Exumas

The main beauty of the Bahamas is the sea. It is almost impossible to find words to adequately describe the jewel-like colours of the water. We found a superb little beach, pure white sand, water shading from pale to turquoise, gently shelving slope with no rocks and declared this as the 'perfect' beach. Little did we know but in the cay was another 'perfect' beach. The Exumas consist of 365 cays, one for everyday of the year and just about all of them seem to have stunning beaches. The land on the other hand is less impressive. The cays are low lying and the vegetation mainly consists of small bushy, often scratchy plants. There is even the ominously titled Poisonwood bush which causes painful rashes if touched. 

So it is not surprising that most people spend most of their time on the water, unless you are one of the mega wealthy who own their own cay. Some of the more famous temporary residents are Johnny Depp and Sean Connery. We have certainly seen lavish motor yachts, complete with large tenders (some almost as big as our boat) and intense security surrounding them. We people them in our imagination with the rich, famous and fabulously beautiful but so far the ones we have seen on board are nondescript. It is comforting to think that no matter what your budget you can still enjoy the same seascape as the mega wealthy.

So here we are in the Exumas Land and Sea Park. A far sighted gentleman in 1958 -a great year- convinced the government to set aside 176 square mile area of land and sea. The results are stunning. In other parts of the Bahamas we have seen plenty of fish life but the size of the ones in the park are impressive. We've seen large snapper, barracuda, Nassau grouper and plenty of reef fish, all quite large and unafraid of a diver. Yesterday we watched Eagle Rays leaping at least five feet out of the water. On Shroud Cay we saw our first hummingbirds, so fast, so small. 

We are now in Black Point on Bitter Guana cay. Great spot, lovely little town, friendly locals and a great laundry with free internet. Plus crystal clear water, good holding and not a cloud in the sky. We also visited the Thunderball Grotto in Staniel Cay. Very impressive. A bit of a mission to get in against the current but worth it. The whole area feels very James Bond with mega launches everywhere and the familiar scenery from the movies. Hopefully no men with guns and the Sharks remain at a distance.