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Story:
Bahamas Exumas National Sea Park- Paddling like Pirates
Rating:The salty breeze is the first thing I notice as I roll onto my side and stare out through the mesh walls of my tent. The breeze is warm and the rhythm of the waves breaking just feet from my tent are periodically interrupted by the splash of Jack Fish feeding in the shallows. I've awoken early to catch the sunrise on Warderick Cay, the fifth stop on our weeklong self-supported kayaking trip through the Exumas National Sea Park of the Bahamas.
I was asked by Kim McCluskey of Worldwide Paddling Adventures to help guide a small group through the Cays of the Bahamas with head guide Steve Johnson. Steve is one of those guides you hear stories about and wonder how much is real and how much is legend but Steve is the real deal. He lives on the Canadian border in a cabin he built himself and cuts his own ice, pulling each 20lb block 100 yards up a hill to his icehouse and then sleds back down. He will do this over 100 times. He's best known for kayaking 14 miles back to the prior nights campsite in Greenland where a client had left an item of great sentimental value. Steve returned just in time for her to go to sleep with the same teddy bear she has slept with for over 50 years. Steve does not need my help but I pitch in where I see an opportunity.
Our small group met in Nassau a few days ago. If you've never been to Nassau, imagine if Vegas and Puerto Rico had a baby, well that baby's name would be Nassau. We then flew to Staniel Cay, a delightfully sleepy island and how I had imagined the Bahamas to be. The locals are laid back, friendly and not much for details. Be warned that just because you have a confirmation for a room, doesn't exactly guarantee there will be one when you show up. "Island time mon, it'll be ready on island time," is a common answer to questions relating to dates and time. Oh well, who needs a watch here anyway; besides the conch salad is ready so lets eat.
After lunch we go about assembling our collapsible kayaks that are stored on Staniel Cay. A son of a guy who Steve knows stores them for Worldwide Paddling Adventures. Luckily kayak thieves are as rare as an internet signal on the island because everything is just where Steve left things and we have the Folbots ready to go in no time. Paddling off in our fully loaded kayaks we are serenaded by the local Sunday service. If nothing else it's a nice soundtrack as we paddle out towards open turquoise water.
My paddling partner is Joyce, a 30 something executive assistant from Calgary who seems to be longing for a little adventure as well as escape the gripping Canadian winter. Joyce was in the British Air Force and is no slouch with a paddle. Myself being an Air Force brat, it doesn't take long to build a rapport and we hit a nice cadence that drives the fully loaded Folbot into the salty breeze and towards Twin Cay. Steve paddles with Cindy, a middle-aged lawyer/dog trainer who is there to put a nasty divorce behind her. Cindy seems a little taken aback by just how unsupported our little adventure is but Steve's vast knowledge of the local wild life has them chatting over Egrets, Osprey and Limpkins in no time.
The week ahead will have us paddle into and around the Exumas Sea Park, we'll be staying or stopping on Twin Cay, Big Majors Spot, Cambridge Cay, Pasture Cay, Halls Pond, Warderick Cay, O'Briens Cay, Sampson Cay, Compass Cay and then back to Staniel Cay. We'll snorkel pretty much everyday, see dolphins, sea turtles, nurse sharks, sting rays, octopus, lobsters the size of small children and more species of fish and birds then I can count. We'll see Cays inhabited with swimming pigs as well as be visited by Hutia (who-tia), the only native mammal to the Bahamas. We'll meet geologists, grad students, millionaires, reality TV personalities (they are not stars) and solo adventurers sailing around the world.
Dave from Ohio has sailed from Boston down to the Bahamas with his brother on his 50 ft. sloop rigged sailboat. Dave wades out towards us as we paddle up on Cambridge Cay and tether our kayaks in the shallows so they aren't beached by the tide. "What ship are you guys paddling from?" We tell him there's no ship, we started on Staniel Cay and are paddling unsupported for a week. Dave shakes his head and says, "Man you guys are on a real adventure out here." I see Cindy smile and I add, "I guess you could say we're Kayaking Pirates of the Caribbean."
