Bahamas, Great Harbour Cay to Hoffman Cay – Chrismas squalls on the way

We really loved Great Harbour Cay.

The island had it’s ‘hay day’ during the drug trade years.  It had resorts and a golf course designed by Jack Nicolson. With out the drug money the island has slowed down to a simple sleepy pace.   It still has an excellent small airport, but now only a few rental villas and apartments on the beach.  With no fancy shops and restaurants there is little to do here other then swim, sun bath and catch a beer at the local beach bar.

Everyone is so friendly here, offering lifts or a ‘good day’.  We met a really ‘cool; couple (Michael and Sue) that just flew over in their private single engine plane for a holiday.  How cool is that?  To top it off they made the trip from Orlando in a fraction of the time it took us and half the fuel cost. We had to pay $300 for a cruising licence while they can fly all over the Bahamas for free and only pay $30 each when they leave.  Did we invest in the wrong mode of transport???

They have great plans on the island for fun over the Christmas season including a pyjama party at the beach bar Christmas eve, but we can not stay.  It all sounds lots of fun, but unfortunately squalls are predicted for Christmas day, so we need to find an anchorage with a bit more protections.  But before we leave we heard that the Cay on the south end of the harbour has some unique delights.

So we headed over to have a look.  Unfortunately the humans forgot the camera, so you will just have to take my word for it.  We found lots and lots of lovely shells, a rock arch with cool blow holes and some fabulous tidal pools with sandy bottoms nestled in among the rocky west shore.  All worth a visit to Great Harbour Cay to enjoy.  But we could not stay any longer as the winds were meant to pick up through the night.

So we said goodbye to newly made friends and packed up to make the run to Hoffman Cay.

Nestled among the reefs here we hoped to find ‘all round’ protection from the shifting winds predicted to increase in strength.

This little anchorage offers some of the best protection in the Berry Islands.

And to top it off, it has a great beach.  So it looks like we will camp out here for Christmas.

Time to dig out the Christmas tree and get into the Christmas Caribbean spirit.  Can not say we are sad to leave the cold weather behind.

We have some internet, so we will keep you up to date.