unquestionably George Town. It's the capital of the Caymans, noticeably part of the British West Indies and named after George III, that king of England we know so well.

A regular stop for huge cruise ships, from which hordes of tourists swarm into the spacious jewelry and souvenir stores, George Town has an endless supply of glittering goodies at alluring prices.

In addition to the big retail outlets, one can find intriguing little retail establishments selling everything from the finest in Cuban cigars to the rarest of old coins.

It may take a while, but pretty soon the buyer becomes aware that the Cayman dollar is worth $1.25. Consequently, something listed at $16, for example, actually costs $20 in U.S. money.

Yet restaurant expenses somehow seem to run around the same as in major cities in the United States.

We learned this while enjoying dinners at such diverse establishments as the Lone Star Bar and Grill with its barbecue and brew, the new Copper Falls with its thick and tender steaks and juicy prime rib, and the Wine Spectator-recognized Edoardo's, with superior Italian food backed up by an extraordinary wine selection.

Luckily, we also experienced the outside private catering efforts of two more of the island's better restaurants, the Champion House II and Ristorante Pappagallo.

For relaxed lunches and drinks with stunning views of the Caribbean, both Breezes on the Bay and the SeaHarvest at the Sunset House are recommended.

These are just a few of the approximately 150 restaurants (as well as roadside stalls) to choose from on Grand Cayman - everything from pizza cafes to French bistros to Nuevo Latino haute cuisine in the Westin Casuarina's Casa Havana.

And, of course, the memorable jerk chicken of Margine's by the Caymans' Grandest Jerker of them all, Lewis Ebanks.

IF YOU GO

GETTING THERE: Airlines offering service to Grand Cayman include Air Canada, Air Jamaica, Atlantic Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Cayman Airways Express, Continental, Delta, Island Air, Islena, Northwest and U.S. Airways.

LODGING: Westin Casuarina Resort & Spa, West Bay Road, Grand Cayman Island. [phone]; www.westincasuarina.com.

DINING: Breezes by the Bay: On the Waterfront, Harbor Drive, George Town, [phone]. Champion House II, 43 Eastern Ave., [phone]. Copper Falls, Foster Road, [phone]. Edoardo's: Coconut Place, West Bay Road, [phone]. Lone Star Bar and Grill, Seven Mile Beach, [phone]. Margine's: 840 Hell Road, West Bay, [phone]. Ristorante Pappagallo, Barkers in West Bay, [phone]. SeaHarvest at Sunset House, South Church Street, [phone].

INFORMATION: Cayman Islands Tourism Association, P.O. Box 31086 SMB, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, B.W.I. [phone]; www.caymanislands.ky.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box, map

Photo:

(1 -- color) Surrounded by palms, and featuring a swim-up bar, one of the multilevel pools at the Westin Casuarina is adjacent to an inviting beach on Grand Cayman Island.

(2) Visitors to Grand Cayman interact with a friendly stingray in waist-deep water in the area known as Stingray City.

(3) Traffic is fairly light on the beachside road in picturesque George Town, the capital of Grand Cayman Island.

Larry Lipson/Great Escapes

Box:

IF YOU GO (see text)

Map:

Cayman Islands

Jorge Irribarren/Staff Artist