Allans Cay and Lobster Cay

 As I have written many times before, the weather dictates what we can do and what we can't do much more than a land based lifestyle. That is even more the case in the Exumas. There are much fewer places to hide from strong winds, especially if they are coming from the west. We had been lucky the first few days we had been in the Exumas, but I saw in the forecast that was about to change. We had two more decent days and then we would see some strong wind coming from the North. We had arrived in the Exumas and anchored at Ship Channel Cay on March 5th. We had until the 7th to get some place with northern protection. 

We decided to move on March 6th a grand total of 5.5 nm to Allans Cay to see the famous Iguanas. The Iguanas live on the island and will come to beg from any and all boaters that come ashore. 

Allans Cay is made up of two lagoons that are surrounded by the very rocky island. The water is unbelievably clear and beautiful.

We took the dinghy over to the famous beach with the Iguanas on it. 

Kim on a beach photo op.

It was not long before these big guys came out for the free food. We did not feed them.

This guy looks like a dinosaur. 

After spending some time with the Iguanas we cruised around the island in the dinghy. The anchorage got a bit rolly that night, but we slept ok. 

This was our sunset at Allans Cay. We finally had sunsets with no land in the picture.

The following day it was time to find that protection. I saw a small Cay on the chart that looked like it would have good protection. The name of that small island was Lobster Cay. The guide book did say that the snorkeling was good there, so we would give it a try before the weather turned bad. The trip was only 5.6 nm, but it required me to make some turns trough some rocks in some very fast moving current. We cruised right by the famous Highborne Cay, but maybe we would stop by on our way back. 

Our view of Lobster Cay. We never found out the situation on the island, but there were a series of small cottages on the island. We saw some some guys working up there, but we are not sure if it is open for business or not. 

I got in the water and went for a snorkel. I took my spear, but did not see anything that was worth shooting.  

When we arrived, we were the only boat there. After a while, we were joined by 4 other boats, all looking for the same protection. The weather arrived as expected and the water got rough. We rocked and rolled a bit, but it wasn't too bad. We saw winds that peaked at 30 knots.

The picture does not show how rough it was, but the good news it only lasted one full day. 

After the bad weather cleared out, we had two good days to enjoy. Our next stop was Shroud Cay. I can tell you now, it was one of our best days in the Exumas. I will write all about it in my next entry.