My Lucky Girl <3

Today was our last full day in the Exumas. We slept in and then ventured over to Little Exuma to visit the Tropic of Cancer Beach, named for the meridian line that passes right through it and known for powdery sand and stunning turquoise waters. The bridge connecting Great Exuma and Little Exuma is a little one way connector and the roads on much of both islands are unpaved and very rustic. We enjoyed swimming and sitting in the shade enjoying the scenery for a bit. Cam really wanted more conch salad but the locals told us we had to go back to Great Exuma to find it. We went to a spot that more than one local had recommended over the course of the week, called Fish Fry. Apparently, the rainy weather meant fresh conch was tough to find. A man apologetically turned us away saying he had no fresh conch but noted how lucky we were to be traveling with multiple generations <3 we wound up landing at a restaurant called Shirley's, where we enjoyed a delicious grouper and herb fish cake and some conch fritters. Cam was satisfied with some plain pasta and a piece of chocolate cake...a far cry from fresh conch salad!

Next up we went to Hoopers Bay Beach which was a little tough to find. The map said we had arrived but the access was not obvious. We swung into a parking lot and asked for help and a nice local pointed us in the right direction where we found a very discreet public access with a super slippery slatted wooden ramp. The handrail was essential although since we hit it late in the afternoon, it was melt-your-hand-off-hot to touch. I was thankful when everyone made it down safely and we found another stunning beach except this one we had almost exclusively to ourselves. Since the public access is hard to find and tough to navigate, the beach is very quiet and limited mostly to the waterfront homeowners. What drew us here is that it is well known for sea turtles but unfortunately, we did not see any. Maybe it was too late in the afternoon but nonetheless, we enjoyed the beautiful scenery and one final swim in crystal clear, warm, Bahamian water. When Cam declared she felt like she needed to get out of the sun and wanted to go home, I think we all felt the same and were happy to oblige...going up the dangerous slatted ramp was easier than going down LOL

On our way back to the rental, we drove by a road side stand that was chopping fresh conch salad. Cam asked to stop since she was on the hunt all day. I banged a u-ey to make it happen and boy am I glad I did! We chatted with the locals and the conch salad chef, Stafford. Cam requested that he make it light on the onion and heavy on the mango. There was a giant heap of shells along with stingrays just like there was at Chat n Chill, where Cam fell in love with conch salad the day prior. I love that she was open minded and adventurous enough to embrace this local Bahamian staple. The guy next to us ordered "scorch" salad which consisted of raw conch, sliced onion, and citrus juice. We took our fresh, mango-heavy conch salad to go and headed back to the Airbnb....

Cam was enjoying her salad - which she said was good but not quite as good as yesterdays - when she asked me what a hard little pink thing was...she came over and handed it to me and I couldn't believe it - SHE FOUND A QUEEN CONCH PEARL!

I knew these were rare based on the experience we had yesterday at Chat n Chill where Ronaldo gave me a lesson on queen conch anatomy and showed me where he always looks for a pearl, an extremely rare tropical treasure. I immediately googled it and confirmed that indeed, it is a queen conch pearl which is found in one of every 10-20,000 harvested queen conchs. Unlike oyster pearls, these beauties cannot be artificially cultured or created so they are considered one of the most rare natural pearls in the world. Apparently colors can vary with pink being considered the most valuable and gem quality is dependent on size, clarity, symmetry, and "flame structure." We will have this beauty put into a necklace setting as a favorite Bahamian treasure and souvenir for a trip that we feel incredibly privileged to have experienced. All this to say, we are ending this vacation feeling like incredibly lucky girls!