More pics to wet your appetite...

Shortly after my last post I was sent some of these pictures from Eric & Pete (our Staniel Cay Kayakers) and I wanted to share them with you (hope you guys don't mind). 

One of the best things about our trips is that it isn't hard at all to capture great photos. The scenery on the beaches and in the waters up and down the Exuma Cays is breath-taking. It's nice living in a place where I don't get tired of the view. 

I'm not sure if or how much you know about Lionfish, but the Bahamas has been hit pretty hard with these fish that are not native to our waters. I found this article about how it all got started, and apparently there was an aquarium in Florida that got smashed in Hurricane Andrew back in 1992 freeing about SIX (6) Lionfish into the "Atlantic Ocean, spawning an invasion that could kill off local industry along with the native fish." (NPR.org, Spreading Lionfish Invasion Threatens Bahamas)  That's insane to me that only 6 fish could do such harm. I know many Bahamians have started eating these fish, they are pretty tasty!

One of the guys on our trip... I won't say which :) had a bit of a shark phobia at the beginning of the week. By the end of the week, he was sticking his head in the water to snap this picture of a Lemon Shark swimming about 5 feet off their beach on Gaulin Cay South. I think it's safe to say the fear has been conquered! I would NOT be doing that :) LOL-Call me a chicken if you want... but I'd rather be a chicken than 'shark-bait'! 

Hope you enjoyed these pictures. Way to go guys, great shots!

67 Miles in 6 Days...not too shabby guys!

"I Paddled 67 Miles in 6 Days!!!!"-From left: Pete, Dallas & Eric

(click here to see their route)

Seriously guys, the 45 miles advertised in our Staniel Cay Kayak trip wasn't enough for you??? :) Each day they averaged about 7 miles to get to their next campsite in the Exuma Cays. On their final paddle day, they decided that wasn't enough...they really wanted to swim with the sharks at Compass Cay. So they opted for an additional 14 miles (roundtrip) to make it up to the sharks and back. As I was told... the current was against them on the way up, then while they were there the tide was changing which meant it was against them on their way back too. After all the super calm weather they had the rest of the week and the fairly light paddle days... it is not far fetched for me to say this was their toughest paddle day. 

We met the guys at their final campsite just next to Staniel Cay and we were able to pick them up in the powerboat and head around to see the famous swimming pigs on Big Majors Spot (Watch out... they might nibble a finger or two if they are really hungry). These three pigs were putting on quite the show. We were towing the kayaks behind the boat at this point, and we almost snagged a pig for the haul :) 

We dropped Pete & Eric off at Staniel Cay so they could catch their flight back on Flamingo Air to Nassau. We re-fueled for our tow back to Great Exuma. 

Since we took over operations of the company in 2008, we have never had a tow-back day goes this smooth and have this nice of weather. The boys (Joss & Emit) and I, with the help of our friend, Joel, drove the boat (on the trailer) from Georgetown to Barratarre and launched it for our trek up the Exuma Cays. We picked up Dallas and the guys along with the three kayaks and all the camping gear. We took our time driving back down the cays and even managed to jump out in the cave (family picture above), do a little spear fishing and snorkeling and still got the boat out of the water and drove back home before dark. So YES!!! This was a very successful tow-back day; answered prayers for sure!

I couldn't resist posting this shot I was able to get of the famous Musha Cay (owned by David Copperfield). When you see all the toys out on the beach like this... you know "someone" is there having a good ole time. The main house is up in the trees in the middle of the shot (you can see the roof). You know.. I just think it must be really rough on someone owning their own island like this... don't you?!?!?

This is just another shot of the calm waters this day. This one is taken in one of the "rough" cuts off of Rudder Cut Cay as we were heading out to go "ocean-side" (that's what we say anyway). We did some of our spear fishing out there. Dallas caught a nice hogfish for dinner, thanks babe!

Staniel Cay Kayak

Dallas took off on Sunday with Eric & Peter for our Staniel Cay Kayak trip. It always seems like when Dallas is out camping that's when all the thunderstorms decide to roll through here at the house. Of course when I ask him if they've been drowning in rain all day his response is usually "no, it's been all around us, but we've stayed dry." I think it's just the Lord's way of reminding me to keep my man and our guests covered in prayers while they are out there, because I drop what I'm doing and start praying like crazy when a bad rain shower is coming through. 

We decided to reverse the route in comparison to what they did last month. So they flew from Nassau to Georgetown, Great Exuma and started their paddle in the settlement called Barretarre. From there they kayaked up to Normans Pond Cay for their first night. They packed up camp and headed up to Lignumvitae Cay yesterday, and today they stopped off at the German Castle on Big Darby Cay on their way up further north to stop on Big Farmer's Cay tonight. I haven't had my evening call yet to find out how the rest of the day has played out, but while they were at the castle Dallas called and said the weather was absolutely perfect for paddling. A light breeze pushing them and really calm seas. Can't ask for more than that. 

Hopefully the guys have been enjoying the food and desserts! That was part of my contribution for the trip again. I get them down here (through emails and phone calls) and Dallas takes over from here :) I'll post more later in the week to see how the rest of their trip plays out. Maybe I'll have an exciting story or two to share!

Crawfish Time!!

 Let the spearing begin :)

 

 August 1st is always a special day for Bahamians. It's the opening day of crawfish (lobster) season. We thoroughly enjoy this time of year and a chance to re-stock the freezer. Dallas was able to get 11 the other day with the crew he took out, but some of our relatives up in Abaco got over 200 we heard... that's insane! 

It never fails, a day out in the boat/spearing always results in an encounter with "Barry" (a barracuda). Apparently we were hanging in this one's territory the other day. We've found barracudas to be very territorial and super nosey. And in my book they aren't the prettiest creature in the sea to look at with their fang-like teeth...so I always keep one eye on them when I'm in the water with one. They are attracted to shiny objects and things like diamond rings and things that bling. I usually turn my rings around so that they are inside my palm when I'm swimming (especially if we've got a Barry around). I was a little nervous that my camera might attract some unwanted attention, so after I snapped a shot or two I swam with it out of the water above my head :) Dallas could tell by the way I was swimming that one was near by.

 Most the time when folks are coming on our camping trips in the Exuma Cays they ask us what to be worried about and what to keep a close eye out for. I usually warn them about barracudas and their little tendencies (mainly an issue if you're fishing), and then the long-spined sea urchins (see below). These guys can be incredibly painful (not poisonous) if you step on them. Most of the time you can see the bright black image from a little way off since the water is usually crystal clear. Obviously they aren't soft and inviting to pick up and play with, but it is best to not touch them and especially be careful not to step on one. They feed off the algae on the reefs and keep them nice and pretty. So it's nice to see them in abundance down here. 

 

 Our summer months are always our slowest season for tourism. The bigger areas like Nassau and Paradise Island seem to have lots of visitors still, but we seem to get overlooked in the summer time. We enjoy offering our summer discounts to lure folks away from the hustle and bustle! The summer months are really beautiful down here though. We get our little afternoon showers and more rain than any other time of year. It never lasts very long though, just enough to make everything around us grow up like crazy. It's much more green this time of year and is so pretty.

We get lots of little critters too like these Banana Spiders which seem to be all over the place right now. We found one the other day on the kayak rack on our truck after it had been parked for just a few hours with a full web already, it was crazy.

 I love seeing the pretty flowers and interesting critters on land, but it's not hard to see why we're famous for our turquoise waters and white sandy beaches down here in Exuma, Bahamas. They are truly breath taking. Even for locals that have seen them their entire life!