If you’re waiting to fulfill any life goals until pigs fly, heads up: There are swine swimming in the Bahamas already.

Before leaving Walderick Wells Cay, we expected 36 hours of high winds and were fully prepared to hunker down on our mooring until a 70 ft motor yacht “Dorothy Ann” came into the harbor to seek shelter. The wind was gusting to 30 knots with the current going all out. The motor yacht was followed by a 28 ft dinghy with 4 outboard motors driven by another young hired captain. We were down below organizing our food supplies when we heard loud banging noise outside. Jumping quickly on deck, the 28ft dinghy was wrapped up on our mooring line, between our hull and his 4 outboard motors. We quickly ran forward and placed 3 fenders between Fujiko and the tangled boat. I yelled loudly into the wind and asked if he was Ok and he nodded yes; I asked him to raise the motors. To gain a better angle, I lowered my body from the bow, reaching as low as I could, with my boat hook, and tried to tug & pulled on the mooring line away from the motors. After what seemed like an eternity, we were able to untangle and release the boat. The young captain keeps saying he’s very sorry and saying “My boss is going to be very mad”. I just told him to stay calm and I’m glad that he was Ok. He drove back to the mothership and 10 minutes later, the young captain returned with a bottle of Rosé. While I told him it was not necessary but he said that his boss insisted, so we took the bottle which put a big smile on Claudia’s face.

We arrived in Staniel Cay (also known as Pig Island) around noontime and chose to pick up a mooring since it’s close to town which made provisioning very convenient as we were very much in need of some fresh produce and fruits. We also got fuel and fresh water. Feels nice to be back in civilizations again. We even made a dinner reservation at the Yacht Club restaurant and met up with Alex and Corky from “Anodyne” where we first saw at the Berry Islands. We shared cruising stories and enjoyed a wonderful evening before retiring for the night.

The next morning, we were eager to explore and swim with the famous pigs. I have never thought as a child “someday you’ll be in the Exumas standing in the most beautiful water surrounded by pigs” but here we were. We took our inflatable dinghy to Pig island and we were greeted by a welcoming committee that consisted of two of the larger sows, clearly in search of food. One of them swam directly towards us 30 yards from the beach. We heard that these hefty swine do not hesitate to try to climb into your boat if you have food on board, which could easily result in a puncture. Claudia gave him some celery and carrots until he tried to climb onto our dinghy. We bolted for the beach quickly. Aside from that, they’re harmless and very cute, especially the piglets, except for one called “Big Mama”, who chased after Claudia when she saw Claudia with a bag of food and bit Claudia right on her ass. No lie, bathing suit bite mark to prove it. Fortunately, her bathing suit was thick so no harm was done but a hilarious moment to remember. There’s nothing quite like the thrill of observing the piggy, once you’ve witnessed this wild spectacle, every other wildlife experience is pretty much a hogwash.

The next day we went snorkeling at “Thunderball Grotto”, named after the 1965 James Bond spy film “Thunderball,” which was shot there. It was also the site of another James Bond film, “Never Say Never Again” in 1983, also based on the Thunderball novel. To avoid swimming through an underwater tunnel against a strong current, we came at low tide. The grotto’s mystique is heightened by the small, almost hidden entrance. We went under water, followed a guided rope, and saw weird rock formations full of brilliantly colored coral reefs and fish. The other end of the tunnel was an amazing underwater cave, with brilliant sunlight shining through from the top, great for snorkeling, diving, and wading. We stayed and marveled at the majestic cave and all of the sea life for a good 10-15 minutes until a boatload of tourists came in from 3 tour boats. We left the Grotto and we both agreed that this was by far the best snorkeling spot in the Bahamas so far.

Tomorrow a short sail 10 miles south to Black Point, one of the largest and best anchorages in the Exumas and a settlement that’s most welcoming to the cruisers community.