Yachting The Exumas Day 1—Pablo Escobar's Island Plane Wreck, Norman's Cay, Shroud Cay, Staniel Cay

On our first day at sea for our 5-day, private yachting trip through the Exumas island chain in The Bahamas, our trusted captain and guide took us to "Iguana Island" and the famous drug-running airplane wreckage off Norman's Cay. And what an exciting start to our voyage these adventures were! We took our dinghy through the crystal-clear water and to the white-sand beach of Iguana Island, where we were immediately greeted by dozens of large iguanas who enthusiastically jumped and snatched grapes from the ends of our sticks. Not to be outdone, though, some friendly island birds began landing directly on our hands just to sip the sweet nectar from chunks of lemon and native tree fruits. We've never seen more chill wildlife outside of a domesticated environment! Norman's Cay was once an integral part of the Medellín Cartel's operations, though the common claims that the island was once owned by drug lord Pablo Escobar are inaccurate—it was actually the headquarters for Carlos Lehder's drug-smuggling operation on behalf of the cartel from 1978 until around 1982. What is true, though, is that the plane wreckage lying in about 10 feet of pristine turquoise water just off shore is indeed related to the cartel operations (though according to Jack Reed, who was Carlos Lehder’s first pilot and present on Norman’s Cay during the crash, the pilot and his sole passenger were quickly retrieved—completely unharmed—by boat within minutes). After a fantastic snorkeling session through the wreckage, we headed back to the yacht for some local coconut rum and a sunset burger cookout. What a way to wrap up our first day at sea! Contents: 0:00 Intro 0:30 Setting sail from Nassau, The Bahamas 4:00 Staniel Cay ("Iguana Island") Exumas 7:07 Norman's Cay underwater airplane wreckage 12:37 On-yacht cookout at Shroud Cay 12:14 Behind the scenes