The Abacos

Many people have spoken of the beautiful waters of the Bahamas. Having never been before, I took everyone else's word for it. When we reached the turquoise and aqua waters of the Bahamas, I was in awe. We went to Fiji for our honeymoon and I remember feeling the same way. How can the water be so beautiful and SO many shades of blue all at once? I also debated which shade of crayon(s) I'd use to describe or illustrate the ocean and never settled on one. There would be several combined together in random, but purposeful streaks. How do you color the water with the right shades of blue, while incorporating the crystal clear water at the same time? I'm sure we'll try.

Planning our next stop usually happens at night after the kids go to bed. We look at Navionics to figure out a reasonable distance to cover and look for places we want to see. I spotted Big Carters Cay on the map, so we added that to our itinerary for the next day. Our captain... poor guy. He has to go out of the way to take us to places we find and just want to visit for a picture, which is one of the many reasons why we love him so much. What a sport, even though he complains about it.

The whole crew with Ben at the helm and Big Carters Cay in the background.

From there, we ventured over to an anchorage between Fox Town (on the north end of Little Abaco) and Hawksbill Cay. I apparently had sweated off the sunscreen that I applied to my back the previous day and my whole back was toast. I wanted to stay covered up and out of the sun, so Ben took out Big Bertha (a giant tube float, with an enclosed bottom), loaded up the kids, and took them for a spin. 

While I was inside the cabin, I was watching the kids laugh uncontrollably while holding on for dear life while Ben drove the tender in circles around our boat, between the two islands. They were having a blast! At one point, I was looking for them out of one of the large portholes above the galley and saw what looked like something floating in the water. I stared at it and watched it and realized it was a sea turtle! I was so excited! Of course, I couldn't find my phone in time to take a picture or call anyone to come see it because I was all alone, so I told everyone when they came back and then we continued our search for sea turtles.

That afternoon, Ben suggested I take the SUP out for a spin, as the sun was starting to set so I could enjoy some time on my own, without worrying about my sunburn. I decided to take him up on that offer. The SUP always provides me with a sense of serenity and calmness. Pair that with the ocean and I'm all set! 

I put the little two to bed, got on the SUP, and started to paddle around a rocky island near our boat. Whenever I get time to myself, thoughts always run through my mind. Sometimes I make up random scenarios, especially when I'm home at night by myself- I've done this for as long as I can remember. These thoughts freak me out and I become fearful of things that I completely make up. I know this about myself, so it isn't anything new. What IS new, is having alone time, as the sun is about to set, on the ocean. My thoughts turned to the shape of my inflatable SUP and how it is similar to a surfboard, but has air in it that is highly relied upon to stay afloat. I thought about how if I hit an unseen rock, I could be in trouble. Then I thought about surfing accidents that happen because surfboards with people paddling out to the water look like seals from a shark's perspective, and compared that image to what I looked like with my paddle. I started freaking out, trying to get myself back to the Cartermaran as quickly as possible, without making huge splashes.

I'm the little speck to the right of the small island.

Ben was on the deck when I returned and he asked me how it was. I told him we obviously didn't think that one through and I will never take the SUP out near sunset again. When I looked on Google, it said that sunrise and sunset are hands down the worst times to surf, SUP, or be splashing in the water. Noted.

As I was putting the SUP away, the sun was setting and Bear joined me and Ben on the deck. While I was busy marveling in yet another beautiful Bahamian sunset, Bear told me to look the opposite way. There was a rainbow! It was such a sight to see- a rainbow and sunset all at once. We were being spoiled each night with such gorgeous sunsets.  

Sunset off the port.

Rainbow off the starboard.

Cruising down the Abacos, our next stop was on Green Turtle Cay for some local eats. Unbeknownst to us, most places in the Bahamas are closed on Sundays. We took the tender around to a few spots to find somewhere to eat. Pineapples was open and their only menu items for the day were burgers and chicken wings with fries or rice. Got a few orders of those and enjoyed the quaint atmosphere with a swimming pool out front. We didn't swim, but other tourists and locals enjoyed themselves while we were there.

If you look closely, you can see the tender off the dock.

View of the pool from our table.

Have you been here?

At this point, we had been to 3 islands that are named after 3 different sea turtles, this summer. 💚 🐢 ✅ Loggerhead Key

✅ Hawksbill Cay

✅ Green Turtle Cay

Our last stop in the Abacos was Treasure Cay Beach. This place holds the title of my favorite stop of the trip. We looked up some beaches that we should not miss while in the Bahamas and found Treasure Cay Beach to be one that always ranks in the top 10 beaches. Being so close to it, we knew that would be a stop for us on this adventure.

To get to our anchorage, we went through a canal-type waterway with a fence that stretches from one piece of land, across the water to the land on the other side, and gets opened and closed daily, so we had to be sure it was open upon our arrival. Luckily, it was! We anchored for the night.

In the morning, we piled into the tender and went to Treasure Cay Beach, Marina & Golf Resort ready to venture to the beach. Ben was confused about the marina because it didn't look like it was active, despite the reviews he had read about this location. Come to find out, it is active, but not as popular since Hurricane Dorian hit in 2019. Even the image in the link above on Google Maps is outdated. It looks like it was even more spectacular before Dorian.

At the marina, we met Franklin, the dockmaster who helped us tie up and kept an eye on our tender while we went to the beach. He spoke highly of the beach as well, telling us that Aaliyah, the singer, filmed her very last music video (Rock the Boat) at that beach before her plane crashed leaving the island when she died in August of 2001. Franklin sent us off just across the street to the beach.

From the marina, we crossed the street, walked up and over a sandy hill, then down to the water. We were the only ones there! Our footprints were the only thing on the sand. It was an incredible beach and we had it all to ourselves! We couldn't believe it. 

Scoping out a place to leave our stuff while we play.

When we set down our things and were ready to get in the water, we saw a shadow in the shallow water. We weren't sure if it was coral or an animal, so we watched it for a little bit and noticed it was moving. It was hard to see what it was, but we were able to make out a head and 4 flippers. Now Bear and I had seen 2 and everyone else saw their first sea turtle in the wild. Everyone was overjoyed!

We splashed in the water, played in the sand, and used the amazing backdrop to have an impromptu photo sesh.

By the time we left, we had each seen yet another sea turtle swim by us. What a day!

Since everyone could use a little food before heading to the boat, we walked back across the street to Cafe la Florence. Florence isn't messing around! She really knows what good food and treats are! 🤤 Glad she was there to make recommendations for us. 

We never had conch before, so we had that here. Adults loved it and the kids didn't try it, but that's probably because we let them have ice cream for lunch. 😉 Got the cinnamon buns and 🍪 cookies to go cuz we couldn't pass up those giant things.

This cute little island town is still pretty messed up from Hurricane Dorian in 2019, with few tourists, so we were happy to buy a few treats for on-the-go.

We will be back, Florence and Treasure Cay!! In the meantime, can we please find a way to get the coastal United States water to look as clean and as beautiful as it does in other countries? We truly enjoy these pristine blue waters.