Iguanas and Swimming Pigs

As we pulled into port on Bitter Guana Cay, we could see dark splotches on the pure white sand beach. As the binoculars came into focus, I could see lizards. To be more specific, Iguanas.

The Exuma Rock Iguanas are really rare. They used to be on all 700 Bahamian islands. Now, they are limited to about 4 islands. I only know the names of two, Bitter Guana, and Allens Cay. They are now protected, but they used to be eaten. If you ask any of the locals if they've eaten iguana flesh, they would all say yes.

 Wren and I were practically jumping up and down for joy. "Iguanas, Iguanas, Iguanas!" we shouted. Even though we were the only ones in the anchorage, my dad told us to quiet down.

     We grabbed what we needed in the shortest amount of time possible, jumped in the dinghy, and headed to shore. I felt like we were intruders, and the iguanas were soldiers, waiting for he command to attack. They just kept coming out of the underbrush, which was not very tall. Due to heat conditions, all of the plants were desert plants. Like cacti! It was all very cool. 

     The iguanas were no more than 2 feet long, and very chubby. I think that the soldier-like behavior was an effect from cruisers feeding the iguanas. They  were funny, though, aside from their  snappish behavior. Especially when my dad ran through a whole bunch of them, flailing his arms and legs like a maniac and screaming at the top of his lungs. Sometimes, you just have to be a dufus...

Yup.  Scat.

Lil' guy

The next day, we hiked around all over the island. We went to the north side of the island, where we found a pretty beach. We also found a big limestone cliff that had a trail leading to the top. 

Kiawah, having some alone time

     That afternoon, we said good bye to the iguanas and went to Staniel Cay. As soon as we got there, we went shopping. There was a big old black lab sitting outside of the cute pink building that was the grocery store. We are missing Blue terribly....

A "Blue" moment

 After we got some food, we went to theThunderball Grotto. It was really cool.  It is a cave that is partially filled with water. You have to dive underneath a rock ledge to get in. There are a ton of fish around the grotto, because all fishing is prohibited. See Wren's blog for more on that.

 The next day, we went to Piggy Beach. The island is taken over by pigs!  Here are some pics of these crazy beasts!  They swim out to your boat to beg for food.  They are quite friendly though.

Oink, oink!
Love,
Ri