Swimming pigs, grottos, and flights home

On the 15th we headed to Big Majors and tucked in behind the island with the pig beach slightly to the right of us. Soon we were off to the beach to see what trouble we could get into with the pigs as we heard they can be slightly aggressive when it comes to food and will try and climb into the dinghy if you dare get close enough where they can touch bottom. I had a few veggies that had seen better days so I had been saving them plus some scraps of other things for this occasion. We only had one pig come and greet us but I know I had seen about four on the beach a while ago. Oh well one pig is easier to deal with then having to fend off four. As soon as he/she knew we were headed that way it waded out and began its swim out to us as I kept telling Dirk not to get too close.

A face so sweet

It seemed to like the celery I had selected for it and was eager for yet another bite.
Treading water waiting for another bite

Once we realized the pig was tiring from treading water we figured it was safe enough to travel closer to shore. No sooner did we get within distance that the pig could walk it tried to climb up the dinghy in search of more food.

Soon the food was gone and we headed back to the boat where we had a relaxing evening and called it an early night.
The following day we joined Dawn and Harvey from s/v Sovereign Swan as they took their dinghy ride to pig beach as I found a few more food scraps that were destined for the trash. They didn’t heed the warning and headed right up to the beach. As soon as they were close enough the pig decided to ambush and Dawn ended up just throwing all the food at once as Dirk and I sat back taking photos.
After that we decided to head over to Thunderball Grotto which is a cave in which you snorkel into at low tide as it opens up into a beautiful grotto. Apparently this setting was used in the James Bond film Thunderball. The fish are very friendly and I was prepared with a bag of freshly boiled rice which they gladly accepted. Dirk took the underwater video and we got some great footage of the fishes. This was an area I wanted to revisit once I got my new camera with the underwater feature that was waiting state side for me. If you recall I had destroyed mine in Spanish Wells when the dinghy almost flipped several weeks back. I spent the next several days packing and getting the boat set for Dirk while I was to attend my brother’s wedding in Oklahoma City on the weekend. Thursday morning Dirk dinghied me and my bag up to Isles General store dock and we walked over the bridge to the airfield/ parking lot and waited. The terminal is an outdoor pavilion, that’s all it is. Dirk and waited and waited as my flight was due to leave at 9am. Finally about 9:30 someone shows up in a golf cart and it’s the lady there to take my ticket as a few other people trickle up. About 10am my flight arrives, good thing I had a long layover in Nassau. It is a nine seater plane, 10 if you count the pilot and it was a full flight. I was extremely nervous as I had never flown in such a small aircraft and as it taxied and used as much airstrip as was allowed I knew why. Before long I was busy looking at the islands that by now had become familiar as we had traveled the chain. Thirty five minutes later and we landed in Nassau and I was already home sick for the boat, my husband, and kitty that I left behind in paradise several islands down. Nassau reminded me too much of the states and somehow I knew at that point that traveling was what I wanted to do for as long as I could. From Nassau I found myself in Atlanta and as usual with delays I arrived at my destination an hour late. If it weren’t for those complimentary .42 oz size of mini pretzels they so graciously passed out I might have been upset. A very quick weekend flew by and in the end I gained a new sister in law, another beautiful niece, and a very happy brother. After the wedding Saturday night we got back to the hotel and settled in about midnight, a nap and then it was up at 3:30 am to make it for the 5:30am flight back to Atlanta. Less than an hour layover and it was off to Nassau where I was sure my bag would not meet me but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it come down the baggage ramp. Two hour layover then a packed flight on that nine seater back to Staniel Cay, but we had to first fly past it to go into Blackpoint and Farmers Cay. I took the opportunity to take some photos of the islands that we had visited with my new camera.

My view of the pilot & passanger in the co pilot seat

A view of our anchorage, We anchored right in front of pig beach which is the beach to the right. Tybee Time is down there somewhere
Staniel Cay air strip on our approach

After three takeoffs in the tiny plane I was ready for the final landing which was about 2:30. Yippie, I was back in paradise with my family once again. We had dinner at the yacht club in the evening with a couple we had met in Ft. Lauderdale way back when we were waiting to cross and once back to the boat I fell into bed exhausted from lack of sleep and travel. The following morning we decided to try out the new camera I had gotten as it has an underwater feature on it so we went back to Thunderball Grotto to snorkel that again. As usual, it was beautiful and we tried out the camera and found that for the price we were happy.

