We chose Turks and Caicos because it promotes the fact that there is no night life. My brother pointed out that, like Hawaii, TCI has kept gambling out and this makes the place rather quaint.
The most famous beach is called Grace Bay which is where we stayed. It has been named #1 in the list of top 25 beaches in the world. Well, you can see the reason. This picture was taken one hotel down from ours so basically, this was my walk and view although we walked the other direction too and it was all the same. So the same. So perfect. Somehow perfection is never boring even though it is the same, step after step for 12 miles. The sand feels like flour under your feet. The last day it had rained the night before and I went for a walk. The sand felt like cookie dough. Of course, I should have expected that.
Here's a shot from the Web site of the hotel down from ours called, Beaches.
We stayed at the Sibonne. It is old, thus, well-priced. The week we chose to go was peak season which means peak price.
Here I am with one of the darlings who worked at the Sibonne. We learned the names of the food servers but the front desk folks changed and we didn't see them much. This is the lobby which is completely open from the drop off to the green courtyard to the pool to the Atlantic Ocean. It took me about 15 seconds to get from our room to the sand.
Here is where I hung out most of the time. Shade is very important if you are going to sit on the beach for 6 or 7 hours.I really did it. It required strict discipline but I managed to sit around, run in and out of the water, move from sun to shade, and drink tons of water for 6-7 hours without quitting. Bruce just couldn't do it. He quit. He could not do nothing. Impossible for him.
The first night for dinner we walked out to this beach and took a right. The first hotel past the concrete dock was called the Seven Stars. They have a great deck on the beach but of course it is very dark. They presented us with lighted menus. The first time we have ever seen this! Fantastic because I didn't have to use my reading glasses. The server said they have to plug them all in every night.
This is the street entrance of the Seven Stars...breath-taking to me. Can't beat uplight on giant palms for drama. Looks just like our front yard! But, we only have three trees.
Lunch at the hotel next to ours. The Sands with restaurant called The Hemingway.I was taking the picture, oh well.
The afternoon and evening of December 27th was an annual street party called Maskanoo. We gave up on the parade/big bash because the information we were given said it was from 3 pm - midnight. Here's Bruce trying to convince these ladies not to arrest him for demanding a parade come NOW. You know I made that up. He was learning from them what it would take to get arrested.
We went back to the hotel, went to sleep, then Bruce woke up, got dressed and went back to the party to see if it really did happen and it did. He took pictures to prove to me that he had done this without me. This is nothing new as he has always done his own thing.
Before leaving New Orleans Bruce was in communication with the Premiere of the country, Dr. Rufus Ewing. The Premier himself (tallest, youngest guy) along with his minister of tourism came to our hotel to join us for breakfast. The manager of the hotel could not believe his eyes. He could not figure out how Bruce had enticed THE PREMIER to come to the little Sibonne to see a couple of tourists. To keep this short I won't tell you about the former premier being caught by Interpol in Rio and how he has probably stolen billions from this country and how this man on the right is his brother and was the minister of finance (the accountant who probably hid the stolen money) and how he gave me the creeps before I even learned that his brother has been accused of being a thief. That is the short story.
Here's our breakfast view after the Premier left and every other day.
The hotel next door, The Regent Palm, is new and fabulous. We ate lunch and dinner at its pool dining area. Expensive but much more affordable than its fabulous white table cloth restaurant. After all the jerk spices and fish, a little pasta tasted great.
They set up a massive screen on the beach at night and show movies for the kids. They have popcorn and a live fire for making smores. We didn't crash the kids party since the movie didn't look so great to us. Must be the perfect way to get your little ones out of your hotel room for a precise amount of time with supervision provided by the hotel staff.
SAIL PROVO took us on a 2-hour sunset cruise.
Beach walking. The only thing there is to do except, dive, snorkel, kite surf, stand up paddle (done on a surf board with a paddle like you would use to kayak and most people just get up and fall off over and over), swim, get pulled in a big raft by a fast boat,or, parasail. We walked.
Our anniversary dinner at Hemingway's. 15 years and praying for many more.
I can't figure out how Bruce ended up so tan when he did not do the work. It is not fair.
This photo was taken by our new best friend, Vladimir. He and his wife, Carol, live in Manhattan where he is an architect and she is an artist. They were fun and funny. They are the ones who taught me how to sit on the beach for 7 hours.
What an amazing world God has given us to experience. -Hattie (and Bruce)
