Honeymoon |Part Three|: Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

Half Moon Cay was by far our favorite stop in the Bahamas!

The natural beauty was stunning.

Half Moon Cay is a private island that is visited by several cruise ships throughout the year.

The island offers several different excursion adventures, as well as beautiful white beaches and crystal clear water. Simply stunning.

  The one thing I knew I wanted to do on our honeymoon was horseback riding on the beach.

I love horses, used to take horseback riding lessons when I was little, and to ride them on the beach was a dream. We woke up super early to get ready for our excursion that morning. Our ship  stopped just short of the shoreline, where we took another smaller boat to the island. Once we were on shore, we noticed all of the wonderful attractions the island had to offer.

Before we could explore, we had to meet up with our excursion group to be taken to the stables where the horses were kept. A five minute truck ride led us to pastures of horses, directly across from the pristine beaches. There, we were given a quick lesson on safety and rules while riding. Once everybody received their helmet (and some of us shoes who didn't think to bring closed-toe ones...me), they matched each one of us individually to a horse that best fit our physical description.

Cody and I each mounted our sweet horses, Matte & Irene, where we took a few practice laps before hitting the trail. The first half of the trip was trail riding throughout the island - downhill, uphill and eventually on the beach.

Riding along the beach was incredible, as it was put into full perspective as to where we actually were. Behind me, my new husband, looking so cute on his horse, encouraging me and my horse throughout the ride. To the left, crystal blue water washing up on shore with our cruise ship sitting so perfectly in the distance. And to the right, was one of our awesome tour guides who so kindly offered to take our picture as we were riding along.

Once we rode down the beach and back around to the stables, we dismounted our horses and took a short break. At this point, my butt was already so sore, but I didn't want to let it stop me from the part I was looking forward to next - riding through the ocean!

After the horses were switched out, we took turns in smaller groups taking a stroll through the ocean. Well, it was suppose to be a stroll... Lucky for us, our horses took off running through the ocean instead. My horse apparently had a competitive streak deep down inside, because that sucker took off, pushing other horses out of the way to get us to the front! Luckily, Cody and I held on tight throughout the ride and managed to survive back to shore. It was so much fun - once I realized I wasn't going to die.

 After horseback riding, we took our truck back to the main part of the island, where we were finally able to explore a little before hitting the beach. A mini straw market, playgrounds, on sight chapel, an island BBQ, and personal cabanas (only $2,000...) were just some of the attractions we saw before we ended up at of course, the bar. $31 dollars later, we left with our souvenir swirly cups filled with frozen yumminess, and we headed toward the beach.

After a long trek down the beach, we finally reached a spot that was not so crowded, where we could spread out our towels and enjoy some time together in the sun. We laid out on our towels for awhile, before we jumped in the ocean that turned out to be a lot chillier than we expected. The view made the chilliness so worth it.

 

After spending some hours on the beach, we noticed some dark clouds rolling in and decided to head back to the boat. After dropping our things off at our room and freshening up, our bellies were grumbling extra loudly, so we hit up the lunch buffet on the ship. The rest of the day was spent relaxing by the pool, and maybe, just maybe, a few more frozen drinks to make us feel even more Bahamian.

We ended the night with dinner together by the window, so we could watch the sunset while we ate. Enjoyed some time walking around the ship, peeking in on some shows and what not, and eventually came back to our room to a funny little towel animal, that I eventually named Maci to make me feel more at home. :)

Tomorrow, our trip to Nassau and Atlantis!