Nassau Bahamas, to Highborne Cay.

We departed the next morning for Highborne Cay. 

The girls busted out a game of dominoes & we cranked up the Reggae tunes, 

just like the Bahamian natives. 

Now you might be wondering what the "cay" in Highborne Cay means...so let's look at what Wikipedia has to say; 

 A cay (also spelled key; both pronounced alike as "key" how to say: /kiː/) is a small, low island consisting mostly of sand or coral and situated on top of a coral reef.

The English word cay comes from the Spanish word cayo and this from the Taíno word cayo meaning "small island".^[1] The English words key and quay (which means wharf) come from the old French kai meaning "sand bank". Because it is a Taíno word, "cay" (and the other forms) are used mainly in the Caribbean, but the type of island is found in the tropical seas where there are coral reefs.

Sand cays are built on the edge of the coral reefs, opposite the direction from which the wind blows most of the time. Because of that, cays are often elongated. Tides and wind (and sometimes sea birds) deposit coral debris. Weather affects the formation of cays greatly; large tides would bring much more debris onto the cay and thus make it larger, while a hurricane destroys a cay. 

Now you've had a full dissertation on a cay. 

Who knew?!

Brad and Bish double checked the journey ahead of us,
making sure there were't going to be any coral heads in our way.

As Brad hangs out at the helm of the fly bridge as we are underway,  I can tell he's in deep thought contemplating our special voyage. 

Soon we arrived at Allen Cay en route to Highborne, and dropped anchor. 

The turquoise blue water looked spectacular!!

We got the dingy off and lowered it into the sea...ready for the iguana action. 

The girls and I anxiously awaited our afternoon adventure!

But first...Bish and a great lunch prepared for us!

Afterwards, we were off to explore Big Majors Cay...

Wendy had her Go Pro out and was filming all of the action. 

It was a small inlet that we pulled into to observe the indigenous Rock Iguanas... 

Bish prepped some fruit and veggies for us to feed them. 

As soon as we arrived, the iguanas came out in droves. Impressive and so prehistoric looking. It turns out that these Bahamian Rock Iguanas are extremely endangered and there's only about 1500 left. 

I had fun photographing them in their natural habitat. They were big suckers! These iguanas are kept on isolated islands so that they aren't endangered by pigs, cats or dogs. 

INTERESTING FACTS 

• Rock iguanas used to be eaten by early inhabitants of The Bahamas. Today it is illegal to harm or capture a Rock iguana. 
• The Andros Rock iguana is the largest iguana in The Bahamas and can attain a length of nearly five to six feet. 
• The most threatened Bahamian iguanas are the San Salvador iguanas. 
• The serrated ridge along the spine of the Rock iguana radiates excess heat from the iguana's body. In territorial displays this ridge makes the iguana appear larger to its adversaries. 
• Iguanas are equipped with breakable tails which cleave off neatly when seized by a hand or a predator. (I won't be testing this out!) A new tail begins to regenerate immediately. 
• Rock iguanas can live for up to forty years!   Here kitty kitty... 
• Brad and I spazzed out and got our signature "pose" in. 

Then it was time for a swim. The sand was as soft and fine as velvet. The sea was like bath water and I could have kept swimming for the rest of the day at that sweet spot. 

    The girls and I loved every minute of it!!

As we headed back to our boat, we spotted it from the next bay over. 

What are those black clouds you ask? Just afternoon monsoons, that come & go. 

No biggie at all and they are normally gone in 15 minutes.

INCOGNITO...Ready & awaiting our arrival. 

And then we arrived to Highborne a short time later...

This place was serenely beautiful and the water was crystal clear.
You just couldn't stop drinking in the surreal beauty of this cay.

All tied up at the dock, Laura and the girls were ready for action. 

The girls and I set off to explore the small island on foot as soon as we docked. 

The sights were gorgeous!!

The nurse sharks were everywhere and hungry for a Scooby snack. 

We all were mesmerized by these creatures of the deep.

Brad & Laura soon found the beach an idyllic spot for a view.

We all enjoyed our beach time and chatted long and hard over the stock market 

and the BIG changes this year due to our shared investment group interests. 

Then it was time to head back... 

But first, a foot wash!

Wait. What's this? The perfect swimming bay?! Forget the foot wash. 
Two seconds later we were in that water for hours. 

They even had a foam Lily Pad to offer a buffer zone for any nurse or reef sharks that might want to lurk around us. (okay, we all know that's not true) Ha!

We felt like a bunch of kids on summer break. 

So much fun we had carousing in this bay... Rain showers and all!

Highborne Cay Hijinx

As girls like to talk, we covered every subject under the sun trying to solve the worlds problems...
From this....

To This...

Afternoon storms come and go as they do here in the tropics. The aftermath is the best however!!

As the sun began to set and those pesky no-see-um bugs came out to dine on our flesh, 
it was time to join our boat neighbor and feed the nurse sharks. 

This is Colin from South Africa who was a skipper on a boat next to us. He brought some discarded steak and chicken fat their chef had prepared for the sharks. 

Boy, did they love it! A feeding crazy broke out and not only did the nurse sharks show up for dinner, but a few reef sharks and a massive grouper. 

Colin schooled us on the virtues of feeding these guppies which was really interesting and a sight to see. 

I loved the signage at the fish cleaning station... Poke out the eyes though?!

Sunset was magical as ever & the end to an amazing day!!

Moments like this remind me how grateful I am. 

The next morning we all opted for a self guided bike tour of the island. 

Everyone made like a baby & headed on out...

on the road again...

Such a gorgeous island we had to explore and we all had the best time getting our exercise in!
Speaking of exercise...Brad & Debbie get the award for "jackrabbit" expeditions. (I used to refer to these as Deb's "Nancy Drew Mystery Tours" for those of you who have experienced her previous ones.) They were off early every am to get their exercise in. 
The rest of us enjoyed a leisurely morning as it was humid.

Brad surveys the scene...

And then it's time for a group Kodak moment.

We stopped along the way to check out all the sights. 

And then we had to bike until we found our new friend "Bones"!

He is the stuff of island legend, and normally can be found at the 

local bus stop unless he gets kidnapped that is.

We also search for shells..some wanted to use them as a keepsake and put them in a jar when they got home. We did try to wash them in the sink when we got back, however after the snails started crawling out of them that was that and out they went to the trash. We had a giggle over those suckers.

Brad is extolling the virtues of privatizing the foot wash station.

And then he poked some fun at Cheap Charlies oar house...

I loved the colorful stop signage on the island.

We all enjoyed a great dinner that night at the one lone restaurant on Highborne.

It was darling and the food was scrumptious.

Bish joined us and added to our vibrant scene..

The next morning we were to depart the docks early...So the girls and I decided to leave a memento behind of ourselves. What would be better than our burgee and to sign our names to it!

Wendy expertly hung it in the outdoor lounge along with 

the other memorabilia left by previous cruisers. It was fun to peruse all 

of the creative ways people commemorated their journeys.

Laura and I opted for a morning couch tour as we departed the docks and cruised south
to the Exuma Land & Sea Park.

Next adventure...here we come!!