Report #4 Grand Turk, Turk & Caicos December 21, 2021 Tuesday Warm & breezy 80 degrees

Well, here we are at our first port of the trip……Grand Turk, Turk & Caicos.  This is the very first time we have visited here, and we were pleasantly surprised at what we found.

Beginning the morning once again with a breakfast in the Orange Club, our day began with trying to figure out why we cannot get any wifi in our room.  And once again, we went down to the front desk area, and took two seats at the side table there.  Cynthia, a senior front desk employee, came over and chatted for a bit.  She was aware of our internet problem, and said a technician would be paying a visit to our room to see why this was happening.  Fine with us.  She also updated us on our account as far as the credits would work for this entire cruise.  They will need a copy of our travel agency's documents to add up the cashable credit.  The statement on our account is not jiving with our contract, so this will have to be cleared up as well.

Grand Turk and the Caicos are located between the Bahamas and Haiti, and happens to have the third largest coral reef system in the world.  We never knew that.  Guests from all over the world come here for the diving, snorkeling, deep sea fishing, and offshore finance.  Must be similar to the practices in the Caymen Islands where the rich and famous can house their fortunes.

Out of the 40 islands here, only 10 of them are inhabited.  There are about 25,000 natives, many of whom are of African and Bahamian descent. They are called the "Belongers". This group of islands belong to the British Overseas Territory.  Originally the natives harvested salt, retrieving it with rakes, bagging it, and transporting it on donkeys to the ships for transport to America and Canada.  To this day, several wild donkeys roam the islands. In the 1700's, the plantation owners grew cotton for export, until eventually, tourism, fishing, and offshore financing took over as we mentioned.  Another village industry was weaving as in baskets, mats, and hats made with native grasses, palm leaves and sisal.  Today the salt ponds attract flamingoes who dine on the shrimp.  The abandoned windmills have become home to osprey who make their nests on top.

The deep sea fishing here is for bonefish, marlin, sailfish, wahoo, tuna, barracuda, and shark.  The larger islands of the Caicos have the most over-the-top resorts and hotels, and attract the Hollywood crowd we read. Grand Turk is only 7 miles long and 1 mile wide, and is more suitable for beach activities.  And for good reason, the turquoise waters are pristine, and the beaches have soft white sand.  This would be available for everyone on the ship.

The ship docked very close to the Grand Turk Cruise Center, built by the Carnival Corporation in 2006.  It comprises of 18 acres of shops, a few restaurants, numerous restrooms, and even a large swimming pool.  Guests from the ship were welcomed to use all of it, including the stretch of beach filled with chaise lounges.  All with no cost.  There are the usual high end jewelry shops, but also Caribbean apparel, souvenirs, and gifts. 

The most well-known bar and restaurant is Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville.  Today, they were about the only restaurant opened for business.  We chatted with a local vendor at a craft market who told us they just opened this complex a week ago, as they may have been closed due to Covid.   She expected more ships will be arriving at the rate of 2 or 3 a week.  And they are most happy to see the tourists back. 

Walking the beach was most pleasant, since the temps were in the low 80's and the humidity was not especially high.  But this could be deceiving, since a nice breeze kept us comfortable, and we know the rays of the sun could be dangerous.  We would have eaten lunch but we had indulged a big at breakfast, and were not that hungry.  Maybe next time, as we will be back. 

One of us did buy a few useful souvenirs, but for the most part, prices were high.  Have to mention that there was a capacity of only 7 people in a small shop at a time, and there several sinks with soap to wash your hands.  Great idea.  If you wished to go to downtown and nearby Cockburn Town, taxis were available for $5 per person for a one way 3 mile ride there.  There were only 2 tours offered through Shore Excursions, mostly sightseeing, and perhaps a beach stop.

Our time was limited with all aboard at 3:30pm.  We headed back to have lunch onboard at 2pm.  Then while relaxing on our veranda, the horn began blasting with really long blows.  Over and over again.  Finally an announcement was made for two missing guests.  We did see some people running to the gangway about then.  It would not be the first time we saw people miss the ship, although we think they made it.

Hey, we learned something new today.  Does anyone know what a "potcake" is?  To us, we joking said it sounded like a marijuana-laced dessert.  Well, no.  It is a name for the feral dogs that run these islands.  Not sure where the cake part comes from, but the pot refers to the fact that the dogs were fed from the bottom of the local's cooking pots.  How about that?  Today the puppies from these dogs are being adopted out for free to tourists that travel here. And perhaps there is an effort to sterilize the adults.

Once the ship picked up speed, it began to cool off.  We did read that this is the beginning of the humpback whale season, where they are migrating to their feeding areas.  Keeping an eye out for a possible sighting, we did see some large fish jumping and diving under the ship.  They may have been tuna, but they were too fast to identify.

Lunch was in the Lido again with cobb salads and hot sandwiches.  A few cookies full of nuts ended the meal.  We checked out the back pool to see if there was a sail away party, but there was none.  What we saw were many lounges full of folks snoozing.  There were a few outside tables on the starboard side where guests could smoke.  Looking a deck above the Seaview Pool, we spotted a Terra Cotta warrior statue, and thought it odd to see it there.  We would discover why later.

While working online at the front desk, we learned that someone did come to our room and claimed the wifi worked.  News to us, we went back to try it, and discovered we could not get a signal.  We'll let them know and see whatever tricks they have up their sleeve, or not.

Dinner was in the Tamarind this evening, and we did not get a written reminder in our mail slot like we do on the Amsterdam. Guess they figure we could look it up on the Navigator site, but we do not own a cell phone, so even a phone call reminder would be  good.  We were seated at a table for two at the window.  Lo and behold, right outside the window was the Terra Cotta warrior, which makes sense.  He is guarding the Asian Tamarind Restaurant.  Across the room from where we sat was the Nami Sushi Restaurant, which serves ala carte dishes with charges.  Not our cup of tea, but it was full of customers, including some officers. 

The service and food were impeccable.  Starters were Thai beef salad, spring rolls, and a shared dish of baby back ribs…..the absolute best. Shrimp crackers were served along with the little dishes of sauces and soy sauce.  Both of us ordered the wasabi-crusted beef tenderloin, which came with asparagus and tempura onion rings.  One side of basmati rice was enough for the both of us. Thank goodness the dessert of cheesecake was on the small side. It was unlike any cheesecake we ever had, tart and lemony inside a boat of white chocolate.  We finished by 9pm, but were too early for the World Stage show of In Tandem.  It will be repeated in future trips, and we can go then.

The clocks go ahead this evening, so better hit the hay, so to speak.  Tomorrow, we will be in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but not until 1pm.

Bill & Mary Ann

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