Imagine warm blue and green water, soft cool sand, lovely breezes and more stars than you have ever seen before.

Now you’re in the Exumas. The paddling is exciting with more expanse between cays (pronounced keys) than most people have paddled before.  

It is humbling to be in open water where it is hard to judge your progress without close reference points. The tidal currents and cool breezes make the crossing challenging, but not difficult.  Even on the windy days the water is protected by the barrier reef and cays so there is only moderate wave action.  We usually stop every hour or two for a stretch break and to explore a cay or snorkel on our way to our final destination.

The snorkeling is unbelievable in crystal clear water. You cannot tell if its 1 foot or 10 foot to the bottom. There is an abundance of coral and fish life.  We saw many pretty brilliant colored fish. As no one in our group was a biologist we know we saw pretty blue and yellow striped fish, spotted pink fish, bone fish, sting rays, and one or two nurse sharks.  Nurse sharks are vegetarians and nothing to worry about.

The string rays are big, 2 to 4 foot across and literally fly under water. They must be among the most graceful creatures in the sea.  We saw bone fish tailing.  This is where the bone fish burrows into the sand in shallow water to eat crustaceans with their tails out of the water.  The schools range from 50 to the thousands and the water looks like the water is boiling. It is a site to see!

The food is good and the camping wonderful. Bugs were not a problem as the constant breeze keeps them away. Plan on spending a day on the end of the trip to explore the little town of Georgetown The people are friendly and it is interesting to see. Georgetown has several good restaurants and all are worth a try. The seafood is always fresh and well prepared.

So, if you like to paddle, like to snorkel, like to camp, like to be in a warm place in the winter you belong with H2Outfitters in the Exumas.