Day 2 - Exumas, Bahamas (Part 1)
This is the day, the one we've been waiting for. We are going to see the pigs. Sooo excited. We arranged the tour with Capt. Pat and 4 C's Adventures after very high recommendations, this was a huge mistake. The tour itself was an all day event including snorkeling in the grotto featured in the movie "007 Thunderball," swim with the pigs, swim with nurse sharks, feeding iguanas, visiting a sandbar, and lunch at Staniel Cay Yacht Club. Our first clue that today was not going to be what we expected was that the driver was almost 45 minutes late picking us up, the second clue was that when we arrived at the boat there were almost 30 people total for the tour (it was advertised as small groups 6-8 people), and the 3rd clue was that the Captain informed us that they no longer visit the nurse sharks. At this point I was pissed, I'm sorry but there is no other way to describe how I was feeling. This is not a cheap tour at $ 160.00 plus having to buy your own lunch. After much arguing with Captain Andrew (not just us, but also 12 other people on the tour) regarding the nurse sharks, he agreed to take us, but for an additional $ 10 per person if we wanted to swim with them. By the time we even got on the boat I was completely in awe that this company got the highest recommendations on the island and on Tripadvisor.
After driving past island after island, and seeing which islands celebrities ownede (such as Faith Hill & Tim McGraw, David Copperfield, Nicholas Cage, & Jessica Tandy to name a few) we arrived at our first stop, The Grotto. This is the place where Sean Connery filmed "007 Thunderball." Basically it is a huge cave that you snorkel in. My husband and I were the first ones off the boat, and of course the last ones back on the boat. The cave was pretty cool, and when you swam to the other side it opened up onto one of the many beautiful reefs in the area.
Next stop was to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club, not yet for lunch, but to pick up some bread to feed the pigs. We were given about 15 minutes to grab a Kalik (Bahamian Beer), or to just walk around. As we were walking on the docks we noticed quite a few nurse sharks in the small marina. Well that was all my husband needed to see. He went back to the boat, grabbed his snorkle gear, and jumped in with these docile creatures. I on the other hand decided to grab a drink.
Once back on the boat Captain Andrew announced we were heading to the "Pig Island" This is it! This is what we came for!! I could not control my excitement, and as we pulled in my excitement changed to disappointment. All I could see on the beach was one pig, just one. That's when Captain Andrew said that normally the boats come in the morning because that's when the pigs are hungry. We were too late! Then to my horror as this one lonesome piggie started swimming towards us, the Captain started pulling away. I questioned him if we could actually get in the water before leaving, and he replied, "Oh, no they are aggressive." ARE YOU KIDDING ME! There are videos all over Youtube, photos and articles in travel magazines, and even this company's own brochure shows people actually in the water with them. My temper was flaring at this point, and my husband sensed it. He went over to Captain Andrew and to my surprise he pulled the boat back into the beach, and told us we had 5 minutes to get some pictures. SERIOULSY, this is what we all came here for and you are going to give us only 5 minutes. Having no time to argue, we jumped in got our pictures, fed this Ham some bread and jumped right back on the boat. As this little piggie swam back to shore, I could feel the tears coming, not because I was sad, but because I was angry! But even after 5 minutes, I knew if given the chance I would come back and visit them again, just not with Captain Andrew.
This is the day, the one we've been waiting for. We are going to see the pigs. Sooo excited. We arranged the tour with Capt. Pat and 4 C's Adventures after very high recommendations, this was a huge mistake. The tour itself was an all day event including snorkeling in the grotto featured in the movie "007 Thunderball," swim with the pigs, swim with nurse sharks, feeding iguanas, visiting a sandbar, and lunch at Staniel Cay Yacht Club. Our first clue that today was not going to be what we expected was that the driver was almost 45 minutes late picking us up, the second clue was that when we arrived at the boat there were almost 30 people total for the tour (it was advertised as small groups 6-8 people), and the 3rd clue was that the Captain informed us that they no longer visit the nurse sharks. At this point I was pissed, I'm sorry but there is no other way to describe how I was feeling. This is not a cheap tour at $ 160.00 plus having to buy your own lunch. After much arguing with Captain Andrew (not just us, but also 12 other people on the tour) regarding the nurse sharks, he agreed to take us, but for an additional $ 10 per person if we wanted to swim with them. By the time we even got on the boat I was completely in awe that this company got the highest recommendations on the island and on Tripadvisor.
After driving past island after island, and seeing which islands celebrities ownede (such as Faith Hill & Tim McGraw, David Copperfield, Nicholas Cage, & Jessica Tandy to name a few) we arrived at our first stop, The Grotto. This is the place where Sean Connery filmed "007 Thunderball." Basically it is a huge cave that you snorkel in. My husband and I were the first ones off the boat, and of course the last ones back on the boat. The cave was pretty cool, and when you swam to the other side it opened up onto one of the many beautiful reefs in the area.
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Faith Hill & Tim McGraw's Island & House      |
Next stop was to the Staniel Cay Yacht Club, not yet for lunch, but to pick up some bread to feed the pigs. We were given about 15 minutes to grab a Kalik (Bahamian Beer), or to just walk around. As we were walking on the docks we noticed quite a few nurse sharks in the small marina. Well that was all my husband needed to see. He went back to the boat, grabbed his snorkle gear, and jumped in with these docile creatures. I on the other hand decided to grab a drink.
Once back on the boat Captain Andrew announced we were heading to the "Pig Island" This is it! This is what we came for!! I could not control my excitement, and as we pulled in my excitement changed to disappointment. All I could see on the beach was one pig, just one. That's when Captain Andrew said that normally the boats come in the morning because that's when the pigs are hungry. We were too late! Then to my horror as this one lonesome piggie started swimming towards us, the Captain started pulling away. I questioned him if we could actually get in the water before leaving, and he replied, "Oh, no they are aggressive." ARE YOU KIDDING ME! There are videos all over Youtube, photos and articles in travel magazines, and even this company's own brochure shows people actually in the water with them. My temper was flaring at this point, and my husband sensed it. He went over to Captain Andrew and to my surprise he pulled the boat back into the beach, and told us we had 5 minutes to get some pictures. SERIOULSY, this is what we all came here for and you are going to give us only 5 minutes. Having no time to argue, we jumped in got our pictures, fed this Ham some bread and jumped right back on the boat. As this little piggie swam back to shore, I could feel the tears coming, not because I was sad, but because I was angry! But even after 5 minutes, I knew if given the chance I would come back and visit them again, just not with Captain Andrew.
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