This was an early morning for us since we had priority boarding from the cruise ship to land by tram for our excursion. We had a bumpy ride from the ship to Half Moon Cay, Bahamas. Half Moon Cay is also called Little San Salvador Island and it is a private island owned by the Carnival Corporation. The island is 2,400 acres filled with bushes, trees, and a two-mile-long beach. We spent our entire time at the gorgeous beach. This was the most beautiful sand and water that I have ever seen in my entire life. I was in awe. I could spend endless days admiring and enjoying it. Naturally, the first thing we did was have a photoshoot. Afterwards, we went to retrieve our rented paddle boards. We assumed that we would be a part of a class or at least be given a demonstration, nope, we were given nothing but the equipment. Thankfully, I have paddle boarded before so I was able to instruct on the basics and we made it work because that was our only option. We mostly sat/knelt on the boards. We went out decently far, I guess farther than we realized because the water suddenly got darker and deeper below us. However, at this point, I still didn’t notice the change in the water, and I was feeling confident in my ability to stand up on the board. I started to get in position to stand, looked down below me, and I saw not only a SHARK but also a LARGE STINGRAY. I immediately freaked out; I was full on panicking. I shakily lowered myself to a sitting position and started frantically paddling closer to shore. From the blur of the moment, I would say that the shark was several feet long (maybe 6 or more feet) and the stingray was a ginormous circle (maybe 4 or more feet wide). It all happened so fast that I could be inaccurate on my measurements, but I know that I saw a dark long oval and a dark big circle next to it, moving directly underneath me. After doing some research I found that the lagoon is a breeding area for sharks, including lemon sharks, and sea turtles. Perhaps, the large circle I saw was a sea turtle, but I believe that I saw more of a complete circle versus flippers. After our frantic paddling, we stayed closer to the shore. Not too long after, we decided to just call it a day on the boards. After we returned our boards, there was a random lady onshore who was asking around to see if anyone wanted to join her on a catamaran sail for free. I believe strongly that everything happens for a reason and of course I could not let this opportunity pass me by. We had a beautiful sail with her, and I was grateful for the experience. Once we finally were back ashore, we headed straight to the free Island Barbecue buffet. I had cantaloupe, jerk chicken, salad, and watermelon. The food was excellent! When we finished our meal, we headed back to the beach to enjoy more time lounging, swimming, and watching the various organized games. These games included the best lifeguard slow motion running competition, musical towels, and relays. I really enjoyed getting off the boat and spending the day in paradise.
Once we were back on the cruise ship, I had a pulled pork and chicken ramen bowl which was so good but spicy and ice cream. Later that evening at our sit-down dinner I had a caprese salad, chicken with carrots and potatoes, and fruit (grapes, oranges, a strawberry, watermelon). After eating and unwinding, we spent our evening going to the Love & Marriage game show which was hysterical. This was the best show that we attended, the couples and host were great! After the show, we hit up the nightclub for a little before calling it a night.
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