 Start – Bimini. Finish – Bird Cay. Dropped Pin is around where we anchored for the night. |
 Anchored in 12′ of water in the Atlantic |
 Family photo in the middle of the Atlantic thanks to Kelly on INNTW. |
 Watching NFL playoffs while underway to Bird Cay on day two. Previous owner of our boat had the satellite TV wired up so one of the chart plotters could display it. Smart guy. |
We anchored for two nights at Bird Cay in what we described as swimming pool water. The first night we had the area all to ourselves, the second night Mike & Kelly (INNTW) and Jan & Stacey (Ceci Kay) came to join us from nearby Chub Cay.
 Bird Cay – check out this water! |
 Heartbeat and Ceci Kay at Bird Cay. |
 Kent and Penny enjoying the water. |
 A bit long but snorkeling the wreck at Bird Cay. |
One of the coolest but kind of a creepy experiences was when we all explored Bird Cay and the abandoned mansion there. From what we have read it was built in 1940s but it is not known why the place was abandoned in 2002. Over the years it’s been ransacked but there are still remains of some interesting items such as books/puzzles, a Christmas tree, pantry items etc. It looks as if someone just simply left one day and never came back. This blog gives a lot more detail on the mansion, has a cool drone video and a lot of good photos should you be interested –
https://svojigwan.com/2017/04/08/the-mysterious-abandoned-mansion-at-bird-cay/
 Exterior pic does not show just how large this place is, we lost count on the number of bedrooms and bathrooms we walked through. |
 Scattered books and overturned sofas is whats left of one of the rooms. Most of the rooms however were pretty much cleared out. |
 What would have been a great view from the large pool. |
 Haley (INNTW) checking out the piano. |
 Not sure why someone has not stolen this sweet ride yet. |
 Our 3 dingies waiting for us on the beach after our short hike to explore the abandoned mansion. You can barely make out our 3 boats in the background. |
At Bird Cay we said goodbye to INNTW while us along with Ceci Kay made our way to the next stop – Nassau.
 Entering Nassau – 3 very large cruise ships supply the city with thousands of tourists. |
 Atlantis resort as seen when arriving at Nassau. |
Nassau is unfortunately what we expected – expensive (but simple) marinas with wakes that roll through all day from all the water traffic, cruise ship tourism and a reputation that makes most visitors stay off the streets after dark. We didn’t necessarily want to stay here but Nassau is a stopover for the Exumas so we made the most of it.
 Queens staircase. 66 steps made out of solid limestone by slaves in 1793. Had to borrow this pic because all our pics had dozens of people covering the steps. |
 We scored finding some local food while in the downtown area (aka cruise ship land). This window was across from a Burger King and around the corner from a Senor Frogs. |
 Lunch consisted of patties (we tried the tuna and the curried chicken) which are similar to an empanada. |
 Admittedly we did fall for this tourist trap and bought a rum cake. |
 One last run for veggies/fruit before departing for the Exumas. Food is not cheap in the Bahamas as it needs to be shipped and/or flown in. As examples, standard size apple $1.69/ea, small cauliflower or broccoli $6/head. Snack foods are even more expensive, we did not buy the Wheat Thins at $7/box. Do not forget there is also a 12 VAT added to almost everything! |
 One full day of playing tourist and doing errands – 13.6 miles walked. |
Next stop will be the Exuma Islands for us.