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Day 52-53 May 13-14 On to Big Major Spot. and Lay Day in Big Major Spot Miles 9.0 Total Miles. 750.2

Day 52

Another sunny day as we check the weather and made some decisions.  We planned to stay one more day in Black Sound, but the weather shows we are a go for travel.  We also decided to make Black Sound the southernmost point of our travels in the Exumas.  Wanting to relax and enjoy our trip versus  rush  to fit in a visit to Georgetown.  That trip would require a big water crossing of about 30 miles in Exuma Sound, highly dependent on weather, then we would have to come back those 30 plus miles to begin our return home.  Did not want to risk getting stuck in Georgetown, which the seasoned boaters warned us about.

SO we decided to take shorter trips and stay on the Exuma Bank side of the islands.

After a hearty breakfast of French Toast using Lorraine's Mom's bread we pulled anchor at Black Sound and left the protected harbor.


We headed Northwest to clear Harvey Cays.
Then turned Northeast toward Staniel Cay.  This cay is more like a resort, with lots of homes and cottages as well as a fancy marina with cottages.

We pulled into Big Spot Major to anchor along with 20 other boats.  Luckily it is a large harbor!



We had a couple of megayachts anchored further out. This one was set up for a long stay.




After lunch, we readied for our adventures of the day.  First we took a short dinghy ride past the caves on the shores of Big Major 


to Staniel Cay to see the famous Staniel Cay Yacht Club to have a drink and then walk thru the small settlement a boti south of the yacht club.


Lots of pennants from other yacht clubs of past boaters decorate the ceiling.


Our walked past the rental cottages and into the typical Bahamian settlement with groceries, churches, and smaller cement block homes.





Returning to the dinghy, we set off for Thunderbolt Grotto, just off Staniel Cay to snorkel.
This grotto was used to film scenes in the James Bond movie Thunderball.


We timed our snorkeling to coincide with low to rising tide. When we got there and group of ten snorkelers were just leaving so they shared their experiences.  We lucked out that we were the only ones in the grotto.  

To enter you must snorkel thru small opening in the rocky shore and are immediately greet by lots of fish- Sargeant Majors, Squirrel Fish, Blue Angelfish, tiny Gobies and several other we could not name.
They obviously are used to being fed, so tomorrow we will bring bread crumbs.  As I floated the fish came up to my mask "begging" for food.

We enjoyed exploring the inside of the grotto with its tall walls, holes in its ceiling and smaller niches, many with holes through the side walls which we could swim through.  Bill took lots of GOPRO shots.






Now the fish movies!!





Returning to the dinghy we left Thunderball Grotto.


We then go around the south end of Big Major Spot and hugged the shore to the south beach to see the infamous swimming pigs.  We lucked out again with no tour boats we had the pigs to ourselves.  had saved apple from lunch to feed them and as Bill began throwing the food in the water we had one intrepid pig who got close.




After feeding the pigs we returned to the boat for a welcome shower, but Bill took one last movie.

Day 53

Spent the morning in the boat as the clouds told us we'd get some rain.  So I tackled the blog and Bill took advantage of the rain to desalt the boat.  He also took the drone up and took some shots.






Couldn't resist the pic of the pig!

We  readied the dinghy after lunch to visit the grotto. This time with fish food!
When we arrived there were quite a few people here, so we took out time getting ready to snorkel hoping most would leave.  In the meantime, a fellow snorkeler came to admire our dinghy. He introduced himself as Corben, resident of Bermuda who has not only completed the Great Loop, but has circumnavigated the globe in his sailboat- accumulating over 70,000 miles of travel.  We were very impressed and enjoyed talking with him about his travels.

After most of the other snorkelers, had left we entered the grotto and fed the fish.  They were most appreciative and flocked around us even nimbling our fingers.
Here are a video of fish feeding in the grotto
.                                           

This movie was taken by drone of the shoreline of Big Major Spot






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