An injured juvenile heron at Harbour Club Villas
Barry found this injured juvenile Yellow-crowned night heron wandering around at the back of our villas at Harbour Club. His wing was definitely broken and the poor thing was unable to fly.
Every time we tried to approach it, it would run away.
We tried to corner him and catch him but he was too fast and scurried away into the bushes. Nature will take its course I’m sure as it was unable to fly.
Marta
The best coffee on island is roasted here on Provo by Victoria
Providenciales has it’s own coffee lady who roasts the coffee beans into delicious blends that are savoured throughout the islands. We met Victoria Turner when we first came to Provo about ten years ago and at the time a delicious, good cup of freshly roasted coffee was hard to come by.
Victoria pours the green coffee beans into the roaster
Victoria started her company Turks and Caicos Coffee Roasters and came to me asking for a photo she could use for her speciality coffee bags. A beautiful beach, turquoise water, blue skies photo was chosen and is now her trademark for good island coffee.
Victoria checks to make sure the coffee beans are perfectly roasted
The aroma when Victoria is roasting is indescribably good!!!!
Victoria’s coffee is available in our local gift shops, Graceway IGA and many of the island resorts and restaurants carry their own special blends. It makes for a perfect gift for friends and family back home.
Victoria with Tina and Sheldon at their wedding...........coffee for all their guests
Tina and Sheldon gave all their wedding guests a gift of island coffee blended for this special occasion. Look for Turks and Caicos Islands roasted coffee or email me and I’ll put you in contact with Victoria.
Fresh coffee roasted right here on Provo is the only way to go!!
Marta
A large piece of bamboo forms a great backrest on one of the stretches of beach in the Bight
This little Ghost Crab put on quite an aggressive display as I photographed him
Malcolm Roads beach and little Ghost Crab. I photographed it for at least twenty minutes. I wanted to capture the ocean turquoise background and the beach.
Marta
My favourite photo of Chalk Sound taken from the road infront of this private home with its' own Juliet balcony
Many peoples introduction to Chalk Sound is from the air coming into the airport. It has the most spectacular turquoise colourations dotted with mini cays or islands. For those of you familiar with our second home in Banff, Alberta, Canada…..we have Peyto Lake which has similar turquoise colour that is due to glacial rock particles that are suspended in the water.
We were lunching at Las Brisas Restaurant one day and I happened to catch some photos of this gentleman going for a swim
Chalk Sound is variously referred to as a large lake, a land locked lagoon, a large natural creek , a bay or sound as well as an inland waterway. Take your pick. It is shallow and silty and you can see the clouds of fine sand particles kicked up by the above swimmer. That’s what gives the water its stunning turquoise colour.
View of the water looking towards Silly Creek and the residential area of beautiful private homes
Chalk Sound is a national park and is approximately three miles long (5 km) and lies in the south west part of Providenciales. At one time in the early 1900’s it was leased for raising and canning turtles, lobster and shellfish. Mr George Silly ( a part of Chalk Sound called Silly Creek still retains his name ) lived on a barren bluff between the two entrances to Chalk Sound in a thatched roofed cottage and he had a small shop and a cannery there.
Clouds reflecting in the turquoise waters of Chalk Sound
The history of Chalk Sound revolves around various commercial enterprises such as mentioned above. George Silly also leased Chalk Sound and tried to rejuvenate the sponge industry. He had 250,000 cuttings of reef sponges sown. He continued this experiment of planting sponge beds but the operation died out after his death in 1917 and was abandonned after the war.
Chalk Sound private home with a million dollar view
Today Chalk Sound is lined with spectacular homes but you can rent kayaks from Las Brisas Restaurant or perhaps be lucky enough to see the kids learning how to sail a Caicos Sloop. Stop in at Las Brisas Restaurant for a delicious lunch or dinner with one of the best views on Provo. Their Paella is really good………Pina Coladas too!!
An Old Man Cactus stands tall against the panoramic blue turquoise background of Chalk Sound
Marta
Jodi adjusts Barry's weight belt before taking them on their first underwater experience
Tina finally persuaded Barry and husband Sheldon to do a Snuba dive with Jodi. Barry was a little nervous and apprehensive about going down under!! Sheldon was cool and calm and ready for an adventure.
Sheldon holds onto the raft that carries the air tanks and floats above the divers
The snuba raft floats above the divers who breathe with a regulator attached to a long hose. Jodi has full scuba gear and takes you through the preparation and then leads the dive on the Bight Reef (also known locally as the White House Reef or Coral Gardens Reef.)
