We are on the last leg of our journey with less than 24 hours before we arrive on home soil. It's both a happy and a sad time for us since we're ready to come home, but we also hate to end this wonderful adventure that's taken us to the other side of the world.
We have spent the past 5 days at sea and it will be good to see land again, especially after our scare a few nights ago!
We will be tendering in to Half Moon Cay for the day.
Little San Salvador Island, Bahamas (also known as Half Moon Cay), is one of about 700 islands that make up the archipelago of the Bahamas.
It is located roughly between Eleuthera and Cat Island. It is a private island, owned wholly by Holland America Line. It is usually a one-day stop (port of call) on most Holland America Caribbean cruises, and requires a tender ride from the ship to land, and vice versa.
It's a great place to get your "land legs" after having been at sea for several days.
The island is about a hundred miles southeast of Nassau. Holland America purchased the island in 1997, and has developed only 45 acres (180,000 m2) of the 2,400-acre island, with the goal of maintaining as much habitat as possible for wildlife. The island is also a significant nesting area for waterfowl.
Once we were on land, we walked to the headquarters where Frank got directions.
Once we were on land, we walked to the headquarters where Frank got directions.
There were signposts inside telling you where things were, but it was much easier just to ask. The signs were more of a joke than actual directions.
Activities on the island include swimming, sunning, horseback riding in the surf, scuba diving, jet-skiing, cycling and snorkeling. Lots of activities for the younger crowd.
Deep-sea fishing, parasailing, glass-bottom boat rides, and nature walks also are available. In order for me to parasail, I would have to have had so many martinis that I wouldn't have remembered doing it anyway!
They had a variety of what I call water toys available for rent, including Hobie catamarans, Sunfish sailboats, windsurfing sailboards and kayaks.
We went to the bar for a drink when we first arrived (it was extremely hot and humid here) and figured out what we thought we would like to do today.
We decided to take it easy, so we took a ride on the glass bottom boat (I still can't figure out why Frank picked this rather than another activity since we had just gotten off of the water!) We don't sunbathe or ride horses anymore, so this was really the best choice for us. Anyway, the skin surrounding my bikini was a little wrinkled and I didn't bring an iron ashore ;-)
The water in this part of the Bahamas was some of the most beautiful that we've seen.... clear and sparkling and a true turquoise blue. The island was really quite pretty.
We saw a few fish amongst the coral but all in all, it was just a nice, relaxing ride and something to do to be off of our ship for a while. Anything to postpone packing!
After having been on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia on our world cruise, this left a lot to be desired so far as seeing different varieties of fish.
Our guide's name was Aretha and she was delightful. She even sang us a song as she showed us the flag of the Bahamas. She was no Aretha Franklin, but she had a decent voice and she was so proud of her island!
Our guide's name was Aretha and she was delightful. She even sang us a song as she showed us the flag of the Bahamas. She was no Aretha Franklin, but she had a decent voice and she was so proud of her island!
The boat was small but adequate enough to accommodate the 14 of us. She brought oranges along so I suppose that was her lunch as she was nibbling on them most of the tour.
It really was a nice little island and a perfect place to stop for a short visit.
We returned to our ship mid afternoon and started getting organized and packing. At least all of our things were in one room, so it was much easier than packing at home when you're getting ready to go on a trip. We made arrangements to have our luggage taken from the ship by a company that was provided by Holland America and for a small fee. Once we were packed, we didn't have to deal with it at all until we got to Dallas. We even avoided customs and that was wonderful!
We had an early dinner and said goodbye to new friends as we watched the sun set from our balcony one last time.
We had an early dinner and said goodbye to new friends as we watched the sun set from our balcony one last time.
We arrived early in the morning in Ft. Lauderdale and went to the airport to wait for our flight home.
I think the best way to end this adventure is with a slide show with a few of the photographs that I took. I hope you enjoy them. Until next time, thank you for traveling with us.
XOXO, Pcasso
XOXO, Pcasso
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