I went on a solo trip to the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean. This is a British Overseas Territory made of up many islands grouped in to two sets: the Turks Islands and the Caicos Islands.
I stayed in Providenciales, which is part of the Caicos Islands. This is where about 75% of TCI's entire population lives. (That population, by the way, is only 30,000.) Provo, as it is affectionately referred to, is known for its beautiful Grace Bay Beach, made up of pristine white sand and turquoise water. This was my home for the next week.
All the different islands have their own unique stories. Take Little Water Cay for example. It's also known as Iguana Island and is the only place on earth to see the Rock Iguana in its natural habitat. Before setting foot on Iguana Island, however, you must observe a few rules:
Because the rock iguana is an endangered species, Iguana Island is protected by the Turks and Caicos National Trust. It is home to about 2500 - 3000 iguanas. Many of them are tagged with colored beads for so they can be tracked and studied. The island may only be seven acres, but this is where these little guys rule!
There is boardwalk on Iguana Island that takes you on a nature trail through the island so you can observe these creatures. They blend in quite well in to their environment. Below, my land guide, Joseph, and I pose with an iguana that blends in so well, you almost miss him. (He's at the base of the tree by Joseph's shoulder.)
They are very curious and friendly and have no problems getting up close to humans. But when they want to go - man can they take off! When Joseph and I tried to take another picture, all we got in the shot was his little tail saying 'I'm outta here!'
Snorkling is a must in TCI. It has the third largest barrier reef in the world, after Australia and Belize. The reef which you can see in the distance as a long white line, separates the turquoise water (which doesn't go more than 100 feet deep) from the dark blue water, which takes an instant 6000 to 7000 foot drop.
Take a look at this picture below. Hard to believe that once you cross that line, there's is such a steep drop.
There is much to be seen in these waters from Yellowtail Snapper and Black Durgeons to Sharks and Stingrays. Ready? Here I go!
And-a One!
And-a two!
And-a threeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!
You can't really put an age on a island, but Half Moon Bay Beach is an exception. This island is almost 50 years old, created by Hurricane Donna in 1960.
One side of this oval shaped island faces the Atlantic Ocean and other side sits on the Caribbean Sea. It's only a short 300 ft walk to cross over from one side to the other, so after anchoring in the Atlantic (above), I went over to the Caribbean Sea.
Despite the 300ft distance between the two waters, I was told that the Caribbean Sea is actually 10 degrees warmer than the Atlantic, so I decided to find out for myself. Off I go!
And survey says?
Aaaaaaaaah! Warm and refreshing!
Have you ever gone diving for conch? Man, those shells are heavy! It's like diving for dumbells. You swim down, pick-up the shell and then get a resistance workout as you swim to the surface because of the ocean's pull. Then you swim back to your boat with only one hand because your other one is too busy trying not to drop this shell that's the size of a small boulder! So yes, it's good excercise, but it's also exhausting!
So what does one do when they collect enough conch? Great question! You make a conch salad. But first you have to sever the snail from its shell and pull it out. Yikes! It's like an alien creature! Can you believe that dangly blob-like thing resides in that beautiful pink shell?
They say conch is the coconut of the sea - no blood and no guts. Just pure protein. So right there on the spot, we cut up our conch and had ourselves a delicious salad.
Thanks to my ship's captain and his trusty crew, I wil now be an excellent contestant on "Survivor." Thank-you boys!
One bizarre sight to come across in Provo is "The Hole." I appreciate the name - it's quick and to the point. The Hole is a naturally formed limestone hole that's about 40 feet deep. There is a saltwater pool down bellow whose depth is unknown. I couldn't even begin to take a picture big enough to describe the whole thing, so this is the best I could do.
Frankly, it was a little freaky because it looked like a place that killers would use as a dumping ground for a dead body. Nobody, I mean NOBODY, would find you down there if you were left for dead. You'd be screwed.
What's even more bizarre is that The Hole is on an unpaved street that has homes build on it! I wouldn't quite call it residential, but just about! You pass by a few houses and then you come across this sign, which then points you to a path that takes you straight there. Unbelievable! And no, there is no fence around it or anything to protect the unsuspected from falling in. So enter the area at your own risk!
Have i spent too too much time talking about conch? The truth is, conch is TCI's largest export (along with lobster). Provo even has a Conch farm, which I visited. It is the ONLY conch farm in the world. I took a brief but fascinating tour and saw how they are raised from tiny little eggs to the giant shells you saw me pull out of the ocean in the earlier pics.
At this farm, when conch are still larvae, they grow in sand filled trays for six weeks. Then they are moved to onshore ponds for a year. Then transferred to offshore ponds where they stay for about two and half years. So at about 4 years of age, they are ready to be harvested for meat and then the shells sold. Below, the offshore ponds:
This next pic is of both onshore and offshore ponds.
The onshore ponds each house 5000 conch. Every few days, ponds have to be drained and emptied of waste and then refilled. I came across a pond that was being cleaned. You can see the conch just hanging out. They are totally fine being out of the water for a few hours.
I decided to jump in and help clean. I stepped in such deep mud that I lost my flip-flops as I sunk deep in to what felt like quicksand. The guys in the photo had to reach in and fish them out. The mud was so thick and the resistance so great, the straps on one of the flip flops broke! I think they were all pretty amused by the white girl getting down and dirty with them. I was barefoot on one leg for the rest of the tour.
They have two "celebrity conches" kept in a special area. Sally and Jerry. They are more than 7 years old and very, very friendly. They are used to their celebrity status and loved being handled. The second you pick up their shell from and call their name, out they emerge. Below Jerry has come out to say hello.
This is Jerry and I. Conch have one claw that they use to scrape over the sand to move around at the bottom of the ocean. (You can see the claw in the above photo hanging at the very bottom.) Jerry was a big ol' flirt who kept pawing me with his claw.
This is Jerry in the below pic and what a ham he is! A total a rock star! By the way, those two black antennae sticking out on the right side? Those are the eyes. The eyeballs are on the very tip of those two antennae. It's really weird watching this creature looking at you with tiny little eyeballs.
On the left of his body, the black thing hanging is his penis - and that's how you can tell the difference between Sally and Jerry. By the way - true fact - if a conch has its penis bitten off by predator, guess what? He just grows another one!!!!!
To read more about my trip to TCI, please pick up the Summer 2009 issue of Caribbean Magazine.
Safe travels!