Author: Pete

Location: The Exumas

So, I may as well start off with it. I doubt there are any blog posts in the history of all blog posts on Staniel Cay that don’t mention the family of pigs that inhabit what is now familiarly called ‘pig island’ off of Staniel Cay.

Long ago someone dropped off several generic farm pigs on the island, and they’ve flourished (no doubt through the help of peanut butter sandwiches out of the hands of tourists). Generally they lay on their fat bellies on the beach, but when boats stop by they’ll swim right out to your dinghy in search of a snack. They’ll also very promptly swim away when their beady little pig eyes realize you didn’t bring any nibblins.

It’s touristy and cheeky, but still such a crazy sight to behold. Do you think they realize what a normal pig’s life is like? Maybe they need a blog to show off their lives lounging on a Caribbean island, free from the dangers of Mr. Butcher-man to their fellow farmland pigs in the mid-west. Wait, I’m seeing some parallels here…

The islands around Staniel Cay are homogenously beautiful. They’re low coral and rock with low scrub trees, gnarly sharp shoreline punctuated by sandy spits of beach. Here and there vertical-walled islands rise out of the water, just undercut enough to give them a mushroom appearance. Pastel houses dotted the shoreline around the town of Staniel.

Thunderball Grotto is an open-topped cavern inside one of the islands off Staniel, whose name was given apparently by the Bond movie that was filmed there.   I haven’t seen that one in particular, but everyone tells you that when they mention it.

Hundreds of little fish congregate around the grotto openings, like the pigs, to get handouts from the visitors. They’re curious and completely unafraid of you. It’s a little unnerving.

At low tide, you can swim into the grotto without diving under. Serious current pulls through as the tide changes, which can smunch you into the sharp walls if you’re not careful.

The grotto is tall, open and airy with a lot of light. Dribbly vines run down from the collapsed ceiling and seawater gurgles though the exit holes. Pretty neat spot, worth a visit.

And then we were off to the Darby Islands! They’re a little more secluded and with happily less infrastructure.

Did some weaving around outcroppings to get our boat anchored off of some beautiful beaches… shallow draft is beautiful thing.

Several good things to explore in the Darbys. Found another neat cave and some more mushroom islands. I felt like I should dress up in a plumber outfit and jump on top of them Mario-style.

Also, an interesting metal statue sunk in about fifteen feet of water to be explored. It’s a grand piano and a listening mermaid. It’s shallow enough you can swim down and play a jingle on it, but the sound is a little mushy.

In our copious free time we went out lobster fishing and made homemade crackers. Kidding about the free time. Seriously! Stop rolling your eyes!

So, to celebrate our first lobster spearing, our buddies introduced to “Caesars” a Canadian favorite made with clamato and vodka.

They shared their tasty beverages; we shared our lobster dip and freshly baked crackers.

And that was it for the Darbys! Off to George Town pick up our first guest… Casey!