Grand Turk in Turk and Caicos

 

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Our ship arrived in Grand Turk on a beautiful day.  This small tropical island is the capital island of the Turk and Caicos islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The name came from a type of cactus that is on the island called the Turk’s Cap Cactus.

We did our research and it seemed the best way to see the island was to rent a Golf Cart. So that is what we did. We walked out of the port area, and down a beautiful garden path where we met a nice young gentlemen who asked us what we were looking for. He showed us where we needed to go and ended up being the man we needed to see. He was very friendly and told us he has been blessed by having lived on this island his entire life.

He set us up with a four seater golf cart and explained how to use it. He said the most important thing to know is that they drive on the left on this island and told us there was plenty of gas for a day trip around the island, and then handed us a map. It was a very simple map but gave us the lay of the land so we would have something to go by. We started driving as soon as we were cleared and right away noticed all the roaming donkeys on the side of the roads. They seemed to be minding their own business and really didn’t seem to notice us. How fun. At times they were standing right in the middle of the road where they looked at us like, "What are you doing here?  You want us to move?"

We found this island to be pretty desolate. Many homes look as though they were still being repaired from a hurricane. Then we came upon a nicer area with homes with gates and fenced yards. They had lovely yards and obviously free from the donkeys. A few even had green grass whereas the rest of the island was mostly scrubs and low brush. 

We decided to head to the lighthouse first which was on the opposite side of the island from the cruise port and located on the northern tip. The lighthouse was built in England in 1852 and shipped in pieces and assembled here on the island. It was built by Chance Brothers and is the only lighthouse in Turk and Caicos. The white lighthouse has been defunct for years. It was originally designed to burn whale oil for the light, then it used kerosene for a while till it was finally converted to electricity in 1971. They do not use it anymore and you are not allowed to climb it.

It is located on a bluff with the ocean surrounding on it on three sides. We paid $3 each to get into the property and it was worth it. We walked past the lighthouse where we found gorgeous ocean views and rocky cliffs. The views alone made the entry fee totally worth it. It was so amazing watching the waves crashing against the cliffs and the color of the ocean was spectacular. During the months of February and March, the whales migrate past this point of the island as they head north. We hoped to see some go by but no luck today.

Next to the lighthouse is a vacant small military base. It was called the US Navy NAVFAC 104 Base and was used for their sound surveillance system (SOSUS) program during the cold war. As were were leaving from the parking lot, there were about five donkeys and they all started braying at once. It was quite loud and funny. I wonder if they were telling us it was time to leave or were they telling us to stay. 

Joe met a young couple who told us to follow them to go see the pink flamingos. We did and drove down a deserted off the beaten path sandy and rutted road all the way down to the water. We could see the flamingos off in the distance but there was no way to get to them. We drove back up the road, avoiding getting stuck which was quite impressive. Joe did a terrific job driving. We stopped to help a couple with their golf cart that wouldn’t go in reverse. Tip: If you rent a golf cart, make sure it has all functions working before you leave. Then we tried to drive around to see the flamingos closer but never found a way.

We drove through the town of Cockburn Town, the capital city, which had a couple of cute buildings but just had tents set up selling wares and not much else. We thought we would find a nice sea side restaurant but none were to be found. I’m glad we had a good breakfast before coming ashore. The town wasn't very impressive. We saw a man and a women police officer walking their beat around town. We loved that and brought in mind Barney Fife and Andy from Mayberry. We also looked at the beach there but found it was too commercial and small so we kept going.

We stopped at many beaches on our journey around the island. Our favorite beach was Governors Beach. We went to the area the furthermost away from the cruise port and found a nice area with thick Casuarina trees for shade and a rocky area in the water. It looked like there was a pier there at one time. We found the snorkeling there was amazing. We saw Barracuda, flounder, parrot fish, and many more gorgeous and colorful tropical fish. The beach was pristine with beautiful white soft sand and is only located about 1.6 kilometers from the cruise port. This is all part of the Columbus Landfall Park. We had a lovely time on the beach and met some other nice cruisers. We even had a visitor come to the beach-  "Donny" the donkey stopped by to see us.  Isn't he cute. 

On the way back to turn in the golf cart, it started making funny noises. So instead of driving a little further, we filled up the tank and took it back. We walked back into the port and headed to Margaritaville for a drink and munchies. It was extremely crowded so we just grabbed a seat. The prices were outrageous but our company was good. Two older couples sat with us and they were lovely. We sat there for about a half and hour and no one came to take our drink or food order so we decided to just head back to the ship. 

Grand Turk was interesting to see. This island is only 6.95 square miles and has just under 5000 residents. The island itself was not that pretty but the water and beaches were stunning. We enjoyed driving around the island and felt renting the golf cart was the way to go. That gave us great flexibility to which beach we wanted to go to. We had a great time. 

 Till next time. Bye for now.