Careful, Big Mama Karma will bite you in the butt...

Now that we bailed out and sopped up the six inches of ocean water that came pouring through our starboard forward hatch drowning Dustin's stateroom and all of his belongings, we are on our way. First stop, Leaf Cay to see the ginormous iguanas that live on the island. These dinosaur looking creatures have become so accustom to visitors bringing food that they storm the beach whenever a new boat arrives. It was late afternoon when we arrived. We had the anchorage and beach to ourselves which was perfect for relaxing, swimming and taking pictures of the creepy critters.

After a couple hours at Leaf Cay, we moved on to our anchorage for the night at Highbourne Cay. There was quite a surge that pushed through the cut which caused us to rock, roll and sway all night long. I don't think anyone got a wink of sleep. In addition to it being rolly, it was also very hot. I could hear the kids moving about to find a comfortable place to sleep. When morning came, we found out that Dustin slept in the salon and Kristina and Jordan spent some time outside on the trampoline under the stars.

Day two... Shroud Cay. Our time at Shroud made up for any mishaps, the rolly anchorage and hot weather. Shroud Cay was an absolutely stunning island. We dropped anchor and quickly hopped in the dinghy to explore. We started with a dinghy tour through the mangrove creek and a hike up to Camp Driftwood followed by a little R&R on a heavenly beach with powdery soft sand, warm and crystal clear water.

Just when I thought it couldn't get better that enjoying the surf, sand, warm crystal clear water with my family, we dinghied to the Atlantic side... the water, OMG!!! The colors ranged from gin clear to deep sapphire. Absolutely stunning! And... a perfect spot to pop "the question" - Jordan asked and Kristina said YES!

Day three we traveled to the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park at Waderwick Wells Cay. I took a look back at our Log Book only to find in big bold letters at the bottom of the page... AWESOME!! We spent two days on a mooring ball in the North Field - totally worth the $30 a day park usage fee. The area was full of sea life that we could see right from our boat... we saw an aray of fish and coral including spotted eagle rays, stingrays, remoras, nurse sharks. When we stopped into the headquarters to pay our mooring fees, we picked up a map with all the designated snorkeling areas. The Park has set up dinghy moorings at each snorkeling location which make it easy to hop in the water and enjoy without having to worry about your dinghy. I can't say enough nice things about the Land and Sea Park... it was just stunning and we had a fabulous time exploring the underwater world.

Snorkeling at Waderwick Wells Cay

Jordan and Kristina Paddleboarding

Land and Sea Park Headquarters, Waderwick Wells

the view from our mooring ball

Stanley, Chief Security, supervising the snorkling team

Dustin

One of our many visitors, a ramora

When planning this trip, we asked the kids, "Where do you want to go? What would you like to see?" The daughter quickly chimmed in, "I want to swim with the pigs." I wasn't sure what that was all about, so I did a little internet search and apparently, the pigs are an "event". Vacationers from other islands, pay good money to take a fast boat to see and swim with the pigs. So after a couple of days of playing in the Land and Sea Park, it was time to move on to swim with the pigs.

Pig Beach is located on the uninhabited island, Big Major Cay in the Exumas. There are several different versions of how the pigs came to be. One being, the pigs were surviors of a shipwreck and managed to swim to shore. While another story is that the pigs were part of a business scheme to attract tourists. I tend to believe the latter. The drift of pigs are cared for by locals. On shore, there is a small shelter for shade and food/water storage. There are also signs with pictures and names of the pigs. There is one cautionary sign... "Beware of Big Mama Karma! Karma will bite you in the Butt". And they were not kidding... Karma is a big assertive girl and it is quite alarming to see her trotting towards you. As with all the pigs, Karma included, if you put your arms extended out to your side, they will leave you alone. I was able to capture a picture of Doug and Karma (see below, the pic with Doug's hands outright).

We spent the the next week-ish at anchor off of Big Major Cay aka Pig Beach watching the tour boats come and go. Big Major is also the home of Cruisers Beach and short dinghy ride to Staniel Cay and the Thunderball Grotto. We spent a bit of time exploring quaint streets of Staniel Cay, eating at Staniel Cay Yacht Club, and watching people wade in the water with the nurse sharks.

While exploring the charming island of Staniel Cay, we did a little grocery shopping, laundry and trash disposal - the first three things that all cruisers ask about when arriving at a new island. Grocery shopping in the islands is different than how we know grocery shopping in the States. Staniel Cay has about 100 residents and has two stores both the size of a mini marts (like an AM/PM) in the States. They are identified by the color of the buildings thus the Blue store and the Pink store. Both were well stocked with basics, meats and some fresh-ish fruits and veggies. Doing laundry on the boat is a production and an all-day affair. If we have access to facilities on shore, we prefer to lug our stuff to shore and pay to use the machines. And let me tell you... the Staniel Cay laundry is the bomb!!! It's half laundry and half bar... a perfect combination!! Needless to say, I was a little tipsy when Doug came to pick me up (lol).

What a wonderful gift to be able to share our adventure with our adult children! I so appreciate them for taking such a big chunk of time out of their schedules to spend with us. I look forward to our next adventure together.

Peace & Love!!