Normans Cay

1.24.11

We left Highbourne Cay 1/21 and arrived in Normans Cay in the early afternoon. We anchored amongst other boats in the “cut”, meaning strong current that flips around every 6 hours with the tides, despite the direction of the wind. We had a bit of trouble anchoring, and when we finally got the anchor in, realized that we were in the middle of the channel. Oh well, we decided; in the channel we would stay!
Norman's Cay had some good snorkeling and also the ruins of Carlos Leder's drug cartel. He used this island as a stopping point for his drug smuggling business. We hiked amongst the ruins and could even see the bullet holes in the walls of the houses from when the cartel was raided. It was cool to think we were standing in the spot of a shootout that occurred decades ago!
The next day, the wind was too strong for snorkeling so we took Koa in to land and went in search of a beautiful harbor on the upper east side of the island (sounds swanky huh?) We walked for about an hour and finally came upon a smaller, more southerly portion of the lake. Some boats anchor in this harbor, but the channel in is shallow and more suitable for catamarans with shorter drafts. It was a beautiful, shallow pool of water. Crystal clear waters bordered by mangroves and hills. Unfortunately, the sun was high and Koa was hot and we had already been walking for a bit, so decided against continuing further to see the rest of the harbor.
We headed back to the south end of the island where we were anchored and stumbled on an airstrip and a small “resort” with 4 condos and a small restaurant. Brad was excited about the airstrip and we hung out for a bit hoping that a plane would land. We were not to be so lucky. And when we say airstrip, don't think small town airport, think flat 20 feet by 200yard slab of cement laid down for the occasional prop plane. No welcoming committee, no airport at all. But, as soon as you land, you can run next door for a quick bite to eat. We took Koa (pets were welcome of course) and he was immediately greeted by the welcoming committee - a lab, a chihuahua, and an old jack russell, all eager to meet him. The other lab, a female named “Salt”, was particularly excited to meet him and hung around our table the whole time we were there.
We ordered the most amazing conch fritters that were the size of baseballs with large chunks of freshly caught conch and split a burger. The people that own the restaurant were extremely welcoming and friendly and eager to sit down and chat with us.
We spent a particularly nasty night out at anchor, with the wind coming across our beam and rocking us from gunnel to gunnel all evening. We were more than ready to leave the following day and find a better anchorage.