Cave Cay

After leaving Cambridge Cay we headed further South to Cave Cay Marina.  It has been over 6 weeks since we’ve been at a dock.  While we have LOVED being at anchor or moored, it will be nice to be hooked up to electric and give our generator a break.  It will also be nice to be able to simply walk Charlie off the boat without going on a dingy ride to shore.  Cave Cay was highly recommended by Greg and Lisa, and we now know why.  It is a hidden gem. Tucked into a protected basin, the docks are well kept and floating.  Shark, the name of the island’s attendant/dock master, is as kind and genuine as they come.  The owner of this small paradise had plans to develop it.  Over the years the project’s direction changed somewhat and the island shows signs of various undertakings left mid-way through completion. 

Rob and Juliet were also staying here a few days.  After Shark helped us all get settled into our slips, he told us all about the island and welcomed us to help ourselves to the “garden” they had nearby.  Juliet and I could hardly wait to check it out…turns out the “garden” is more like a tiny farm.  I almost cried as I took in the site of rows of tomato plants heavy with bright red fruit, cucumbers and even a couple small watermelons.  We found sweet potatoes peeking up from under the sandy soil and began to dig…I lost count of the number we harvested.  There was an entire row of banana trees, with hanging “hands” of a tiny variety.  A worker offered us some papayas he had picked for some guests who no longer wanted them…YES please.  He said he got them from the trees over by “the blue building”.  Here is where having a friend who grew up in California comes in handy.  I had no idea what a papaya plant even looked like, but Juliet immediately said, “we’re gonna need our boat hook”.  Before I knew it, we’d dropped off our harvest, grabbed a bag and a boat hook and headed out in search of the “blue building”.  There they were, tall skinny trees with bright yellow fruit hanging at the tippy top, nestled against a blue building.  So, apparently ripe papayas will explode open if they fall to the ground….cue me standing below the fruit with my bag open in a fireman’s net pose, while Juliet wielded her boat pole and knocked them down.  Best day ever!  To fully grasp how magical this garden adventure was you need to know that at 3 months into our Bahama journey, most of the fresh produce we’d brought from the states had been consumed.  While staples, frozen veggies/fruit and dry goods abound, we were at the point in our trip where we supplement with fresh produce from local stores.  Local stores are only found on a few islands, they are small, not always well stocked and always expensive.   Sweet potatoes, cut and tossed in olive oil with salt/pepper and baked for 20 min…YES PLEASE!

We have thoroughly enjoyed traveling with Rob and Juliet, so when we realized they had an anniversary while here, we decided to surprise them with a special breakfast.  We broke out the Bloody Mary fixns, Scott made French toast using the coconut bread from Loraine’s, and finally got to use the pork sausage our son gave us from a farm in Virginia.

On our last day here, we walked to the end of the dusty runway to find the “shell beach”.  It did not disappoint.  There was so much untouched beauty as the sound side crashed against the rocks on one side and the Bank sloshed rhythmically on the other.  Our pockets were full of treasures by the time we left.  Amazing assortment of all manner of shells…but leave it to me to find the weird thing that I LOVE, and Scott hopes I forget and leave behind.  It was the bleached-out carapace of a crab, nearby were the claws…I’ve not seen a crab like this before.  I think it is super cool (Scott says it is creepy).  I’ve researched it, I think it is a type of box crab.

Back to Staniel Cay!  Our daughter would be arriving to visit for a week, and she flies into a small airport here.  I was excited to share the things we’ve enjoyed while here!  We got to Staniel a few days early to prep for her arrival.  Staniel’s mail boat usually arrives on Thursdays, so we planned to visit the Blue Store and the Pink Store to bump up our provisions. We also had to stop at the local “liquormat”, literally a laundry mat that sells beer/wine/liquor, there is no such thing as too much red wine when Ashley visits.

