Exumas Cays Land and Sea Park

We left Palm Cay Marina in Nassau on Sunday March 6^th and headed to the Exumas Cays. The Exumas are arguably the best cruising in the world and we couldn’t wait to get there. The first places we visited are inside the Exumas Cays Land and Sea Park. These islands are all uninhabited and are protected by the Bahamas National Trust. It’s considered a NO TAKE ZONE, so fishing and lobstering are not permitted. You aren’t even allowed to take shells out of the park. These are absolutely gorgeous islands and the Trust does a great job of protecting and managing them—so we were happy to obey the rules. Not to mention we still had a freezer stocked with mahi mahi to consume.

Shroud Cay

Even our sail to the Exumas was magical. We were soaking up the sun’s rays when we had another visitor. Baxter really loves all of the wildlife in the sea. Dolphins are his favorite and I thought he might go overboard trying to get this one.

When we arrived at Shroud Cay around 2:30, it was obvious that the Exumas would not disappoint. Holy crap is this place beautiful. We packed a cooler with a few beers, grabbed Baxter’s frisbee and went straight to the beach—which we had all to ourselves. We made it! This is paradise.

And then the wind shifted. It was now coming from the south and we didn’t have any land to protect us. From the beach we could see Kairos bobbing up and now and we knew it was going to be a bumpy and wet dinghy ride back to the boat. It was one for the record books. We arrived back to the boat soaking wet and I was already feeling nauseous. We struggled, but managed to get the pups on the boat and rinsed off. We both goggled down some Dramamine.

It was by far the rockiest night we’ve had on the boat. We had planned on eating mahi mahi (of course), but neither of us could stay standing, let alone prepare a meal. We ate some salad and let the Dramamine put us to sleep. This is the one time I actually welcomed the drowsiness.

The next day we decided to go exploring a bit. It was still very rocky out, but this time we were prepared. We put our raincoats on and loaded the pups in the dinghy. We found a creek through the mangroves that took us to a gorgeous beach on the sound side of the island. Again, we had it all to ourselves. By the time we returned to the boat, the wind had shifted back to the east and the waves had died down. We knew what we would be eating for dinner…mahi mahi!

Waderick Wells

Our next stop in the park was Waderick Wells. While there were more cruisers in the anchorage, this island has no shortage of beaches. Pick one and have it all to yourself. The island has several hiking trails, with the most popular being Boo Boo Hill. It is a tradition for cruisers to paint their boat name on a piece of driftwood and leave it at the top. We didn’t want Kairos to miss out. When we walked the dogs, we were looking for some wood on the beach and found this colorful gem. I went to work customizing it with a black sharpie and white paint pen that we had on the boat. The next day we were able to add Kairos’s name to the pile of other cruising boats that had come before her.

Jaela has now replaced her love of squirrels with lizards. While Baxter was obsessing over his frisbee on the beach, Jaela was off hunting lizards. She raced off into the brush after one. We called and called and called for her and when she didn’t return after a few minutes I began to panic. I ran back to the dinghy to grab our shoes and we went in looking for her. We never have to worry about Baxter running away. He knows he is helpless and never wanders far. But when Jaela is in hunt mode, her instincts take over and staying near us is an afterthought. 30 very long minutes later, a very exhausted, thirsty, and scared Jaela emerged from the brush. We made sure to let her know what she did was bad, but we could tell that she was just as scared as we were and we were all just happy that she was back (even grumpy Baxter).

Cambridge Cay

We limped into Cambridge Cay. The braided hose that connects the fuel pump to the filter failed and we were leaking diesel. This isn’t a spare part that we carry and while wonderfully beautiful, Cabridge Cay is not the place you want to have engine issues. The island is uninhabited and doesn’t even have cell phone service, let alone Yanmar engine parts. But we did have some rescue tape on aboard. This stuff is awesome and will have to plug the leak until we can pick up our new hose in Georgetown.

Cambridge Cay was my favorite anchorage. It’s very well protected, so the lack of waves made it nice for us to explore in the dinghy. The waters are stocked full of rays and turtles. The snorkeling was superb! Check out the video below.

Here our morning walk with the pups turned into a half day hike around the island on the sound side. Our Coloradan instincts kicked in and we hiked to the highest point on the island for some jaw dropping views.

Before we left for Staniel Cay, we stopped by Compass Cay for a morning swim in Rachel’s Bubble Bath. It’s a beautiful swimming hole and when the waves crash over the rocks, the water bubbles up like a jacuzzi. And yep, you guessed it…we had it all to ourselves.

Our time in the park was truly special. Island hopping, snorkeling, and beautiful beaches is exactly what we envisioned when we began this journey. If you want to get a tan and get away from it all, this is the place to go. And when I say get away from it all, I mean everything. No cell phone service, no grocery stores, no souvenir shops, no bathrooms, no ice, no fresh water, no bar, no trash cans, nothing. You survive on what you brought with you on the boat. While we greatly enjoyed the solitude and pristine views, we are also looking forward to returning to civilization. We need to fill up our water tanks, throw out some trash, check email, and buy some meat and vegetables. After a solid week of mahi mahi for dinner, we finally finished it and have been cooking vegetarian dinners. Staniel Cay will have all of these services as well as swimming pigs!