Ragged Islands and Jumentos Cays

We spent nearly three weeks in the Ragged Islands and Jumentos Cays, in the southern Bahamas. The chart book we use talks about how isolated these islands are, with cruisers only rarely making that far south. I guess they need to be updated, because it was like George Town South down there. There were plenty of boats, some of them moving in packs, and lots of people on the radio. However, we met lots of really nice people, especially when we attended a beach party on Valentines Day (about 20 boats). Maxine, who owns the store in Duncan Town (that’s the Duncan Town main street in the photo), the only settlement in this sixty-mile chain of islands, hosted the party, and lots of cruisers attended. Great food and great company. For a week we ping-ponged back and forth between two particular anchorages while fronts came through because one anchorage gave good protection from the south and west, while the other anchorage gave protection from the north, but we found time to anchor at some other beautiful spots like Buena Vista Cay (here's the beach on the cay’s western shore). The fishing here fantastic, and we ate some fish and lots of lobster (like this beauty in the pot). The folks on Side By Side, whom we met first at Hog Sty Reef and again at Flamingo and Water Cays, taught us that there’s lots of meat in the head and body of the large lobsters, so Chris has been patiently picking out the smaller yet abundant pieces of meat to use in casseroles or lobster omelets.