Rebecca's Cave


Useful Information

Location: Cayman Brac, 800 m east of Gerrard Smith Road on South Side Road East. Turn north on Rebecca's Cave Road, parking lot at the end. Signposted.
(19.691105, -79.861448)
Open: No restrictions.
[2011]
Fee: free.
[2011]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave
Light: bring torch
Dimension:  
Guided tours: self guided
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography: Skip Harper (2002): Adventuring on Cayman Brac, A Guide to Great Adventures on this Small Caribbean Gem. Heel & Toe Pub, November 2002, paperback, 190pp., ISBN: 0964064529. p125ff. Worldamazon.com
Address: Rebecca's Cave, Rebecca's Cave Rd, Cayman Islands
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
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History

07-NOV-1932 during a hurricane a child died in the cave.

Description

Rebecca's Cave is probably the most frequently visited cave on Brac. It is named after a small girl, Rebecca, who fled with her family from the hurricane in 1932. The two-year-old girl died in the cave by accident and is buried there too.

The hurricane of 1932 is a dark chapter in the history of Cayman. The destruction was enormous. People hid in the numerous caves on the islands, and Bat Hole was one of them. After two days, when the storm calmed down, the people went out to check the damage, and then the storm came back from the west. The people didn't expect this, so they were surprised by the storm.

A group of people, who tried to reach the security of the cave, was fighting their way through the darkness and the waves. Rebecca was only 17 months old, and she was carried by her mother. As she was small, she could not carry her up the rocks, so Rebecca was handed to other people. When the mother was hit by a wave she lost the baby, and she floated away, but she was rescued by someone in the group. Finally, when they reached the cave, the little girl died from the injuries she got in the storm. She was buried in the cave and the cave renamed Rebecca's Cave.