Dirk heading for the entrance of the cave
Right inside the entrance looking out

the view once inside the cave and looking up

The pretty sun rays flooding down into the water A queen angel coming to say hello

Anther shot of the queen angel

On Tuesday morning we decided that it was time to leave Staniel Cay and unfortunately we are not heading any further south this season. The trek north was to begin today so we headed up to Compass Cay as we had passed it up on the way down. We shall leave here tomorrow, destination not yet known. Our plan thus far is to head up towards New Providence then hop to the Berry Islands or Morgans Bluff on Andros Island. From there we will travel across the banks, hit Bimini and then make the decision of what part of Florida we will aim for. We hate that the season has ended for us, but there are a few things back in the states that need our attention. We will be back as we have fallen in love and look forward to traveling to further points south. Heres hoping you stay tuned for more updates as soon as we hit the states.

Exuma Land & Sea Park

On the 9th we decided to head down to Shroud Cay which is the first big Cay in the Land and Sea Park. The Land and Sea Park is a marine protected area where no fishing, spearing, and shelling are observed. Basically nothing alive or dead can be removed. It’s a 176 square mile area and covers 15 large islands and a lot of smaller ones which means the guys will have to put their hunt and gather mode away for a while. We dropped anchor in about 9 feet of water so clear it looked like we stopped in a swimming pool. No problem seeing the anchor here…..

Looks like a swimming pool

Wow, check out this water, so clear you can see the anchor chain

We piled in the dinghies and headed to the north end of the island to Sanctuary Creek which is a winding shallow creek that eventually dumps you out to Driftwood Beach. We all keep saying “How can this get any prettier” but somehow it does. What met us at the end of the creek was an incredible sight with water yet again so beautiful it it’s hard to describe.

The end of the channel we followed

On the other side of the channel with dinghies beached

We made our way up the hillside to Camp Driftwood which once was used by drug agents in the 80’s to spy on aircraft flying from Norman’s Cay. Today it is only a marker showing the spot but it affords an incredible view of the eastern shore and the creek.
Beautiful view of the beach below

Another view from the top of Camp Driftwood

We made our way back through the creek and stopped along all the coral heads to snorkel on the way back to the boats seeing lots of queen angel fish, queen triggerfish, snapper, grouper, lobster and blue tangs. We did see a nice size nurse shark asleep under a coral head and Dirk had fun corralling a barracuda my direction and landing me back in the dinghy. I have never heard of a barracuda attacking a person but I don’t want to be the first either. We got back to the boat cleaned up, ate and retired early to bed.
On the 10th we pulled anchor shortly after breakfast and headed to Warderick Wells Cay which is the headquarters for the Exuma Land & Sea Park. We decided this would be a good place to be with the winds that were due to hit us the following day as we would be on a mooring ball. It is a beautiful area with a channel winding its way through sandbanks that are dry during low tide. In fact during low tide we can jump off the back of the boat and in a couple of strokes be on shore. There are several trails to hike that wind around the island taking you to blow holes, beaches and the famous Boo Boo Hill. We had been looking on our travels all along for that perfect piece of driftwood that we could put the boat name on and leave on the hill, finally finding one at Normans Cay.

This way to Boo Boo Hill

Here is the sign I made for Boo Boo Hill

We made the hike up the hill and what a spectacular view awaited us. Looking back over Exuma Sound the water was angry with white caps and waves as the winds were blowing a good 18 to 20 knots. The view of the park interior was beautiful and we took this time for photo opps of the boat.

We looked through the pile of driftwood looking for familiar boat names and spotted several that we have met along the way then ended up finding a nice place to nestle ours to leave so we might be granted fair weather and safe travel.

