Owen had been dreaming about traveling to the Bahamas for the last couple years. Water, sun, sand, it definitely sounded amazing! For his high school graduation, we gifted him his dream trip. Having never been to the Bahamas myself, it was an interesting trip to plan. There are 16 main islands visited by tourists, but our number one requirement was ease of travel, meaning no more than 2 flights to get to our final destination. After hours spent reviewing vacation rentals that met all our requirements, I narrowed it down to our top two choices, and Owen had the final say. He chose a gorgeous rental house on the small island of Little Exuma with THE most AMAZING view! We were eagerly counting down the day until our arrival.
DAY 1: We flew out of St. Paul on June 26th in the wee morning hours. Everyone was up and out the door in record time. Rose of course had to soak in the gorgeous night stars that were still up as we drove off at 3:00 am for our adventure.
The first leg of our trip to Atlanta went as planned and before we knew it, our flight to Georgetown, Grand Exuma was ready to board!
We landed in Georgetown, gathered our belongs, and made our way through the tiny customs building. Island life is slow and clearly always behind schedule as the vans we had rented through the house manger of our VRBO were no where to be found. After a quick call, we discovered that one of the vehicles was somewhere on the premises, but the other would be delayed. Instead she would send a taxi to pick up half of our crew with the other half following in our rental van. We were told to grab a snack at the airport restaurant and our taxi driver would pick us up there.
The airport restaurant was in a building across from the airport. We all grabbed a drink and waited for our ride.
We had barely started sipping our drinks when the friendly driver appeared. She helped us locate our rental, an old run down van that thankfully got us where we needed to go. The drive from the airport to Little Exuma was long and rough. The roads on the island have huge pot holes, steep drops at the shoulder and are too narrow for a 2-lane road. We dealt with those obstacles all while getting used to the steering wheel on the right side of the car and driving on the left hand side of the road. It was a nail bitting trip as we closely followed the taxi driver.
Eventually we came up to the long narrow one-way bridge that connects Grand Exuma to Little Exuma. It's a "first come, first serve road" as we made our way across.
After about an hour of driving, we finally arrived. Let's just say, the rental house was well worth the drive. It was absolutely gorgeous with a fabulous pool and hot tub right on the Tropic of Cancer. We wasted no time and hopped right into the pool to soak up the sun.
The pool was perfect for our wide range of abilities - a great size, depth and temperature. It quickly became our favorite place for an early morning swim or to cool down from the hot Bahamas sun.
And the view - WOW! We had never stayed anywhere that was literally steps from the ocean.
Our first day on Little Exuma ended with a nice soak in the hot tub and lots of tired little ones from our long travel day.
DAY 2: While we spent most of the day at our rental house, we decided to venture out for lunch. Amenities such as restaurants and grocery stores are extremely limited on Little Exuma. And with the conditions of the roads, we tried our best to minimize our road trips. A 15 mile trip to Georgetown on Grand Exuma is easily a 45 minute drive one-way.
While we had limited restaurant options, there were a few highly recommended ones nearby. For lunch we ventured down the road to Santanna's, a small beach front restaurant. It was the very first time I've ever driven on the left hand side of the road, but luckily traffic is minimal on the island.
With our crew of 10, we caravanned down Queen's Highway and pulled up to the small establishment. We grabbed a large picnic table in the shade, enjoying the view, sipping delicious drinks, and nibbling on tasty food.
Owen had originally picked our location, not because of the beautiful house, pool, or hot tub, but because of what he had noticed in the water...a small island just off the coast. He was excited to kayak out to explore Turtle Island.
A few of us navigated the extremely steep, sandy ramp to the beach to enjoy the waves. While in the water, a visitor noticed a large creature near Owen and quickly came down to warn him to come back to shore. It was a shark! Yikes!
We spent the rest of our day relaxing by the pool taking in that amazing view.
Sam wasn't as excited about the pool and instead insisted that Nana Bev push him around the house in his stroller. He definitely has her wrapped around his little finger!
Soon after, Shane joined him to make sure all was well with Owen and that he could safely get back into his kayak from the island.
The rest of us stayed on shore enjoying the beach and the pool in our own backyard.
