Exuma Sea and Land Park…a National Trust and Treasure

We entered the 125 sq mile Exuma Sea and Land Park at Shroud Key….anchored out and dinghy’d in to the beach for a swim and snorkel…and then, a short hike to Barefoot Beach.

Next stop was Wardewick Wells…the main administration office for the park and there were a couple of beaches, snorkel sights and hikes. First day we went to another hidden beach on the Atlantic side of the island. the hike was nice, but the trail was primarily coral which made it a little tough going. and, later on I learned that the name of the trail was really Hudia Highway…a furry rodent about the size of a gremlin.

Next day we went to Boo Boo Hill…a longer, but much easier hike. The lore around Boo Boo involves 3 different spirits…the headless Skeleton, one of 2 sisters who lived on the island for many years and both were a little eccentric…demanding treats from people who landed on the island by gunpoint. After the one sister died, the other wanted to remain on the island, but was removed…now she haunts it. Or, the other lore had to do with a local spirit who lived in a tree and terrorized people. We did not experience any of the spirits, and just appreciated the driftwood pile of previous hikers.

On Saturday evening there was a cocktail/appetizer party of the different boats in the pArk. There were about 30 people from the 12-14 boats moored in the bay. Good treats, and great people. They were from all over…lots of Canadians, a few from Australia and New Zealand, one from Chile and the rest were Am ericans. Really co

ol evening. We have met some really nice and interesting people.

We sailed to Cambridge Cay still in the Exuma Park and took the dinghy’s, ours and our friends, Dave and Mary and their daughter and Son in law to the “aquarium”…an amazing snorkel area. The beauty of this area is so stunning….some of the prettiest I have ever seen, and the water is about 20 shades of blue. We had a really nice and relaxing day, and that should have told us something was up. We went to bed and around 3, David discovered that our dinghy and outboard motor had escaped! A dinghy is an absolute necessity in our situation, and since everything costs 3-4 times more than in the U.S., we were looking at 3-4,000 to replace it and would have to bypass a couple of stops to try to find a replacement. Our friend, Dave volunteered to take David out on his dinghy in 15-20 knot winds and a pretty good chop to search for it. After about an hour or so, I saw David and David2 as our friend, Richard refers to the two of them, in 2 different dinghies and thanked St. Anthony for answering my prayer! If you could see where we are at and how remote it is…you would understand our concern.

So, with dinghy in tact, we sailed on to Staniel Cay where we did a little re-provisioning. A little, because I had hit Costco before leaving Miami, and still had a freezer full of meat, chicken and fish and a pantry full of all kinds of things. I bought a couple of tomatoes, 3 limes, romaine lettuce, a candy bar, Oreos for David, some english (cheaper) cookies for me, a can of green beans, a packet of Cracker Barrel cheese. $42.

The island is one of the prettiest ones so far and the people were very nice, area very charming and picturesque and, it had a dock with a restaurant and bar. We have not eaten out much…we have all that Costco stuff, and we haven’t really been around a lot of commercial and developed locations. For instance, this is one of the more developed areas, and it does not have a bank or ATM machine anywhere on he island.

Farmers Cay Yacht Club was a little bit of a disappointment…Mr Nixon, Roosevelt Nixon who greets you at the dock and asks you if you want to have dinner with 2 dead presidents, and his wife were in Nassau doing doctors visits, etc. So, we dined with his son and daughter and 5 other cruisers and had a delightful time. We also learned a little about the history of the island and its ownership. Very interesting…it was settled in the mid 1800’s by Christiana, a freed slave. Julian showed us a family picture…about 80 people from 1911. his grandmother, Mr Nixon’s mother was a baby. everyone dressed in starched white clothing…really impressive! So, Christiana had 5 children, the first boy and girl named Adam and Eve. the property was split up between the 5 and today all of the property is owned commonly from the direct descendants. The population is around 70, it is not a big island, but it is lovely. Julian also explained why there are so many homes started…a foundation laid, but nothing else. Some of the island owned by the Bahamian government is leased for 99 years. You can extend the lease for another 99 if you do some kind of improvement.

We left Farmers key headed for George Town…the big metropolis in these parts, and decided we would come back to Farmers Cay for their 5 F party onFeb 6th. That is why Mr Nixon is gone now…so he can be back for the First Friday in February on Farmers Cay Festival. It is bound to be a fun time.

We decided to go out into the ocean on our way to Gtown….it was a nice day, however, no wind. It was a shorter route than going inside the Exuma sound, but can be a little choppy. It was a nice ride, albeit a little bit of swells and rollers.

We got to Georgetown and of course, the boat started to act up! Thank goodness it did it here where we can get some help. There is a NAPA store with some parts and David found an electrician to help him figure it all out. I am constantly impressed with David’s sailing ability and his vast knowledge of how to fix just about everything on the boat. Our problems right now involved 3 $700 each batteries that weigh about 130 lbs each. 2 of the 3 are not working right, but the electrician thinks he might be able to save them. David is an electrician too, but he lacks some of the tools he would need, and…he would need help carting those batteries, or we would be looking for a chiropractor too!

Georgetown is the destination for a lot of retirees from the U.S. And Canada for the winter. There are currently 200 boats, mostly sailboats anchored off the island directly across from GTown. Every morning there is a “cruisers” update on the radio at 8oclock. It is organized with a weather report, local business give their specials for the day, events…like a bbq, volleyball torneyments at volleyball beach, yoga on the beach at 9, cocktail reception at the Peace and Plenty Hotel 3-5, a country western concert in regatta park on Saturday and Sunday, signup for the baseball league for this year, services today…garbage pickup, water taxi, produce cart, propane guy is in town, Texas Holdem tourney, trivial pursuit on Sunday before the concert, etc, etc. Someone described it as summer camp on boats for e senior crowd! The night before last, they had a great dj who did 60-70’s music we could hear on our boat. But, unlike some of the other islands, this music started about 4 and ended by 9pm….the cruisers midnight. There are a few people who just stay in front of this beach for months!

We fly home on Monday, David has a business meeting and I have to check on the house, dr apps, but we will fly back after a short visit and meet up with some friends…this is truly an adventure and we are so happy to be able to do it!

Love to all,
K&D