Greetings from Shroud Cay
The wind is still blowing 20 with gusts to 30, but it
is mostly sunny and the water is clear. After school we headed to the Cay to
try and find Camp Driftwood, a hill where a hermit once lived and, in more
recent times, where drug enforcement agents observed the planes and boats at Normans
Cay. We bounced along and found the entrance to a mangrove creek that lead to
the interior of the island. It was clear, but shallow, so we had to tilt the
motor up and wind around to the outside of curves to stay in deep water. We
thought we noticed rocks in the creek, but they moved when we approached. They
were stingrays! The creeksides were lined with mangroves and low lying coral
rock. Following the creek for twenty minutes, we found the ocean and the beach
mentioned in the guide book. We were all alone on the beautiful strip of beach.
Walking around the corner, we viewed the waves rolling in from Exuma Sound. The
eastern side of the island is all beautiful white sand beach. Finding the path up the hill to Camp Driftwood, we found a
magnificent view of Exuma Sound. It was supposed to be a place where people left
flotsam and jetsam, but it has been cleaned up and a sign was posted asking
people not to leave things. From the top we saw four more dinghies plying the
waters of the creek headed our way. Descending to the beach we met folks from
Michigan and Canada who mentioned that a catamaran in the anchorage had two
boys aboard. We took a different creek back and saw a few more rays. The other
dinks passed us planning at high speed on the way back, but we were a little
more conservative, sticking to our sightseeing speed. We timed this trip to go
into the creek about 2 hours before high tide and that worked out well.
is mostly sunny and the water is clear. After school we headed to the Cay to
try and find Camp Driftwood, a hill where a hermit once lived and, in more
recent times, where drug enforcement agents observed the planes and boats at Normans
Cay. We bounced along and found the entrance to a mangrove creek that lead to
the interior of the island. It was clear, but shallow, so we had to tilt the
motor up and wind around to the outside of curves to stay in deep water. We
thought we noticed rocks in the creek, but they moved when we approached. They
were stingrays! The creeksides were lined with mangroves and low lying coral
rock. Following the creek for twenty minutes, we found the ocean and the beach
mentioned in the guide book. We were all alone on the beautiful strip of beach.
Walking around the corner, we viewed the waves rolling in from Exuma Sound. The
eastern side of the island is all beautiful white sand beach. Finding the path up the hill to Camp Driftwood, we found a
magnificent view of Exuma Sound. It was supposed to be a place where people left
flotsam and jetsam, but it has been cleaned up and a sign was posted asking
people not to leave things. From the top we saw four more dinghies plying the
waters of the creek headed our way. Descending to the beach we met folks from
Michigan and Canada who mentioned that a catamaran in the anchorage had two
boys aboard. We took a different creek back and saw a few more rays. The other
dinks passed us planning at high speed on the way back, but we were a little
more conservative, sticking to our sightseeing speed. We timed this trip to go
into the creek about 2 hours before high tide and that worked out well.
Back in the anchorage we stopped at Sea U Manana, a 50
ft catamaran, and met Joshua and Matteous who are 7 & 9. Made plans to meet
at the beach and they and Noah had a great time building a sand castle,
swimming, and playing on a Kayak. Noah showed them where the “secret”
well is on the island and then we headed back to the boat just in time for a
brief rain shower. We washed most of the sand off Noah, had dinner and called
it an early night, because Noah has tests tomorrow. He’ll be half way through
his 3rd grade work when they are done. Looks like we will stay here
another day and move down to Warderick Wells, the park headquarters, on Sunday.
ft catamaran, and met Joshua and Matteous who are 7 & 9. Made plans to meet
at the beach and they and Noah had a great time building a sand castle,
swimming, and playing on a Kayak. Noah showed them where the “secret”
well is on the island and then we headed back to the boat just in time for a
brief rain shower. We washed most of the sand off Noah, had dinner and called
it an early night, because Noah has tests tomorrow. He’ll be half way through
his 3rd grade work when they are done. Looks like we will stay here
another day and move down to Warderick Wells, the park headquarters, on Sunday.
