A Great Day at Manjack Cay

Day 22: Tuesday March 17, 2015

Today was another one of those lazy Bahamian days.  We really did very little outside of a side trip onto Manjack Cay.



Vegetation on Manjack Cay

We started with our normal breakfast of pancakes and after we cleaned up the galley, we discussed taking the dinghy for an exploration ride but opted to wait until later in the morning because it was a bit chilly.  So we both got back into our novels and read for until about 10:00.

We put on our swim suits, loaded the skin diving gear into the dink and headed for the shore.  This is truly a beautiful setting and we ended up near a sandy beach that was obviously privately owned.  There were small sailboats, tables and chairs liberally scattered around the entire beach.  We had heard that there was a nature trail the crossed the Cay and visitors were allowed by the owners to use these trails, however, we did not see any signs or indication that this particular beach was the location of the trail head.

So, we motored back out into the cove and amongst the 20 or so boats anchored until we passed one with a lady washing out some clothes and she told us that the beach we had just left is the right place. She told us that we could just pull our dinghy up onto the beach and walk back into the coconut grove and we could see the signs.

We traveled back to the beach and did in fact find the signs, beautifully handmade and painted by someone who had pride and skill.  The main trail started out for about 1/10 mile as a road that was obviously maintained by the landowners and then turned east out through the dense undergrowth for, I would estimate, pretty close to a mile.

It was an interesting walk through the dense foliage.  I really don’t know anything about the vegetation in this area.  There are few large trees and virtually no grass in the dense understory.  We did hear birds and see a number of lizards some of whom had their tails curled into a tight circle as they scurried across the roots and leaves.  The trail was quite rough, being crisscrossed roots and punctuated with coral rocks that were hard to walk on.

At the end of the trail, we came out on a wonderful long white beach that must

Beach on Atlantic side of Manjack Cay

have been a half mile or more long.  The surf was rolling gently in off  the Atlantic and washing up onto shore.  In the distance you could see the waves breaking onto the barrier reef that was probably ½ mile offshore.  It was quite a lovely place.

By now it was becoming hot so we turned and headed back to the dinghy.  We discussed the fact that we had yet to find a bed of coral on which to skin dive and probably this would be a really great place if we could get out to the reef, however, if we were able to get out there in the dinghy and get into the water, we would have a tough time getting back into the boat.  So we got back into the dink and headed

The sign said that dogs had to be on a leash because of
pet chickens were about.

back to Second Wind.

After lunch we both fell asleep for a nice nap and when we awoke, we went back to reading.  We enjoyed the warm air and gentle breeze and we read for the rest of the afternoon.

At around 5:00, we decided to bake a blob carrot cake for dessert.  While it was cooking, we enjoyed a glass of Riesling and began our meal with sardines prepared in the Mediterranean tradition served on crackers.  When the cake was done, we prepared pork chops and mashed

More beach signs.

potatoes.  We dine well.

After dinner we played a very competitive game of dominos at which I final beat Janine 6 to 4.  This is the first time on this trip she has fallen.  She usually trounces me in this game.

We had a piece of cake at about 9:00 before heading to bed.