Soft, gentle pastel colours as a late summer storm passes out at sea
Late Summer Storm
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Gulf Fritillary Butterfly
Saw and photographed this colourful and lovely looking butterfly the other day
This is a Gulf Fritillary and it is one of the most frequently seen butterflies in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Not only is it beautiful with its rich orange with black markings but on the underside, it is even more spectacular.
Intricate patterns on the underside of the butterfly's wings.
This butterfly is also known as the Passion butterfly as the caterpillars feed on the many passionflower vines found here in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The side view shows the patterned wing which has silvery spots.
Colourful head markings on a Gult Fritillary
Close up of the beautiful markings found on the underside of the Gulf Fritillary Butterfly
We encourage you to keep your eyes open so that you can spot these butterflies as you travel about our islands. The Turks and Caicos has some 40 species of butterflies that have been recorded.
Look out for those butterflies!!
Marta
Kestrel
I managed to get some photos of an American Kestrel as it perched on a palm frond behind one of our villas.
It was so great to see what I thought was a hawk behind one of our villas at Harbour Club today. I ran back to our villa and grabbed my camera. On looking it up, I found out that American Kestrels are also known as Sparrow Hawks but they are not true hawks but are a member of the Falcon family of birds. They resemble the Peregrine Falcon which is a distant cousin.
I'm not sure if this one is a female or a male Kestrel
These birds are a common sight here in the Turks and Caicos Islands and are year round breeding residents. There was two of them and I’m now thinking that the one above was the female and one below is the male.
If this is the male Kestrel, he didn't stick around for me to get a better photo.
I’m sure these birds are attracted by our large population of lizards here at the villas and this makes for good hunting grounds.
Marta
A Day on the Water
This beautiful pink tipped sea anemone looked like it was growing out of an old conch shell.
Another great day spent with friends on the water. As we waded to our little cay with the iguanas, I came across a pink tipped sea anemone. It appeared to be growing out of an old conch shell encrusted with marine life.
We saw many iguanas on the little cay and they were probably introduced some years ago.
The iguanas scurried away as we approached and this one was almost ready to put up a fight. He positioned himself so that he could hide in the brush under a sea grape bush if he needed to.
Three pelicans all in a row were feasting on a large school of little fish
As we anchored off the pirate’s cave and Osprey Rock, we were treated to a pelican show…………..three Brown Pelicans and their synchronized dive bombing for fish show. It was spectacular to watch as I positioned myself in the water in the hopes that they would feed close beside me.
Look at the huge stretch of this pelican's gullet.
Little fish were jumping all around as the pelicans swooped time and time again.
I love the way they skip along the water trying to get enough lift to launch into flight.
And finally, front row seats for the best view in the world and a grande finale to the day. The sun sets over Turtle Rock, and we head back to Harbour Club’s Marina.
We watched the sun go down from the waters of Taylor Bay.
A perfect ending to another Provo day filled with sun, fun, good friends and alot of laughter. We wish the same for you as you make plans to visit soon.
Marta
Leeward beauty
The turquoise waters of Leeward are always ready for another photo and especially when I can persuade our kids to pose for me!
Cannons at Ft. St. George Cay
Ania snorkels to try and find the cannons lying in shallow water.
In 1798 the work on Ft St George was begun. A detachment of 2oo men was sent from Jamaica and they brought with them cannon and other equipment. The unit was from the 67th Royal Hampshire Regiment and when supplies failed to arrive from Nassau, these men experienced real hardship. They had to depend on fish and locally grown corn and as a result some 30 were lost through illness and death.
A marker lies buried in the sand on Ft St George Cay
Ensign Neil Campbell was the commander and he persisted in erecting the fort on St. George’s Cay, guns were mounted and barracks and storeroom finished.
Two cannons lie in a few feet of water and are covered with marine growth
It is thought that there are five or six cannons lying in the water in an arc pointing out to sea. Whenwe were there, we saw two that were pretty much buried in the sand and overgrown with marine growth. It is possible that the cannons were originally mounted on land and that erosion and undermining of the land over the past 200 years has caused the cannons to fall into the sea.
