Caching in the Bahamas

On The Ferry

At long last, we were going to realize our goal of visiting the Bahamas and of course we wanted to geocache there!  However, caching would be problematic since we weren't going to rent a car.  With that in mind I did some advance work on geocaching.com.

First, I looked to see if there were any caches near our hotel.  None.  Not only that, but there are only five caches on the entire island!  Talk about limited choices.  (Note: We were staying on The Grand Bahamas Island…one of hundreds of islands that make up the country of The Bahamas.)  I found the cache closest to our hotel was GC22GZG, Taino Beach.  This cache was several miles from our resort so this was going to take some planning!

We could handle a mile of this!

Finally, the day came to find the cache.  We started the expedition by taking the resort shuttle bus to Port Lucaya.  Then we caught the ferry to the Taino Beach landing.  Now, we were just a mile from the cache!  From my research, I saw that we could get to the cache by strolling/wading along the beach for that last mile….what a nice way to geocache!

My plan for wading along the beach went well for about two tenths of a mile.  Then suddenly the beautiful sandy beach gave way to limestone rocks lining the beach.  These rocks were very slippery and tough to walk on with sandals.  But, we’re geocachers on a mission so we soldiered on! 

Soon we found ourselves in a very isolated part of the beach.  There was absolutely nothing in sight either direction except water, rocks, and dense woods.  It was getting creepy and our feet were hurting from slipping on the rocks.  We were about four tenths of a mile from the cache when I saw a man in the woods.  He looked like he was trying to hide…..and it was just him and us out there.  I told Mona to stop and turn around….and we headed back as quickly as we could!  I kept looking back to see if we were being followed, but no one was behind us.  Whew! 

In retrospect the man was probably doing something perfectly innocent and I probably overreacted.  However, we were just too isolated for my comfort and we had violated one of the cardinal rules of geocaching:  Tell someone where you're going.  Duh!

Conch Tree Near the Cache

After a hot and exhausting forced march we got back to civilization, our feet were sore and mine were blistered.  Not to mention, we were worn out from our rapid retreat across the rocky beach. I asked Mona if she wanted to just skip the geocache.  “Hell no!” came the reply, so onward we went.  This time we walked a mile along an isolated road….no strange men lurking around it so we made it all the way to Taino Beach without further incident.  (Other than aching feet!)

Lucky for us the cache was near a conch shack that had a deck with a thatched roof.  The only people on that beach were under that thatched roof and we quickly joined them.  After, of course, after finding the cache!  Everyone at the shack knew where the cache was and they loved watching the hunt and find, but of course they wouldn't say where it was.

Mona and Her Medicine

After the find we relaxed in the shade; enjoying the ocean view and an ice cold local beverage.  We needed to rest up for the trek back.  All too soon, it was time for that mile walk to the ferry; then the ferry to the port; and the shuttle back to the resort.  Oops….forgot to mention that we stopped at the Rum Runner at the port for medical purposes….painkillers for our aching feet!

We only found the one cache on the island.  That was enough for us!