HALF MOON CAY, BAHAMAS – Friday, November 9, 2007

A bit of history – The original inhabitants of the Caribbean Islands were the Arawak Indians, and they lived the peaceful existence of framers and crop-growers until the Carib Indians came along in the early 15th century. The Caribs hailed from South America, and just prior to the age of discovery, they swept up through the Caribbean chain island by island in their dugout canoes. They had no problem with navigation because their next destination was always clearly on the horizon or at least just over it.

The Caribs were cannibals! They provided two new words to the white man’s language Caribbean and Buccaneer. The first one is obvious, but the second needs some explaining. The Caribs sliced and smoked their meat over open fires with grills called boucans. When the freebooters and privateers saw this, they copied the idea and so became known as Buccaneers. No sooner were the Caribs ensconced in their new home than they had the discoverers to contend with and soon after that the settlers.

Although we saw no Caribs (that we know of…) we did have a wonderful time on Holland America’s private island, Half Moon Cay. The island is uninhabited with a magnificent 1-mile crescent-shaped beach, crystal clear turquoise water, powder soft sand and it’s very own tiki bar. Needless to say – we made use of all of the above!