Flamingo Cay, Jumentos, Bahamas

Flamingo Cay had it all - beautiful water, white sandy beaches, a lone palm tree, hiking trails, marine life, caves, sea birds, lizards, exotic plants. Plus we had it all to ourselves for several days.  

View  of Fly Away from the top of the hill that had a non working beacon.
The only boat in the anchorage.

Beautiful cactus in bloom along the trail to the top of the hill. 

The trail to the top of the hill was well marked and easy to hike

The fast blue runner skink on the trail

The friendly curly tail on the trail. 

We dinghied to this cave and drove into it at low tide.  It had holes in the top to let sunlight stream into the cave.  

The drive-in cave entrance

Inside the cave lit by sunlight streaming in from holes in the ceiling

Fascinating mushroom rocks at the south tip of Flamingo Cay.  Mushroom rocks are rocks that have their base washed away by continuous water erosion and gives the appearance of a mushroom top. We found an osprey on its nest, a shark cruising the rocky shoreline, and lots of conch, one which became a salad for lunch that day! Conch is scarcer than it was on our last visit in 2011, so we were happy to find conch in a grassy area on the south tip of Flamingo. I picked up a good one and Daryl cleaned it, not an easy task.  I chopped it, adding lime juice, chopped onion, tomato, and sweet green pepper, and then ate it.

Mushroom rock - a rock that has the base washed away
leaving the top overhanging the sides.

Mushroom rock at low tide

Profile of mushroom rock with large osprey nest and osprey guarding it.

Close up of osprey in large nest on mushroom rock

Reef shark cruising the rocky shoreline 

Conch salad from conch found at the
grassy area south of Flamingo Cay.

 Back at the boat we enjoyed the beautiful water, marine life, and solitude of a deserted island.  With wind scoop up to keep the breeze coming through the cabin and sun shades to keep the intense sun out of the cockpit, we enjoy good time on the boat whether it is relaxing in the cockpit or sleeping down below.  

Two remora play at the back of the boat under the swim platform.
Mostly they attached their flat head to our keel or bottom and just hung out.
They will attach to sharks and turtles to eat scraps. 

Wind scoop for the warmer days.
It magnified the breeze coming in the front hatch.
Colorful, too! Matches our spare fuel cans and water buckets. 

Sun shades on the windows and sides to keep the intense rays of the sun out. 

Here is my perch for morning coffee and writing daily in my journal. 

How about this water?!
You can see the shadow of our mast to the right.
I never cease to be amazed at the beautiful water.
The sun is rising behind us. 

Here the breath taking view of the sky above and water below the rocky shoreline.
You can see the shadow of our mast in the lower center.
The sun is setting behind us. 

Daily a barracuda visited and swam away. 

Bahamian mocking bird serenaded us morning and evening. 

You can see why we stayed quite a while at Flamingo Cay. Everyday brought new exploration and adventure. We never knew what the day would bring, so we would just be ready for anything!