Mary got up early today!
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
We were staring out the window, and to our surprise, the world outside was still zipping by! We won’t grace our destination with our presence until 1:00 pm today. Our grand adventure takes us to Grand Turk. How grand is that?
Did You Know? The name Grand Turk Island comes from the Turk’s head cactus (Melocactus intortus) that Christopher Columbus saw growing there in 1492 during his first voyage to the New World. The cactus’s red top resembles a fez, which Turks wore in the late Ottoman Empire.
Grand Turk is an island in the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It’s located in the West Indies, north of Hispaniola, between the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, and about 575 miles southeast of Miami, Florida:
Remember: Eat, sleep, cruise, repeat.
Population: 4,500 people; The temperature was in the 80s
Cozy!!
Grand Turk Island is the capital of the Turks and Caicos archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean. It’s dotted with the remains of salt ponds and windmills from the island’s sea salt industry, which flourished from the 17th to 20th century. The 19th-century Grand Turk Lighthouse is perched on a rocky bluff in the north. Beaches with clear water ring the island, home to wild horses and donkeys.
We hit the gym and hopped on those stationary bikes, pretending we were in the Tour de France, racing around those corners like a swarm of angry bees was chasing us!
Lookout, world, here we come!
After the exercise, we headed to breakfast to refill the lost calories! My, what a breakfast. We both had a good BM (Bloody Mary), which at our age is a good thing. BMs are healthy as they are full of vegetables and alcohol. If we get stranded on a desert island and it is freezing, we will stay warm.
Decisions decisions.
As I was scanning the iPhone, it said, “Remember this?” Indeed I did! We were on the Wine Train going to Santa Barbara many years ago.
Having fun together for years, these images were from nine years ago today.
We returned to our cabin via the shops. We did learn from the kids that we signed up to have our baggage go directly to the airplane, so we did NOT have to lug everything around in the airport! It’s like magic. (The kids found out about this; they are already seasoned cruisers) They should have been suspicious when I requested eighteen baggage tags. I will carry my gunny sack.
We stumbled upon the kids playing trivia, so we thought, “Why not?” We joined in and promptly realized that our collective knowledge was somewhat lacking when we only managed to get eleven out of twenty questions right. At least we had a good laugh about it!
We helped with the answers and then decided to prepare for the snorkeling adventure. We moved right into the beach area and walked off the ship. We were going to go shopping for a UV shirt for Mary.
We have arrived!
We could not be closer to the beach!
We strolled off the ship like we owned the place! The gentle breeze gave us a break from the scorching heat, but only just.
It was a short walk to the shops.
We got a big welcome! The port was full of restaurants and, of course, shops! Mary got her UV protection shirt, so we are good to go.
A large sign welcomed us.
Who did we run into? Our kids were on land shopping like mad (remember, Colleen and Mark are the grandparents of four!)
Grand Turk played an essential role in the early space programs as the space capsules used to land near Grand Turk. We stopped and visited the display.
The Mercury astronauts are featured.
I was struck by the meticulous and engaging presentation of the space program exhibit. The attention to detail and depth of information were truly impressive, making it a memorable part of the overall experience.
An emergency landing could have been made on the Space Shuttle if necessary.was also a potential
We made a brilliant decision to take the kids to Margaritaville for lunch. It was an absolute blast!
We all had hamburgers in paradise to honor Jilly Buffett!
Mark ran back to the ship to get some goodies for the dive that they had forgotten when heading out.
Decisions decisions!
The Old Man And The Sea was pontificating this lunchtime. My UV protection shirt Mary got me worked pretty well. Mary does take good care of me. I’m at an age when my back goes out more than I do. When I was a boy, the Dead Sea was sick only.
Handsome devil!
We overindulged in food and drinks and had to roll out of there to make it on time for snorkeling. It was a hilarious sight seeing us waddle our way to the ocean after that feast—it looked like a herd of ducks!
Let’s go snorkeling
Now we walk to the boats carrying us to the snorkeling boats. After a relatively long walk through the beach sand, I was huffing and puffing when we arrived. We hopped on the boat and sped off for a fifteen-minute trip to the island’s reefs.
Everyone suited up, but I decided to stay onboard because my sciatica was acting up, and paddling around in the ocean currents would have been difficult. I stayed dry and did elbow exercises.
The woman is like a fish and loves to snorkel.
Mark and Mary hit the water and headed out to the reef. They looked like a pair of speed boats!
Colleen took it slower, making sure her personal snorkeling equipment was adequately assembled. I was a slightly worried about her diving bell made from a gallon milk container.
“Wait for me, wait for me, or please wait for me!”
The yellow-horned fish is a scary sight. Today, she got a new nickname: “Flipper.”
They spent 40 minutes in the water splashing around.
We had two boatloads of folks in the water exploring the reefs and frightening the little fishies.
It looked like someone unloaded a bag of yellow rubber ducks into the water.
After recording, the captain sailed about a mile toward a sandy island. We jumped off without the snorkeling equipment and played with the rays. One ray was very friendly and he (or she) posed for many shots.
The water was choppy, and I was wobbling all over the place!
Mary keeps me upright! It looks like Beauty and the Beast (the Beast is on the right)
The fish was indeed French; I got a little tongue!
Mary made a friend. He was indeed French!
It was 7:00 pm when we sprinted away from the grasps of the Manta Rays and raced to the awaiting ship, which couldn’t sail without us at the scheduled 7:30 pm pre-planned departure time (the brochure said they would wait for us, but we know brochures lie!). We were moving faster than a seagull eyeing someone’s fish and chips!
“Wait for us!!”
After a long walk in the sand, we arrived on board at 7:27 pm to the applause of many passengers and crew.
As we reached the elevators, he heard the side door slam shut, the whistle blew, and they played the Theme From Love Boat. We were moving before we got to the 14th floor.
We were hurrying along as fast as our little legs would carry us!
We are off to our cabin to shower and remove the salt from our clothes. We washed off the salt to avoid being mistaken for walking snacks. That could be dangerous around the buffet at dinner time!
The shore looked like a diamond necklace.
Then we rounded up the little ones at the Irish bar for family-friendly fun and eventually herded everyone to the trough for a hearty dinner.
We sat around looking at each other, waiting for the first person to admit defeat and want to return home. Being the “head of the family” (no bathroom comments from the peanut gallery), I suggested we turn in for the night. Instantly, a rousing applause began, and everyone followed suit. It was a mad rush to the elevators.
The kids bought the old man a giant ice cream sundae, which Mark delivered to the room. I wished he had not been wearing his pink thong; it frightened our cabin steward. As Mark sashayed down the aisle, I heard wolf whistles from all the ladies and a couple of the gents!
I took two bites, and my body gave out—I was completely out of gas!
I made a decision. I shall only allow the kids to address me as: elder, sage, veteran, patriarch/ matriarch, senior, time-honored individual, golden ager, wisdom bearer, seasoned soul, and grand elder!
