Judy Purcell

Our first stop was at Holland America’s private island, Half Moon Cay (pronounced key). Dan had signed up to go deep-sea fishing ($120). They took him out on a small boat for two hours, and not one bite! He was hoping for a big one. When he got back, we all took at tender (a small boat) to the island for a glass-bottom boat tour ($29 per person). There isn’t a dock, so the ship has to anchor out in the ocean, hence the tender to get you to shore. It was so hot that day. Sitting in the enclosed tender waiting for it to take off was killer. If you don’t do well in the heat, you might want to carry a little battery-operated fan with you. Wish I had. The scenery was beautiful.

The island was small with a pretty beach and turquoise water. When we got to the island, there was a small “shopping” area with an outdoor bar and some small outdoor shopping stands. There was one building with a post office and an indoor shop, but it was not air-conditioned. They serve lunch on the island till 2:00, but our tour was getting back at 2:00. If they have tours that run till 2:00, I think they should serve some kind of food later. The “village” area was very cute, with brightly painted buildings, a bar, and a nice bathroom. Just beyond the buildings was the beach. We could see some parasailing going on in the sky. Very pretty but we didn’t have time to enjoy it. Our Eco Lagoon Tour started at 12:30. It was great. The boat was covered on the top and open on the sides, with a glass bottom, and of course there was a nice breeze once we got going. The lagoon was very shallow and we saw lots of different coral and fish. The two tour guides were very friendly and knowledgeable. One of them would jump out and pick up different animals (a star fish and a sea urchin) to show them to you up close. We all enjoyed the tour.

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