Monday, December 23, 2019
Cave Cay Marina, Bahamas
25.54.467N
76.16.305W

Considering how quiet this island has been since we arrived, we were truly impressed when not one, not two, but three planes arrived one after another on the little uncontrolled airstrip. 

Dale and I had walked down the strip to the little dirt road that led to the upper area where there is a partially built “restaurant.”  From our vantage point, you could see the Great Bahama Bank on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other, several islands to the north as well as those to the south. 

Ocean side

One can envision what the developers where going for when Cave Cay Marina was built but apparently ran out of money before completion.  Inside the restaurant, were iron tables and chairs piled up against one wall; paint peeling away from the metal, what appeared to be expensive stove exhaust vents were laying on the floor, a king sized mattress (still in its plastic envelope) was lying against one wall, exercise equipment throughout the building was simply set up and rusting in place.  The front area appeared to be a makeshift work area with saws, wood planes, a vise set up on 4x4’s and a few patio chairs set up on the porch overlooking the marina.  All of this was inside a very large, well built building now showing signs of distress in that the metal joists are beginning to rust through the protective paint.  We moved a couple of the patio chairs to the side patio and Dale made his calls to the watermaker tech people.  I sat beside him and saw so much potential going to waste. 


In my mind, the developers were going for a huge, exclusive get away for the rich and famous.  Shark, the caretaker, had dropped a few names of those that use the landing strip to head to their own islands.  My take was that they should have started off smaller “island style” and built up as the clientele demanded.  Now, there are literally millions of dollars rotting in place. 


Then we walked down to the strip and passed airplane hangers, fuel tanks, and construction equipment all left to disintegrate where they were left and farther north to where another dirt road led to the ocean side of the island.  You had to walk past a graveyard of forgotten appliances, refrigerators, washers, dryers, pallets of what used to be cement bags that are now concrete stones, and everything else, now useless.  Reaching the beach, there was a lot of flotsam and jetsam, but we were surprised to find a lack of sea glass amongst the debris. 

Interisland Airplane

We returned to the airstrip and had intended to walk further north but that’s when the first of the 3 planes arrived, so we waited until it had passed us and walked back to where it was depositing its passengers.  A small ferry was waiting at the dock to pick them up and take them to Musha Cay (see 12.16.2019 for more info).


The second plane landed and also deposited people heading to Musha Cay.  The third plane only carried luggage, a ton of luggage.  We watched 3 men loading and unloading for a good 30 minutes. 


Shark had told Dale about his garden too and had invited us to visit it.  I was impressed!  It was about a half acre in size.  He gardens the opposite of how you would normally think to plant but for an island composed of marl, coral and what looked like quartz, it’s perfect!  He dug rows and planted watermelons in the furrows not on the hills, I would think to direct the fresh water to the plants.  Deeper furrows contained citrus trees protecting them from the constant wind.  Fingerling bananas lined one side of the garden and large pots of tomatoes, turnips, lettuce, spinach, and radishes were growing.  He had an extensive drip water system throughout.  There are literally hundreds of bags of Miracle Grow and mulch lining the opposite side of the garden from the banana trees.  Obviously, the developers had thought to make this a self-sustaining resort.  I think Shark is a better gardener than he is a mechanic; we still don’t have water on the dock, but he does keep looking at it.  

Cavy Cay Marina

As I said, the potential is enormous and . . . it’s for sale!  Only $60,000,000!  Like everything else, its not the cost, it’s the upkeep.  


Although this morning was blustery (as usual) it seemed to be losing its intensity toward the afternoon but that’s when Dale’s barometer started its beeping alerting us to another gale prediction.  It signaled another two times during the day but has quieted now that the winds are picking up again.  The long range weather still is looking favorable for a Wednesday departure for Georgetown and although we very safe here, its time to move on before I start weeding Shark’s garden.