Here, I found the perfect spot Dirk making sure the sign is good

We then traveled down the trail to the blow holes and noted the tide was still too low for there to be any action so we would have to return as the tide was higher. After the hike Dirk & I decided to go for a snorkel at a couple coral heads inside the mooring field called The Rangers Garden. Unfortunately with the winds being so strong for several days and the current being very strong the clarity of the water wasn’t that great and I soon found myself tiring from fighting the current so we headed back to the dinghy and back to the boat. We ended up jumping off the back of the boat, walking the sand bar and playing in the sand like two children at the beach for the first time. Soon the tide was coming in and the sand bar began getting smaller so we swam back to the boat, cleaned up, ate, and called it an evening.
This is us in relation to the sand bar behind us

And one more

The following day we decided to give the Rangers Garden snorkel another try during slack tide. This time it was a lot easier and seemed to be a bit clearer. I bet on a calm day this would be a beautiful little reef to see as there were several huge lobsters just hanging out in plain view. Guess they know that it’s a no take zone and have no fear of humans eyeing them. There was also a huge black grouper hanging out big enough that if he made any sudden moves I would have walked on water to get away. There were also several very large gray angel fish, tangs, and snapper. We got cleaned up and hiked back up to the blow holes where this time we got to experience the blast of warm sea air that met us as you look down into the hole. Better hold on to your hat for that one. Today is the 14th and we have been here now for four days waiting on the winds to die a bit so we can head further south. We were suppose to take off today but decided to wait one more day due to the winds being around 23 knots gusting to 28. Not exactly the best winds to sail in especially when they are coming out of the direction in which we want to travel. Also neither s/v Sovereign Swan nor us got much sleep last night due to the major rocking and rolling we were doing all night. . It was a lazy day on board doing minor chores, reading, playing on the computer and in the evening we had sun downers in the cockpit as we watched about 4 good sized Black Tip or sand sharks, can’t be sure but Dirk feels they were black tips hanging out under our boat. Dirk stood on the swim platform with the looky bucket which is basically a 5 gallon bucket with the bottom cut out and replaced with plexi glass. Most cruisers we know own one and they are great for checking the anchor or looking at reefs before diving in. Anyway Dirk would slap the water with the bucket and they would swim by to take a look see as we would be taking a look see at them. We were both trying to look and I was trying to take photos through the bucket but could never get a good shot. Dirk finally went below and returned with the underwater video camera, hung over the back and videoed them. Wonder why they picked our boat, perhaps our location and the tidal currents? Hummm ever since we have been here we have been having nurse sharks, eagle rays, barracuda, and now these guys hanging out, and to think we were swimming off the back. Yikes…. Perhaps tomorrow will be better and we can make it down to Big Majors Spot which is right next to Staniel Cay. We have to make it there in a couple days as I am due to fly out of Staniel for a wedding next week and still need to deal with some laundry, groceries, and Flamingo Air before I go.

What's a gal suppose to do with no internet

Sorry for the delay in post, but we have now reached an area of the Bahamas that has little to no internet. I am trying to cover a long span in time so forgive the long post. I believe I last left you all in Hatchet Bay

We decided to stay one additional day at Hatchet bay due to the winds and seas. Dawn, Harvey, Dirk and I decided to do some poking around town. We found an internet café/ lunch spot right on the sound and had some wonderful hamburgers and home fries for lunch. Afterwards we decided to take the hike across the island to visit the Atlantic side to check out the beach. Dawn and I both love beach combing, hunting for sea glass, sea beans, and new pretty shells. It was quiet a hike and on the way we came across two baby goats that I guess got separated from the group.

They run wild on the island and we felt so bad leaving them but we had to. Once we were off the main road we followed a rocky road up and around till we could see the vivid blue of the Atlantic. We made it, and when we hit the other side we knew it was worth the hike. The beach itself was not very pretty as with most beaches I find here in the Bahamas, unfortunately they are not maintained and have so much garbage that has swept up from the ocean on them. It was a rocky shoreline and I guess not too many people visit because there was so much sea glass that Dawn and I knew we would be a while. It’s still a trick to find a really nice piece large enough and tumbled enough to be worthy of jewelry but there were too many pretty pieces not to take them. Greens, amber, clear, and browns were found all over but we also found blues, pinks, turquoise, and even red. Dirk found the prized piece for the day which was a perfect piece of this beautiful turquoise or cyan colored one.

Here is what we collected for the day

These are my best pieces of the day

He also combed the beach for sea beans which we have had no luck with but on this day he found 4 of the hamburger beans and one heart. Wow, I was so excited, what a find.

