Staniel Cay

4/22/09

Well, yesterday we got into Staniel Cay and it is wonderful. We will be staying here for a few days and just enjoying the island and breakfasts at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club. David was here three years ago and made some good friends of some of the folks here that he is enjoying seeing again. On the way in we passed close to Big Major’s Spot and were able to look over to the shore and see the “wild pigs” (they really aren’t wild – they belong to some Staniel Cay folks) running around on the beach and swimming out to people in dinghies looking for treats. First iguanas and now pigs! I wonder what other creatures are in store for us as we continue this trip.

But – a few things that I have forgotten to tell you about to date. The first was the “pretty-little-bird-incident”. On our trip from Bimini to Allen’s Cay there was this pretty little bird out in the middle of nowhere just flying around and decided to take a much needed, I am sure, rest on the boat. We were enjoying visiting with the bird when it decided to go below and check out the cabin. We weren’t too worried about the cats being down there since that had been one of their not-better days stomach-wise and in a bit I thought I saw the little bird fly away again across the water. I really thought nothing of it until that night when I stepped in something icky (hate it when that happens!) on the main cabin. And – wouldn’t you know – there in the middle of some kitty upchuck was a bird wing. Poor little thing. I guess the cats weren’t as sick as I thought they were!

The other thing I forgot (I’m sure there are many others – but this is what is coming to mind at the moment) to tell you is that on that same trip we saw three Pilot Whales playing in the surf. (They were some kind of whale anyway – someone else told us there was an official report of Pilot Whales in that area at that time.) What a treat!

Back to Staniel Cay – Today we took a walk through the island over to where David had anchored his other boat, Patience Green, the last time he was here in a shallow creek in the middle of the island. We took a nice swim there and just as I was commenting on the fact that I didn’t see many fish up came a huge stingray right at my feet. I’m not sure who was more scared, me or the stingray. Right up on the beach there was a wonderful, colorful picnic area where we just rested for a while and enjoyed the sound of the wind through the Australian Pines. On our walk back into town we passed a homestead where there was a custom made 4-wheel drive off road vehicle with a Morris Minor body (or so says David) mounted on what appeared to be a Jeep chassis. Take a look at the picture. It was really quite cool. We then took some time to visit David’s friend Flo at the local “Pink” grocery. As we were taking the dinghy back out to the boat we were buzzed really low by three old single engine military trainer planes. They were having a ball just roaring in and out of the harbor as low as they could go. Looked like great fun if you are into that sort of thing.

4/24/09

Today, after taking care of some business we had lunch at Thunderball Café which has a really incredible view of the water, rocks and cliffs all seen through bougainvilleas full of blooms. Then we wandered along a hiking trail that ran along the uppermost cliff overlooking both sides of Staniel Cay. There is really no way to describe how breathtakingly beautiful it all is. The pictures I will post here only do the scenery partial justice. Then back at the dinghy dock some folks were cleaning fish and there where a good number of little sharks and stingrays fighting the seagulls for the leftovers that were thrown in at the edge of the water. The birds were, by far, getting the best pickings.