Allen’s Cay – We hung out with iguanas on the beach, went snorkeling on our first reef and had a campfire pot luck at shore. We met some wonderful people, including Conrad and Cathy from Copasetic, who have given us all sorts of invaluable information, and Erin and John on Caretta. On our way from Allen’s Cay to Norman’s we decided to fish. We caught a small Bahama runner, which we released, and a 4 1/2 foot Barracuda, which we also released!
Norman’s Cay was quite interesting. A former drug smuggling operation occurred there. There are several houses still standing as well as the remains of a plane that crashed in the shallows. We hiked on the island, checking out the airstrip and the bar which was closed. We snorkeled more reefs and had pot luck dinners and campfires at shore. Several cruisers were successful in catching lobster but we weren’t one of them, unfortunately.
Shroud Cay was another interesting place. We hiked on the island with Mike and dinghied to the ocean side down a creek with Maggie and Caretta. We hiked up the hill to Camp Driftwood, enjoying the scenery. The colours of the water are amazing! The kids and I hung out at the beach one day, seeking shelter from the swells which were rocking the mother ship. We made a fort at the beach to hide from the looming rain, which didn’t seem to materialize. We had fun although not much schoolwork was accomplished. We met Snowday at Shroud. Danielle and Stephen enjoyed playing with the kids on Snow Day.
Warderick Wells is the headquarters of the Exuma Land and Sea Park, where we spent the next four days. We hiked the island, leaving our boat name on a piece of wood at the top of BooBoo Hill. We found blow holes, which were too cool and a Pirate’s Lair, an actual former pirate hideout. The hike was rather strenuous and took about four and a half hours in total. We walked through palm groves, along the beach, on sharp and smooth limestone, up and down steep hills and beside deep pits. We had a great time and fely we earned our beverages upon our return! We went snorkeling and attended a beach party/bonfire.
We sailed to Little Bell Cay after Warderick Wells, going far enough off shore to be out of the park limits so that we could fish. However, the sail wasn’t long enough. We didn’t catch anything before we entered the park boundary. We anchored at Little Bell Cay and went to Rocky Dundas, a colourful reef with caves. Doug and the kids snorkeled under the ledge to the cave which opened up inside. They walked around, checking out fossilized beetles and looking at the sky through the large hole. The next day we snorkeled at the Sea Aquarium, also in the Park. We saw a wide variety of colourful coral, anemones, and sponge as well as numerous fish which swam around us. We saw lobster and crab, angel fish, and puffer fish. What an amazing place!!!
We motored a few miles to Pipe Cay, where we are now. We hiked on Compass Cay yesterday, checking out a bat cave, an air strip that is used in low tide only and an amazing beach. We touched nurse sharks, which feel like sandpaper. We decided not to swim with them!
The Internet access here is a little spotty so we can’t send the photos with this blog. We’ll post photos in a few days. Ciao!
Feeding sugar to the birds at Waderick Wells. These guys are less threatening than the iguanas.
Leaving our plaque on Boo Boo Hill. Cruisers leave a wooden plaque with their boat name on a hill atop Waderick Wells. We looked for but couldn't find Ciguano Do Mar.
These two pictures are from our 4 hour hike around the island at Warderick. We went from limestone cliffs to thick underbrush to sand flats. We actually earned our cold beers that day. 
These nurse sharks frequent the dock at Compass Cay Marina. There are up to 15 at any time the largest about 8ft long & though some folks climb in & swim with them, them we elected to just feed them & pet their backs as they swam under the dock.
