Week 4 Bahama Trip 5/13 - 5/19

Bahamas Trip Week 4 – 5/13 to 5/19

 

Wednesday – Tom decided to cook a good breakfast before our exploring adventures.  While he was finishing and just making coffee the generator crapped out.   The diesel kept running but no electrical output.  We have to go to back-up plan. It is a good thing we are a 12 volt boat so we still have refrigeration and can work off the main batteries which the engines will recharge.  We snorkeled at the Sea Aquarium which is part of the Exuma Land and Sea Park. It is a no-take park which means no fishing, no shelling, take only photos and leave only footprints.  The aquarium had great snorkeling, diverse fish population, and large variety of coral and calm waters.  Upon returning to Cambridge we went ashore and hiked thru the island to the other side and saw rocked and sand beaches.  We dinghied to Compass Cay and walked to Rachel’s Bubble bath.  This was a spot between the rocks where when high tide, the waves crashed thru the rocks and formed a hot tub bubbles without the hot.  Lots of stars at night.

Rachel's Bubble Bath

 

Thursday – Tom, Nancy and Colletta went out beach exploring and hiked on a trail.  The trail was identified by Bahamian markers – usually a single upright stick.  Once on the trail, the path is well marked with conch shells, timbers and rocks.  A fun way to travel.  The middle of the island is dense and somewhat jungle like until it breaks out on the other side of the island.  Nancy and Colletta explored for treasures and Tom swam with a small shark.  We decided to go back to snorkel again.  As we headed over, the clouds turned dark.  We violated the first rule of boating- always close hatches and doors.  After about 10 minutes of snorkeling, the skies opened and the rain fell – all over us and into the hatches and doors of the boat, as we later discovered.  The rain temp was colder than the ocean, so we continued to snorkel rather than sit in the dingy and just get rained upon.  Because we got cold in the water, we decided to let the rain rinse us so we headed back to the boat in the steady drizzle.  As we approached the boat, the rain stopped but we still had a small mess to clean once we got aboard – we will not forget to close up again.

He was a friendly shark as I still have all my fingers and toes

These guys were snorkeling with us when the heavens opened. I bet some crew member closed their hatches.

Friday-We left Cambridge Cay and 0953.  We exited south which was an easier and more straightforward route.  We had a following sea so the ride was calm and arrived at 1151 at Staniel Cay Yacht Club where we pulled into a long face dock behind Sea Angel.  A new adventure.  It is a very nice facility with a lot of amenities but they charge for everything, including tossing garbage.  We had lunch at the yacht club, food was good and décor was very “island like”.  Back at boat, Colletta defrosted freezing compartment of the refrig – lots of ice.  We played Rummy cubes with Peter and Nancy.  We also went to yacht club bar for a beer and enjoyed the local color and fun activity.

Saturday – Got up and went to the grocery store to get fresh produce but the boat had not arrived so all we bought was some homemade bread. 

The Pink Pearl Market

 

We took a quick drip in the very small pool and it felt great.  As we checked out, there was a major discrepancy in the charge for electricity.  After much discussion, and a lack of compromise and fruitless negotiation, the final charge was a flat rate of $75.  We will not be back with the boat. 

The complaint dept. at the marina.

 

 We went to Big Major Spot anchorage – 2 miles north of the yacht club.  A beautiful anchorage with lots of boats, all sizes.  Our next adventure was to snorkel Thunderball Grotto – of James Bond movie fame.  At low tide we were able to snorkel directly into the cave.  Tom brought cat food for the fish and they loved it and swarmed him as soon as he opened the bag.  Not one catfish was sighted! There was some current, so Colletta hung onto the side of the wall as Tom adventured and explored. 

The famous grotto from the James Bond movie of the same name

The entrance to the grotto. The villain Lagos from the movie was not home.

