Shopping Turks and Caicos

Posted on May 9, 2009 by marta

Our shopping trip was pleasantly interrupted by two beautiful little girls who posed for me by the great mural at Ports of Call

Today was the day I took Sam and Marilyn shopping as we visited my favourite stores with such a variety of gifts just made for everyone. We stopped at the colourful Haitien market with stalls full of metal painted art. It was a day of turtles as Sam bought a turtle wall piece and then Marilyn found a beautiful turtle box in another shop.

Hard to pass up all the vibrant colours of metal art work......from geckos to fish, turtles to sunmasks

Ports of Call was another stop where we made sure to drop in at Mama’s Gift Shop….Mama wasn’t there today but Chalice as always was full of smiles and happy to see us. On your next Provo visit, tell the ladies Marta at Harbour Club sent you! Sam, whose real name is Sandy bought the new children’s book Where is Simon, Sandy? for her grandkids. It is based on an actual event from the Turks and Caicos Islands and is set on Grand Turk.

Check out the great selection at our shopping areas in The Salt Mills and Ports of Call

The SaltMills is full of quality shops especially Anna’s Gallery which is a must with the most exquisite original paintings on silk. You’ll often find the artist, Anna Bourne painting her latest silk work of tropical fish, turtles, frogs or sea horses. Other artists’ works are also on display.

Happy shopping everyone!

Marta

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Yellow fin Tuna

Posted on May 8, 2009 by marta

What a catch.......a great fight and Barry landed a 30 lb yellow fin tuna

Today Barry headed out for a day of deep sea fishing with some friends. He hooked something off Malcolm Roads beach and it put up a great fight for a good 15 minutes. What a beauty! It was a 30 lb yellow fin tuna. We’re going to invite our villa guests to join us for a tuna steak barbecue tomorrow night and what a feast it will be.

Bon appetit!

Marta

http://www.bonefishing.tc

Beach Barbecue

Posted on May 7, 2009 by marta

Tents are set up and waiting for tonight's Full Moon BBQ on the beach in front of the Bay Bistro

We were down for lunch and pina coladas at the Bay Bistro. We decided that these guys have the BEST pina coladas and yes, lunch was great too. Chef Clive Whent was busy preparing the prime rib for the “feast on the full moon” barbecue held on the beach by the Bay Bistro.

Did I say Clive was working hard preparing tonight's prime rib?

Well, we figured it was pretty tiring work watching the prime rib slowly cook on the spit especially when the weather on the beach was just too good to be true. On tonight’s menu will be prime rib and shrimp, buffet style under the full moon with music and a bonfire…………………$40.00 for adults and $20.00 for kids. Make sure you take in this event if you are here on island for the next full moon. It’s something that shouldn’t be missed!

See you on the beach.

Marta

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Conch World (Part 2)

Posted on May 6, 2009 by marta

The onshore nursery ponds can hold up to 2,000,000 conchs!!!

Some 80 onshore ponds, where aeration systems keep the water oxygenated, are the nursery home of the baby conchs which are fed a special conch feed by some 20 staff at the farm.

Each pen out in the shallow waters contains 5,000 conch

Conch World has 200 offshore pens which hold initially the 1 year olds (6 cm size). After 2 1/2 years in the pens or at 3 to 4 years old, the conch can be harvested.

Danver introduces us to Sally the resident female conch

Sally needs little coaxing to come out of her shell. Note the “foot” which is strong and powerful.

And here's Jerry........the male conch with his male parts that Danver is pointing to.

Make sure to visit Conch World when you visit our island of Providenciales. Entry fee is only $10.00 per person and I think it is well worth it. You won’t have another opportunity anywhere in the world as this commercial farm is the only one.

See you there!

Marta

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Conch World

Posted on May 5, 2009 by marta

View of the Subsea Pasture where the conch grow from about 6 cm to adult conch

Today we headed out to see the Conch Farm…….the only one of its kind in the world. I’d heard that they had suffered quite some damage from Hurricanes Hanna and Ike. I have been through the farm several times over the years and today was an opportunity to go again. The old dock was gone and lots of damage sustained by Ike’s 140 mph winds as well as an 8 foot storm surge during Hanna.

Here's our friendly and informative guide Danver who told us everything you ever wanted to know about conch and more!

Provo Conch World has been in existence since 1984 with 12 million dollars invested to develop conch farming to the commercial scale it operates at today. Currently they have about 500,000 conch!

On shore nursery ponds containing small conch from 2 to 6 cm

Baby conchs grow in these nursery ponds for about a year until ready to be put out in the sub-sea pasture

I have lots more photos and will continue tomorrow

Marta

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Blue Hills

Posted on May 1, 2009 by marta

I love Blue Hills and these colourful kiosks right on the water.

Friends from Banff arrived yesterday and today I took them into my favourite area of Blue Hills. We stopped for a drink at Sailing Paradise which is located in these brightly coloured kiosks on the water. What a feast for the eyes……….colours of pink, aqua, blue and orange plus the sunshine cutouts with a turquoise ocean backdrop.

