{"id":81589,"date":"2024-07-24T05:04:55","date_gmt":"2024-07-24T12:04:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/?p=81589"},"modified":"2024-07-25T10:00:31","modified_gmt":"2024-07-25T17:00:31","slug":"day-12-grand-turk-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/?p=81589","title":{"rendered":"Day 12 – Grand Turk Island!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mary got up early today!<\/p><\/div>\n

We were staring out the window, and to our surprise, the world outside was still zipping by!\u00a0 We won’t grace our destination with our presence until 1:00 pm today.\u00a0 Our grand adventure takes us to Grand Turk.\u00a0 How grand is that?<\/p>\n

Did You Know?\u00a0 <\/b>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.\u00a0 The cactus’s red top resembles a fez, which Turks wore in the late Ottoman Empire.<\/div>\n

Grand Turk is an island in the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean.\u00a0 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:<\/p>\n

Remember:\u00a0Eat, sleep, cruise, repeat.<\/p>\n

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Population: 4,500 people; The temperature was in the 80s<\/p><\/div>\n

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Cozy!!<\/p><\/div>\n

Grand Turk Island is the capital of the Turks and Caicos archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean.\u00a0 It\u2019s dotted with the remains of salt ponds and windmills from the island\u2019s sea salt industry, which flourished from the 17th to 20th century.\u00a0 The 19th-century Grand Turk Lighthouse is perched on a rocky bluff in the north.\u00a0 Beaches with clear water ring the island, home to wild horses and donkeys.<\/div>\n

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!<\/p>\n

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Lookout, world, here we come!<\/p><\/div>\n

After the exercise, we headed to breakfast to refill the lost calories!\u00a0 My, what a breakfast.\u00a0 We both had a good BM (Bloody Mary), which at our age is a good thing.\u00a0 BMs are healthy as they are full of vegetables and alcohol.\u00a0 If we get stranded on a desert island and it is freezing, we will stay warm.<\/p>\n

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Decisions decisions.<\/p><\/div>\n

As I was scanning the iPhone, it said, “Remember this?”\u00a0 Indeed I did!\u00a0 We were on the Wine Train going to Santa Barbara many years ago.<\/p>\n

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Having fun together for years, these images were from nine years ago today.<\/p><\/div>\n

We returned to our cabin via the shops.\u00a0 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!\u00a0 It’s like magic.\u00a0 (The kids found out about this; they are already seasoned cruisers) They should have been suspicious when I requested eighteen baggage tags.\u00a0 I will carry my gunny sack.<\/p>\n

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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.\u00a0 At least we had a good laugh about it!<\/p>\n

We helped with the answers and then decided to prepare for the snorkeling adventure.\u00a0 We moved right into the beach area and walked off the ship.\u00a0 We were going to go shopping for a UV shirt for Mary.<\/p>\n

We have arrived!<\/p>\n

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We could not be closer to the beach!<\/p><\/div>\n

We strolled off the ship like we owned the place!\u00a0 The gentle breeze gave us a break from the scorching heat, but only just.<\/p>\n

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It was a short walk to the shops.<\/p><\/div>\n

We got a big welcome!\u00a0 The port was full of restaurants and, of course, shops!\u00a0 Mary got her UV protection shirt, so we are good to go.<\/p>\n

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A large sign welcomed us.<\/p><\/div>\n

Who did we run into?\u00a0 Our kids were on land shopping like mad (remember, Colleen and Mark are the grandparents of four!)<\/p>\n

Grand Turk played an essential role in the early space programs as the space capsules used to land near Grand Turk.\u00a0 We stopped and visited the display.<\/p>\n

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The Mercury astronauts are featured.<\/p><\/div>\n

I was struck by the meticulous and engaging presentation of the space program exhibit.\u00a0 The attention to detail and depth of information were truly impressive, making it a memorable part of the overall experience.<\/p>\n

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An emergency landing could have been made on the Space Shuttle if necessary.was also a potential<\/p><\/div>\n

We made a brilliant decision to take the kids to Margaritaville for lunch.\u00a0 It was an absolute blast!<\/p>\n

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We all had hamburgers in paradise to honor Jilly Buffett!<\/p><\/div>\n

Mark ran back to the ship to get some goodies for the dive that they had forgotten when heading out.<\/p>\n

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Decisions decisions!<\/p><\/div>\n

The Old Man And The Sea was pontificating this lunchtime.\u00a0 My UV protection shirt Mary got me worked pretty well.\u00a0 Mary does take good care of me.\u00a0 I’m at an age when my back goes out more than I do.\u00a0 When I was a boy, the Dead Sea was sick only.<\/p>\n

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Handsome devil!<\/p><\/div>\n

We overindulged in food and drinks and had to roll out of there to make it on time for snorkeling.\u00a0 It was a hilarious sight seeing us waddle our way to the ocean after that feast\u2014it looked like a herd of ducks!<\/p>\n

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Let’s go snorkeling<\/p><\/div>\n

Now we walk to the boats carrying us to the snorkeling boats.\u00a0 After a relatively long walk through the beach sand, I was huffing and puffing when we arrived.\u00a0 We hopped on the boat and sped off for a fifteen-minute trip to the island’s reefs.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 I stayed dry and did elbow exercises.<\/p>\n

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The woman is like a fish and loves to snorkel.<\/p><\/div>\n

Mark and Mary hit the water and headed out to the reef.\u00a0 They looked like a pair of speed boats!<\/p>\n

Colleen took it slower, making sure her personal snorkeling equipment was adequately assembled.\u00a0 I was a slightly worried about her diving bell made from a gallon milk container.<\/p>\n

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“Wait for me, wait for me, or please wait for me!”<\/p><\/div>\n

The yellow-horned fish is a scary sight.\u00a0 Today, she got a new nickname: “Flipper.”<\/p>\n

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They spent 40 minutes in the water splashing around.<\/p><\/div>\n

We had two boatloads of folks in the water exploring the reefs and frightening the little fishies.<\/p>\n

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It looked like someone unloaded a bag of yellow rubber ducks into the water.<\/p><\/div>\n

After recording, the captain sailed about a mile toward a sandy island.\u00a0 We jumped off without the snorkeling equipment and played with the rays.\u00a0 One ray was very friendly and he (or she) posed for many shots.<\/p>\n

The water was choppy, and I was wobbling all over the place!<\/p>\n

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Mary keeps me upright!\u00a0 It looks like Beauty and the Beast (the Beast is on the right)<\/p><\/div>\n

The fish was indeed French; I got a little tongue!<\/p>\n