On a whim we motored down a mangrove creek in the dinghy like we were explorers who had just found this labyrinth. As we entered the mangrove creek, the crystal clear water revealed a sandy white bottom that was only 3 feet deep. The hues of greens, blues, teals, turquoises reflected back various depths as we motored along. Ahead, the creek took a bend to left and revealed more colors, more to explore. Minutes ticked away as we continued in farther and we were certainly alone and isolated in these mangroves. With each turn we kept telling ourselves we would turn back, but each turn revealed more colors and more intrigue. As we rounded one bend, ahead was what appeared to be a pool of almost glowing white water. Soft sand only about a foot deep greeted us and as we looked to the left, we found the opening of the creek which led to the crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Millions of gallons of water were ripping through a narrow cut from the Atlantic feeding this creek. On either side of the opening were miles of white sand beach that were virtually untouched. It seemed as though Shroud Cay was delivering another stunning vista.

Shroud Cay was supposed to be a mid-point anchorage before we headed to Warderick Wells Cay. The island instead turned out to be our first real adventure stop. Shortly after setting the anchor and launching the dinghy, Bonnie packed up the gear we needed and we were off to the far shore over shallow green waters. Passing by one lone boat that was anchored in the sheltered lagoon, we landed on a beach with a bluff overlooking Norman’s Cay to the north. Our footprints were the only foot prints on the beach…no one else had been there on that day. Standing on the bluff, you could see 180 degrees of sandbars, coral heads, rock formations and a few boats traversing the Exumas.

We spent the afternoon trolling along in the dinghy, checking out beaches and inlets. After finding the holy grail of the mangrove creek leading to the Atlantic, we headed back to the boat to enjoy the sunset. With the stern squarely facing west, we had an unobstructed view of the orange ball sinking into the waters. As the sun faded, the stars dotted the sky and a thick darkness fell over the anchored boats. The last of the all ambient light had been left behind at Highborne Cay. The night revealed the billions of stars that oversee us and we were once again asking ourselves if this was the most beautiful spot in the Bahamas.

Beauty does come with a technological price. We have reached that point in the islands where you are forced to become totally disconnected and have to adjust how you live life. We have become self-contained since we left Nassau and have gone several days without communication as we once knew it. For the most part, cell phones and internet are non-existent. Cell towers are few and the distance between towers is far enough that acquiring a signal is virtually impossible. Gone are the constant updates on Facebook, email service, texting, news and of course Patriots game scores! Replacing that constant overload of information are the sounds of waves along the hull of the boat, the wind whistling through the rigging, the creaking of the boat and the visual canvas of colors in all directions.

Living on a boat in this remote environment simplifies your day, but at the same time creates new challenges for you to solve. Each day, we have to make water with our watermaker, charge our batteries to run our electric systems, do regular boat maintenance and sort our trash. In the Exumas, the motto is, “leave nothing behind”. It varies from area to area, but trash disposal is limited and in the Land and Sea Park there is no disposal. You can store your trash on your boat or you can sort it for “friendly” disposal. Once you have left the boundaries of the Land and Sea Park, you can burn your paper ashore and dispose of organic material overboard, thus reducing the trash you need to store on board. The challenges come from dealing with the endless small issues that arise with living on a boat. Mostly mechanical issues that are happen at inconvenient times. Currently, we are fighting a battery issue with our bow thruster and trying to solve why fuses keep blowing and the batteries won’t stay charged. The solution is to manually charge them when they are needed until we can get somewhere we have more access to information on our thruster system.

Our stay at Shroud Cay was brief and our next stop is Warderick Wells Cays, which is the heart of the Land and Sea Park. It is also the picturesque spot that is well known when seeing photos of the Exumas. The boats lying on moorings in a thin strip deep blue water, surrounded by white sand, leaves you wondering how those boats arrived there….tomorrow we find out.