There are even better Iguanas in Bitter Guana. Many actually.

It’s Sunday evening and we are anchored off of an amazingly picturesque island Bitter Guana.  Set directly between two very popular spots, Staniel Cay and Black Point Settlement, this spot features a population of endangered Bahamas Iguanas, not unlike those at Allen Cay, in the northern Exumas.   While the location is only a few miles from these very popular spots, most boats avoid stopping here and just head from Staniel the five miles south to Black Point,  the typical stomping grounds of most cruisers.  

Today we decided to stop here as we were looking forward to some time alone and that’s exactly what we got.  While, just a few miles away in Staniel Cay, there are dozens of boats, here we are totally alone.   It’s very peaceful.  As an added bonus, now that we have discovered it, is that this will be a great spot to bring our son Rob and his girlfriend Kandice when they visit us in the spring.  This spot will be a keeper for sure. This afternoon, a 4’ long stingray took a nap in the shadow of Pandora.   The water is so clear I could easily see the big black shape of the ray.  Really neat.

There is a beautiful beach that was totally empty, with the exception of an enthusiastic community of iguanas.  As an added bonus, there were white limestone cliffs to block the strong wind from the east.  Quite an amazing view from the cockpit.   It’s hard to beat this sort of view.  As an added bonus, this view of “white” comes with a temperature in the 80s instead of 8 degrees like home.   Good to know.In the afternoon I want ashore and stood at the bottom of the white cliffs.  The temperature had to be over 100 degrees as the sun was just baking into the white cliffs and they were acting like a solar oven.  It was amazing how different the temperature was just a few hundred feet away near the water where it was more like 80.  Talk about “microclimates”.I understand that this particular species of iguana is among the most endangered of any lizard in the world.  While they used to be abundant on many islands here, they now number in the hundreds or perhaps dozens.   That’s it.  Not very widespread.   I have been told that the population is doing pretty well and growing, I understand.

This guy was very happy to see me.   Brenda wasn’t so sure she wanted to walk on the beach as the iguanas followed us along as we walked, looking for a handout.   She was very brave and walked anyway.I climbed up to the top of the white cliffs and took a shot of Pandora all alone.  Pretty dramatic.Speaking of dramatic, how about this amazing sunset to cap off the day?  There are plenty of these here in the Bahamas.  We even saw a green flash, again.  Last year we saw only one;  here something like 4 so far. What a perfect end to the day.Oh yea, the shelling is great in the Bahamas.  Yesterday Brenda and I went out near Staniel Cay and had a ball picking up shells.  Here’s our haul from only a few hours of searching.  Tomorrow we will head to Black Point Settlement, a few miles south of here.  We need to do laundry and what is arguably the best laundry in the Bahamas is there.  And, the lady who runs it also cuts hair and I really need a haircut, believe me as it’s been several months.  We also need food as the larder is getting a bit bare.

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