Hunkered Down in Highborne
22 April 2016 | Highborne Cay - Exumas
Friday, April 22, 2016—Hunkered Down in Highborne
Although we have been on the “Lady J” for a week now, we are still at the northern end of the Exumas – Highborne Cay. As we settled in on Tuesday following our Monday crossing from Nassau and began our Exuma planning, we confronted the recent spring weather trend – extended high wind northerlies spaced by a few days of calm. So when we saw the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday to be 25-30 knot winds, we reserved a dock at the Highborne Marina to “hunker down” and ride out this wave – one of the advantages of having 5 weeks to explore.
Before going into Highborne, we did make the 1 hour cruise north to Allen’s Cay so that Judy could experience the Exuma Iguanas. Upon arrival around 11:00, there were not 1 but 2 tourist excursion boats, dropping off passengers (probably from the Nassau cruise ships) to experience 20 minutes of these endangered reptiles. Honestly – I think the tourists outnumbered the iguanas – and Bahama tourists are certainly NOT an endangered species.
So I dinghy’d Judy to South Allen Cay for her own private showing of the Exuma iguana – a much more authentic experience.
Following lunch and eager to hoist anchor in the 20 knot winds, we left Allen’s and arrived at our Highborne dock around 2:00 – happy to be tied up for the forecasted 25-30 knot wind conditions.
Drinks and dinner at Xumas, where bartender Miller told us that there are 365 cays in the Exumas – one for every day of the year . . .
Thursday proved to be the windy day forecasted so Judy and I explored the island by bicycle. What a special place! A private Bahama island that has been really well kept. We discovered the “open air” gym located on a high knob that offers unparalleled views while sweating away. Then we found Horseshoe Bay, a beautiful well protected beach – even in these 25 knot northeast winds. For the next 3 hours, we enjoyed this warm Highborne Cay hospitality, soaking in the colorful waters and absorbing the Bahamiam sunrays.
On Friday morning, many of the boats departed. We decided to wait another day to let the winds die down further and continue to enjoy the Highborne hospitality. This is a great place to “boat watch – from large chartered motor yachts changing daily to bareboat charterers seeking the same refuge as we. Not to mention, the US Coast doing drills with the Bahamian Defense Force. Today a Horizon motorcat regatta arrived and will be partying throughout the evening. Some of the boats participated in their fishing tournament on the way from Warderwick today – resulting in a “huge” catch of mahi mahi. In fact, so “huge” that we were the beneficiary of two bags of fresh fillets that were added to our provisioning stock.
While Highborne is its own little island paradise, tomorrow will be time to move on as we continue our adventure exploring one of the world’s true remaining natural paradises.