Sea Life And Salted Pork

Yesterday, Noi and I celebrated our 7^th wedding anniversary. Yes, we were married on Groundhog Day, but at least this year we can definitely say that we are not reliving the same old thing! 

Since my last post, we have done much, albeit in a fairly confined geography:

After leaving Highbourne Cay Marina, we made tracks south for Warderick Wells Cay, part of the Exuma Land & Sea Park. It's a protected area where fishing and poaching is prohibited. It is considered one of the real gems of the Exumas. 

Noi and I agree that it’s been the high point of our experience so far. This is a place that is nearly inaccessible for anyone but us cruisers. Each day, a few boats are invited in to take a mooring and stay as long as they like for just $20/day (at least for our size boat). Getting into the park is a bit nerve-racking, however. First, one must thread one's way down a thin and shallow channel, weaving between a sand bar on one side and a row of already-moored boats on the other – all the while fighting a strong current. Let’s just say that you're close enough to the boats to exchange pleasantries on the way in if it weren't that your attention is focused on the tricky entry. We had a moment in which the park administrator called us on the VHF to warn that we were too far from the channel marker and in danger of running aground. We spun around a few times before getting our bearings and finally picking up the last mooring in the field (#22).

Once we got a chance to settle in and look around, we knew we’d made the right decision to come here. Wow. Words, and even photos, don’t do the place justice. Within two hours of our arrival (and just as we were discussing a quick salt-water dip), a rather large looking reef shark buzzed Symbiosis.

We ended up spending several days at the park, hiking around and enjoying the scenery. We trekked up Boo Boo Hill to leave a driftwood placard with our boat's name -- a tradition among cruisers at Warderick.

We also spent a fair amount of time on the beaches on the Exuma Sound side of the cay. Unfortunately, there are several beaches that are inundated in plastic that's washed ashore. We collected a large trash bag and brought it back to the park HQ for disposal. Our effort didn't even make a dent. We encourage anyone visiting Warderick to do the same. If everyone filled one large bag, it would go a long way toward keeping the beaches clean.

Next stop was Big Majors Spot near Staniel Cay, where pigs don't fly, but they do swim! Noi especially enjoyed the piggy-paddling swine. There are a few different stories about how the pigs got here. One legend says that Columbus' men left them when they landed here in the Bahamas. Others say there's a more recent origin to the porcine invasion. Anyway, it's worth seeing. And, Big Majors Spot is a very nice anchorage. The other attraction is the Thunderball Grotto, so named because a scene in the James Bond film (Sean Connery era) was filmed there. Spectacular! We swam in at low tide and got some shots on the GoPro, which I'm still in the process of processing.

To complete the experience, we ended up anchoring right next to Jeannie and Peter on Gratitude, who we had not seen since Vero Beach, Fl.

Now, we are in Black Point, a lovely anchorage with a community that really gets the cruising thing. Ida's Rockside Laundry is a one-stop shop: wash clothes, get a shower, pick up some outboard oil and best of all ... free and reliable wifi (which I am using as I write). Lorraine owns a wonderful little restaurant. Garbage disposal and free water, too, which seem like a given, but in the Bahamas, not so much! If you need a place to stop and recharge, this is it. Most definitely our favorite anchorage save the Exuma Park.

We are expecting more foul weather and unfortunately, Black Point is not the right place for it. Our plan now is to head a few miles south tomorrow (Thursday) and shove off on Friday for the last leg into Georgetown.