 

 

We then took a long ride exploring around various cays and thru one cut with incredible current, so strong that the throttle was wide open just to make forward progress.  One cay is Sampson Cay which is now a private island but use to have a marina and restaurant.  Now it has large signs that say Keep Out and No Trespassing. Not very friendly.   We use ¾ a tank of gas before it was time to come back to the boat.  Slept well that night after all our adventures.

Sunday – We planned on heading into Staniel Cay for more exploring, but changed our minds after the strong winds and waves splashed us and got us wet.  We turned around and headed back to the boat, got our beach supplies and head to middle beach, also known as Pirate Beach.  One of the large yachts had a small catered birthday party on the beach but did not even offer us a beer.  We survived just fine however with our beach umbrella, lovely blue water and our own light refreshments.  Tom snorkeled, napped, and then we met another couple, David and Linda- from Augusta GA.  They have been coming to the Exumas for 16 year and shared their many experiences and local knowledge. We enjoyed talking with them. (They too are having generator problems).  We agreed to cook dinner on Sea Angel and use their generator, so we took all the supplies and Tom made his favorite dinner of Balsamic Chicken.  They enjoyed it and so did we.  Another good night sleep followed.

a day at the beach looking out at the Big Major Spot anchorage with all sizes of boats

 

Monday – We dinghied back to Staniel Cay and hiked the windward (ocean) side of the island.  Very rocky and desolate on the cliff with large breaking waves down below.  We finally hiked to find a small beach and climbed down the cliff.  The sand had large granules and no shells.  We walked to the road and went back to the dinghies which we left at the abandoned Thunderball Club – a restaurant and pier.  It was curious that the dock was in good condition, silverware and china on the shelves, like the owners just walked away.  We decided to dinghy back to the yacht club and dinghy dock and walk into town to pick up a few provisions.  We pulled the dinghies up on shore, got our supplies and Tom and I had one more beer at the yacht club.  Upon our departure, the tide had gone out which left our dingy high and dry.  We put out the anchor when we arrived and picked it up off the dry sand when we left.  Back at the boat, Tom scrubbed the bottom, Colletta relaxed. 

 Big Major Spot is famous for one more thing – swimming pigs.  Boaters bring their food scraps to shore and the pigs come right out on the beach, walk into the water and wait to be feed.  We actually had a pig almost climb into the dinghy in search for food.  Tom yelled at him and pushed him away.  The pigs are feed all day long and every day so they are very domesticated.  One large piglet seemed to have great interested on how the dinghy tasted, nibbling on the motor, the lanyard and on the weaver clamps. Quite a fun adventure.

Feeding the pigs and making friends

Talking about bacon. overall a unique experience

 

Exploring the windward side of Staniel Cay

A Bahamian trail marker telling you which way to go?

Checking a map to make sure we were not as lost as we thought we were

 

This is what happens when you come ashore at high tide and the tide goes out. Luckily Colletta is strong and can drag the dinghy back to the water

Tuesday –Left in the morning and had an easy ride to Warderwick Wells.  This cay is the base of the Exuma  Land and Sea Park.  The ranger station is here and it is also one of the most popular anchorages in the park.  We were lucky and had a mooring ball available for us.  We picked it up (we are getting pretty good at this – or just really lucky) and were secure in the anchorage.  We registered and finally spoke with the park manager – we have heard her voice on the radio for the last 10 days. Once settled in, we hiked up the famous BooBoo Hill.  It is famous because it is the only place in the park in which cruisers can leave a “piece” of themselves.  (More about that tomorrow) The hill also gives a wonderful view of the island and anchorage.  After a relaxing afternoon on the back boat deck, we went back into shore for evening cocktails.  The main purpose was to see the Hutia which appear at dusk.  A hutia is a small furry animal – kind of like a larger version of a guinea pig.  They are not bashful and come to the picnic table looking for food and friendly people.  The hutia is an endangered species and this is the only island in which they are found – we only saw 3.  The evening was cut short due to the bugs and no-see-ums arriving so we returned to the boats. 

The hutia ( looks like a guinea pig to me)