Grand Turk: Beautiful by Nature

Saturday, 18 December

We have one more day at sea and then they’re going to kick us off the ship to take on new passengers while we make our way to the freezing temperatures awaiting us at home. But that’s a story that has yet to unfold.

Grand Turk is one of the islands of Turks and Caicos.
(the top inset shows a closer view of grand Turk, while the lower
inset shows where we played in relation to where the ship docked.
the red line depicts our beach walk.)

With so few days at sea on this cruise, I relished our morning at sea en route to Grand Turk, our last port of call. Maybe that’s why I was up at 5:30a this morning … I didn’t want to miss a moment of my quiet time on the veranda. More likely, I was up early because we gained an hour overnight, returning to Eastern Standard Time for the rest of our cruise. It’s now 11:00a and even as I’m writing this blog entry, the ship is slowing down. That can mean only one thing — we’re about to pick up the pilot who will guide us to the pier at the Grand Turk Cruise Center.

most passengers don’t venture past the Cruise Center, a purpose-built
facility with shops, restaurants and bars, and beach facilities.

Anyway, back to the morning. I read on the veranda until Mui stirred and went downstairs to get himself an iced latte from the coffee bar on the Fiesta Deck (#6), the only bar open in the early morning hours. We joined up at the Horizon Court to eat breakfast at our usual table on the aft deck. Very few people were around, and we enjoyed having the area to ourselves.

When we returned to the cabin, it was to find the sun, which had been hiding behind the clouds, shining bright and baking the veranda. Not good! After helping Mui pack some of our belongings (might as well put non-veranda time to good use), I headed up to Skywalkers, the nightclub located in what Princess aficionados fondly refer to as the “shopping cart handle.” Admittedly, the name is fitting.

Skywalkers is on Deck 17… AKA “the Shopping Cart Handle.”
(upper right photo shows the tube that leads up to the “handle”;
that’s where the moving walkway is located.)

As it was only 8:00a, I had the place to myself. Finding a hidden nook, I blogged for a while, polishing up already written entries. Mui joined me briefly to work on his video footage until he ran out of battery power. When he went off to wander around the ship and get his people-fix, I stayed on. Though a couple of people showed up, my little corner remained private. When he came by later with some snacks to tide us over until lunch, Mui jokingly likened my little spot to the slides of our motor home. Not a bad comparison since the part of the “handle” I was sitting in does jut out over the sea.

hard at work on a morning at sea.

We returned to the cabin around 10:00a to find the veranda in the shade again. No question about what I was going to do … enjoy the last of this morning’s R&R in my favorite spot on the ship.

Mui has brought some light food from the buffet, so I’ll end my writing for now. We’re going to eat our lunch on the veranda while the ship maneuvers up to the pier. By the time the lines are secured, we’ll be ready to go ashore.

The bow-cam shows us on approach to the Cruise Center.
[from the TV in the cabin]

… Later

A short but satisfactory port of call, with the weather much more comfortable than it was the first time we visited the island. If the temperature reached the forecasted high of 81F (27C), it certainly did not feel like it thanks to the constant breeze and the partly cloudy conditions that shielded us from the sun.

Today was our second time visiting Grand Turk, a small island that is part of Turks and Caicos. Since I am always asked about what Turks have to do with this island chain, let me explain. Nothing! The name Turks is derived from the indigenous Turk’s Head “fez” cactus (see picture below). Caicos, the other part of the name, comes from a Lucayan term, “caya hico,” meaning string of islands.

Our previous visit to the island was in 2008, aboard Caribbean Princess. On that occasion, we hopped into a cab and went to Pillory Beach. I sat in the shade and took frequent dips in the ocean. There was no breeze and the water provided the only relief on a HOT-HOT-HOT day. Mui went snorkeling at a nearby reef. Then, not satisfied with that, he joined an off-boat snorkeling trip that took him out to an area known as The Wall (better for scuba diving, he later reported).

Grand Turk 2008

By the way, though Grand Turk doesn’t claim to have any of Christopher Columbus’ remains, there is a “Columbus Landfall National Park” here that commemorates the first landing. The claim is not without dispute. No surprise there; Columbus himself was not sure where exactly he made landfall. His logbook apparently describes a bean-shaped island with several other islands nearby. The description fits Grand Turk, so that’s the end of that story!