Staniel is a good place to have guests fly into…you can enjoy adult beverages at the “yacht club/bar” while waiting and then enjoy a lunch before heading back to the boat.  It would be a bit overcast for the start of her visit, but that didn’t seem to matter.  First stop, visit the nurse sharks gathering near the dock looking for easy handouts from the fish cleaning station nearby.  Note: Ashley is NOT a shark fan (thanks to her brother for introducing her to Jaws much much too early in her formative years) 

I could NOT have asked for a better visit with Ashley.  Just having concentrated time with her was a treasure, but then to be able to share this remarkable life with her was the best. 

Sadly, her time with us came to an end and we ventured back to Staniel once again.  It was time to start contemplating returning to the states.  We have loved our time here and all the places and people, but we are sorely missing our grandgirls and our Cape Charles community.

After getting a quick catch up with Rob and Juliet as they welcomed their next guest at Staniel, we headed South once again.  We anchored just past Black point in a place called Jacks Bay/White point Bay.  This is another pristine beach and sandy bottom anchorage.  We anchored just off from several coral heads that we would snorkel the next day.  We have found that each beach we visit seems to have a different type of sand.  The beach here has a pebbly, course sort of sand.  Perhaps because each grain was heavy, but for some reason this sand settled quickly when disturbed.  Usually near the shore, where waves roll in, the sand kicks up and there is a bit of murkiness.  But here it is different…at this beach the sand seemed magical. The water was crystal clear even as I sat at the shore.  I would lift a handful of sand under the water and it would drizzle back down as if I had dropped small beads.  The clear water was also just the right depth for swimming lazy laps and floating on your back, ears submerged eyes closed, and mentally drifting away. This was also the only place where knocking the sand off before entering the boat was even possible.  I know I have said this about a lot of beaches on this trip…but THIS ONE is my #1 pick if I had to pick a favorite beach.

We had a great day of snorkeling.  Found the largest ray we’ve ever seen…just chilling below a thin dusting of sand, his eyes protruding up from the seafloor looking like an angry Batman peering out from under a fog bank…very eerie.

Next up was a quick day trip over to Oven Rock.  We’d heard about a cave on this island that was actually a good deep water scuba diving location (we are SO not this level), but I was determined to snorkel there at least.  It was an easy anchorage, and we took the dinghy to shore armed with coordinates, good hiking shoes and our snorkel masks.  Well worth the effort!  It was the craziest thing…there in the middle of the jungle like landscape was a cave entrance down a rocky slope.  Once inside it just took away your breath.  Stalactites hung in pillars, columns and curtains over a large pool.  The cold water was oddly both crystal clear, yet murky.  You could still easily see stalagmites reaching up from the depths as if trying to escape the grasp of the lake.  Flashlights were recommended and we quickly learned why.  The cave was set deep, and sunlight was not significant.  The roof of the cave was dotted with tiny black bats patiently waiting for dusk to arrive for their nightly insect hunting.  At first, I was a bit anxious about snorkeling, did I mention it was kind of murky creepy?  There was no life here beyond the bats…the depths of the water revealed only a ghostly garden of statue like formations.  After exploring as far as we dared (apparently you can hire a guide to take you underwater further, but NOT a bucket list for me) we dried off and headed back to the boat.

  This is the first time we’ve anchored Miller Time for just a short stop, usually we are at a location for at least overnight, so it was weird to be moving the dinghy on and off after just a few hours.  We wanted to get underway to avoid some more wind.  We headed North again toward Warderick Wells and what we THOUGHT would be our next stops further North. The winds have been kicking and we find ourselves spending a lot of time planning our moves based on finding good hiding places.  March has definitely roared in like a lion…hoping it goes out like a lamb. 

