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Allen’s Cay and Norman’s Cay March 4-7
We arrived mid afternoon at Allen’s Cay, after a very uneventful motor-sail across the Yellow Banks.  As has been the case with so much of our travels, we found that we were in need of charging for the batteries, and also that we were going to be travelling mostly upwind for our crossing, so we made the most of it and got a full battery charge on the way.  We pulled into the anchorage just ahead of Rotop and about 45 minutes before Renaissance and worked our way up along the channel along the edge before dropping hook.  Rotop opted to anchor closer to the entrance, as did Renaissance who had a tough time finding a spot to drop the hook.  Little did we know that they had truly made the best choice, as our location proved to be extremely rolly.  Given that the entire anchorage was so rough, we decided to postpone Cate’s birthday dinner until the following night, and all three boats tucked in early for a good night’s rest… which for us proved not to be so restful as we were pitching and rolling around all night.  When we “awoke” in the morning we decided to pull up anchor and move back in the anchorage closer to Rotop and Renaissance.  Shortly thereafter Mike zipped over in his dinghy and offered us a ride ashore to see the Iguana Iguanas - Allen Cay is the only place that these endangered species still remain - a sad fate for a native creature that once populated all of the Exumas and likely the Bahamas.  As the guidebook indicated that they should not be fed, we didn’t bring anything ashore, however several other boats came ashore while we were there and were feeding the Iguanas lettuce leaves right out of their hands. The Iguanas are not timid at all, they come flocking out to the beach when they see a dinghy approach, but they don’t actually come up to you unless you are offering food.  Truly remarkable and prehistoric looking creatures, and it was neat to get to see them in their native habitat.
That evening, we had dinner for Cate’s birthday on Three Sheets, which was great fun, as I got to bake my first cake on board.  We had a great relaxing evening, at the end of which, we all decided it was time to move on from the rolly anchorage of Allen’s Cay and down to Norman’s Cay, just a stones throw away. 
In the morning, we all hauled anchor and set off on the short sail down to Norman’s Cay.  We were there by noon, and decided that we’d go for a dinghy ride ashore to check out the beach, and then on to check out the town where we’d read that there was water and fuel.  Our dinghy ride ended up being further than we’d expected, almost 2 miles, but fortunately it was a relatively calm ride over. We landed the dinghy close to the end of the airstrip, and then proceeded to walk along the airstrip/street until we reached McDuff’s.  Although the signage was somewhat stand-offish,  Michael went inside and discovered that there was a great beach bar on the property which was welcoming to all.  We decided to head in and to grab a nice cold Kalik, which turned into two and the best hamburgers we’ve had since leaving the states.  We had a great time talking with the owner Stephan, and had a great time playing with their dogs Salt (a lab) and Pepper (a chihuaha) as well as some other local dogs Barley and Hopps who came in with their owner.  We also got a tour of their property, as Michael thought it might make for a good destination should he and Cate decide to do a destination wedding - beautifully appointed cottages with spectacular views.  Seems like an ideal location! After our delicious meal we hiked back to the dinghy and hopped aboard for what turned out to be a VERY wet and VERY long dinghy ride back to the boats.  By the time we got back to our boat, we were soaked, so much so that despite having wrung out my jacket, it was stiff from the salt water once it had dried!  We all turned in for the night, with plans to continue our trip south to Staniel Cay the next morning.