George Town: the swimming pigs of the Exumas

Main hub of the Exuma archipelago, George Town is the departure point for one of the Caribbean's most unusual spectacles: pigs swimming to boats in search of food.

The main attractions are reached only by boat.

Across from Elizabeth Harbour, Stocking Island offers tranquil beaches and a bar on the sand reachable only by boat.

Further north, the Thunderball Grotto, a cave used as a location for two James Bond films, is explored by swimming through a natural opening in the rock.

Continuing towards Big Major Cay, an excursion brings one to the famous swimming pigs, which swim out to approaching boats in search of food, though no one knows with certainty how they came to the island.

Towards evening, returning to George Town, Elizabeth Harbour takes on the colours of sunset among the moored sailboats.

The origin of the pigs of Big Major Cay remains a matter of local legends: some tell of a shipwreck, others of sailors who would have left them there with a future meal in mind that never came.

Thunderball Grotto is best visited with low tide and calm sea: in different conditions the underwater opening becomes more difficult and risky to traverse by swimming.