We arrived a day early to Warderick.  Warderick Wells is the headquarters to the Exuma Land and Sea Park and an iconic blue horseshoe shaped mooring field.  We were able to get a mooring ball late afternoon just before the winds cranked back up.  This is such a unique mooring field.  We could literally swim to shore or sand bar if we wanted, and at low tide several kids for a nearby sailboat did just that.  Just a few yards from our stern are the parks dinghy mooring balls marking a large reef for snorkeling. By mid-morning we were joining Greg and Lisa on another snorkel adventure!  The winds were brisk, but once you are in the water it’s not bad.  There was so much to see I almost didn’t notice the large shark as it gracefully swam below me.  When I did, I was mesmerized and slightly panicked…this was not the docile nurse shark we are accustomed to seeing.  This was a reef shark.  Reef sharks are not known for being aggressive toward humans and are not really to be feared…I knew this, but I still struggled with the combined desire to observe it while also fleeing.  He harmlessly swam away, but for the remainder of the snorkel, I kept an eye on the perimeter.   Scott had gotten back into the dinghy, he was cold, but I continued to float around with Greg and Lisa for a bit…. that is until our little reef shark made a reappearance.  He seemed rather curious and made a few passes, not too close of course…after the third time I saw him, I decided he could have the reef to himself for a bit. (Scott always jokes that it takes me so long to get my fins off once at the boarding ladder, that if there were ever a shark, he’d need to get in first so someone would be around to “tell the story” …let’s just say THIS time I managed to get my fins off in a very efficient manner.)   

Originally the plan was to stay a few days then head North…well, the winds had a different plan.  Once we realized we’d be delayed a bit, we decided to head back South once more.  We needed a bit of a break from the wind and time to rethink our plans.  We decided to venture back to one of favorite stops, Cave Cay Marina.  After a blustery and lumpy 7 hour run from Warderick, we pulled into the marina and quickly set about clearing all layers of salt from Miller Time.  After days rushing winds, the “Slap slap slap” of the dinghy tethered behind the boat and constant bobbing, the calm of a slip at a dock was very welcome.  I was shocked Scott decided to come to Cave Cay.  It seemed counterproductive to head South when the goal is to get North, but it was a good call.  We both needed to take a beat.  In our effort to get positioned North for a crossing, we were getting frustrated navigating wind events and travel times.  Peering endlessly at Windy (an app we use to track winds and waves), plotting and replotting our routes and making plans A, B & C had led to unneeded stress.  Cave Cay delivered as expected.  In the refuge of the calm marina, we ran our AC, rinsed every salt covered surface in and on the boat, ran laundry, and got caught up on some projects. 

An added benefit was getting to visit the Cave Cay “garden”.  I relished walking in the field, digging up sweet potatoes, picking tomatoes and cutting down bananas.  I even revisited the papaya tree Juliet and I found last visit.  My heart was so happy with my new produce collection.  I learned there were Mulberry bushes nearby, I had seen them before, but did not know what they were (and Scott discourages me from eating things on our walks even if they DO look edible HAHA).  Armed with new knowledge of what they were I set out with my little bucket.  They are similar to blackberries, bit milder I think, but also VERY messy to pick.  I LOVED hunting the branches for the plump black berries. 

Back on Miller Time it was baking day!  With the AC flowing I had no worries heating up the galley with baking projects.  Our provisions are dwindling, so time to start making our own goodies.  Time to let the flour flow!  Snickerdoodles, sandwich bread and pizza dough were  soon in various stages of production.  My small harvest of mulberries would morph into yummy cobblers.

It was time to once again head North, this time with a much more relaxed mindset.  Before leaving we gifted Shark(the wonderful keeper of the cay) with some of our cookies.  He was so sweet and several times mentioned how much he enjoyed them with his coffee. Scott had asked Shark if he had some of a particular kind of screw he needed to finish his project…Shark not only found just the right ones, when we asked if we could pay him for them he refused and said the cookies were payment. 

Funny, as I write this post, I realize it is ending the same as it began…at Cave Cay.   I certainly did not see that coming.  I suppose that is a good example of how boat life works.  A boating friend once told me she never says she has “plans”, instead she says she has “intentions”…that sounds wise.

I intend to get North, I intend to cross back to the states, and I intend to eek out all the joy between here and there.