Exploring the Berrys: Devil and Bond's Cay

Devil's Cay in the Berry Islands. Spectacular views from the high bluffs during our hikes.

Our second cruise to the Bahamas began in mid December with a brisk sail across the Gulf Stream, departing Lake Worth Inlet at dawn on a broad reach, arriving at West End in Grand Bahama about eight hours later.

We went through Customs and Immigration the next morning at Old Bahama Bay Marina, by far the easiest port of entry we have ever experienced in the Bahamas - with computers to process our entry and paying our annual cruising fee with a credit card.

A far cry from ten years before, checking in at Alice Town in Bimini while on a bareboat charter from Fort Lauderdale, waiting three hours in line with a dozen other captains while a single Customs agent accepted only cash, and all the paperwork was done by hand.

Map of our first Bahamas cruise, with pins indicating our many anchorages along the journey. In less than six months, we spent time exploring about a third of the Bahamas. Our second cruise is adding more pins at new locations.

Once checked in, we sailed south after a strong cold front blew through, first to Lucaya on Grand Bahama, and then a second passage back to the Berry Islands for Christmas. There were very few boats in the Berrys compared to our previous visits, possibly due to weather. Once we made our Gulf Stream crossing, the weather window closed for over a week.

Bond's Cay in the Berry Islands. Great hiking and beautiful, deserted beaches. 

That was fine with us! We love being off the beaten path, and had a great time exploring the beaches, bluffs and caves of Devil's Cay and Bond's Cay. Not another soul in sight. We actually discovered a message in a bottle that had washed ashore along the beach during one of our hikes (more about that in an upcoming post).

Enjoying the Berry Islands over the holidays. 

Brenda enjoying the view from a bluff on Bond's Cay.

The Berry Islands offered more than just amazing beach hikes and outstanding views. We took time to explore an island with an interesting history and a deserted mansion with some strange critters roaming about. More about that adventure in our next post!

Royal Terns resting on a partially submerged wreck off Bond's Cay in the Berry Islands.