Turks and Caicos: Day 6

The day started with us packing up our luggage for the return trip home. We dropped off our resort keys and headed out to the Shark Bite Bar and Grill on the marina for lunch. This was my last chance to eat cracked conch but unfortunately this place had the worst cracked conch I have ever had. We sat on the deck and had a nice calm view of turquoise waters and boats.

We took a quick road trip out to the end of Seaview drive and shot some amazing last minute photos. We quickly found out that this is the local spot for making babies. The view is breathe taking; yes, this is a baby making location.

On our way back to the airport, we made a pit stop at a gas station to fill up. Dropped off the car rental and walked into the airport to wait for our flight home.

Turks and Caicos: Day 5

Today we double checked the weather to make sure our Caicos Dream Tour was not going to cancel due to weather. We even got the receptionist, Remona, to call the company to make sure everything was on schedule as planned. Just to be prepared for another cancelled tour, we packed everything for a full day on the beach.

[Photos coming soon]

The tour was not cancelled but the boat we were told that we would be on, Big Boy, was not going out. That was the boat we were supposed to go on yesterday before the tour was cancelled. What was worse was that we were not on the party list for today's tour although the representative called in to reschedule us for the next day. The representative who worked with us yesterday, Cameron, gave us a discount because of Big Boys unavailability and helped us with getting on the next available boat.

The tour started out with a short catamaran ride out to a dedicated snorkeling spot where all the other boat tours bring their tourists. The reef was beautiful and full of tropical life but once you've done one reef snorkeling tour in the Caribbean you've done them all.

Next we were treated to some fresh conch salad. The conch preparation was done right on the boat. Lunch was also served. A selection of ham sandwiches, tuna sandwiches and turkey sandwiches with Doritos chips. They also started pouring out the rum punch and beers to get the party started.

We were taken to an island that they liked to call Iguana Island. As the name applies, the island is populated by iguanas. On this island we were able to visit the famous Half Moon Bay. They gave us a demonstration on how to prepared fresh conch.

When all was done, we headed back West towards our departure spot. Along the way, the catamaran dropped off the guests along the beach near their respective resort. We were part of the last group to get off the catamaran which meant that we had the most to drink. The people I was with were all extra drunk therefore the drive back home for messy.

After we got back home, I washed up and headed out to Sweet T's for some fried chicken. The place is by far the cheapest and probably the best fried chicken on the island. This place is also definitely a locals favorite spot. $5 chicken and $3 fries got me enough food to feed 2~3 people. Let's not forget the Iron Triangle here, the food is cheap and good but it is not fast. When we got to Sweet T's there was already a group of people trying to order and waiting for orders. The wait was not short but the food was worth it.

Turks and Caicos: Day 4

Today we prepared for the 4 hour boat tour and snorkeling excursion and made our way over to the pick up location. We were told that Big boy was the best boat to be on and early birds get to choose which boat to ride on. We got to the location 1 hour early to secure our spot on Big Boy but was hit with the disappointing news that the captain cancelled the tours due to a storm. We also learned that Big Boy was not in the water today because of a last minute unexpected maintenance so we rescheduled for tomorrow.

We drove to the northern part of Long Bay Beach to enjoy the shallow clear waters. This location is also popular for wind sailing and today was full of them sailors.

The Hole in The Wall was a great place for some Jamaican Jerk Chicken. Highly recommend this place if you are ever around. The food price here  was unbeatable compared to all the other popular restaurants on the island.

Malcolm's Beach is a nice place for snorkeling if you can get passed the reef balls and strong currents. The beach itself is narrow and the waves can get aggressive. Even the dirt road to the beach is not very friendly but if you get to the beach try to catch the amazing sun set.

Turks and Caicos: Day 3

Today, it is raining. The forecast says on and off showers until 3pm. Might as well spend the day doing non-beach-bum related activities.

We decided to take out a kayak on the slightly choppy waters. Our goal was to find a reef area near the North West point of the island and use our snorkeling gear to observe some tropical reef life. We didn't find the reef we we're looking for and snorkeling in Sea grass wasn't much fun. So we just kayaked the rest of the morning around the ocean and then relaxed our muscles in the hot tub. We were burnt so the hot tub was not kind.

We drove out to the plazas in the resort areas of Grace Bay to see what's types of souvenirs Turks and Caicos has to offer. Honestly, the same thing every other beach shop has but with the label Turks and Caicos on it. We just got some ice cream and Jamaican beef patties and went on our way.

Bugaloo's is one of the most beautiful places to go for dinner. The outdoor seating has the most beautiful views of the southern sky's, picture perfect. The food is basically the same as Da Conch Shack, but just a tad bit expensive. If you get in at high tide, you can actually eat while sitting in the ocean waters! At sunset, you get to enjoy the beautiful pink sky's.

Turks and Caicos: Day 2

Our day started with a round of rum punch and then heading out to the front desk and asking about some tours that are available on the island. $112 per person for a 4 hour boat tour and scuba diving excursion with food and drinks? Why not? We booked the 4 hour boat and scuba tour on Big Boy then headed out to the beach.

We drove into the beach parking lot next to the Seven Stars resort and made our way up to the beach. Grace Bay has the beaches you see in those Turks and Caicos advertisements, baby blue and turquoise waters rolling over powerdery white sands! The water was warm and the sun strong.  After our fun time on Grace Bay, we made a pit stop back at our resort to wash up.

Da Conch Shack was the perfect place to have some food and fun. Of course, I had to order the cracked conch because you really can't get that anywhere else. The bar, supposedly, is a celebrity hot spot but I don't care too much for that. Live music, rum punch and some challenging ring game was our thing for the rest of the night until it was time to go back to our resort. I will highly recommend this place.

Turks and Caicos: Day 1

Woke up in the early hours to try and beat both traffic in DC and Baltimore to arrive at the BWI airport with a comfortable amount of time.

The first plan ride from BWI to Charlotte NC was an easy ride but the flight from Charlotte NC to Providenciales (air port) was not fun at all. We were traveling during spring break so there were plenty of kids on the flight. Most of these kids are rude and weren't raised with any basic etiquette, wouldn't be surprised if they never hear the words "no" from their parents. Toddlers were also on this flight and lucky for me, I got to sit within 2 rows of one. Ah, the wonderful sounds of a toddler screaming and crying her head off because she can't get what she wants because it's not on the plane. This noise starts before the plane takes off and continues for hours into the flight. The toddler threw up in the flight.

[Shitty Pro Tip] before getting on the international flight, stop by the food court and stock up on the free condiments so you don't have to buy full sized stuff on the island.

We landed and picked up our car rental from (car rental company). The car was imported directly from Japan so the radio was all in Japanese, it looks like it was never touched because everything was still set to Japanese radio stations and all the text was in Japanese. We drive on the left side of the roads here and the driver side seat is on the right.

Before heading to our resort, we stopped by the Graceway IGA Grocery to pick up some breakfast items and bottled water. The prices here weren't too bad. I'm from the D.C. area so these prices we're less than double what I pay at home.

Our resort, the NorthWest Point, has a beautiful view of the ocean from the balcony windows, but the beach is covered with Sea grass that needs to be cleaned up every morning by a tractor. This seems to be a problem with the north west point of the island only. The gate at the entrance of the resort has a keypad used to open the gate, but that keypad is located on the left side of the road which is opposite of the driver side. There were some design flaws here.