To the Turks & Caicos you will go!! An island visit | October 2006

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To the Turks & Caicos you will go!!
An island visit October 5th to 10th 2006

True first impressions came to me over the next several days as we crisscrossed the island from east to west and north to south, seeking out the villa and hotel locations to fulfill the primary objective of our visit. Our secondary objective of course to experience the island and taste its flavors, which we most certainly did our best to accomplish.

Overall the TCI are not pretty. The island is sparse with course brush everywhere. There are hardy plants which thrive in harsh conditions, and of course there is the cactus. Accordingly most of the villas are oriented to look out at picturesque beaches and turquoise colored bays as opposed to the landscape of the interior.

The Turks Head Cactus grows throughout the island. It is the cactus, which in part gives the chain their name, along with the fact that the islands perhaps have the appearance of a Turkish person wearing their traditional headwear. The cactus is on the TCI flag too, which shows the importance of the succulent to the islands as a whole.

The island's infrastructure is very good. The roads are in good shape and there is a 4-lane highway dissecting the major portion of the island, which allows easy access up and down. The water on island is safe to drink from the faucet and is plentiful. All the villas we visited have washer/driers, which is a refreshing change from many an island though usual water conservation of course makes sense.

From a produce standpoint, TCI imports just about everything, there are supermarkets as good as we have in the states but the prices are high. The IGA is a mainstay for the island, centrally located, clean and convenient; it has everything under one roof so rest assured you can find the cookies you want or a suitable alternative. It is an interesting place offering up an island flavor with locals, visitors and ex pats going about the business of stocking up with provisions. As I advice frequently, part of the island feel is to be found in the stores as there is produce which is strange to most on display raising the question of "what do you do with that?"

The jewel in the crown of Provo is Grace Bay. This is a sweeping crescent bay with soft sand beaches, a barrier reef protecting the shores and the protected dunes running the whole length. The development is still very much on going with some not even started yet so it will be some time before the building stops. In the mean time there is no excuse not to visit this gem of an island and experience it yourself.

From a water enthusiasts stand point there is everything, fishing, deep sea and sport and notably bone fishing, (shallow water fishing which the TCI have a lot of) world class diving with many excellent locations, and of course the usual beach sports available at key points up and down Grace Bay. All in all a very well rounded island vacation destination with good weather and usually little or no interruption from the usual June through November weather systems which mare many island jaunts.

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To the Turks & Caicos you will go!!An island visit October 5th to 10th 2006

To the Turks & Caicos you will go!!
An island visit October 5th to 10th 2006