Morning sunrise over the salt pans on our first day.
Excitement and anticipation on a return weekend trip to Salt Cay. Up early and out the door to catch the sunrise and not wanting to waste a minute of the day. How I love the peaceful tranquility at that time of day.
The Turks & Caicos heather, Limonium bahamense was blooming this time and I took lots of photos of this pretty plant.
The Turks and Caicos Island heather, thrives in the saline conditions of the salt flats. It is found growing along the retaining walls of Salt Cay’s salt ponds. It is now the islands’ national flower.
Came across a Snowy Egret dancing in the salt ponds looking for food and managed to catch a great photo with reflections.
My favourite little lane with charming rock walls runs right past Mt Pleasant guest house where we stayed.
Through the wood louvers of the White House looking towards Dunscombe Point.
No trip to Salt Cay is complete without seeing the White House and this trip was very special. We met owner Ian Dunn who took time out to show us through this splendid old mansion complete with stories of his ancestors. I’m definitely going to do a separate blog on this magnificent building that’s part of Salt Cay’s history.
There’s nothing better than having lunch with this view………the gazebo at the Brown House.
The Brown House was built in 1860, fully restored and is now a beautiful waterfront residence for holidaying visitors to Salt Cay. Thanks to Candy Herwin for an island lunch with friends and of course a chance to take more photos of this heritage house.
Mount Pleasant guest cottage where we stayed with a roof top wooden walkway to the balcony of the main house. Love the blue shutters.
We were fortunate to be able to stay in the fully renovated guest cottage at Mount Pleasant with hosts Jo and George Oates. Salt Cay accommodation with character …… simply perfect for our all too short vacation getaway.
The north shore beach looking towards Grand Turk……….if you look closely, you can see a cruise ship.
Ruins of the Windmills Plantation…..love to take photos here.
Zoomed in shot of Grand Turk and cruise ship.
Beautiful stretch of beach but a bit too rough for swimming.
An old salt rakers cottage.
A visit to Porter’s Island Thyme is a must for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The chicken breast stuffed with bacon, baby spinach and mozzarella cheese was absolutely delicious with home made ice cream to follow.
Early Sunday morning and my little friends were heading to gran’s house. They were going to help bake cookies they told me!
Love this red shuttered house next to the church.
Foot prints in the sand just up from Debbie’s Coral Reef Bar and Grill restaurant.
Great place for sunsets, drinks and a bite to eat.
Looking towards Dean’s Dock…….it was pretty rough out there.
Sheedy’s cannon up on the bluff was a lovely walk early on Sunday morning.
Falling in love with a donkey that looked ready to have a baby at any time.
Pirate’s Hideaway……..another great place to stay in Salt Cay.
Loving the colours…….turquoise dwelling with donkey.
Newly repaired roof of the Bermudian kitchen at Government House.
Inside the old Bermudian kitchen with some lovely old antiques.
Inside the Bermudian Kitchen a lot of work has been done since I was last here taking photos. Old antique artifacts and utensils from Salt Cay have been found and or donated. Candy Herwin writes “…..like Jose Jones old handmade carpenters saw and box of tools…one of the ladies old singer machines with Ms. Mellys measuring tape …remember the old cloth ones….decade old cooking pots from Mary Robinson kitchen….ancient locks and one of my favorites an old steam iron in a homemade stand…Later Ms. Rosie Glinton said it was used for placing on top of frying fish to stop them curling…Well I never.”
Malaika and sea glass gathering.
Salt Cay is a treasure trove of sea glass lying on the beaches.
Excitement in the form of water delivery on Salt Cay.
Our last day and bright sunshine and slightly calmer seas
Boats and dive boats with the sea wall.
Walking, bicycles and golf buggies are the main modes of transportation.
Our last morning and YES…………we saw the humpback whales. What a magnificent sight.
Our last morning and a snap decision made literally in 5 minutes. The seas had died down a bit and we thought we just had to go. Salt Cay Divers and a 100% success rate so far this season. We went for it and WOW, we were so glad we did. Tough with the boat rockin’ and rollin’ to take photos but all worth it as I managed to get two reasonable “tail” shots.
Leaving Salt Cay and flying over Grand Turk with a cruise ship docked.
And so, another wonderful few days away from the hustle and bustle of Provo. Salt Cay is a treasure of an island full of history, relaxation, love the donkeys wandering along the salt ponds and streets, the stacked rock old walls, the north beach in all its splendor and the many historic buildings.
I can’t wait to come back again and again.
Marta
http://www.harbourclubvillas.com
What a wonderful narrative and photos!!! It really makes you want to visit.
Thanks for all the time and effort you put into doing your blogs…they are so informative. I don’t know where else you can go to have such a complete picture of the islands.
In fact, I think you are good to publish the next, or perhaps the ONLY.. Turks and Caicos Islands Encycolpaedia!!
From a TCI aficionado and frequent visitor.
My husband and I along with our friends went to Salt Cay, in 2014 to scuba dive, and to see the whales . We were NOT disappointed ,Wonderful diving. One of the dive sites Call the N.W. Wall I had the most incredible experience , we were hanging off the Wall at about 66 feet ,when we all hear this sound coming up from underneath us, it was so loud that it made your chest vibrate, it was the whales singing to each other , we were able to catch the song on our video Recording . This was the first time I had ever hear anything like this. To this day I still can remember how it Felt and sounded to me. And I play that Recording Now and again for the sheer enjoyment of hearing it again. We are planing another trip to Salk Cay in the spring of 2016, to see and hear the Beautiful whales!
Currently I am compiling a reference book entitled, National Flowers of the Nations that will be published via Create Space, early 2018. There are over 100 Nations with traditional or official National Flowers and the Turk and Caicos Island is represented with Island Heather (Limonium bahamense).
I am writing to obtain with permission an image of Island Heather that will be featured in the fore said work with full credit attribution.
Thank you! I look forward to your response at your earliest convenience.
Best,
Alan McPherson, USA
Sorry Alan for the slow reply……..can you give me your email address and I can then send you a selection of photos. Thanks Marta
i love salt cay but i really can’t love it that much because i live in salt cay and i have restaurant name pats place in south district
Hi Pat, It’s Marta…….we’ve stayed with Candy many times and ate your amazing curry. Hoping to bring my sisters to meet you in January. We were badly hit by Irma and I haven’t spoken to Candy as to how things are on Salt Cay.