Friday, February 27, 2015

Cairns, Caves, and a Mermaid

White Point to Rudder Cut Cay, Exumas
February 16 – 22, 2015

After our day of sailing without the engine (see entry below), we visited three spectacular spots. One of our goals on this trip has been to try stopping places we haven’t been to before.

Cairns – We’d never heard anything about the anchorage at White Point on Guana Cay. It looked unremarkable on the charts, but it was a new place to try. The contours on the map yielded no clue of how the gorgeous beach would be. Splendid God-fashioned beauty surrounds us! A breathtaking beach was the first surprise. And the elaborate cairns built by cruisers were charming and unexpected, making this a special stop.
The beach at White Point
Cairns at White Point
Keith's cairn
Caves – Cave Cay Marina, became our hideout from heavy storms. The cay is named for the craggy and rough indents that dot the shore and interior. While the winds howled, we hiked over rough trails to various beaches. We were also invited to gatherings on very luxurious 65-foot and 76-foot ocean trawlers. (The people on these yachts live a much more glamorous life than we do…but we can all go to the same places!) One day “Shark,” the dock master, guided a group of us to the largest inland cavern. It must have been etched out of coral over eons by magnificent seastorms, their waves swirling out long tunnels, carving domed atria, and opening skylights.
A cave on the shore of Cave Cay
Entrance to interior cavern
Domed underground grotto with skylights ahead
Just as thrilling was a profusion of fresh produce available. The owner of the island loves gardening and cultivates rows of irrigated containers and scattered vegetable plots. We were invited to harvest all we could use while we were there. Juicy, red tomatoes fell off the vines into our hands. Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, and leeks were ready to be trimmed. A papaya tree grew sideways, ripe fruit in reach. We were running low on produce, and this was a glorious bounty!
Irrigated container gardens - yum!
The Mermaid – While at Cave Cay, we learned about an intriguing stopping place a couple islands south. David Copperfield owns ten cays in this area, including Rudder Cut Cay. He commissioned a stainless steel sculpture, a life-size replica of a Steinway grand piano with a mermaid, and had it installed off the island in fifteen feet of water. How cool is that?! Cruisers with us at Cave Cay had dinghied to the sculpture and said it was disappointing, covered in brown growth. We anchored nearby anyway and snorkeled against the current to see the lady and the piano. The mermaid mesmerized us. She was stunning, magical, a silvery siren under the sea!
A cave fit for a dinghy at Rudder Cut Cay
A view from inside
Not the mermaid!
Isn't she lovely?
We receive these experiences at every stopping place as God’s bounty to us. Every day we travel on a sea of His grace and have so many more reasons to thank Him.
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It is God to whom and with whom we travel, and while He is the End of our journey, 
He is also at every stopping place.
Elisabeth Elliot
~~

2 comments:

  1. What a marvelous time you had! I love the photos.

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  2. What an astonishing experience!!! What are the cairns on Guana Cay made from? Just wind smoothed coral? Fascinating!!!! Oh, to be a stowaway on your adventures!! What an absolute GIFT from the Lord ~ to be able to explore this lovely earth without fear and to frequently experience the best side of man. Beautifully written, Joanie!!!

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