DAY 3: This was our BIG excursion day. Most of the must-dos in Exuma entail water adventures. While amazing, only a portion of our crew are able and willing to be on a bumpy non-accessible boat bouncing around in the ocean all day. Thankfully my parents had joined us on the trip and happily agreed to watch Cole, Aria, and Sam while the rest of us headed off on our ocean adventure.
It was an early morning for us, having to be on the other side of the island by 9:00 am meant an hour plus drive to the boat. As with most things on the island, we weren't given an address. Our directions were to go the marina, park in the lot, and the captain would find us there. Thankfully it all worked out and the captain did indeed find us.
Our first stop was to Iguana Island to see the iguanas of course! It was quite a sight to see as hundreds of iguanas approached us hoping for a snack. The tour guides were well prepared as we tossed the food into their mouths.
Shane was brave enough to hold one of the huge ones as the others squirmed around his feet - EEK!
Our next stop was a cave that typically is home to turtles, but alas, no turtles were home that day. It was still a sight to behold.
We were off again on the choppy waters holding on for dear life as we bounced to and fro.
We slowly approached another island - this time Pig Island which is, you guessed it, home to the famous swimming pigs. The pigs swam right out to greet us.
They eagerly awaited their tasty treats that we tossed to them from the boat.
After the snacks ran out, Kate wanted to wade to shore to see the pigs close up. There were many tourists gathered on the island snapping photos of the pigs. Our tour guides were not eager to join us. The water near shore perhaps wasn't the cleanest with the occasional floating pig dung. But this was our one chance to see the legendary swimming pigs up close so Kate, Shane and I made our way to shore while the rest of our crew stayed dry on the boat.
It was definitely an experience to remember with pigs wandering everywhere.
After leaving the pigs behind, we took off on the open waters to Thunderball Grotto. I had read about this online and had a slight panic attack just thinking about it. A hollow domed underwater cave, great for snorkeling, but depending on tide, the entrance may be covered by water. Ummm...that was a hard no for me. Although when we arrived, the tide was low and the entrance just happened to be open. Everyone happily jumped in to explore while I decided I'd just float right outside the entrance just in case someone needed me.
There is a rope along the cave to grab onto so you don't continue getting sucked in. But this entire scenario, along with a life jacket that kept trying to flip me on my back, had me extremely anxious and more than eager to get back on the boat. But at least the rest of our crew enjoyed it. We didn't have a camera with so I swiped this one I found online. The grotto was indeed beautiful to see.
Our next stop was on land. YAY! We drove off to Staniel Cay Yacht Club for lunch.
The food was divine and the drinks even better! I decided to be adventurous an order a "Peanut Colada". Per the menu: "An SCYC original...a Pina Colada with roasted peanuts blended in. Don’t ask questions, just try it." So glad I tried it - it was delicious!
After a quick photo op, we boarded the boat again. This time bound for Pablo Escobar's sunken airplane.
Everyone else jumped into the water to snorkel around the wreckage while I stayed aboard the boat. I had had enough snorkeling for the day after the Grotto fiasco.
After a very long day bopping around in the ocean, we started off to the marina for our return destination. Somehow Kate and Owen managed to fall asleep!
We got back to the rental house around 5:30 pm and found the rest of our party enjoying the pool. What a long day! We all slept well.
DAY 4: After the previous long day, we spent the entire day relaxing! We swam.
We walked along the gorgeous sandy beach.
We strolled down to Brea's Delights, a small shack just a few houses down from our rental house, for some drinks.
Owen kayaked out to Turtle Island again. It was a blissful, beautiful day enjoying the turquoise waters and ocean breeze.
DAY 5: A few of us headed into Georgetown to do some shopping. Owen had requested a stop at the Straw Market, a building full of various stands selling souvenirs. So off to town Owen, Rose, Kate, Shane and I headed. We all enjoyed looking at the fun items and making our selections.
After getting back from our shopping excursion, we strolled down to Brea's Delights for lunch. It's a run-down shack that we would never have dined at by the looks of it, but the reviews were quite good. Their hours seem to change on a whim, and occasionally they decide not to serve food. But today, they were in full swing, frying up some yummy goodies and whipping up refreshing drinks.
DAY 6: AKA the Ice Cream Fiasco! We spent the morning splashing and relaxing at the pool. We were trying to soak up every minute that we could knowing that the end of our trip was fast approaching.
Later, we spent some time on the beach, enjoying the waves.
