I could get used to island hopping, this time we arrived in Grand Turk and Caicos. I felt like an intrepid explorer!
Grand Turk is the biggest of the Turk islands which is located in the Atlantic between the Bahamas and the Domincan Republic. It was discovered by Bermudans in regards to sea salt production in the seventeenth century. There are some reports that the explorer Christopher Columbus had explored this archipelego on his first landfall exploration as described in his journals. He described the island as bean shaped! Sea salt production was an important industry here until the 20th century as there are lots of shallow salt water ponds, this is what the British colonialists took advantage of. The island is small and is only 9km.
Exotic flowers greeted us and more palm trees.
There is a short sojourn to the beach through the well positioned duty free building. Please make note of the signs directing you to free beach loungers and parasols. You have to get there early, well my party didn’t but that was fine.
We strolled along the beach and there were some hustlers selling loungers and parasols, we eventually got two loungers for $15 US dollars and sat down. I got the impression there was more of a hustle the more you walked along the beach. This island was one of the smallest that we had visited and slightly more concentrated and poorer compared to the other islands.
The sea was buoyant, there were more beach shelfs, so mind your step when you are getting into the sea.
To the left of the beach you can make out the third largest coral reef, there are boat excursions and some tours. You can island hop, whale watch, fish or choose to have a beach day like we did.
There are excellent places for snorkelling and scuba diving:
Blue Water Divers: http://www.grandturkscuba.com/
Oasis Divers: http://www.oasisdivers.com/
Grand Turk Diving Co. Ltd: http://www.gtdiving.com/
Crystal Seas Adventures: http://www.crystalseasadventures.com/
We tried a local Turk and Caicos beer which was fun, I love the name of it! It was refreshing too. Chilling and relaxing on the beach was so relaxing as well as swimming in the sea.
We walked around the craft markets and met friendly locals with their children.
We also saw the remnants of the last Hurricane. The island is so flat, so when it is hit, the people have to start all over again and rebuild. Tourism is the main industry on this island and the cruise ships and the tourist excursions are depended upon by the people of the island.
I enjoyed my quick visit here, it was lovely!