Some beans actually float all the way from Africa to find their way here. After we were loaded down we hiked back to the harbor and stopped in at the Front Porch for an ice cold beer and to show off our prize finds with the other cruisers. Early the next morning I decided to do laundry before we were to head out and found a little Laundromat right next to Da Spott that we had gone to a few days back. I guess it was a Laundromat; there was a kitchen on one side and a room with a few working washers and dryers on the other. You tell the lady in the kitchen cooking how many washers you need and she reaches inside the washer to start them as the coin slots don’t work and don’t look like they have worked in years. If the washer filled you were lucky, one of mine did not and a bucket was filled from a spigot and used to fill the washer. All the while you smell these wonderful aromas coming from the kitchen in the next room, women coming in a visiting, me hearing the latest gossip, or at least what I can make of it. Guess this is doing laundry in the islands….When the clothes were done she would direct you to the working dryers and once again reach her hand inside to start the cycle. It took me about twice as long for washing and drying but it was only 13.50 for 3 loads and I’m not complaining because now I have clean clothes and hey, aren’t we now on island time? No hurry mon…..The clean clothes were stowed and the boat was readied to make the couple hour trip down to Governors Harbour. We dropped away from the mooring ball and I took her out of the cut which was very iffy coming in through as it was rough and the cut is very narrow. Today thank goodness it was calm but it is still nerve racking having to thread your boat through two cliffs on either side of you.
Here I was just exiting the cut

It was a nice uneventful motor sail down to Governors Harbour. We anchored as we heard the free government mooring balls were not to be trusted so we didn’t want to take the chance. One must look for a sandy spot in all the grass in which to drop anchor so it took us a bit but finally got the boat settled. Us, Sovereign Swan and Mary Helen and Harvey from s/v Gone Away all decided to head out for dinner and found a nice place that had a great club sandwich. Why is it food always taste so good when you are starving? Back to the boat for an early night and the next morning we decided to once again check out the town before heading to our next destination. Governors Harbour seems different then the other places we have visited here. It was the first capital of the Bahamas so it has these very pretty colonial homes in colorful hues of blues, pinks, and greens.

The view of Tybee Time in Governors Harbour as we were climbing up the steep 142 foot hill

Of course we wanted to check out the beach but in order to do that one must make the hike up the 142 foot hill. They claim you hardly notice the walk as you have so much to see on your way up. Believe me, we noticed, but we were determined to get to those pink sand beaches on the other side. After what felt like an eternity we finally made it. It was a beautiful beach, not the pink hues we were expecting and not even one shell was to be found, let alone any sea glass. Just very fine sand which made for a nice stroll. Once again, back on board we readied for the short trip down to Rock Sound Harbour which would be our staging spot for getting to the Exumas. Rock Sound is a pretty anchorage but I found that if you were to be stuck here for a while due to weather it’s not very cruiser friendly. The guide book states there is good free water at the docks which we found not to be true. I asked about it and the guy told me that the faucet I guess was removed because the water is so salty the towns people won’t even drink it. We would have to buy water out of 5 gallon bottles or pack it from further into town. Gee, I wish I had known that as I would have stocked up in Governors Harbour where there was free good water to be had from the library spigot. From here on out it would be 30 to 50 cents a gallon. The one good thing we found was internet finally. Although not cheap, $10.00 for 24 hours but it was internet. Something we had not had for a while and something we needed so we could take care of some business. We ended up taking a tour through town but was really not impressed as many homes were either in very bad disrepair or looked as though they had been through one hurricane too many and needed to be torn down. We did find a blue hole on the interior of the island which had quite a few sea turtles and fish. Lots of gray snapper and grouper hanging out waiting on food to be dropped over the side. There is a park there and I guess a lot of the locals come by and feed them on a regular basis so they sit and wait. We took some old bread and they seem happy to take it. Walking back to the boat we were gonna stop at a market and deli we saw on the way in to pick up a few items but of course they were closed when we got there. Must be that island time again… There is a fairly decent sized grocery that our buddy boat went to but they said they were very expensive. You had to walk to it but the store would give you a ride back to the dock. I opted just to wait as the guide book said there was a decent grocery on Highborne Cay and that’s where we were headed next. So it was back to the boat for some more internet, early to bed as we had a long trip ahead of us the next morning.

