Bird Cay in the Berry Islands, Bahamas

When we'd heard about the Berry Islands of the Bahamas from other cruisers, we were promised untouched beaches, historic abandoned settlements, and lush wildlife. We arrived to Bird Cay on Christmas Eve, and it did not disappoint!

Ben and I were surprised to pull into the harbor at Bird Cay on the evening of Christmas Eve to find a few other sailboats anchored in our intended spot. We chose a place near them, and jumped in the dinghy to get Ruca to shore after a day of travel. We hit the sack, excited to get to know the Berries in the morning!

Although there were other cruisers on the island, days were isolated because there was plenty of space for everyone. Ben, Ruca and I spent our days beach combing, harvesting coconuts, fishing, and spearfishing (finally with some success!).

I was able to spear my first lobster while freediving, and Ben speared 5 more, along with some yellow tail snapper. At last we had some success catching some of the wonderful seafood we had heard about! I cooked up our fresh catch with butter and garlic, we shared some wine, and laughed about how much a restaurant would charge us for the same meal.

The island had a cool (but creepy) abandoned settlement from the 1940s, which was incredible to explore! The private island had once been owned by the heir of the Standard Oil fortune, Francis Francis, and his wife, and featured a small settlement area with the main mansion nearby. When we googled the island, we found it for sale for upwards of $8 million. Any takers? :)

While out on the dinghy trolling our fishing line and diving, we were able to meet our fellow cruisers. All were retired couples, all on almost the same journey that we were, except in their sixties and seventies. All of us were generally planning to hit Nassau in the next good weather window, then head out to the Exumas after that. All on the same route and under the same weather windows, it seemed we’d be seeing a lot of these folks, and we made quick friends.

One night we enjoyed some drinks and food around a bonfire with our new neighbors. One of the cruisers found a message in a bottle, and he saved it so that we could all open it together! Ed, our friend who found the bottle promised to respond to the email address to let them know we'd found their note and enjoyed it!

With our next weather window quickly approaching, it was time to start planning the next leg of our journey. S/V Wanderlust was headed to Nassau, Bahamas to do some provisioning, pick up some replacement parts, and enjoy some civilization for the New Year!

Thanks for reading,

Ben, Quinn, and Ruca

#destinations #Bahamas