Thursday, May 9, 2013

Big Major Spot & Staniel Cay - Pigs and Sharks

We had our first sail on the bank (shallow) side of the islands, the water was almost perfectly flat as the wind was blowing easterly and the islands providing shelter.  Big Major Spot is only a few miles north but on route we passed various small islands, some completely dessert with just beautiful white andy beaches others with a solitary luxury house, lots of the islands here are privately owned, that is how the other half live!

Big Major Spot is famous for the pigs. Not just any pigs, they are swimming pigs, once they see the dingy approach they must know you are likely to feed them and they haul themselves off the beach and into the water.  All very funny although not quite so funny once you are stopped in the dingy trying to feed them as they are quite excitable and really big!

Swimming Pigs!

Cheeky seagull hitching a ride
Look at them go!


On day 2 we saved up all our peelings, banana skins and anything else we could find and put it in the bucket, Mark did not even have time to empty on the sand before the barged him out of the way and demolished everything, including the bucket.

Beating the bucket!
Staniel Cay is a short dingy ride away Big Major Spot and it more of a holiday island.  There is a small yacht club/marina where a few boats were moored, this is also a popular place for watching the sharks.  The local fishing boats gut their daily catch on the shore side and the sharks take advantage of anything spilt into the water.  We had only seen one shark since arriving in the Bahamas, the night before after we had just been having a dip off the back of boat one swam under the boat and it must have been at least 6 feet!

Around 20 nurse sharks just under the surface looking for scraps

He doesn't look too big in the photo but he was bigger than Amanda - not that she got too close

The island is still pretty sleepy even thought there are some holiday cottages and there is an airfield with direct flights from the US daily but the island is still very isolated, most people get around in golf buggy or on foot, the supermarkets are reliant on the mailboat which arrives weekly, when we arrived at the end of that week the only veg we found was past their best onions, no fruit, no bread, very little of anything and what you can geet is very expensive.  We have experienced difficulties in provisioning since we reach the Caribbean but the Bahamas has been the most difficult yet, lucky we topped up with packets, tin and all the staples in Puerto Rico. All of this aside the island was very cute, loved the roadsigns (see photo), most of the holiday rentals were small wooden cottages and the people couldn't have been nicer - apart from getting ripped off at the fuel dock for water!



Just off Staniel Cay is Thunderball grotto, this was the cave which featured in the James Bond Thunderball film.  After just seeing all the sharks at the dock it feels a little odd going snorkelling but this was the first really chance since arriving.  You can get into the cave by swimming through the rocks and it opens up above you, there are lots of fish to be seen in the cave and outside the Sergeant Majors must be used to getting feed as the surround you!

Looking our of the cave at all of the fish at the entrance

Mark making friends with the Sergeant Majors

No comments:

Post a Comment