The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park was established in 1958 and was the first park of it's kind. Today it stretches over 112,000 acres and is a designated renewal zone for species of all kinds. This includes people. The success of the Bahamian Governments efforts is evident by the shear numbers and size of the aquatic life. This eco-system thrives while other areas of the Bahamas suffer due to over fishing and invasive species like the ravenous Lion Fish. Which we luckily only see one of during our entire time in the Exumas.
The Bahamian government however does seem to have taken the same "island time" approach to its definition of just what a sea park is. With 6 out of the 16 cays being privately owned it's not exactly the Yellowstone of the Caribbean but I'm sure defenders will site the fact that selling Faith Hill and Tim McGraw an island for $18 million is an easy way to keep the Exumas pristine and protected. Just how much of that $18 million went towards actually protecting the park you ask, well that information is also as elusive as island time.
But in all fairness this is the way of the Bahamas. People with wealth and influence have always used the Bahamas to disappear for a while. Just a few hundred years earlier Black Beard would hide in the lagoons of Warderick Wells after raiding nearby shipping lanes. Coincidentally, on day 5 we find ourselves paddling past Johnny Depp's Island, Little Halls Pond Cay, or as he likes to refer to it, Fuck Off Island. But at least Captain Jack Sparrow seems to have negotiated like a true pirate having forked over just $3.6 million for his little slice of solitude.
I notice a bit of a renewal in Cindy as well, originally she seemed weighed down by the daunting task of being single and starting over. But I think our island hopping; snorkeling and front row sunsets have done a nice job instilling a little more confidence and hopefulness about the future. Steve always being Johnny on the spot with the rum probably isn't hurting either. Cindy stares out into the ocean and reflects, "you know I think I'm getting back my sense of adventure, and what's better it's only costing $5 a night." That's right, the Exumas National Sea Park camping permits only run you the price of a latte. The sun sets as we laugh sipping our rum and pineapple enjoying the same sand, breeze and sky for $3,599,995 less than Johnny. Why shiver me timbers, I think our merry band of scaly wags has beaten Captain Jack Sparrow at his own game. Somewhere Black Beard is smiling.
Ok, I know everyone wants to know what reality TV personality (as I said they are not stars) we met so as a bonus for reading this story I'll tell you. We met Paul Brown from Auction Kings. I sense a collective let down. Sorry but it's not my fault Snooki would rather hang in Nassau. At least Paul, who was a really nice guy, had the sense to bring his family to Staniel Cay and for that I bought him a shot of rum and told him land prices seemed a bit inflated.
I was asked by Kim McCluskey of Worldwide Paddling Adventures to help guide a small group through the Cays of the Bahamas with head guide Steve Johnson. Steve is one of those guides you hear stories about and wonder how much is real and how much is legend but Steve is the real deal. He lives on the Canadian border in a cabin he built himself and cuts his own ice, pulling each 20lb block 100 yards up a hill to his icehouse and then sleds back down. He will do this over 100 times. He's best known for kayaking 14 miles back to the prior nights campsite in Greenland where a client had left an item of great sentimental value. Steve returned just in time for her to go to sleep with the same teddy bear she has slept with for over 50 years. Steve does not need my help but I pitch in where I see an opportunity.
Our small group met in Nassau a few days ago. If you've never been to Nassau, imagine if Vegas and Puerto Rico had a baby, well that baby's name would be Nassau. We then flew to Staniel Cay, a delightfully sleepy island and how I had imagined the Bahamas to be. The locals are laid back, friendly and not much for details. Be warned that just because you have a confirmation for a room, doesn't exactly guarantee there will be one when you show up. "Island time mon, it'll be ready on island time," is a common answer to questions relating to dates and time. Oh well, who needs a watch here anyway; besides the conch salad is ready so lets eat.
After lunch we go about assembling our collapsible kayaks that are stored on Staniel Cay. A son of a guy who Steve knows stores them for Worldwide Paddling Adventures. Luckily kayak thieves are as rare as an internet signal on the island because everything is just where Steve left things and we have the Folbots ready to go in no time. Paddling off in our fully loaded kayaks we are serenaded by the local Sunday service. If nothing else it's a nice soundtrack as we paddle out towards open turquoise water.
