With a 6am start we said goodbye to our tiny cabin, the interesting to use shower/basin bathroom combo and of course the wonderful friends we made during our time sailing around Cuba. We made our way back to Havana ready for our flight to The Bahamas. We flew with Bahama Air for the hour long flight and it was this experience, the welcoming nature of the customs officer and the welcome music that we just knew this was our kind of place. With smiles on their faces we were met with our transfer and were transported to our new home.
Considering we had just spent a week on a catamaran, our 4 star all inclusive beach front resort was a very welcome change. We could now stretch out on a king sized bed once again and do more than just spin on the spot in the bathroom. Luxury has never been sweeter. We also had a balcony that gave us uninterrupted views of the paradise that awaited us below. Nassau rated just as high on my list as Cuba sailing with the same white sand, water like glass and colors of blue that you just have to see in person to truly appreciate. This was our time to just relax, as crazy as that may sound, catch up on sleep and continue to work on my newly found tan.
Of course it wasn't all beach, sand and cocktails. There was one very important place we just had to visit. The Exuma Cays have been on our bucket list forever and we were finally in a position to pay them a visit. There are 2 ways to do this day trip. You can either travel by boat for approx 1.5-2 hours in each direction or do what we did and take a private plane tour that reduced our travel time to about 45mins each way. The group was large enough to take 2 Cessna planes over and with a hop, skip and a jump we were racing down the runway and in the air before you could say 'Bahamas!' The birds eye views were as breathtaking as you'd imagine as we descended down to the Exuma Cays.
As soon as we landed as were whisked away on golf buggies to the speed boat pier just up the road. Once the group was settled into our bean bag seats we were off to our first destination of the day - Shark Bay. We arrived at the bay and within minutes we could see what we had come to experience. We walked along the wharf, dropped off our stuff and jumped in the water to have fun with the resident nurse sharks. We were told by our guide that the sharks use suction to feed so it was important to keep your fingers and toes away from their mouths. Although the crowds fluctuated as the groups came in and out, we spent the hour swimming and interacting with about 15-20 sharks. Coming from Australia the words shark & ocean wouldn't normally have you jumping into the water but we felt more than safe to interact with these animals here.
We dried off, jumped back into the speedboat and headed to Pig Beach. The sound of the boat engines alone draw these animals to the shore and before we knew it our boat was surrounded as they waited for us to get out and feed them. Well they didn't have to wait too long before we were on the beach being chased by these massive beasts. Our guide warned us to not turn our backs to the pigs as they have been known to bite people's butts. We thought he was joking but as one Asian tourist soon found out it was no joke at all. We each got 2 pieces of bread from the captain and it was game on! The pigs are friendly and come in all sizes. The biggest ones though are clearly the boss of the beach and they aren't afraid to push the smaller ones to the side. We spent about 30 mins with the piggies, fed them probably 2 loaves of bread and then we were back in the boat once more.
Next stop was Iguana Beach. Now we had already had some close up experiences with these prehistoric animals in Cuba so we were more prepared than the rest of the group on arrival. Similarly to Pig Beach, the Iguanas ran to the shore to meet us as we approached. Needless to say some in the group were scared to get off the boat but we just jumped off, took our bread and 'feeding' stick and made our way up the beach away from the others in an effort to not create any fights over the food. We spent a good 45 mins getting up close and personal with the Iguanas of all sizes. Once the bread ran out they wanted nothing more to do with us so we just enjoyed the view before returning to the boat.
As an added bonus on the flight tour and our next and final stop for the day was the low tide sand bar. That may not sound interesting to some readers but trust me you will be sorry if you miss this stop. This was the only place we visited that there were no other boats or tour groups so we literally had this little piece of heaven to ourselves for about an hour before the tide rose and covered this gem once more. The water here is some of the clearest water I've ever seen so it was a no brainer to spend the afternoon here and just soak in its beauty. Before we knew it our day came to an end and our boat took us back towards the airstrip. Back in our little plane we once again enjoyed a birds eye views of the Exuma Cays as we made our way back to Nassau.All too soon it was time to leave this amazing place that has come to be our favorite country so far. The Bahamian people are so friendly they could easily be considered the happiest country in the world. The scenery was just magical that photos just don't do this place justice. This is one place that definitely needs to be seen in person to be believed. It's not hard to understand why so many islands are now privately owned by either celebrities or billionaires. Bahamas, you get 5 stars from us. We will be seeing you again!
Tavelers tip - by paying the extra for the plane tour you get time to visit the sand bar. Trust me it's worth the extra $$ for a once in a lifetime trip
Travelers tip - Remember to ask the locals for advice. They are so friendly we found they go out of their way to help with anything from tours to local knowledge.
Travelers tip - They love Aussies! We are a rarity over there so they just love to hear about our life down under.
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