Cruise 2025, Day 7: Half Moon Cay

 

Today we had to get going early to catch a tender to Half Moon Cay, a tiny island in the Bahamas owned by the cruise line. We did some quick shopping before joining the coolest excursion ever, an eco-tour of the lagoon by boat. The boat had a glass bottom, and we also got to handle a live jellyfish.

Here’s a sponge. (These next few are no longer alive.)

Oops, I lied. This is a live conch. Can you see him hiding in there?

I forget what this kind of coral is called: 

This is brain coral:

The aptly-named pink coral:

I believe this is called golf ball coral:

Look how beautiful the water is!

This is fan coral:

And here I am holding a live sea cucumber!

It felt like wet leather. The jellyfish was just slimy. Then we went to the stunning beach and swam in the perfect turquoise water. There was this little chapel on the island.

We couldn’t find a name on it. There was also this Christmas display.

This sign pretty much sums it up:

This gives you some idea about the beach.

We had ordered the expensive grilled lobster, not realizing there was a free buffet. Then our lobster took so long that we were afraid of missing the last tender back, but when it finally came, it was worth the wait. The line for the tender was very long but moved quickly.

Back on the ship I discovered another watercolor class, this one of a landscape with sunset. My photo of it is sideways, and I can’t figure out how to fix it on my phone, though I can do anything else to a photo. So odd… 

Travalon and I wanted to see the Dam band, so we went to the Ocean View bar, got fancy drinks, and watched the coastline of Eleuthera as we listened to the lounge jazz. They were good, but not like the house band. Then we went to Mass, and Father skipped right over the Creed and the Prayers of the People, so hopefully it still counts for tomorrow. Then we went to the fancy dining room, and a few minutes later who should join us but the priest, the religious sister, and another couple who had been at Mass! They all went to the show, but we went to watch the Packer game. At first it wasn’t on, despite being on the schedule, but we convinced the crew to turn it on, and eventually other people started watching it too. Both teams were missing their starting quarterbacks, so I had high hopes, but while Malik Willis looked amazing, the defense did not, and the Ravens scored every time they touched the ball. Worse, a very vocal contingent of Ravens fans settled behind us and cheered about every bad thing that. At halftime we gave up; Travalon went to watch the house band, while I came back to the room and packed, did Duolingo, and am now blogging. I checked in on the game periodically, and it never improved, so I didn’t miss anything. I know, I’m a terrible fan.

Famous Hat