Rose decided to dig a hug Rose-sized hole in the sand.
When the tide rose, her hole quickly became a pool.
Soaking in the water while gazing at the amazing view had easily become our favorite thing to do. It was magical.
DAY 6: AKA the Ice Cream Fiasco! We spent the morning splashing and relaxing at the pool. We were trying to soak up every minute that we could knowing that the end of our trip was fast approaching.
This was by far our favorite pool we've ever had the chance to use. It was the perfect size, depth, and temperature with absolutely stunning views!
Shane and Owen made the short drive down the road to Mom's Bakery. It was on our must-do list to try her famous rum cake. But hours of establishments on the island are random so you never know once you arrive if your destination will actually be open. The bakery was closed...but the restaurant next door was selling the freshly baked goods on "Mom's" behalf. They picked up several yummy homemade goodies. And yes, the rum cake is definitely famous-worthy!
After lunch, Shane, Rose, Kate and I ventured off to Georgetown to visit a favorite local ice cream shop. On our way there, we encountered a downed electrical pole. We were the first to pull up and unsure how to proceed with the wires crossing the road and no way to avoid driving over them. Quickly, more cars lined up behind us, not sure what to do. Some got out of their cars to survey the situation. After a quick peak, they told us we "should be safe" to cross. We looked at each other and let them know that they were welcome to go first. Thankfully the first car made it over with no issues, followed by several others. So we followed suit. As we drove around, we wondered if the crew back at the rental house still had power as the power line was the last line connecting power from Grand Exuma to Little Exuma (we'd later find out, they indeed did not have power!)
We eventually made it to Pedro's Sweet Haven just outside of downtown Georgetown and... they were closed. Ugh. Turns out they are always closed on Wednesdays. We headed back to town in search of another ice cream shop which just so happened to also be closed! Then I noticed a candy shop on my phone map. So we drove off to the candy shop, turning onto the same road we had just been on for Pedro's. Well, the candy shop WAS Pedros. So once again we headed back to town. After all the run around, we settled for a cold drink at Sharie's. Then we meandered over to the grocery store to pickup some candy, and we were finally on our way back to the rental house. Thankfully the road had been cleared and the power was back up and running once we arrived.
Day 7: Our last full day in Exuma and we made sure to enjoy it.
Owen kayaked out to Turtle Island...
The girls splashed away in the pool...
Cole and Popi Jerry played corn hole...
We spent our last lunch out at Tropic Breeze, a local nearby spot with amazing views...
Later that day, the big girls made their last trip to Brea's Delights for smoothies (they make the best mango smoothie on the island, per Rose and Kate) and wrote their names on the wall.
Popi Jerry and Sam relaxed in the hot tub while the eldest four took turns zooming around the ocean on a jet ski.
What a fabulous trip we had. So thankful Owen wanted to spend his graduation gift on a trip with us all.
Day 8: Our last day on Little Exuma was full of packing and prepping for our voyage home. We had a 1:30 flight to Atlanta so thankfully didn't have to rush off to quickly. We did attempt a quick family photo, but with 8 people, there's always at least one not looking : )
We loaded up our beat up rental vans and headed off the rough and ragged road. Along the way, Shane's van kept stalling. They were able to get it running again while we veered left and right to avoid the huge dips in the washed out gravel road. Just as we made it to the main paved road, it stalled and wouldn't start! Thankfully my dad was with. After popping the hood he noticed one of the battery cables had come loose. A quick tweak, we were back up and running. Phew! We did not want to miss our flight!
We unloaded, parked the vans for the house manager to pickup (with the keys inside), and made our way through the small airport. We would be bound for home...eventually. After everyone boarded the plane, we were told that due to bad weather in Atlanta we would need to delay our take off. Minutes turned into hours. Everyone was asked to deplane, an easy task for some, but not us with our non-walkers. We had to descend a long, steep staircase while carrying a 5 and 8 year old. Thankfully they at least had our strollers waiting on the ground for us to use.
After the entire plane was emptied and back waiting in the small terminal, it wasn't long before we were asked to board once again. This time we actually took off headed for Atlanta. Thankfully our second leg was also delayed so we didn't end up missing our flight home. It was a late night by the time we rolled into our driveway, but so worth it. Our week in the Bahamas was blissful. Hopefully some day we can return.
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