Pictures from the Exumas

This is a quiet day in the anchorage at Allens Cay in the Exumas. Allens Cay is inhabited mainly by iguanas, who sun themselves on the beaches and nibble on the seaweed washed up. The water is beautiful and clear - you can see the sandbar in the middle underneath it. The building in the background is a ruin; no person lives on the cay itself. The building is visible because almost all the trees are small - there is not much fresh water or soil here.


Warderick Wells, a part of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, is fascinating. Once forested, it was stripped of its trees by the 1800s. Under the care of the Bahamas National Trust the island is being allowed to regenerate itself. Among its inhabitants, this little warbler, which flits past close to people and sits on the hands of those wishing to feed it without any fear.



This inhabitant of Warderick Wells is usually seen in motion, racing across the paths. This one, however, was sunning himself and did not care to move.









Yet another inhabitant of Warderick Wells, the Curly-Tailed Lizard likes to sun himself on the rocks which make up much of the terrain here.











Many parts of the trails we walked over looked like this, made up of very porous rock formed from the sand. They sometimes shift as you walk on them, and make music-like noises as they hit each other.









We did find a secluded beach, with beautiful white sand and no current, a great place to dip into the water. It is tucked away, we're not going to say where...









Another inhabitant of Warderick Wells we met on our walks, this Mockingbird was so sure that he was well camouflaged in the trees that he did not move as we took his picture.








Former human inhabitants of the island also left their traces. This is part of the ruins of the Davis Plantation, a Loyalist Settlement built in the late 1700s. A lot of work must have gone into building these walls, now in ruins, and looking at them makes you wonder what their lives were like.







These are the swimming pigs of Big Majors Spot, an island close to Staniel Cay. We were told they will swim to your boat if you have food, but we did not put this to the test. They will certainly investigate any dinghy which arrives, with much snuffling and squealing, but they do not stay if there is no food to keep them interested.







Another one of those friendly, engaging places, Staniel Cay welcomes visitors whether they come to stay on their boats or in the cottages for rent, like these at Staniel Cay Yacht Club. The yacht club is a hub of activity for visitors, providing all kinds of things from good food to internet access to information about the surrounding area, besides the normal docking, fuel, water etc.