Turks and Caicos (but mostly Turks)

Our last excursion was on Thursday, when we docked at Grand Turk, the capital of Turks and Caicos. The Turks and Caicos chain consists of 40 islands; of these, 30 belong to Caicos and 10 are on the Turk side. Of the 40 islands, only 8 are inhabited. Of the 8 inhabited islands, 6 belong to Caicos and 2 belong to Turks. Our excursion was on one of the two Turk islands and consisted of a Tram tour. It was a good way to get an overview of this small island which is six miles long and just over a mile wide.

Our tour guide's name was Rodney and his assistant was Smiley. 

Rodney

Smiley (not smiling at the moment)

Our tram

On the tram, we sat on a row with a couple from Michigan and another couple from North Carolina. The ones from North Carolina used to live in Zelienople and have kids in Butler, and so they visit the area frequently. They were so familiar with where we live that we almost felt like neighbors.

As opposed to the modern-looking Aruba, Turks and Caicos retained the look and feel of the Caribbean many years ago. Turks and Caicos is a territory of the UK, and the people here are British citizens. This can be seen in some British colonial architecture that is surrounded by colorful local homes. The Governor of the islands is appointed by the King. It is said that this is one of the first places that Christopher Columbus landed in the New World. 

Grand Turk is known for the coral reefs that surround the island. In fact, they claim to have the third largest barrier reef in the world, behind Australia and Belize. Just past the reef, not very far offshore, there is a tremendous drop in depth from 100 feet to 7000 feet, and you can clearly see where the drop takes place because of the change in water color.

Some of the interesting things we learned about Turks:

There are no stop signs on the island, just roundabouts. They only take US dollars for currency. The only cruise port in Turks and Caicos is the one our ship came in on at Grand Turk. The cruise port has only been here since 2006, so Turks and Caicos is a relative newcomer to the Caribbean vacation scene.  There have been many hurricanes here, and there is a law that all buildings must be made of concrete, and they do a thorough inspection during the building process. 

The island gained national attention when John Glenn splashed down near Grand Turk on his first mission into space. The Turks and Caicos government returned the space capsule to the United States, and were given a replica in return.

Space capsule replica

Donkeys, horses, cows, goats, and other animals roam freely on the island. We did see many donkeys on the side of the road as we passed by on the tram. The donkeys here are called Jerusalem donkeys, described as donkeys with a cross on their back and shoulders. There is a legend that says that this cross appeared as a reward for the donkey's loyalty to Jesus when he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. We were told that you could feed the donkeys, but if you did, be careful, because they will bite off your fingers. Yikes!

Jerusalem donkeys

More Jerusalem donkeys

As on the other islands, salt mining was big here, and there are still many salt ponds on the island. Now tourism and fishing are the major industries.

Typical salt pond

There are no mailboxes at the houses here, they only use PO Boxes. The houses are in many neighborhoods, with signs out front identifying the neighborhoods. 

Breezy Brae Neighborhood

Over Back Neighborhood

Because there are no mailboxes, the houses do not need addresses. So if someone wants to direct someone else to his house, he tells him which neighborhood he is in and then says something like - I will be standing out on the street in front of the pink house. 

Everything is very expensive here. Gas is $7.50/gallon. There are no movie theaters on the island. They do not allow paparazzi. There are only 50 police officers on this Turk island, and only 200 for the whole Turks and Caicos islands.

If you look at a map, you will see that Turks and Caicos is not actually located in the Caribbean, but rather in the Atlantic Ocean, and is considered part of the British West Indies. Rodney said that Turks and Caicos is known for beautiful beaches, and was considered in the top 5 beaches in the world. He also said that scuba diving is popular here, and it is considered one of the top 3 scuba diving places in the world.

As a vacation destination, Turk - at least this part that we're seeing - doesn't seem too appealing. It doesn't have the vast resort area that we saw in Aruba. There aren't any Sandals resorts, or Airbnb's yet, but they are building a few. There were some buildings along the coast that held 2 to 4 units each, and the rental of the unit came with a vehicle. They can only accommodate 500 to 700 such buildings on the island. They are only allowed to build 3 stories high. It is obviously a vacation destination on a much smaller scale than other islands like Aruba, although the other islands in the Turks and Caicos chain are probably better and more developed.

They have a very strong lobster industry here, and because of the weather, the lobster season is 8 months long. They are also known for whale watching. Many of the whales seen here have come down from Canada to spend the winter in warmer waters. Apparently we think like the whales, as spending the winter in a warmer environment suits us just fine.

The healthcare is provided by the government (although the citizens are heavily taxed). To go to the doctor, you pay a $10 "registration fee". If the doctor determines you need more testing, all testing is included in the $10 registration fee. If you need surgery that they can't perform on the island, you get sent to another country, usually the US, again for no additional fees. They pay for the flight and any other costs incurred for both the patient and one person to travel with them. 

There are two deductions from paychecks: healthcare and retirement. I've already explained healthcare. Retirement age is 60, although you can continue working if you want to. Someone asked Rodney about the costs of the health care and retirement at age 60, realizing that the deductions might not cover everything. They asked "Where do they get the money for that?" Rodney answered, "From you guys!" Obviously tourism is very important to Turks and Caicos. 

Continuing on the theme of tourism contributing to the economy, Rodney said that there is a "head tax" to enter the country. The cruise line had to pay this head tax for each passenger on board the ship, which I'm sure they passed on to us! 

We stopped at a lighthouse to enjoy a view, not only of the lighthouse, but of the beautiful ocean. The lighthouse was made in the UK and shipped here in pieces. 

There was this "weather station" here, which consisted of a rock on a string.

Weather station

In case you can't read the weather forecast from the picture above, it says the following:

If the rock is wet, it's raining.

If the rock is swaying, it's windy.

If the rock is dry, it's sunny.

If the rock is hot, it's still sunny.

If the rock is white, it's snowing.

If the rock is cool, it's overcast.

If the rock is bouncing, there's an earthquake.

If the rock is gone, there's a hurricane.

It's probably at least as accurate as today's meteorologists!

Some good friends from Magnificat were on this same tour. Here I am with a friend from Long Island, Angela.

Angela and me

And here I am with another good friend!

Some other scenes from our trip around the island:

Even though this was our last excursion on the cruise, our plans included a few days in South Florida before heading back to Louisiana. I will do a few posts on those adventures, so if you're interested, stay tuned!