staniel cay, bahamas
Way back in 2012 (before kids) Braden and I made it down to Staniel Cay on our previous sailboat. Staniel Cay is a cool place with a lot to see - sharks, swimming pigs, and Thunderball Grotto (made famous by the James Bond Thuderball movie in 1965).
Not much has changed in 13 years, except the crowd. The secret is out about how cool this place is because it is a lot busier than we remember it.
Ever since Emma was little her favorite thing at any zoo or aquarium is the touch pool. It doesn't matter what it is - sharks, starfish, jellyfish, fish - she wants to touch it all. The Eastern Caribbean doesn't have a lot of sharks, but they are everywhere in the Bahamas. When we first talked about visiting the Bahamas all Emma wanted to do was touch sharks. Mission accomplished.
Nurse sharks are fairly harmless and not usually agressive unless they feel threatened. These ones are used to people and they come right up on the step to get some attention and food.
That face... ♥
The next day we had this visitor off the back of the boat. Emma splashed in the water to call him over.
Not as fun to touch (and definitely not recommended because they bite) are the swimming pigs. We visited these guys back in 2012 too. It is crazy to see how busy it is now. When we came we were the only people here. Now there are lots of tour boats coming and going all day.
I made sure to save up all my food scraps for a couple days. They ate every bite.
Sampson Cay is the island next door to Staniel. Braden and I spent weeks here in 2012. Back then it was a marina, restaurant and resort. Right after we left they made the island private, so all that closed... but the sandbar is still fair game.
