So Much More Than Just Swimming Pigs!

Tiffini HensleyNovember 10, 2016When we started planning our yearly adults-only trip with friends, we knew we wanted fun, sun, a great beach and something we’d never done before. What we ended up choosing was a vacation to Sandals Emerald Bay on the island of Great Exuma in the Bahamas. Why did we choose this as our destination? The answer to that is simple, besides the fabulous beach and turquoise waters, this area is home to the swimming pigs!!The pigs don’t just swim anywhere, so to see them we booked a tour using Island Routes through the resort. The tour itself is called Exuma Cays Ocean Safari and operates under the company, Exuma Water Sports. Much to our surprise when we arrived for our tour, we would be doing much more than just see a couple pigs in the water. This nearly 5 hour open air boat tour took us to a number of islands, all while riding over startlingly shallow waters (our tour guide, Justin, who runs the company with his father, would have to occasionally pull the motor out of the water, since the water was so shallow at times). The tour took us to a variety of islands, as well as breezed past a number more!The first island we stopped at was to see the pigs! We were told that a number of the islands had animals on them, due to farmers keeping their livestock (mostly goats) on these islands until the livestock are later needed. When they found that certain pigs enjoyed swimming, the tour company bought the pigs, then took to feeding them regularly. When we arrived at the island, the pigs immediately started swimming towards us, since they knew we would have treats for them (chicken hot dogs)! We were allowed to feed them the treats, pet them and take as many photos as we liked, before getting back on the boat to head to our next stop.After breezing by many celebrity’s islands, we stopped at another island for a hike with some amazing views at the top. From the dense foliage to the cliffs, the island offered some breath-taking views! Another island we had the pleasure to stop at featured the endangered Bahamian Rock Iguana. These beautiful creatures so reminiscent of dinosaurs, came running to greet us as we walked off the boat in knee high crystal clear waters. Super friendly, the iguanas posed for photos and allowed us to pet them, while they anxiously awaited the grapes we had to feed them. The next stop had me jumping with excitement, as we stopped for our self-guided snorkeling adventure. Most snorkeling trips take you to the same old places, where you then see a bunch of other tour groups also snorkeling in the exact same spots, to where there’s barely enough room to straighten out your legs without kicking another snorkeler. That’s not an issue on this tour! We stopped by a tiny island, where Justin (our tour guide) said was his favorite place to snorkel, due to all the fish activity and the beautiful coral reef. We were then asked not to touch any of the coral, and told, “If you see any sharks as big as yourself, high tail it back to the boat!” In the Bahamas, the second rule can be a serious concern, as the Bahamas has some of the highest populations of sharks! We then donned our fins, masks and snorkels, and jumped off the side of the boat. This is one of the few snorkeling tours I’ve been on where they didn’t require us to wear a life jacket. For those whowanted a little more assistance, there were noodles that you could use to help buoy yourself a bit more. For me, I loved being able to swim down and get a closer look at the fish and marine life! After snorkeling, we had one more island to explore. This island was created out of volcanic rock, and featured a water spout that shot out water every minute or so. The island also held even more gorgeous views of the Exuma Cays. When all is said and done, I can say that the Exuma Cays Ocean Safari was a thrilling, unique tour that made our vacation one that we will never forget! If you’d like to see additional pictures from our tour or from our stay at Sandals Emerald Bay, please check out my Facebook page, www.facebook.com/thensley.wft. If you’d like more information about taking a vacation to any Sandals or Beaches property, please contact Tiffini@wishesfamilytravel.com