Iguanas and Planes

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Overheard from the kids’ room this morning: Lowe saying, “Gambling is easy!”

Upon closer inspection we discovered Ouest running an illegal gambling hall. She had a dice game, a card game, and three-card-monte going on. She discovered too late that being a three-card-monte hustler takes practice, and lost all of the house’s Tic-Tacs.

Lowe chilling with his buddy. Underneath the kayak is a homemade anchor—dinghy rode and a bucket full of sand.

We moved over to Allen’s Cay for a couple nights to visit the iguanas. It’s also one of our earliest fond memories of cruising the Bahamas the first time around, anchoring in the small one-boat bay on the south side.

We brought strawberry tops and an orange ashore, but later read the signs saying not to feed them. Sorry for indulging the beggars.

You can see how comfortable we all were with having them race towards us.

Lowe has been missing these top two teeth since before Christmas, but now he lost another lower one as well. Not to be outdone, Ouest lost a tooth the next night, and on night three she lost another one. Tooth Fairy three nights in a row has to be some sort of record. Lowe got Bahamian cash for his, and Ouest was all excited to get some too, but she ended up stuck with boring US dollars. Almost like the Tooth Fairy was out of cash and on a deserted island, or something.

If you look at the kids closely at any given time, this is what you find.

We got a drone back in November but have never flown the thing. We finally got a calm morning and took it up. This was the first picture it ever snapped. And yes, that’s the manual on the chair. It’s a good thing they make these things pretty foolproof.



From Allen’s Cay we moved down to Norman’s Cay and anchored for the night next to an old airplane wreck from back in the drug running days.

And from Norman’s we went next door to Shroud Cay, where a few tidal creeks cut through the island.

I was sure the pass through to the open ocean would provide some good sea life viewing, but there wasn’t a thing. In the creek we did spot a few turtles, and a spotted eagle ray, but for the most part the wind was blowing too hard to get a clear view except in the very narrow offshoots.

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34 Comments on “Iguanas and Planes”

  1. Still have a spear on the boat? I understand if you do not publicize it as much as you did on the first trip, but just wondering if you still get the occasional meal from the sea. Some of the most memorable times I have had with my kids on a boat is cutting out the market and collecting dinner ourselves. Loving the frequent posts though, I know it takes a lot of time and effort.

    1. We do not have the spear on the boat – think it is still in MN from when we got back all those years ago. We haven’t been fishing, I’m sorry to say. As the kids aren’t so into fish (although I could try frying it up, but oh the mess…) it would require making two meals for the family. Not practical right now. And thanks for that, Jason – it does take work but the enjoyment is worth it.

  2. Ok, for those of us chomping at the bit to buy a drone what is the brand you have? Been researching but there are a few choices out there

    1. DJI Mavic Pro. Never heard a bad thing about it from anyone. DJI just came out with a new one a few days ago, could be a good option as well.

  3. You may have been asked this before, but what sunscreen do you use on the kids and how much of it do you have to stock to have enough for your travels? Ouest and Lowe have beautiful skin, never look sunburned, and they are always outside. Oh, and those iguanas are scary big!

    1. I don’t want to talk about it! We have one more day of our supply from Mexico – Mexico has Nivea Sun Kids and it is amazing as it has an ingredient that is not FDA approved in the States sunblock. The kids are tan-free and look like just arrived from MN. 🙂 We start Sun Bum (Gluten Free and Vegan – what the hell does that even mean?!) tomorrow. Hoping for good results.

      1. Interesting to see I’m not the only one who brings Nivea back across the border. It really is the best sunscreen I’ve ever used. Many bring back tequila and vanilla, but my souvenirs are sunscreen and Rexona deodorant. 😉

  4. Nice to see a drone added to your arsenal. That should add some interesting images. You guys live the life, thanks for sharing. Great pictures as usual.

    1. Thanks, Dan. No we haven’t needed an anchor alarm. We do, however, take our time anchoring and Pat dives the anchor to make sure it is dug in as well as make sure we aren’t near rocks to tangle our chain. Old school anchoring.

  5. If you tilt that outboard in a little it will drop the bow of the dingy down and give a smoother ride.

  6. When I was a kid, I was so envious of the kids on “Flipper”. You guys have blown right past them.

    1. Look like the nurse sharks that they feed by hand at just about every marina in the Exumas. Probably just thought the kid might have some food for them, and when he didn’t they just turned and swam away. We had a big one swimming under the boat yesterday. Nothing to be afraid of. Not to say that I’d be telling the kids to go jump in the water right next to them, but also not something we worry about at all.

  7. This area was really top of the list on our trip – and that beach at Shroud Cay was one of my very favorite!! (Also where we found out Wren was along for the adventure). So glad you guys are out there checking it out. Living vicariously through you ; )

    1. Hi Stacy, Wren is beautiful! She was a big girl – congrats! And yes, the Exumas is really magical for sure. The colors and clear water is like no other. Well the Red Sea was pretty neat as well.

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