April 23, 2009: Green Guana Cay, Bahamas

A huge supply ship docked at the government pier and we watched as it lined up so that the crane on it could unload onto the concrete dock. We guessed that it brought all the supplies that the island imports.

We left Green Turtle Cay this morning with the plan to find the place to snorkel on the reefs. We edged close to shore to anchor just off No Name Key because it was rough where there was a break into the Atlantic. Setting out in the dinghy, it was exciting to see the tall waves from that close to the water and Tom did a good job of driving without us being capsized. We decided to cut behind the first row of reefs to avoid going farther out to our original destination. However, we found a place to drop our little anchor into the sand and took the plunge. We were just inside the reef at low tide and the breakers were surging over the reef but providing some calm on our side.

Though totally unmarked, this was a wonderful and safe snorkeling location. We saw varied coral, large lime green and golden brain coral, orangy brown steghorn coral, bright purple sea fans and some fluffy coral that looked like brown tiny geranium leaves. Occasionally you would see some of the same coral that was shades of blue green. We saw tubular coral that looked like Texas cactus and one big glossy, black spiny sea urchin. There were small brightly colored fish – I wish I knew the names. There were none of the parrot fish or queen trigger fish like we saw in Key Largo, but some very pretty ones anyway. There were some that had teal heads with black stripes and chartreuse tails, little orange fish with purple backs, and sergeant majors. It was a really fun experience and I was relieved to not be eaten by the shark we had seen two days ago.

Tom rode on the bow as we moved TNTY on down the line of barrier islands out through Whale Cay Channel, open to the Atlantic, and then tucked inside of the Great Guana Cay, the longest island in this group. The west side of the island has Baker Bay, an incredibly beautiful curved beach with soft white sand and turquoise water, flanked by majestic palm trees. This beach was once used by a cruise line for a private beach parties. There is a beautiful deserted dock and wooden board walk up into the island. Apparently the parcel is now been sold to a developer because it looks like lots have been marked along the shore. As we strolled down the beach, we found several star fish in the water still alive with arms ready to feed the little mouth at their center. Just like the story about doing little things to make the world better, we threw the starfish back into the sea. We also found a huge conch shell in the water that had the conch knocked out of it but the shell was still whole and shiny pink inside. The shell we considered a treasure trove and brought back to the boat with us.