Rock Sound Harbour sunset

EXUMAS Finally
We awoke to a beautiful morning and readied the boat for a 7-8 hour passage across to Highborne Cay Exumas. We were predicted to have a tail wind pushing us along so Dirk readied the spinnaker pole so we could do the wing on wing configuration with the sails. Basically pushing the main sail all the way off one side of the boat while pushing the jib out on the other side. This in effect gives you a lot of sail area to be pushed along from behind. As we were leaving Rock Sound that is what we had so we sailed along till we got to our next waypoint, we then had to turn a bit south to maneuver through some shallows and corals, so we pulled in the pole. Once we were about to round the island we expected the wind to be the same as it was so Dirk was setting up the pole once again so we could settle into our crossing of the Exuma Sound to Highborne Cay. I won’t go into the ugly details but we ended up snapping off the bracket that holds the pole to the mast and had a bit of a battle getting it back onboard and the boat stopped without having to do the man over board drill at the same time. Time for a time out….Well the winds ended up giving us a beam reach just about the whole way rather than the tail wind we were predicted. It was a bit of a rolly ride at times but the cat did very well not getting sick once. Being in such deep water for a change we and Sovereign Swan decided to test out the fishing. Harvey from Sovereign Swan landed a 20lb Mahi Mahi so Dirk was now in a race to get one. Finally Fish on…..and as Dirk was reeling it in the Mahi jumped into the air and right off the line. Dirk was indeed not a “happy camper” as the day just wasn’t meant to be a good one all around. The best part of the day was that we were now in the Exumas. We entered the Highborne Cut, found the anchorage, and dropped the hook. We were whipped and frustrated so even before the sun hit the horizon we were in bed. Tomorrow had to be a better day, we were in the Exumas….Monday we got up with a new outlook and faced the day head on looking for adventure. We took the dinghies up to Allens Cay and Leaf Cay to find the iguanas that inhabit the islands. We beached the dinghies and headed ashore.

Here are the beached dinghies at Allens Cay

Right away you could see evidence of them as there were footprints and tail prints yet no iguana was to be found. We followed the path across the island and came to a cove on the other side. Pretty soon they were coming out of everywhere coming very near as they don’t seem at all scared of people. Actually they come looking for handouts from those that didn’t forget the veggies on the boat. Dangit…