Closer view of one of the cannons in the waters off Ft St George
Many years ago when we first came to take a look at the cannons, there were several snorkelers out in the waters. One of them excitedly found something lying in the sand. It was a silver coin. We always wondered what other treasures might be lying there covered by the sand and even how many other artifacts have been found and taken away from the islands. Let’s hope that somehow, sometime this will be a protected area and that it will become an heritage site/ historic park for future generations to enjoy.
Marta
Snorkeling close to the Reef
Ready to jump in for a snorkel out close to the reef off Fort St George Cay
The water was amazingly clear and calm as Barry and Ania get ready to jump in for a snorkel. We were moored a little ways out from Fort St George Cay.
The water was quite shallow even though we were a ways from the shore.
Barry shows us a huge Sea Biscuit.
The sandy bottom was littered with large sea biscuits. We then made our way closer in to the shore at Fort St George
to see if we could find the canons that are laying in shallow water. We did find them but that’s for my next post.
There are several great snorkeling spots here on Provo. Happy snorkeling!
Marta
Conch Salad
Fresh from the sea, a delicious conch salad made just for you!
Conch is a staple here in the Turks and Caicos Islands and something you should try when you are here on holiday. It takes many shapes and forms……a Ceviche type conch salad, conch fritters, cracked conch, conch fingers, curried conch, and conch chowder. Here’s the recipe for a delectable conch salad Turks and Caicos style. Yum, it is so good!!
2lbs Conch meat, diced 1c rice vinegar, ½ c red vinegar, 4 ea limes juiced, zest from 1, 2 ea red onion, diced fine, 1 ea yellow bell pepper, 1 ea red bell pepper, 1ea green bell pepper, 4ea garlic cloves, crushed to paste, 2T sugar, salt and black pepper to taste, 6-8 sprigs cilantro chopped stems and all. Hot sauce to taste. Split, pound and dice the conch meat and set aside. In a stainless steel bowl, place all remaining ingredients, mix well and let stand for 10 min. Pour mixture over the conch and mix well, and place in refrigerator for 45min before serving.
Conch salad with a chilled glass of your favourite white wine.
Stanford Handfield is the creator of these beautiful bowls made from conch and you can buy them locally along with other items that he makes. Many of our restaurants if not all have a variety of conch on their menus. Try some today!
Marta
Water Therapy
- Blue skies, turquoise water ……….. floating your cares away. It doesn’t get any better than this.
Bonefish Point on a brilliantly sunny afternoon. The water was calm, the colours were unbelievable. Wayne looks like he’s fallen asleep while floating a few inches off the sand on the sandbar. You too could be enjoying our soft sandy beaches and crystal clear, turquoise seas.
Marta
Sailing on Provo
Here's the Beluga moored off shore at Half Moon Bay last weekend
Captain Tim Ainley and the Beluga were moored off shore at Half Moon Bay. The Beluga is a 36 foot (10.97) catamaran sailing boat, very unique and distinctive looking and built in 1980 in Canada. It now does sailing charters out of Provo. As I took photos I saw Capt. Tim’s trusty companion Schooner taking a swim for shore.
Schooner swims for shore...........you can just make him out. He's the black speck close to the rock.
Evidently, Schooner had had enough of being on board and wanted to cool off while the others snorkeled………….yes, apparently they sighted JoJo. How lucky can you be???
Schooner takes a rest on the rocks after his long swim.
I’m not sure if you can see but there’s a speck off to the right of the Beluga and I think that’s JoJo. I zoomed in and cropped the photo and it does look like a dolphin.
Here's a close up of the Beluga and to the right of the person in the water almost at the edge of the photo is JoJo.
Schooner gets ready to swim back to the Beluga
There are several sailing charters available from Providenciales so just let me know and I’ll point you in the right direction.
Marta