Thunderball Grotto, pigs, swimming, and beach bumming.....ahhhh....we love Staniel Cay! And we are not alone. This is a popular spot for many cruisers. Boats of all shapes and sizes are anchored here at Big Major Spot and we all came for the same reasons....the good holding, nice beach, quaint town, and cool sights.
Visiting Pig Beach has to be the most bizarre thing we have seen yet in the Exuma's. We've met these animals before when we came through this way 7 years ago and all I can say is, they've grown and propagated. The sows are huge and hungry and (maybe it's just me) I don't trust them at all. The piglets however are adorable.
Thunderball Grotto is another amazing spot. It was here that they filmed a portion of the James Bond movie Thunderball. The only way to see it is to snorkel in through a small opening in the wall at low tide or to dive under at high tide. Once inside it opens up to a large cavern that is awsome by itself but, underwater is equally thrilling as it's alive with tropical fish and coral of every description. For me this was a "must see" and I didn't want to leave until we did that. Today we took that opportunity and it was fabulous!
The town (if you can call it that) is laid back and caters mostly to the tourists who rent cottages and those who charter big yachts, but they also treat us buget conscious cruisers well too. The locals live very simply and seem very friendly and happy. A big attraction at the yacht club is the many nurse sharks that hang around. We just happened to be there the other day when someone was feeding them and there had to be at least 15 of them swarming around and a man standing there patting them! Unfortunately I didn't have a camera handy for that.
We also spent a nice relaxing afternoon at the beach. Again, this was no ordinary beach. Over time cruisers have been leaving fun things like tables, lawn chairs, a b.b.q., and tons of decorative paraphernalia. It was the perfect backdrop for an awsome afternoon. Man, we have a tough life!
Tomorrow our good friend Kevin, who lives in Green Turtle Cay, is flying into Staniel Cay for lunch so, of course, we will be sticking around for that. Then, if the weather cooperates, we will sail to Black Point for Christmas.....but more about that....next time.
The blues down there are pretty fabulous. I mean the colours. There can be ten different blues in one shot. These are all a fabulous collection of visuals that I am enjoying. Travelling in my armchair hasn't been such fun Janice! Thank you. And Merry Christmas young lady! Love N,x
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