See how 8 days as a castaway changes you!
Greetings from Boulder,
We made it back last night and are doing well. Thanks to all who tracked us and especially those people that were on our emergency signal list. The trip was quite an adventure and the scenery was remarkable. In the end we finished with more adventure (work) and less relaxation then we planned. Still even on the toughest days we enjoyed a few hours on our own beautiful beach every night eating dinner, drinking wine and watching the sun go down. In all we paddled about 100 miles. Most of the days consisted of idyllic conditions, warm calm water, plentiful beaches, with the wind at our back and stunning scenery. Other days were sometimes sketchy with strong winds and high seas. One particular day an eight mile crossing in fairly rough conditions left us a bit exhausted. We were chased off two beaches, not by people, once by wild pigs and another by very large iguanas. One island had thousands of Hutia, (huge hamster like mammal). The islands were great for exploring from colonial ruins to old drug smuggler outposts. The land and sea park has to one of most beautiful in the world. As usual Robin sustained plentiful insect bites and they stayed away from me. We saw many sharks, giant manta rays, fish, and birds. No one kayaking, but several sailboats. The few people we met were very kind and helpful. The national park people were looking out for us and when we radioed for sea and wind conditions for one ugly crossing they sent a boat to assist us across! We met one wonderful couple, George and Lynn who served us pancakes on their catamaran while we waited on the park boat. Everything went just as planned and we finished with a sense of accomplishment.
Here is the link to our pictures and a couple short videos so you can see for yourself.
Here is the link to our pictures and a couple short videos so you can see for yourself.
http://picasaweb.google.com/paulhooge/KayakingExumaCays#slideshow
Namaste,
Paul & Robin
Islands with large populations of Hutia's (looks like a cross between a hamster and a rabbit) , Iguana's and dozens of bird species. There are lagoons full of nurse sharks that if you are brave enough you can usually get away swimming with and of coarse tons of sea life. Norman cay an island with a downed commercial plane in the water once the outpost of the infamous cocaine smuggling hub and tropical hideaway for Medellin cartel kingpin Carlos Lehder and associates. Norman's Cay became the stop-over and refueling hub for planes, carrying cocaine for Lehder and other members of the Medellin cartel from Colombia to the U.S. Lehder built a 3,300-foot runway protected by radar, bodyguards and Doberman attack dogs for the fleet of aircraft under his command. The party came to an end in 1982 when the Bahamian government, in response to pressure from U.S. law enforcement, finally began to crack down on the activities on Norman's Cay.