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| Colonial Beach, Paradise Island, Nassau, New Providence Great for beach combing |
My sister Jen’s visit has been and gone. It’s been good. Nassau
had us in its sticky clutches for a little over a week while we waited for her to
arrive. It’s not a bad place if you can overlook the high crime rates, over inflated
tourist prices and less than adequate anchorage where wind against tide and
constant boat wakes keep you constantly vigilant. I love walking the windward shore
to the lighthouse on Colonial Beach hunting for sea-glass and shells. When
Jen arrived we made good use of the Green Parrot Bar at Bay Street Marina which serves the most phenomenal
Conch Fritters and huge Burgers that justify their hefty price. We snuck into Atlantis (after 6pm) and walked
around their impressive underwater world with massive Jew fish and Saw toothed sharks.
We took to the streets of Nassau Harbour full of tourist shops and duty free shopping for the cruise ships where you can buy souvenirs and cheap knock offs.
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| Jen and I at Atlantis |
Just before leaving grubby Nassau behind we made a last
minute decision to buy a generator at great expense – (twice the price of the
US) as our huge battery bank has slowly been depleting with the shorter and
often more cloudy days. With the boat
fully stocked - as there are no shops, restaurants or even cellular service where
we were going, we left the clutches of Nassau behind and pointed Wandering Star
in a south easterly direction bound for the Exuma islands. We stopped briefly at Rose Island snorkelling
and hunting for more sea-glass but didn’t stay as strong winds were expected
that night and we wanted to put ourselves somewhere a little safer.
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We arrived late to Highbourne Cay just as the
sun was setting and struggled to get the anchor to hold. It is always a little
fretful when darkness starts to wrap its finger around you and you are not yet
settled for the night. But eventually
with the last vestiges of light the anchor finally took hold – which was just
as well as the wind blew hard - we pitched and rolled wildly in the built up
seas. Sim stood watch through the worst of it, making sure everything was ok. The
next morning it was still too lumpy to launch the dinghy so we all had a quiet
day on board reading and playing Farkel.
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| Isn't the water amazing?- At Hawksbill Cay |
When the winds finally eased we sailed around to Hawksbill
Cay 10 miles further south and executed a perfect example of anchoring under sail,
not something we get to do often but made easy in this otherwise deserted anchorage! Hawksbill Cay is one of the less frequented islands in the Exuma chain and yet
one of the most spectacular. Totally devoid
of human inhabitants, it is just bay after bay of jaw dropping beauty. Crystal
clear waters lap gently on the unspoilt beaches. There is nothing there, except for sea, sand
and sky. Less than a mile across the
shrubby land the ocean rolls onto the windward shore. The only sign there is human life is from all the
debris washed ashore. Jen and I explored
the individual bays in our kayaks. We hovered
over giant rays with wing spans the width of our outstretched arms; we saw all
kinds of starfish, and even a shark as we kayaked through the waterways of the
shrubby marshland. We hiked across the island and crossed paths with snakes. We
even got to see a very impressive green flash as the sun sank below the
horizon. But mostly we walked on some of
the most spectacular beaches around.
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| Wow - @ Hawksbill Cay |
Soon it was time to move on again, we stopped for one night
in Warderwick Wells but carried on the next day to our final destination with
Jen, Big Majors Spot and Staniel Cay enjoying the company of a lone dolphin playing
in our bow waves on the sail south. We snorkelled at Thunderball Grotto; made famous by the James Bond movie. The coral gardens around the
outside of the cave are some of the best we have seen, so healthy and colourful.
Inside light pours in from the natural skylights above, the cave is full of Sergeant
Majors and colourful Angel fish all waiting in hope to be fed. Even a small reef
shark swam in before Jen chased it out trying to catch the moment on camera. We
enjoyed a night with John and Shirley from Khaya Moya who pointed out the
sparkling Pulsar stars twinkling a multi hue of colours in the night’s sky. We
bravely (read Jen, I hung back) fed the swimming pigs with their yapping jaws and
protruding teeth that live on the beach at Big Majors Spot. We were surprised at the sheer number of nurse
sharks that hang around the yacht club at Staniel Cay waiting for chum from the
fish cleaning station. Even under our boat, everyday as the sun sets, a shark
would loiter making the thought of swimming an unattractive prospect. Though I
do believe nurse sharks are harmless enough, it’s hard to put the knowledge of a recent shark attack to a lady in the Abacos out of our minds. We walked around the small picturesque island
of Staniel Cay enjoying more conch specialties at the yacht club.
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| Oh My! - A shark! |
Eventually it was time for Jen to go, we walked her to the
tiny airport and put her on a tiny plane. Like I said it has been good, how can
it not be? When we have walked on stunning beaches, swam in caves, seen sunsets
and full moons, green flashes and colourful pulsars, sharks and snakes, rays,
dolphins and swimming pigs.
The lighthouse at Nassau
Some of Jen's beer supply!
My Love message to Sim
Star fish st Hawksbill Cay
Another little starfish
Kayaking at Hawksbill Cay
And more star fish!
Kayaking through the watery marshland of Hawksbill Cay
Views of the windward side of Hawksbill Bay
Lone dolphin joins us on a sail
Playing in our bow waves.
Someones not impressed with sailing
Another sunset
Jen and I and a beautiful bush of Bougainvillea
Thunderball Grotto
Inside Thunderball Grotto
Happy, healthy coral
Finger coral
Colourful sponges
Jen feeding the pigs at Big Majors Spot
Pigs and piglets on the beach
Kayaking back to Wandering Star
Some of our treasures so far
Dinghy parking at Staniel Cay
Yummy Conch fritters at the Yacht Club
Shark feeding frenzy
I've not been swiming so much recently!!
Good bye Jen - its been fun
