Guana

Whale Cay... we made it! Actually, we had really wonderful weather for it and we were wondering why people get so worried about crossing it. Actually, we could see where if the weather were bad, it would be a little scary. Whale Cay is an island between Green Turtle/No Name Cays and Great Guana Cay. You can't go inside of the Cay because of major shoaling, so you have to go ocean side, out and around. It's not a far distance; only took us a couple of hours, but it can be treacherous in bad weather. We had seas "3-5" feet, that seemed more like 2 feet and calmer winds. We were to Guana Cay before noon. We decided instead of anchoring in Baker's Bay, we would come down to the Settlement Harbour. Settlement has the grocery stores, internet(!), and Nippers!!!! A famous local bar/restaurant, overlooking "the world's 3rd largest barrier reef."

We spent much of yesterday wandering down the beach looking for seashells. We found some sea glass even, mostly greens, some brown and clear, and even an occasional blue. We also saw a Lionfish washed up on shore. The Lionfish is a beautiful creature, not native to the Bahamas. It is from the Asian seas, but was somehow brought here. The Lionfish moves very slow in the water, which makes it a great spectacle if you are snorkeling or diving. But beware! Do not touch this fish, as it is very very poisonous and as our friend says "a guaranteed visit to the hospital." The only predator it has in these waters are the Jewfish. We found it odd that this fish was washed up on shore, seemingly recent too, but was too far up the beach to have been brought in on a tide. hmmmm.... no clue there. Even dead they pack a punch, so we just looked and passed on by.

We passed away the afternoon at Nipper's enjoying a grillled assortment of tuna, grouper, and mahi mahi, and tried their sweet potato fries, of course doused in hot sauce! :)

Today is the famous Nipper's Pig Roast. They roast a pig and put on a huge buffett of local foods. It starts at noon with loud music and tons of people. All you can eat! (Dad likes that part) We hope to go check this out this afternoon. We may have to walk more beach this morning to prepare for all this food.

Good weather and Happy Sailing!