Out of nowhere they came looking for handouts

Here Dirk is trying to make friends with a big one

After many photo opps with the iguanas we headed to the beach to see what we could see. It’s a pretty beach but if you want to beach comb there is nothing to be found. Oh well….We then headed out to a cluster of coral heads, jumped overboard for a swim and a snorkel, than Dawn and myself laid out in the dinghies catching some rays as the men went into hunt and gather mode. Coming up empty handed we headed back to the boats and cleaned up and headed into the marina on the island as s/v Gone Away was there and we wanted to check out the grocery store that the guide books says is a good place for fruits, veggies, and frozen meats. I know I said before that if you need it buy it, but if you are leaving the Abacos or Eleuthera to get here, buy it before you come here. Needless to say I didn’t buy any of the veggies I needed as I didn’t want to pay $6.00 for one head of broccoli, $2.40 for 1, yes 1 apple or lettuce for $8.95 and a dozen eggs for $6.50. Chicken was 7.95 a pound, milk 8.95 for a half gallon and a can of artichoke hearts could be had for 10.95. Wow, I understand having to ship everything in but these people have a monopoly and I guess they can charge what they like. Well I just will have to do without for a while and get creative with the spices onboard. After sticker shock we headed to the end of the docks where the fishermen were cleaning their catches which was piles of Mahi Mahi. Off the docks waiting for the scraps were several large nurse sharks and rays along with some other fish all hoping to get a bite before the seagulls swooped in and took it. After a bit we headed over to S/V Long Gone and had a nice cold drink and some welcomed snacks Mary Helen and Harvey put out. Dirk and I took off after a bit as we knew our kitty was tapping his toes waiting to be fed himself and I was cooking dinner tonight for the four of us. Harvey had given us some Mahi that he had caught the day before and Dirk grilled that up while I whipped up some rice and some sautéed summer squash with garlic and onions. Again it was an early evening but this night was because it was a full day of sun and activity. Tuesday was a bit calmer on the winds and waves so we decided to take the dinghies back up to Allens and Leaf Cays to do some snorkeling on the reefs that were too rough the day before. Dirk and Harvey of course hit the water in hunt and gather mode and I just try to stay out of their way while looking at the pretty corals and fishes all the while keeping a look out for any large critters that might send me scurrying back to the dinghy. A couple snapper and one trigger fish were speared and we were wiped out from the sun and snorkeling so we headed back to the boats to clean up. Dirk cleaned the fish while I tidied up hanging up and laying out the wet stuff to dry. We have been having several large remoras hanging out under the boat and as Dirk would throw in scraps they would dart around barely catching it before the seagulls came in for a pick up. For those that don’t know, a Remora is one of those fish you see stuck to sharks, rays, and other large fish catching a free ride and free morsels of food when they can. These were about 2 feet long so I can’t imagine what fish they stick to. I looked up and saw a very big nurse shark gently gliding our direction and was guessing he wanted his share of the fish scraps. He was almost the length of our dinghy which is a little over 10 feet. Although I am not worried about nurse sharks as I don’t think they can eat a person, huuuuummmmm, can they? I still wouldn’t jump over board to swim with it and if one that size is right under our boat in 8 feet of water how many other types of sharks are also close by. Dinner this evening consisted of grilled fish, over rice with a red curry sauce served with a carrot salad Dawn put together. After dinner we watched a movie we borrowed and headed to bed tired from the day’s events. Wednesday we got up, listened to the weather and checked out the tide table so we could see when we could get to the marina for fuel and a water fill up. There is a narrow cut and if you catch it at the wrong time it can be quiet rough and dangerous for a sailboat as you need the power to keep from being pushed onto the rocks. Everything looked good so we pulled anchor and headed in topping off our diesel and gas cans and taking on 80 gallons of water at .50 cents a gallon. Not too bad, we filled up last in Marsh Harbor 18 days ago so we figured we are using about 4 gallons a day. Try doing that at home…..with two people, dishes, and basic hygiene. We pulled out of the marina as 2 spotted eagle rays were gliding in and traveled about a mile south to anchor in another spot that perhaps was not as bouncy as the last couple nights have been. We tucked in between a couple cays that are not named on the charts but there were plenty of coral heads close by ready for inspection and inspect Dirk & Harvey did. We came back with several yellow tail snapper, gray snapper, and grunt cooked some up for a quick dinner and headed to bed early.

Normans Cay, Fish On
This morning we decided to head on down to Normans Cay which the guide book says was once under the unfriendly control of drug lord Carlos Lehder and is suppose to be a beautiful place with lots of snorkeling opportunities. A couple of errands were done and about 12pm we decided to make the trip down. Our buddy boat elected to travel on the banks taking the inside route and at the last minute we decided to go on the outside with hopes of catching that elusive Mahi. I was on the helm and Dirk was busy setting up lines and poles so that we could troll the drop off where the fisherman have been racking up with them lately. Right as we passed the drop off one of the lines started screaming so I took Tybee to idle so Dirk could get his fishing on….All the while I am praying for the fish to please stay on the line. Dirk was reeling and reeling then the line went slack and he thought he lost it. As were looking we see the fish is indeed on the line but there is a shark after the fish now. Poor thing, it was getting it from both ends. Dirk still reeling trying to keep the fish from becoming the shark’s meal, he finally gets it alongside the boat and with the shark on its tail; Dirk gaffs him and gets it aboard. Indeed it was a Mahi and indeed the shark did get a piece of it. The slack Dirk felt was when the shark bit the Mahi’s tail off so he had no fighting power.He didn’t get much, just fin and bone. It measured 45 inches tail less and weighed in at 25 pounds, not too shabby. Dirk with his Mahi Mahi lacking the tail that the shark took

