Turks and Caicos

Happy Hour at South Side Marina

The Turks and Caicos islands are another piece of paradise. The nature is similar to the Bahamas. There are lots of reefs and coral heads and this is a great place for diving and snorkeling. The biggest difference we have realized is that these islands are more commercialized. There are many high end resorts and tourist activity on the major islands, Providenciales & Grand Turks. "Provo" is too pricy for our taste, but we got to meet very nice people at South Side Marina. Happy Hour at Bob's South Side Marina was certainly a highlight. The cruisers we met there will be our friends for ever.


 

Kelly attracts Donkeys



Salt Fields



Right now we are anchored off Salt Cay. This island use to be the world's largest producer of salt. Now the little town has almost no activity. We met a few Haitians on the south end and found a nice restaurant/bar ran by Porter on the north side. Here on the Salt Cay you see more cows, bulls, and donkeys than humans.

Every time we step a foot on a new island, we don't know what's there or what to expect.

Guest house on Ambergris

A few days ago we were anchored off Big Ambergris Cay. From a distance it looked like there were some very nice houses. We couldn't find any info in the guide books about the island so we had to explore it for ourselves. Within a short time after stepping ashore, we realized the island was private. Our path crossed 1 of the 2 firefighters on the island. Tristan offered to give us a tour on his golf cart. The island is managed by Turks & Caicos Sporting Club.  It definitely had the highest level of infrastructure we've seen on any of these small islands. They had their own water making system, diesel generator that created electricity, sewer system and trash compost system, fire hydrants, a small and a big marina, a private landing strip with 2 fire trucks, tennis courts, and so forth. There were around 350 lots for private vacation homes and maybe 20 were finished. All the homes had their own private swimming pool or jacuzzi. Each lot had a placard in front with the owner's name and where they were from. There were signs from all over the world but mostly Americans. However, the sad news is that the company went under and since June nothing really happens on this beautiful island. The 25 staff on the island are maintaining it for now until further notice. And we were lucky to meet Tristan, whom was so kind to show us around the whole island.

Big Sand Cay is our last stop in Turks & Caicos. It is uninhabited and it's 77 miles away from Luperon, Dominican Republic. We were supposed to sail yesterday but a tropical storm was on the way and it was not a good time to leave. We are planning to set sail toward DR/Hispaniola tomorrow evening for another night sail.
Thanks for reading,
Love from Turks & Caicos