007 Snorkelers

Da dadala da…da da da. Da dadala da…da da da (in a higher key). DA DA (even higher).

Do you recognize that as James Bond music? If so, perhaps you remember the scenes filmed in Thunderball Grotto in the Thunderball movie. The grotto is just off of Staniel Cay. It’s just a small island to look at from the outside, but if you go at low tide, you can swim or snorkel inside. Fantastic! It’s like the whole island is hollowed out into a chamber with holes at the top (see picture at right). Inside, the water is about ten feet deep, and there’s plenty of head room to take out your snorkel and look around (see picture at left). There are also fish galore, mostly sergeant majors looking to be fed (see previous blog as a warning), so they swarm all around you. I made the mistake of telling another woman snorkeling in the grotto that I had been bitten by a sergeant major, and she immediately freaked out, saying that they were looking her in the eye. Oops! And yes, we have a license to kill—fishing license, that is. But not here, as the grotto is a no-fishing zone.

Do You Think They’d Mind If We Had A Barbeque?

After our stay at Waderick Wells, we made our way down to Staniel Cay. This is the first town we’ve seen in a while, and it’s a welcoming community. We anchored off of the island just north, Big Majors Spot, not realizing that the beach we were near is Pig Beach, so called because of the pigs that live on it, waiting for tourists to feed them (note the wild animal-feeding theme here). We dinghyed in to the beach, not to feed the pigs, just to look. Well, the pigs waded out to our dinghy looking for food. We didn’t have any and the dinghy engine quit, but luckily we floated into deeper water. The pigs didn’t appreciate our lack of donations, so they swam out to the dinghy, tried to climb in, and snorted pig snot all over Chris’ arm before he could get the engine started. I, of course, was taking pictures the whole time.

Guess That Wound!

So we’re in the Bahamas, swimming everywhere. We see sting rays, numerous nurse sharks and at least one black tip. So what does Anne get bitten by? A stinking little sergeant major fish. As we noted previously, tourists love to feed things. As we dinghyed up to a mooring ball near O’Brien Cay (it felt like home; my mother is an O’Brien), dozens upon dozens of fish, mostly sergeant majors, swam toward us. We knew they didn’t love us personally, just any food we might have brought along. We hadn’t brought any, and as we swam around the rocky islet, we lost them. Coming back around the corner, they found us again, and we again ignored them…until Anne felt a sharp pinch on her leg. One of them had bitten me, and once I got back in the dinghy, I saw that it had actually drawn blood (OK, not a lot, but it was a blood-drawing event) and left a mark that took days to go away. How embarrassing…

A Little Sign Of Home

During our walk on Waderick Wells, we came upon a cairn built by previous cruisers, who have carved, written, or painted the names of their boats on stones, driftwood, and other materials. One that immediately caught my attention was this one for Rising Tide out of Cohasset, Massachusetts, where my brother, Frannie, lives, and not far from Quincy.

Walking Waderick Wells

Those of you who know me (Anne) know that I love to walk. So, we had to try out the walking trails on Waderick Wells. We got the map and started out by climbing Boo Boo Hill, which is not that tall, but gives beautiful views across the northern portion of the island and down onto the coral formations in the waters of Exuma Sound (see photo at left). Looking at the little dotted lines on the hand-drawn map, I imagined paths through brush and along the beach. Wrong! The picture on the right gives a much more accurate example of what the trails were like–hell rock, pocketed sandstone, tangled roots, and challenging ups and downs–which, actually, are what we enjoy, although we could have done without the mosquitoes in the swamp. But we had crackers and cheese, water, and apples to munch on, so we were pretty happy. Besides, it makes the swim and glass of wine at the end of the day so much the sweeter. Along the way we saw several hutia, the only native land mammal in the Bahamas. They’re endangered and were once thought to be extinct, but were rediscovered on a nearby island and are being reintroduced to other islands. They’re pretty cute (I’m also partial to rodents) as you can see here, living in holes in the rocks. They’re larger than rats, but smaller than ROUS (see The Princess Bride for that reference).

Waderick Wells

We stayed at the mooring field at Waderick Wells for several days. The first day, as I mentioned in the previous blog, was Thanksgiving, and we partook of a great potluck feast hosted by the park. As thanks, we volunteered the next day at the park. Our task was to clean up and fix various maladies on one of the park’s boats, as you can see Chris doing here. So we scrubbed and bolted and gel coated, and had a great time doing it – at least we felt useful. The park is a terrific place to stay a few days. On the beach they’ve got the skeleton of a 52-foot sperm whale that died nearby; when you look down from the park headquarters building, it’s rather startling, kind of like Jurassic Beach.

Thanksgiving Day at Exuma Land and Sea Park

I know it’s a little late, but here’s our update on Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving morning, we sailed down to Waderick Wells, which is where the headquarters for the Exuma Land and Sea Park is located. They have a great mooring field, and Darcy, who was working the radio, told us that there would be a pot luck dinner at 2:00 at the park manager’s residence. What a great time! There were about 50 people there: park personnel, cruisers, and folk staying on the nearby private islands. And the food…the park provided turkey and pork roast, and everyone else brought a dish (or more than one). We had plenty to eat, and met some great people whom we hope to see again down the line. We have a lot to be thankful for.