Pipe Alley dinghy ride
After our son and daughter departed, we spent a few days at
Black Point Settlement doing laundry and re-provisioning. The supplies come in via a freighter to each
community about once a week, weather permitting. We took a break from chores to visit the “Garden
of Eden” attraction. Willy, the
proprietor, has established a method of growing native fruits and vegetables
using potholes filled with composted soil.
He proudly showed us the bananas, mangos, guavas, papayas, squash, corn,
noni, tamarind, pigeon peas, coconut, and sapodilla. It surprises me that not many people grow
their own produce, yet the climate allows year-round growing. His wife demonstrated to us how she weaves
grass into strips that are sent to Nassau for manufacturing into placemats, floor
mats, and baskets.
We headed over to Staniel Cay on January 31st to
pick up our friend, Frank Brouse, who retired on January 30 from teaching. While we were waiting for his plane to
arrive, we watched the skates and nurse sharks lazily swimming around the docks
at Staniel Cay Marina waiting for fish scraps.
Once Frank arrived we immediately whisked him over to Thunderball grotto
to see the fish and coral in the underwater caves. He took some great underwater shots of us
feeding niblet corn to the fish. We’ll share those pictures on our blog once he emails
them to us. Based on the weather
forecast, we decided to head north to Shroud Cay, then work our way back south.
We stopped at Warderick Wells and did a short hike up to Boo Boo Hill
and showed Frank the blowholes. The next
day we continued north to Shroud Cay where we spent a roly night in the
surge. It was worthwhile because the
next morning we took the dinghy on a rising tide up Sanctuary Creek to explore
the mangroves. At the far end was
Driftwood Camp, a site established by a hippy sailor back in the 80s then used
by the CIA for a sting operation to spy on planes bringing drugs into
neighboring Norman’s Cay. We walked the
beach and had a picnic lunch before returning to Windspell.
We then sailed over to Hawksbill Cay where we did some
snorkeling and hiking. The next day we
came down to Emerald Rock anchorage at Warderick Wells, the Exumas Land &
Sea Park headquarters. We had some
wonderful snorkeling under ideal conditions at the Coral Gardens and fuel dock
sites. There was a HUGE Nassau grouper,
at least 1 metre in length, and 5 spiny lobster under one ledge! We hiked the southern half of the island,
showing Frank the Pirate’s Lair anchorage.
From there we headed down to Cambridge Cay. We anchored temporarily at Fowl Cay to
snorkel at Rocky Dundas Caves. Entering into the caves and seeing the
stalactites and stalagmites and seeing the abundance of fish and corals outside
the caves entrance was truly magical. We
also dinghied over to the Champagne Baths, located on the north tip of Compass
Cay., Here, swells from the ocean spill
over a ledge into rock basins causing the water to bubble up, hence the name,
the Champagne Baths. We picked up anchor
and moved over to Cambridge Cay mooring field.
In the late afternoon we took Frank to our favorite site, The Sea
Aquarium just north of O’Briens Cay. As
you tumble over the side of the dinghy in your snorkeling gear, the little
Sergeant Major fish come rushing up to greet you. Slightly more cautious are the grunt fish
that hang back a little, waiting to see if you have any food to offer. It's likely the best snorkelling spot in the Exumas chain of islands.
Heading south the next day we anchored at Sampson Cay. We took the dinghy to explore Pipe Alley –a
shallow channel between islands known for the beautiful shades of turquoise in
the shallow waters. There is a huge house built there but with a solar array and 3 wind turbines to provide their power needs. It's likely the biggest private home we have seen in the Exumas. We sailed the next morning to Black Point Settlement ahead of a strong "norther" coming through. we spent the day catching up on laundry and hiking out to the tip of the island.
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