In all our time in the Abacos this year and last, Great Guana was one of the places we didn’t really get to explore. We spent a day anchored in Fishers Bay and came over with Chris’s parents last year, but both visits were brief and we only got to see Nippers and Grabbers.
We have a slip at Orchid Bay Marina after 8 weeks on anchor, and it’s good to plug in and charge up the house batteries (can’t wait for our summer solar upgrade!). It looks like it used to be a higher-end marina, but as with so many other places here, post-Dorian recovery is a long, slow process. One of their two docks is open, though, and the grounds are beautiful, even if amenities like the pool and restaurant are absent (and unlikely to be rebuilt, according to the staff). There are lots of feral cats that hang out on the property, and as elsewhere, there are a ton of chickens. But the peacock that wanders around up by the houses was a first!
Throughout our stay, the marina has only had one or two other boats at any given time, and I hope business continues to pick up for them. It sounds like we’re here just before fishing season, which is when they typically get busier.
Great Guana Cay is pretty quiet and mainly residential, and the north end of the island is taken up by the exclusive Bakers Bay Golf & Ocean Club. Other than Nippers and Grabbers, the only restaurant we found was Mama’s, and we didn’t get a chance to try it. There looks to be some good snorkeling on the Atlantic side of the island, with lots of shallow reef easily accessible from shore, although we didn’t get settled enough conditions on a day that we weren’t working to go out.
There’s a great grocery store – Fig Tree Market – that has a good selection and reasonable prices. We were able to get some nice sandwich rolls that don’t have, as I’ve taken to calling it, “Bahamas flavor” – we’re assuming some sort of chemical that’s added or sprayed prior to shipping that gives most store-bought bread (and sometimes produce) here a funky flavor that’s near impossible to describe, but if you know, you know. They also sell liquor and beer, and we were surprised to find La Croix sparkling water (we splurged and bought some).
We had dinner and caught sunset at Grabbers, although this time we went a little easier on the Grabbers – two was borderline too much! It’s a fun spot, and we played ladder toss (we were both pretty bad at first) and ring toss, and even got a chance to dance a little (although dancing in sand is hard). And we carved some time out of our work schedule to get lunch at Nippers, taking in the gorgeous view of the reefs and open Atlantic.
On our morning walk, we found a pretty little spot on top of the cliff overlooking the ocean. There had once been a house up there, but now it’s just an empty, grassy lot with a stunning view. I can’t think of a better way to start the morning than having a cup of coffee staring out over the ocean, and this was the perfect spot.
Great Guana is a beautiful island, and I’m glad we got the chance to see more of it. I’m not sure if I’d want to spend more than a weekend if we come back, but I think that’s because none of our friends are here and we didn’t really get to meet any locals either, so I didn’t develop the kind of connection I have in other places.
