Yachting the Exumas: Norman’s Cay, Shroud Cay and Staniel Cay

Our five-day private yacht trip through the Exumas started strong. We set sail from Nassau, then took the dinghy to the white sand of Iguana Island, where dozens of iguanas leapt to snatch grapes from the ends of our sticks and friendly birds landed on our hands to sip from chunks of lemon.

Next came Norman’s Cay, once a base for Carlos Lehder’s smuggling operation on behalf of the Medellín Cartel. A plane wreck from that era rests in about 10 feet of turquoise water just offshore, and we snorkeled right through it. We wrapped up the first day at sea with local coconut rum and a sunset burger cookout aboard the yacht at Shroud Cay.