We were off the Grand as soon as the ship was cleared, joining the throngs heading to shore. Once through the duty free shop (the only way out), we hung a right towards the Point, made our way down to the beach, and left the crowds behind. Our destination was the stretch of sand known locally as the Conch Graveyard.

Welcome to Grand Turk.
(the bottom center photo shows the point and the conch graveyard.

Removing conch shells from the ocean is illegal in many places, but not here. That’s because these shells are on the beach and they have already been “vacated by their occupants!” There were shells of all sizes. Some were broken and eroded by the waves crashing ashore. Others were embedded in the rocks along the shoreline. (Water shoes are a good idea in this area.) Though most of the shells had become calcified over time, there were plenty that were in good shape.

The “Conch Graveyard” is aptly named.

Mui soon had a nice collection from which to select a shell to take home. We ended up with two … a nice big one for Mui’s office; a smaller one for mine. We anticipate that this cruise will be our last one to the Caribbean for a while — we need to dedicate our limited vacation until retirement to travels with our motor home, or as we like to say, to our “condo on wheels.” Hence, these shells will be a nice reminder of our cruise vacations.

Mui’s on a treasure hunt … for conch shells.

With the shells washed and cleaned in the ocean, and stored safely in Mui’s backpack, we strolled to the tip of the point before turning back towards the Cruise Center. Walking under the pier and past the hundreds of passengers sunning and playing in the water at the beach fronting Margaritaville, we continued to the far end of the strip of white sand.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!
Jack’s shack is at the far end (#1); and local village is in the center (#2).
[click the image to see the numbering]

First, we went to Jack’s Shack. We had one purpose for going there — to use the wi-fi to check in with family. As we sipped some local beer, Turk’s Head, we took turns making our calls (free connection inside the gift shop). Then, we strolled back to a quiet spot halfway between the crowds at Margaritaville and Jack’s Shack.

Jack's Shack

There were just a few people at the Local Village Bar and Restaurant, which was perfect as far as we were concerned. Picking our spot, we made ourselves comfortable with a couple of chaise lounges and an umbrella that were free for the price of a drink … in our case another Turk’s Head beer and a fresh coconut for $3.50 a piece. (Cheaper than the $5/beer at Jack’s.) After joining Mui in a dip in the ocean, I read in the shade while he went snorkeling. Though the actual reef is a little ways offshore and accessible by small boat excursions, he saw enough fish close to shore to keep him in the water for most of our time on the beach.

Local Village Bar & Restaurant

How's that coconut, Mui?

Around 4:30p, as the sun dipped low on the horizon, we left our spot on the beach and strolled back to the ship. By the time Grand Princess sounded the all aboard an hour later, we were cleaned up and sitting on the veranda. As the ship swung around to begin the last leg of our cruise back to Fort Lauderdale, the wind picked up and the nighttime temperature fell — a sign of things to come. Undaunted, I put on a sweater and read on the veranda until it was time to go down to dinner.

Grand Princess sails into the sunset … next port, Ft Lauderdale.

Tonight’s menu in the Da Vinci Dining Room featured the “Chef’s Dinner.” Finding nothing to whet my appetite, I chose from the ‘always available’ and ‘vegetarian’ options instead. What can I say, I’m a picky eater.

Mui: shrimp cocktail; Boston lettuce tossed in a shallot dressing; orange roughy poached in a champagne broth and served with homardine sauce.

Me: shrimp cocktail; Caesar salad; potato gnocchi and roasted portabella mushrooms in an asparagus cream sauce (very good).

Palate Cleanser: strawberry and thyme infused lemon sherbet (yummm).

Dessert: blueberry sorbet and Menage á Trois … miniatures of a raspberry panna cotta, gateau opera, and honey-hazelnut semifreddo (both desserts were just OK).

Instead of returning to the cabin after dinner, we checked out the production show that Princess premiered last night … British Invasion. We sat through the show, but later agreed that it was a bit too loud and, for some reason, seemed out of synch. It is a new show, so I imagine it will improve with time and practice.

Scenes from British Invasion, a princess production show.
[collage created from images in the princess flickr album;
click the photo to see more images]

Tomorrow is our last day aboard the ship, and as is par for the course, it’s a sea day. After our marathon of port calls, we’re really looking forward to relaxing aboard the Grand Princess.

Next Up … Video: Grand Turk