Ready to go under just to the right of the reef markers
Jodi gives the last few words of encouragement and a run through of signals before going down.
Here's Sheldon and Tina's underwater photo taken by Jodi.
No turtles today but the guys saw Atlantic Spade Fish, Grouper and Lionfish along with lots of other fish and corals.
Here's Barry having a great time and first experience with underwater......... close up and personal
Jodi takes a photo of each Snuba diver that they can keep as a lasting memory. Thanks for the photos Jodi!
Everyone comes up smiling after a great Snuba experience
Remember to phone Jodi to book a time to go out and Snuba. She’ll show you around the reef and point out so many great things as she knows this reef like the back of her hand. Come Snuba with Jodi in the Turks and Caicos Islands on your next vacation.
Marta
Lazing in the water on a Sunday afternoon
Railroad Vines were flowering and creeping along the sand and sand dunes
The Railroad Vine trails along the beaches at Leeward and can grow to lengths of 10 meters (30 feet or so)
A grasshopper sits posing on a pretty, pale pink Sea Purslane flower
Sea Purslane grows abundantly in salty and dry habitats such as on the tiny cays just out from Harbour Club Villas and Marina. We decided to explore one day and stopped on a little cay with a spectacular view of the Five Cays shoreline.
View of Five Cays shoreline from one of the tiny cays where Rock Iguanas have been introduced
We spotted some Rock Iguanas but they scurried away quickly as we approached. I did manage to get a photos of one though!
This rock iguana was very wary and was ready to take flight if I came any closer
On one of the slopes of this little cay, a carpet of sea purslane cascaded over the rocks. Some had star shaped pink flowers that bloom throughout the year.
Sea Purslane carpets the rocks on this little cay
Sea Purslane is a succulent herb that makes for a great ground cover. It grows along beaches and along the edges of salinas and has smooth, fleshy leaves. The leaves are edible and have a salty taste. I’ll have to find out if iguanas eat the leaves as this island seemed pretty limited in the way of food.
Sea Purslane is also know as Sea Pickle and can be used medicinally for treatment of scurvy and kidney disorders
What a great plant and useful for so many things!
Marta
A perfect afternoon on and in the water with the boys pulling us up to the sandbar..........it simply was the best
We both had family visiting so it was an opportunity to take a leisurely run out to the sand bar at Bonefish Point. We took off from our marina at Harbour Club Villas. There’s a deep water channel ( 12 feet deep or so ) to the right of the sandbar and all of a sudden you’re in a foot of water. The guys put the anchor out and then decided to walk it into the shallows.
Barry floats along in the clear water and enjoys the best view in the world
We saw some beautiful sea cushions ( see my previous post) and some smaller white starfish. Laura explored some rocks in the shallows and found numerous hermit crabs.
Laura shows me her find.............tiny little shells with crabs in them
Here's a small hermit crab just walking along the edge of the water
Barry, Tina and Sheldon stayed in the water pretty much all afternoon.
We all cooled off by staying in the water beer in hand. The Bonefish Point sandbar is on the south west tip of the island and accessible by road now. It never used to be……….the only way of getting here a few years ago was by boat or doing an excursion with Capt. Bill of Ocean Outback. This trip by the way is a great way of seeing the south shoreline. Hope you get to see this part of our island too.
Marta
Can you believe the colours of the water on Grace Bay today!!!!
The south side was rough and with white caps today so we headed off to my favourite spot on the beach in front of the Bay Bistro. Tina and Sheldon returned to the beach where they were married two years ago. They had a beautiful beach wedding ceremony and had their reception at the Bay Bistro. The water was calm and spectacularly clear as we just lolled in the water for hours with drinks in hand.
Sheldon floats on a turquoise blue ocean wishing the private yacht anchored out was his.
It just doesn’t get any better than this. The water was warm and sparkled in the late afternoon sun. Little Michaela came down to the beach for a swim along with her family. She told me she was just learning to swim.
Michaela enjoys the water and blows some bubbles for the camera
The only way to describe today was “idyllic”. The water was calm with a gentle breeze blowing and only a few people on the beach enjoying the afternoon. It was raining as we got to the beach at Sibonne but I’m glad that didn’t scare us away. That’s Provo for you…….wait a few minutes, the rain stops and the sun comes out!
We hope you’ll come and enjoy all that our island has to offer.
See you soon,
Marta