Great deck overlooking the water out at Blue Hills.

Visit Precious Barber Shop or stop for a bite to eat at Sailing Paradise in Blue Hills

Sapodilla rock carvings #2

Posted on April 24, 2009 by marta

View of boats at anchor at Sapodilla Bay from the top of the hill

A great view point to watch the sun go down and look for the Green Flash…………the top of the hill has scattered rock carvings with names and dates. They say these carvings were left by sailors on watch.

This carving bears the name S Thompson and shows the Masonic symbol

This carving bears the name S Thompson 1874 and shows the Masonic symbol

This is quite an elaborate carving with Palestine at the top and the name R N Bacon.

Inscription dated 1812 and 1821

This one's from 1832

Here's what Sapodilla Bay looks llike from where the carvings are

Here's what Sapodilla Bay looks like from where the carvings are

Be sure to visit Sapodilla Hill to see these carvings and enjoy the view when you visit us on Providenciales.

See you up there!

Cheers,

Marta

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Sapodilla Hill Rock Carvings

Posted on April 23, 2009 by marta

Here's the trail leading up Signal Hill to where the carvings are found

On the way out to South Dock and just past the Chalk Sound turn off, you’ll find a rough dirt road that ends at the old Mariner Hotel. Park beside the link fence at about a third of the way to the old hotel and look to the right…..you should see the trail head.

At the top of Signal Hill look down in the rocks and you'll find the carvings

There are many names and dates carved into the rocks supposedly by shipwrecked sailors in days gone by. The inscriptions are quite old and you can clearly make out names such as Balfour and Harriott along with dates.

This appears to be the earliest date 1767

One of the inscriptions could be attributed to a 19th-century official: W.R. Inglis, second President of the Turks & Caicos (1854-1862).

Inscription by W.R. Inglis around 1854-1862

I want to post more photos of the inscriptions and will do that tomorrow. The view is magnificent from the top of Sapodilla and well worth a trip to see these old carvings.

Marta

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Old Tiki Huts at Malcolm Roads

Posted on April 22, 2009 by marta

Old photo taken in 2002 of the tiki huts and dive boat out at Malcolm Roads beach

Years ago, Malcolm Roads was only accessible with a 4×4 jeep type vehicle and the hill was soooooo intimidating, pitted and huge ruts towards the bottom. It was always worth it as at the end of the road was a simply breathtaking stretch of beach with the tiki huts. We used to do our ladies beach day down there with not another soul around. I thought some of you might like to see my old photos of the tiki huts and beach.

White, powdery sand beach and always the amazing colours of blue and turquoise

When we first came to Providenciales, the tiki huts were still useable for some shade but began to drastically deteriorate. They were originally built for a French game show that took place on that beach around 1992.

It's a real shame that this beautiful area was not protected for future generations. It is now the site of an exclusive hotel.

Dive boats would spend their intervals pulled up fairly close to shore

Those were the days.......exotic, remote......a piece of paradise.

Hope you enjoyed my old photos of the tiki huts at Malcolm Roads. A bit of history that many of us fondly remember.

Marta

http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Beach Wedding

Posted on April 21, 2009 by marta

Shelley and Shandi stop for some photos outside their villa at Harbour Club

What a day for a beach wedding……..Monday, April 20th…..glorious sunshine and the wind lay down a little as Shelley and Shandi headed off in their jeep to Malcolm Road’s beach. Shelley was a beautiful bride dressed in a gorgeous green lace wedding gown with a spray of lilies and orchids that matched her dress exactly. Shandi with his quiet smile didn’t seem to be too nervous!!!!!

Shelley and Shandi married yesterday on the beach at Malcolm Roads

Malcolm Road’s beach was deserted and picture perfect for their special wedding ceremony performed by Pastor Coleby of the Healing Waters Ministry.

Yeah!!!!!!!! We did it..........Just Married

Malcolm Road’s beach isn’t your usual wedding beach but Shelley and Shandi simply couldn’t get over the spectacular beauty of this area. The rocks reminded Shelley of her PEI (that’s Canada folks ) roots.

One of my favourite photos of the newly weds.........Yes, they both went right into the warm waters at sunset.

The happy couple went right into the water ………they had warned the photographers that this is what they wanted to do.

Congratulations to Shelley and Shandi on their marriage here on our beautiful island of Providenciales.

If you want a quiet, intimate island wedding and honeymoon, our six villa complex is perfect for smaller group occasions. Just contact me for information on having your wedding here on Provo. We’ll help you plan your very special wedding day.

See you in the islands!

Marta

http://www.cloudnine.tc

MyTurksAndCaicosBlog.com

Turks and Caicos Vacation, Travel, Fishing, and Diving

Category Archives: What to do

Shopping Turks and Caicos

Yellow fin Tuna

Beach Barbecue

Conch World (Part 2)

Conch World

Blue Hills

Sapodilla rock carvings #2

Sapodilla Hill Rock Carvings

Old Tiki Huts at Malcolm Roads

Beach Wedding