North of the popular boating hangout of Staniel Cay, the already thin level of available services and signs of civilization evaporate even further, the islands themselves get even prettier, and the already impossibly clear water somehow reaches new levels of transparency.
The central and northern section of the Exumas archipelago is dominated by the Exumas Cays Land and Sea Park. Formed in the late 1950s, the park protects over 100k acres of pristine islands and beaches. Since fishing is not allowed in the park, sea life is plentiful. Mangrove-lined tidal estuaries are home to myriad sea turtles, fish, and baby sharks.
North of the park is Norman’s Cay, famous as Carlos Lehder‘s hub for cocaine shipments from Colombia to the US. And just one cay to the south, within easy binocular range, is the site of Camp Driftwood, a DEA outpost established on Shroud Cay to keep tabs on the planes of the drug operation.
There’s the occasional fancy marina and a couple of restaurants (lunch at McDuff’s was eye-wateringly expensive for decidedly average fare), but for the most part the attractions are the water and the sand. And those attractions alone are absolutely worth the admission.
