The Exumas are actually a long archipelago that runs north-south through the central part of the country. We did a day trip into the smaller islands heading north from Great Exuma. Our first stop was the rock iguana sanctuary on Bitter Guana Cay.

Here they are. Iguanas. There's not really a whole lot to do here except see iguanas but if you're looking for iguanas, this is the place.

Next stop was Thunderball grotto. The name comes from the James Bond film it was a featured filming location in. There are two ways in: one is to jump through the hole in the top, the other is to swim in underwater through a short tunnel. The underwater part may be tide-dependent but it's not clear if the tide was in or out when we visited. There's is actually a pretty solid current inside the grotto.

Underwater in the grotto.. it's basically a big room full of fish. The clarity isn't quite is good inside the grotto as it is outside but it's still impressive.

Just north of the grotto is Big Major Cay which is home to swimming pigs. Really they're just pigs, they swim because people feed them from the boats. This was a charming place to stop though and so photogenic.

We fed them carrots, which seems to be what they're used to getting. Certainly they get enough carrots that you might not want to have a long thin orange floatation strap on your camera. I had one of those and I spent a lot of time fending off pigs who wanted to eat it.

Onshore, there is a pig corral and plenty more pigs that don't currently feel like swimming and the piglet area. If you're reading the sign and looking at the picture... don't worry, this was an authorized carrying of a piglet.

This pig is hoping for a carrot from the boat, but it's a nice pose.

Compass Cay was our next stop to the north. It has a well protected harbor, a marina and some resort homes and lodges. It is more known for the colony of nurse sharks that live there.

Nurse sharks are relatively docile, they have small mouths and are bottom feeders and so there is very little danger here (yes they are still animals in the wild...). The water clarity here is exceptional.

This sea turtle is swimming along the bottom and this picture was taken from the pier, so that is how clear the water is.

Next stop was... well... nowhere in particular. This is a sandbar not too far from Compass Cay. There are sandbars like this all over the Exuma chain. The water is shallow for long distances.

This is the remains of a small plane wreck just off Staniel Cay. It's a nice snorkeling site and there are some interesting critters living inside the wreckage. There are assorted myths around just whose plane this once was. Staniel Cay is the definite hub for the middle Exumas. They have a large yacht club with at least one nice restaurant and an actual population, small store, post office and so on.

A reasonable number of islands in the Exumas are privately owned. Our guide kept pointing out who lived where but since I'm generally terrible at knowing who celebrities are I don't remember most of them. This sunken statue: the musician mermaid, is located just off of an island owned by David Copperfield (or so we were told). It's not in a very interesting part of the water though in terms of snorkeling / diving.

.