As we traveled the rest of the way Dirk cleaned the fish and got some very nice steaks out of it. Now he was a happy camper…..We found our way into the Normans Channel and was a bit uncertain of how it would go due to it being a very narrow channel and you can see the sand bars left and right. At one point we weren’t sure of the direction and ended up coming to an abrupt stop. Good thing we were going very slowly and it was a sand bottom as we were able to back right off of it and turn back till we could get our bearings. Dirk radioed any boat in the anchorage for some info and was told the best route to take and before we knew it we had gotten through. Whew, that was fun….As we turned north to the anchorage we were heading for we saw s/v Sovereign Swan already anchored with their hammock hung taking it easy. We dropped anchor and first thing we did was to dinghy over to a reef we spotted on the way in. Finally the water has gotten comfortable enough not to have to wear a wetsuit at a comfortable 82 degrees. Dawn and Harvey had invited us for dinner and as we sat in the cockpit eating and watching the sun set we were busy discussing the next day’s plans. Friday we awoke to yet another gorgeous day and Dirk prepared himself some breakfast of seared Mahi with wasabi. I on the other hand elected to fry up some day old rice with sesame oil and a little Thai seasoning. I know it’s an odd breakfast but it sounded much better then grits again this morning. After breakfast we spent some time cleaning up the boat from yesterday’s trip and then we all headed into MacDuffs grill for lunch. .

Harvey, Dawn, Dirk, and I at MacDuffs toasting another day in paradise

It’s the only thing really on the island besides a small airfield that sits directly behind the restaurant. The food was good but a bit pricey. But then again its the only thing on the island...The restroom we were told was under the umbrella, okay….go out and sure enough there is a crude open air type bathroom with an umbrella as a roof, walls that are made of lattice to allow the vines and plants access and a door that is nothing but the bamboo type beads hanging down. It surprised me that it had an actual flushing toilet and a sink with running water and a vase of pretty flowers sitting on the counter.

Had to show the toilet

To let someone know you were in it as you passed the tree branch there was a sign that you flipped to occupied. Dawn refused to use it but I thought it was charming. We then set out in the dinghies and headed over to the plane that had crashed in the days when the island was being used as a drug haven. Guess the pilot didn’t quite make the airstrip. The plane lies in about 10 to 15 feet and some of it is visible above the water. It is full of life and the fish must be use to being fed as they would follow you around and almost let you touch them.

The plane that we snorkeled. Its a lot bigger than it looks and sits in about 12 to 15 feet of water
A small island across from the plane, if you look real close I am under the palm tree

We spent about 30 minutes snorkeling there and then took off in the direction of what appeared like a good beach. We landed the dinghies and walked across a small sand dune. We were in paradise; this is the Bahamas we have been looking for. What met us was a crescent shaped cove of white sand and water so clear that if you tried to describe it you wouldn’t be able to find the right words to do it justice.

Dirk snorkering the cove

It was incredible and we couldn’t stop saying how beautiful it was. A bit of beachcombing and another dip in the water then we were off to the next beckoning beach. We ended up on Boot Cay with its big stretch of beach with meets with a rocky ledge that in turns leads to a cliff of scattered palm trees. Tons of sand dollars were found and hopefully I can manage to not break them all before we get back. Of course they were the dead ones as we do not take anything that is living just to have. It was really odd as they all ended up in this one spot, must be the way the waves and tides wash them onto the island. After a full day of fun and sun we decided to call it a day, and as the sun set Dirk munched on more seared Mahi and I sat writing the blog wondering when I would once again get internet in order to post it. Saturday we were going to scoot on down to Shroud Cay but instead decided to stay one more day here exploring. Dirk dug out the underwater housing for the video camera as we have hardly videoed anything, we thought it about time. We decided to head back to the plane as we thought it would be pretty to video. I was going to throw out some old cooked rice from the fridge but decided to take it with me in a zip lock to see if the fish would go for that. I have heard of people feeding them cat food and frozen peas before but never cooked rice. We hopped over the side and headed to the plane where I was met by a few curious sergeant major fish just checking me out and once they saw the bag of rice they called all their buddies. I was instantly surrounded as I released some rice and they knew no fear after that. So now I know a good cheap food the fish seem to love. About a half hour was spent feeding and videotaping all the inhabitants then it was off to explore the beaches we missed yesterday. By 3pm we were all tired, hungry and sunburned so we called it a day. Of course on the way back we had to stop in some grass patches so Dirk could check out some conch. Sure enough he collected five and then headed home where an easy dinner of hotdogs on the grill were eaten, showers taken and sunburns soothed. So I will continue to write and save till the day when we have internet once again.