The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory, a possession of the United Kingdom currently ruled directly by a British-appointed governor. The total population is about 36,000, of whom approximately 22,500 live on Providenciales in the Caicos Islands. Provo is the main touristic island because of its miles of soft sand and luxurious accommodations and of course, the crystal clear water and fine dinning. Provo is not known for its nightlife or shopping and has everything imported therefore it's pretty expensive! :P Since our trip was not an all inclusive, we had to go grocery shopping when we landed. Coffee was 20.00$ for a small package and bread was 6.99$. So I'll let you imagine what the total of our shopping spree was. Ha! Amongst the fine natural beauty of the island, there is the Grace Bay beach that is 12 miles of uninterrupted neon/turquoise blue, with no rocks or seaweed to hurt your feet, and powder-fine sand!!! :) Heavenly! Everyday we would walk down the path while listening to music as the waves would wet our feet to refresh us from the heat.
TCI's water is funky. At least the one available from our hotel which made the coffee and the tea taste weird! Thankfully, we had found a Java bar 2 minutes from the resort where we would purchase our morning lattes. It was almost as good as Starbucks. ;) Everything was close by the Comfort Suite where we stayed including the restaurants, the Salt Mills shopping center and the Graceway grocery store therefore, if you intend on visiting TCI, it's the best spot to be. :) Shopping as they would call it, is not really shopping at all, at least not in our Canadian standards hence don't plan on finding bargain on the islands.
The restaurants are pretty good on the island but the service is slow as ever. I started loosing patience until someone said to chill. Lol! "You american?" he asked, and I'm like, "Nooo! I'm Canadian". Hehehe. No insult to the Americans but you R worser than Canadians when it comes to patience. I blame it all on McDonalds. The fast food industry made us all impatient people. I had finally learned how to "chill" towards the middle of my trip. Hehe.
Snorkeling has to be the best experience on the island. The boat captain took us to a private island where the waves were calm so that we could snorkel easily. It was my first snorkeling experience. When water goes up my nose I choke and I basically breath from the nose! :S My sister was confident enough to go deep for conch fishing. I stayed on the boat during that time because the waves were pretty rough in that area. She caught a conch with difficulty. They look like grass under the sea so it's pretty tough to spot one. Since conch is the island's specialty, the captain made us conch salad and it tasted good. Almost like calamari but softer. Overall, the experience was well worth it. The boat ride was rough and wet since the waves would splash us a lot. :) A tip for the new snorkelers, bring warm clothes after 'cause you freeze on the boat and don't bring any camera unless it's waterproof. We snorkeled a few times on the island near coral reefs. The water is so clear and the fishes are multi-colored, it's very impressive!
We did lots of walking and dinning at restaurants. The food is good, the smoothies amazing and the fruits are excellent. There was a few parades and events for the holidays which entertained us at night! ;) If I go back to TCI, I would definitely book with an all inclusive resort because you won't have to organize your daily activities or look for diving/snorkeling deals and excursions by yourself. Our resort did not provide all these so it was up to us to organize everything. If you want to get your diving license, book lessons as soon as you land. They did not have any classes available when we wanted to subscribe. :S
We did lots of walking and dinning at restaurants. The food is good, the smoothies amazing and the fruits are excellent. There was a few parades and events for the holidays which entertained us at night! ;) If I go back to TCI, I would definitely book with an all inclusive resort because you won't have to organize your daily activities or look for diving/snorkeling deals and excursions by yourself. Our resort did not provide all these so it was up to us to organize everything. If you want to get your diving license, book lessons as soon as you land. They did not have any classes available when we wanted to subscribe. :S
Driving on the island was a bit tricky since the people drove and the opposite side, the island being British and everything. There are no fire lights or too many stop signs in Provo so if you have to cross the streets, you have to run. :) We drove 1 day to go snorkeling and it went okay. :) Confusing at first but we were extra careful. People in TCI are VERY friendly and helpful. :) Everyone would talk to you even if they did not know you. To people who love to party, book an all inclusive (with club Med) or choose another destination (Cuba). TCI is very low key. On the only rainy day we had, I was a bit bored. :S I read a book on our balcony room and watched some TV! Lol. Overall, TCI is a great place to retire! Very relaxing and stress free. If only Canada would have agreed to make TCI a part of its country back in 1990. :P
I made a montage of some of the pictures I took. To be honest, I felt too lazy to take too many pictures. For me, it was taking a break from everything and that included photography. :P Hope you enjoy the montage.
Cheers until next time,
Rina
I made a montage of some of the pictures I took. To be honest, I felt too lazy to take too many pictures. For me, it was taking a break from everything and that included photography. :P Hope you enjoy the montage.
Cheers until next time,
Rina
