Exuma Islands Exploration

Mark & Wa - 2008


In May of 2008, we explored several uninhabited islands north of Great Exuma,
the Out Islands of the Bahamas, paddling inflatable kayaks. We paddled, hiked,
camped, and swam for eight days in an unbelievable spectrum of blue color.
Click in the photo to get the full size image.
The first day we launched from Bonefish and paddled to Idaho Cay, where we rested from the long flights, and planned the next few days. We both squeezed into this small tent each night.
The northeast side of Idaho Cay faces the waves of the Atlantic surf. When sleeping on the beach on the other side of the island, one can feel the vibrations of the surf pounding the limestone. A curly-tail lizard is shown here.
On the southwest side, facing the shallows, the beach is calm and twice we saw a nurse shark swimming nearby.
We carried enough food and water (about 20 gallons) for the full eight days of paddling and camping.
Wa's idea to pack light inflatables into suitcases and check them aboard made this type of expedition possible. kayaks cannot carry sufficient supplies, and kayak rentals in the bahamas are quite expensive. another benefit of taking the inflatables was that we keep the boats!
A disadvantage of the inflatable kayak we discovered was that most of the shoreline in the exumas is sharp limestone, called ironshore locally. The ironshore required us to make landings strictly on the beautiful white beaches - how awful for us!
Here is a view from Pigeon Cay, looking north across the cut toward two beaches on Rat Cay. The current in the cuts is swift during tidal flows.
The swift currents carve out these negative space cliffs in the limestone. When the tide level is just beneath the surface, waves travel along lapping at the jagged surface, and making a bizarre gurgling and burping sound, which can be heard around an island for two hours or more.
Pigeon Cay has an upper tier of white limestone and tangled trees, from which a good view of the surrounding cays can be obtained after a cautious climb.
The third day we paddled to Pigeon Cay. With all the gear unloaded on the beach, I hopped back into one of the boats and paddled a lap around the tiny island.
Amazing blue, looking toward the Atlantic between Ray and Children Cays.
A sunset looking through the cut.
Our gas stove failed on the 2nd day, but on the 3rd day we found this excellent rusty grate left on the beach at Rat Cay by previous campers. Wa cooked most of our meals. The previous picture shows the view from the kitchen around sunset!
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Here is one of the twisted trees mentioned at picture 9. The limestone is razor sharp and even a relatively gentle fall will result in cuts and bleeding.
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The walls of the interior pond of Pigeon Cay. We did not test the water here. Probably brackish.
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In the background, the interior flat of Rat Cay, an intriguing place where supposedly goats roam. But local people say the goats were all eaten long ago. In the foreground, little sputnik.
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A rocky and sandy hill on the northeast side of Rat Cay also provides an excellent vista of the surrounding cays, as well as the interior of Rat.
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How do we face reality after this?