Staniel Cay

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Today we took the dinghy over to an unnamed cay between Big Majors spot and Staniel Cay to snorkel a cave made famous by being included in some scenes in the James Bond movie, Thunderball.  The cavern is called Thunderball Grotto.

While it doesn't look too impressive on the outside, the cavern inside is spectacular.  At low tide, we could simply duck under some of the rocks and enter the cavern.  It is about 100 feet long, 30-40 feet wide and stretches all the way across the small island to an opening (also under water) on the far side.  There are about 6 openings to the outside, all under water and, about 30 feet over your head, there are several openings at the top of the cay that let sunlight in.  The cavern has about 25 feet of water below you and it is absolutely filled with fish of all sizes and colors.  Unfortunately I do not have an underwater camera.

It was an amazing swim.

Later we pulled anchor and moved on over to Staniel Cay.  In addition to the marina, there is a small village.

There are some small cottages, and the marina is to the left.

Katy treated me to a fabulous Father's Day dinner at the marina restaurant.  In the Bahamian style, we placed our orders at 5:00 and the bell rang for sitting to dinner at 7:30.  We were ON TIME!!!!!  Everyone was served at once.

Tomorrow we will explore the village.