Into the Woods

One of the most interesting elements of cruising here, is getting to know a new location. What mysteries lie around that point of land or deep in that tropical coppice? Manjack Cay was one of those place we had yet to thouroughly explore, so after our stay at Green Turtle, we returned there.

While we were anchored a second time at Manjack Cay, we met the owner of one of the few homes on that island. He and his wife have lived on Manjack for quite a number of years and have developed an extensive homestead. He invited us to explore the many trails he had made that traversed the island and led to each of the coves and beaches along its shores. So one afternoon, we took off to do just that. We were still hoping to find the so-called nature park and a trail to the ocean beach that others had told us about.

Walking the interior trails of the island we passed through what almost seemed like a jungle habitat at times. The first trail we took led from the anchorage northward around a mangrove swamp and then eastward across the island to the ocean beach. The narrow trail was thatched with many roots and small stumps from trees that had been cleared. We heard the feather rustle of unseen birds taking flight at our approach. After a mile or so the coppice thinned and we reached a beautiful beach. We could see the northernmost tip of the island so we decided to walk up the beach as far as we could. We hoped to find a trail to the other side.

After another mile of wandering the strand, we came upon a picnic table and shelter. This, we thought, was the spot referred to in the cruising guide. Only it was at the north end of the Island. The rafters of the shelter were hung with pot markers from as far away as New York and various other drift relics such as pieces of net and old sneakers and flip flops. Another group of beachcombers came up to the shelter and told us this marked the beginning of the path across the island and the park referred to in the cruisers guide. We trudged on along a wider trail heading across the island. This area, we later learned, had been purchased by a wealthy individual who planned to put in a subdivision. More trails leading off in many directions crossed the one we followed.

Eventually we came to a coconut palm lined beach where a young couple was just coming ashore to camp. Here we found a sign welcoming us to the nature trails and the dock referred to in the guide. We asked the campers who had been here often, if there was another trail back to our harbor but there was not, so we knew we had to retrace our steps back to the boat.

But Peter still had another mission. He wanted to find the property on the north end of the island that a friend of ours had just purchased where he planned to build himself a home. We started back, looking for the path to that spot. After a couple of false leads Peter found a trail that led to the lovely cove where our friend's lot was located. It was a beautiful spot. We imagine that our friend will have quite an adventure building his island home, a quiet cove with no electricity or telephone, but thanks to modern ingenuity the internet!

By now the sun was getting low and I was getting a little worried that we might not make it back by dark. A little quicker, we retraced our steps and arrived back at our starting point just before sunset. Altogether we had hiked over five miles. Now at last we felt that we knew Manjack Cay.