My paddling partner is Joyce, a 30 something executive assistant from Calgary who seems to be longing for a little adventure as well as escape the gripping Canadian winter. Joyce was in the British Air Force and is no slouch with a paddle. Myself being an Air Force brat, it doesn't take long to build a rapport and we hit a nice cadence that drives the fully loaded Folbot into the salty breeze and towards Twin Cay. Steve paddles with Cindy, a middle-aged lawyer/dog trainer who is there to put a nasty divorce behind her. Cindy seems a little taken aback by just how unsupported our little adventure is but Steve's vast knowledge of the local wild life has them chatting over Egrets, Osprey and Limpkins in no time.
The week ahead will have us paddle into and around the Exumas Sea Park, we'll be staying or stopping on Twin Cay, Big Majors Spot, Cambridge Cay, Pasture Cay, Halls Pond, Warderick Cay, O'Briens Cay, Sampson Cay, Compass Cay and then back to Staniel Cay. We'll snorkel pretty much everyday, see dolphins, sea turtles, nurse sharks, sting rays, octopus, lobsters the size of small children and more species of fish and birds then I can count. We'll see Cays inhabited with swimming pigs as well as be visited by Hutia (who-tia), the only native mammal to the Bahamas. We'll meet geologists, grad students, millionaires, reality TV personalities (they are not stars) and solo adventurers sailing around the world.
Dave from Ohio has sailed from Boston down to the Bahamas with his brother on his 50 ft. sloop rigged sailboat. Dave wades out towards us as we paddle up on Cambridge Cay and tether our kayaks in the shallows so they aren't beached by the tide. "What ship are you guys paddling from?" We tell him there's no ship, we started on Staniel Cay and are paddling unsupported for a week. Dave shakes his head and says, "Man you guys are on a real adventure out here." I see Cindy smile and I add, "I guess you could say we're Kayaking Pirates of the Caribbean."
The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park was established in 1958 and was the first park of it's kind. Today it stretches over 112,000 acres and is a designated renewal zone for species of all kinds. This includes people. The success of the Bahamian Governments efforts is evident by the shear numbers and size of the aquatic life. This eco-system thrives while other areas of the Bahamas suffer due to over fishing and invasive species like the ravenous Lion Fish. Which we luckily only see one of during our entire time in the Exumas.
The Bahamian government however does seem to have taken the same "island time" approach to its definition of just what a sea park is. With 6 out of the 16 cays being privately owned it's not exactly the Yellowstone of the Caribbean but I'm sure defenders will site the fact that selling Faith Hill and Tim McGraw an island for $18 million is an easy way to keep the Exumas pristine and protected. Just how much of that $18 million went towards actually protecting the park you ask, well that information is also as elusive as island time.
But in all fairness this is the way of the Bahamas. People with wealth and influence have always used the Bahamas to disappear for a while. Just a few hundred years earlier Black Beard would hide in the lagoons of Warderick Wells after raiding nearby shipping lanes. Coincidentally, on day 5 we find ourselves paddling past Johnny Depp's Island, Little Halls Pond Cay, or as he likes to refer to it, Fuck Off Island. But at least Captain Jack Sparrow seems to have negotiated like a true pirate having forked over just $3.6 million for his little slice of solitude.
I notice a bit of a renewal in Cindy as well, originally she seemed weighed down by the daunting task of being single and starting over. But I think our island hopping; snorkeling and front row sunsets have done a nice job instilling a little more confidence and hopefulness about the future. Steve always being Johnny on the spot with the rum probably isn't hurting either. Cindy stares out into the ocean and reflects, "you know I think I'm getting back my sense of adventure, and what's better it's only costing $5 a night." That's right, the Exumas National Sea Park camping permits only run you the price of a latte. The sun sets as we laugh sipping our rum and pineapple enjoying the same sand, breeze and sky for $3,599,995 less than Johnny. Why shiver me timbers, I think our merry band of scaly wags has beaten Captain Jack Sparrow at his own game. Somewhere Black Beard is smiling.
Ok, I know everyone wants to know what reality TV personality (as I said they are not stars) we met so as a bonus for reading this story I'll tell you. We met Paul Brown from Auction Kings. I sense a collective let down. Sorry but it's not my fault Snooki would rather hang in Nassau. At least Paul, who was a really nice guy, had the sense to bring his family to Staniel Cay and for that I bought him a shot of rum and told him land prices seemed a bit inflated.