Turks and Caicos, Jan. 25, 2012

After a slow start in the morning Ian and I returned to Smith's Reef. You can tell by now that this is our favourite spot and we will be spending a lot of time there. Five turtles came our way today as well as a beautiful, large specimen of a spotted eagle ray. The creature actually seemed curious of us and kept around allowing us to have a close inspection. What a beauty! Also found a large cow fish in the grass. The water was choppy today and visibility wasn't great but we still saw a lot.
For lunch we went to nearby Baci Ristorante and had wonderful fresh spaghetti  carbonara.

Turks and Caicos, Jan. 24, 2012

Quite an adventure today! We walked to Coral Gardens via the beach. The area is marked with buoys and you are not allowed to go inside. There were several coral patches around the ring that provided us with an area to explore. Today we spotted another adult lion fish, fully fanned out, another school of small baracuda and some other species. It wasn't a great experience so we won't be going back. Then we walked the Leeward Highway to get to The Wine Cellar. I wouldn't advise anyone to do this as it seemed pretty dangerous. There was a bicycle lane so Ian walked along that and I kept to the ditch. At the Wine Cellar I loaded up my knapsack with wine and whiskey (Ian was carrying all of the snorkel gear.) and we continued along the highway to Suzie's Turn and then down to our place.
Having prepped dinner earlier in the day we were ready for our dinner guests. T and K. Kathleen had worked and retired from Purdy's Chocolates and treated me to few chocolate hearts. We served pork tenderloin, a potato vegetable mixture by Ian , a salad and some green beans. We had a very good time!!

Turks and Caicos, Jan. 23, 2012

Ian went snorkelling on his own this morning. He reported viewing an eagle ray. We took a stroll through the Turtle Cove Marina to look at the boats and the impressive yachts. No one invited us on board. So we dined at the Tiki Hut, starting with conch fritters. I found them a bit dry and couldn't really discern a conch taste. I followed that with jerk fish tacos and Ian had a blackened fish sandwich with onion rings. We both had Turks Head Ambers to wash it all down. I can't say the food was nothing to write home about because that is what I am doing. The gardens here are beautiful; so much colour and variety. Another beautiful day in paradise.

Turks and Caicos, Jan.22, 2012

Baracuda

Hawksbill Turtle

This morning we snorkelled at the place Ian went to yesterday on his own. Unfortunately, although they are pretty stunning fish, we saw an adult lionfish on the reef. They don't seem to be as excited about them here as in Bonaire. There were queen angels, scrawled filefish, porcupine fish and several other varieties but it wasn't a great spot. Smith's Reef was a better place to spend our afternoon. There was so very much to see: porcupine fish, scrawled filefish, trumpet fish, queen angels, a French angel, a school of horse-eyed jacks, bar runners, mutton snapper, graysby, turtles and a pair of ocean trigger fish. Wow! Ian has yet to take a photograph otherwise I would include one here.

Roast chicken dinner was enjoyed next door, hosted by T and K. We watched two football games today and I cheered for both losing teams.

Turks and Caicos, Jan. 21, 2012



Coral Gardens



This morning Tom and Kathleen led us to a place along the shore that they said was an easier access to the reef than going down to Smith's. Ian went snorkelling and I went for a walk along the beach. At this end of the beach the sand is a bit coarse but as I travelled further the sand became soft and powdery. From where I started the beach also had quite a slope and I found it difficult to get a good footing and there was a lot of pressure on my ankles. The beach eventually flattened out. There were a few small resorts along the way; a very modern Gaansvoort and West Bay Club and an older one know as Coral Gardens. There is a buoyed snorkelling area off Coral Gardens that we would snorkel another day. Ian and I hooked up on the beach about an hour later.

In the afternoon we went to Smith's Reef where we were treated to lots of interesting corals and fish. Topping the list was a large sting ray, a school of baracudas, nassau groupers and a couple of turtles.
During a long, late afternoon walk we downed Turks Head beer at Coral Gardens.

Turks and Caicos, Jan. 20, 2012

We arrived in Turtle Cove yesterday but did not have an opportunity to get into the ocean. After a short taxi ride to the Queen Angel Resort (a condo complex) we met T and K in the parking lot. They are from Vancouver but were on our flight from Toronto. This very kind couple who "live" next door to us offered to take us grocery shopping at the Graceway IGA. After unpacking our luggage and then the groceries our daylight time was runnning out. Our place is comfortable. There are fans to keep the air moving and a nice breeze comes in the screen doors. These open up to the pool and the beautiful gardens.The ocean is beautiful here. Lots of tourquoise and other vairous shades of blue. We walked to Sharkbite for dinner hoping to try the conch fritters and something else. Although they were ordered we never got them. Ian had some fish he really enjoyed which is amazing and I had quesadillas which were okay.  It is very dark around here at night as there are no street lights. Thankfully T and K had told us to take a flashlight. There is a very steep ramp leading from the road to our condo which we will will have to climb several times a day. One way to tone our muscles!