We all agreed today was a perfect Bahamas day. We had light winds, temperatures in the high 70s and calm seas. We had a short sail today so didn’t feel the need to get going early. We raised our anchor about 9:00 am and decided to allow Charlie on Wyvern to be our tour guide to Little Farmer’s Cay. Jack and I have never been here and found it a delightful little town. I don’t think it has a population of more than 100. We came ashore near a little Beach Restaurant called Ty’s alongside of the 2500 foot airstrip. No big planes need to land here though there are clear approaches at each end if you like water. A short walk on a decent road through town took us past several tiny houses and shops, a whitewashed Baptist church with a cute parsonage, and down to the docks where we saw some sea turtles and sting rays in among the boats. We peeked in at a gift shop about the size of my kitchen before we stopped in for a drink at the Ocean Cabin Restaurant. The owner remembered Charlie from visits years before. Walking back to the beach where our dinghy was tied we figured it must be lunch time for school kids. The kids and moms were walking along the narrow roads in their school uniforms which were pressed and starched and with clean white shirts, girls in skirts with vests and boys wearing ties and long pants. They all seemed well behaved and cheerful and greeted us pleasantly. Warms your heart. The mom of two of the kids must have worked at Ty’s restaurant at the beach. They came in, got their lunches and sat quietly and ate them. The service was great as long as you are patient. The woman who greeted us warned us and asked if we wanted to order our lunch in advance and she would have it ready when we got back. Just like the kids I guess. We declined and were happy to sit in the pleasant surroundings overlooking the beach with our boats anchored beyond. As we were leaving, the lady bartender sincerely thanked up for coming. We were the only folks in the place on a Monday. The season is winding down.
Back in the big boats we traveled a short distance to another island, Great Guana Cay. Oven Rock is a prominent landmark on the beach, and marks the spot where we planned to anchor to visit a cave. This is a first for everyone. Helpful folks, probably cruisers, called attention to the location with cairns (rocks stacked up in pyramids) that marked the beginning of the trail. Then they showed the direction with arrows made of rocks laid out on the ground. Had we been more observant, we would have looked for them rather than walking right past them. We walked across the island to a beautiful cove off the Sound side of the narrow island. We explored the beach for a short while but our real destination was the cave. We took a winding rocky path back the way we came and decided to follow a rocky path up a hill. It was then we noticed the arrow made of rocks and decided we were on the right track. The cave was worth the climb up a fairly steep hill. It had a large entrance and walls and ceiling hanging with stalactites with a clear deep pool at the bottom. Some stalagmites were forming but will need another 1000 years before amounting to anything. After taking lots of pictures and the testing water we also noticed the cave was complete with a ceiling full of bats. Seeing the bats, we wrapped up our self-guided tour. The bats weren’t crazy about us shining a flashlight on them.
I you ever get to Great Guana Cay in the South Exumas, it is worth the walk to see this cave. Just watch for the cairns and follow the rock arrows. We also tried to climb oven rock but it there wasn’t much to see inside and the rock itself is composed of jagged Bahamian rock formations. The best view is from the water.
Back on Caprice the four of us traded stories past and planned the next leg of our voyage. We will most likely end up in Cambridge tomorrow, but there are always sights and adventures along the way.