Turks and Caicos, Jan. 30, 2012

Today I spotted an ocean trigger fish in a shallow patch of coral near the shore and proceeded to follow it as it swam away. It hid in a hole in a deeper patch but I kept my eye on it as Ian followed to take a photo. We saw the large sting ray again, partially covered in sand and this time decided not to bother it. Again we saw turtles, a rock beauty and angels but not as many schools of fish. The sea was rough and the visibility in the sandy areas was very poor. There was a storm looming in the area and the wind was gusting. We talked to some nice people on the beach who recommended that we try St. John island next.
We picked up the rental car at Scooter Bob's and headed to the airport to get Rhona. She was so excited to see us and get her mini vacation going.

The first thing was to treat her to da Conch Shack (da Conch Shack ). She loved the rum punch . Both Rhona and I had the coconut conch stew; a creamy stew of conch, cauliflower, broccoli, onions and peppers. Super! Ian had the conch curry which he enjoyed and didn't find too spicy. We watched the young man load up the kayak with conch and then split them open removing the innards. If you ever go to Provo you must go to this place.
We went to Bight Park for, what else, a snorkel. We had outfitted Rhona with some gear but it was too rough for a beginner who isn't comfortable in the water. R enjoyed the beach and had a little swim. Later we drove to Regent to check out the art shoppes. I love the paintings by Sara Skye (Making Waves Art) who actually took her training at George Brown College.

We dined at the water's edge at Hemingway's ( Hemingway's TCI ) of the Sands Resort. It had rained while we were in the shops but the hostess dried some chairs so we could sit on the deck. They lit lamps but we had them douse one as the smell of gas was too strong. We sipped a glass of wine and over time noticed that all the people around us were finished eating and we had yet to get our order. Well the crab cakes were tasty but not hot and the vegetables were cold. All we got was a very weak apology from the waitress. T and K came over to meet Rhona and join us for a night cap.  Great day!