Monthly Archives: May 2009

Shopping Turks and Caicos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Tents are set up and waiting for tonights Full Moon BBQ on the beach infront of the Bay Bistro

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?

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)

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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!

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

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

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

Turtles

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My tucked away little beach found by a few lucky visitors

My tucked away little beach found by a few lucky visitors

Late yesterday afternoon, we went down to a lovely beach not far from Harbour Club Villas. We were there with only one other couple…………..they must have been honeymooners as they had carved a heart in the sand.

Honeymooners leave a heart with their names and footprints in the sand

Honeymooners leave a heart with their names and footprints in the sand

There was great excitement as Marilyn saw something in the water…………I knew immediately that the turtles were out! Previous guests at our villas had sighted dozens….yes dozens of turtles here. I had even taken a trip out to see for myself but hadn’t sighted any. There was at least three turtles this time and their heads popped up over and over again as we sat enthralled watching them. I waded out into the water and managed to get these photos of them.
I managed to catch this photo of one of the turtles as I waited patiently in the water for them to come up for air.

I managed to catch this photo of one of the turtles as I waited patiently in the water for them to come up for air.

Another turtle pops his head up, saw me and went back under.

Another turtle pops his head up, saw me and went back under.

There has been numerous sightings of turtles here at this beach during the last month. I’m not sure why there would be so many of them and in the shallow waters of the south side of Provo close by our villas. I’ve mentioned it to a few people but no one seems to know.
I love seeing turtles and hope you do too on your next trip to our “beautiful by nature” Turks and Caicos Islands
Marta
http://www.diving.tc

Blue Hills

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

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.

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

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