Miami Herald Travel Swine Stroke ~ In Bahamas, pigs don't fly - but they do swim Written by: Jane Wooldridge Fall 2005 For almost 50 years, Staniel Cay Yacht Club in the Bahamas has been a fave forget-the-shoes boaters' haven. Thanks to direct flights from Fort Lauderdale, it's not just for sailors anymore. The club now has a small pool and a few bright cottages, delightful one- and two-room spaces facing the sea.

Rental runabouts and kayaks make it easy to spend languid days exploring the Exumas, where visitors lounge with marine iguanas on Bitter Guana Cay; feed nurse sharks at Compass Cay Marina; try for marlin or bonefish, or swim with - yes - pigs on Major Spot Island (a hit with kids.) Pack your fins: Thunderball Grotto, made famous by the 1965 James Bond classic, ranks as one of the best snorkeling spots in the islands. But bag the Type-A attitude: doesn't go well with a Kalik, the local brew.

Details: The nine cottages rent from $121 per day through Nov. 19, when rates rise to $148 and up. Boston whalers start at $65 for a half day. Airfare is $235 each way, with a discount for cottage guests. Meal plans offered: moorings available for yachts drawing up to 9.5 feet. Staniel Cay and Small Hope Bay Lodge, in the Andros islands, also offer a joint package with airfare between them.

<< Simple Pleasures: Bitter Guana Cay is known for its pristine beaches inhabited by marine iguanas. Other attractions in the Exumas: swimming pigs and the cottages, below, and the restaurant of Staniel Cay Yacht Club.

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