Half Moon Cay, Bahamas
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.