Just Like Heaven

1.26.11

We arrived in Hawksbill Cay by noon on 1/24 and picked up a mooring ball in an otherwise deserted anchorage. (We had just entered Exuma Land and Sea Park (google it, it's gorgeous here!) and they provide moorings so sailors don't mess up the reef with our anchors). By this point we had realized that we moved much slower than other sailors – we spent longer at the various islands and hit the small islands in between, not just the larger more inhabited islands. This particular anchorage was off of a small island that most people passed by. It was a very protected anchorage and the beach was a short dinghy ride away.
We went out snorkeling the first day and hiked around the various trails in the island. We hiked among more ruins, this time from early British Loyalists who left America after the Revolution. The ruins were from 1786 and although there wasn't much left to the buildings, you could still clearly see the outlines of the buildings. Granted, we had to pick through palm trees, thorny bushes and cactus (yes, there are cactus in the Bahamas!), but they were still there. We also saw our first Bahamian land critter – a snake! Which I almost stepped on and quickly recoiled nearly running Brad over trying to back away from him. I think I scared him just as much because he was gone almost as quickly as he appeared.
The following day we hiked all the way across the island (all the way = ½ mile...haha) to the eastern beaches. The day was windy with the prevailing Easterlies blowing in from the Exuma Sound. Our side of the island was calm, but when we got to the other side, we were greeted with an angry sea. The waves were crashing against the rocky cliffs and the beach was no more than a small slab of sand that was constantly being eroded by the waves. It was cool seeing that side of the islands, as up until then we had only seen the west side. But the beach was mostly unimpressive so we went back to our quiet side of the island.
We got neighbors that night – a catamaran called “Bikini” with 3 Canadians aboard (apparently these islands are the stomping grounds for Canadian sailors). We took Koa to the beach around 3pm and played in the surf with him for a bit, then started a bonfire to burn off all our paper trash. Since the islands we had been visiting were uninhabited, we hadn't been able to dump our trash for almost a week. We had separated our burnables from nonburnables and were finally getting rid of some of our trash. We had also brought along some sundowners and hotdogs and items to make smores! It was a perfect night. The sky was clear, the wind was down, the temperature was up and we were having a great time. Just before nightfall, the catamaran people dinghied to shore and joined us around the campfire. We talked to them for a bit, then decided to reconvene on their boat for some drinks. We enjoyed an evening on their beautiful 47' new catamaran and also watched some TV with them on their big screen TV!
We left the following morning for Warderick Wells – the Exuma Park headquarters.

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.

Highbourne Cay

1.20.11

Today we sadly left Allens Cay and headed just 5 miles south to Highbourne Cay. We were sad to leave the gorgeous snorkeling grounds, but eager to head to Highbourne Cay to attempt to fix our internet. Our cell phone has, at this point, been cut off twice and we have racked up an $11,000 bill. Thanks Verizon. Today we will use a pay phone to get in touch with them and hopefully get the problem resolved! In the meantime, I continue to blog on Microsoft Word in hopes I will soon be able to post our adventures for everyone!!
If we were excited by Allens Cay, we were not to be let down by Highbourne. We have finally realized that the Exumas are all as exceedingly gorgeous as the pictures. Imagine your screen saver or the calendar picture on your desk right now – yea, we are there. Reefs are around every corner and sandy white deserted beaches are an everday occurrence. We dinghied in to the only marina on the islands to resolve our Verizon issue. No such luck – they kept me on hold for 30 minutes (an entire phone card worth of minutes with no results). Don't worry, I sicched my Pops on them – they are in for it now!! We caroused the marina and were so excited to find a nurse shark sitting on the bottom of the crystal clear harbour. We kept walking further down the marina piers and happened upon two guys who had just come back from a fishing excursion out in the Exuma Sound (deeper water). They had caught a number of Wahoo and were filleting them off the end of the pier. Much to our complete surprise, as he tossed the gutted fish into the water, they were welcomed with open jaws by about 30 nurse and reef sharks! They were literally circling under and beside the pier eagerly awaiting his catch of the day. We took tons of pictures and were in complete aww of the event. Who knew so many sharks could be in one place?! We could hear them sucking and biting at the fish as he threw each piece in. As he was finishing up, we thanked him for letting us watch and he offered us two fresh fillets. How generous! We hadn't caught anything of this caliber yet and were so excited about our new dinner item!!
While Dad was stuck dealing with ignorant Verizon idiots all day, Brad and I went back to the boat and enjoyed a lunch outside and then took Koa on a dinghy excursion. We went over to one of the aforementioned white sand beaches and played fetch with Koa and found a few “perfect” conch souvenirs. (If anyone wants a beautiful Bahamian conch shell, speak now or forever hold your peace!) And sunburn in January – ouch! Who knew?!
We found more coral, but since we had Koa couldn't get out of the dinghy. We again snorkeled head over the side of the dinghy and then headed back to the boat for sundowners and fresh fish dinner.