“Life is an island. People come out of the sea, cross the island, and return to the sea. But this short life is long and beautiful. In getting to know nature man exalts the wonder and beauty of life.”
Martiros Saryan
Grand
Turk is a small island in the Atlantic Ocean and is part of the
British Overseas Territory. This island may be small but it has so
much going for it. Grand Turk is the capital island of the Turks and
Caicos archipelago and is only 6.95 square miles. The main
attraction here is the ocean water which is a gorgeous shade of aqua
and has the most clear water I’ve ever seen. This island is
basically flat and has no mountains on it. The residents on this
island are lovely and so welcoming. The houses and buildings built on
this island are hurricane proof and many or gorgeous. As we traveled
around the island, we loved seeing all the donkeys and dogs just
roaming free.
We
were not supposed to go here on our cruise but since they had to
cancel Labradee, Haiti because of the unrest in that country, Royal
Caribbean got permission to come here. Royal does not normally come
here. We had been here before with Carnival Cruise Line, just over
a year ago and loved every minute we spent on this island. We felt
blessed being able to come back to this island.
Right
at 8 am, they cleared our ship so we could get off. Wanting to get
the most of the day, we were one of the first to exit the ship. We
rented a golf cart through Viator the last time we were on the island and choose to
do it again since we enjoyed riding around so much. We walked
through the pier area where all the shops were located and it was
lovely. The pool looked very inviting, but we had no time for that now, as we wanted to make sure
we got a good golf cart. So we continued walking towards the exit of
the port, down a beautiful path lined with colorful tropical flowers
till we got on the main street. The golf carts were all lined up on
the side of the road. A nice young gentleman walked up to us and
asked if we rented a golf cart from them and checked his list for our
name. He confirmed our rental and got us all set up. He gave us a
few instructions about the golf cart including the big one, drive
your vehicle on the left side of the road. He wished us well, and
off we went.
The
first place we headed was where we had seen the flamingos last
time we were here. Last time, we couldn’t get close to them but
this time, we figured out how to get to that area without any
trouble. We drove down a lonely sandy road where we saw a sign that
said “Not this way to the lighthouse.” The road was not in great
shape with many ruts we swerved to avoid. We only passed a few
homes on the way. We got to the very end, parked the golf cart, and
started walking on the beach area. First we were in a lagoon area
just off the beach where there were a lot of rusted old car parts and
lots of coral that had the appearance of lava. Then we walked
around the bend to the beach area and there they were. They were
standing just off the coast in the salt water. There were hundreds
of them. Then we heard a ruckus, looked up and saw another huge
flock of flamingos flying overhead heading to where their friends
were hanging out. What a spectacular sight. We had never seen
flamingos fly. It was stunning.
After
gawking for a good while, we decided to head to the light house. We
drove back down the sandy road till it became paved again. On the
way, you could hear many donkeys neighing all around us. Once we got
on the paved road, we headed towards the lighthouse passing many
donkeys grazing on the sides of the road. We even got to see one
donkey running down the side walk. He must have been on a mission.
These donkeys have been on Grand Turk for centuries and were used to
pull salt carts, turn pumps in the salt salinas, and provide
transportation. These are Nubian donkeys and have a cross on their
back. It is said that this was the kind of donkey that carried Jesus
on its back to Jerusalem. They are very friendly and make Grand
Turk even more charming.
We
parked just outside the park at the lighthouse, paid our $3 each
admission, and walked in. This is a lovely park that abuts the
ocean. The 60 foot white cast iron lighthouse was built in 1852 by
the British architect Alexander Gordon to warn the sailors of the
shallow reef. It is closed now so no one can walk up her but she is
still a beauty to see and is still in use. There was an outside rustic tiki
bar that we went and sat down. Joe got a beer and I got a margarita.
The female bartender there was very nice and it felt good to sit
with a sip and enjoy the amazing view of the ocean from there. We
sat for awhile and talked with many people from our ship and gave
them good directions as how to find the flamingos. As we were
watching the waves crashing on the rocks, we saw a disturbance just a
little ways out in the ocean. It was a whale. He came up,
splashed, and blew water from his blow hole. He did that a couple
times and then was gone. How blessed were we to be able to see that.
When
we left there, we headed to Governors Beach. This is a great beach
that is picture perfect. We had mad a couple sandwiches from the
ship with fruit and soda. This was a great place to eat. We put on
our snorkeling gear and swam near the rocks. We saw plenty of fish.
It was fabulous. Then we just floated for awhile. We were close
enough to the port that we could see the ship from this beach. Once
again, it was a great experience and we loved the clarity of the
water. This is a great beach to go to and not crowded.
Then
we drove to the gas station, and add $4 to the gas tank to fill it up before turning the golf cart back in and then headed back to the port. We went to
Margaritaville on the way back to the ship and ordered a cold drink and the Volcano which is a
huge pile of chips loaded with salsa, meat, and cheese. It was great
but way to big. We didn’t even finished a half of it. That was a
great way to end our time on Grand Turk a true paradise. We will miss it.
Till
next time. Bye for now.
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