WELCOME TO GRAND TURK/TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS

Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Grand Turk/Turks and Caicos Islands—
Sunny, 77 F, some sprinkles now and then

We arrived in Grand Turk at 10 a.m. This island was badly by a hurricane last fall. A man on the island said that the area we docked in was almost completely wiped out. A great effort was made to repair the damage so cruise ships could once again stop here. The islands are named Turks because of the indigenous “Turks Head ‘fez’ cactus” that only grows here. Such a cactus was growing outside the cruise center when we arrived. This island is 7 miles long and 1.5 miles wide, situated 575 miles southeast of Miami.

As soon as we were off the ship (10:05) we headed for the beach and the Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville restaurant, bar, pool area, and swim up bar to enjoy the warm weather and cool breeze. It was a gorgeous day. Our two beach lounge chairs were right on the pool’s edge with a palm tree on one side and a large beach umbrella and wooden bridge on the other side. The clean facilities were nearby, the restaurant in view, and Jimmy Buffett music played all day. We stayed in this spot until 4 p.m. We did have Margaritaville cheeseburgers that were bigger and better than those on the ship!! We also had a fried conch appetizer.

I did find about 9 nice pieces of green beach glass on the beach. Some of our friends, Jim and Sue from Nova Scotia rented golf carts and drove around the whole island—about 4 hours ($80).

Tonight’s Horizon Court buffet feast was the Seafood Extravaganza---lobster claws, King Crab, and shrimp cocktail shrimp. This ship must have gone through a ton of shrimp! We have never seen so much shrimp offered on a cruise.

For dinner in the Michelangelo Dining Room I asked for a New York Strip Steak because other choices were not my taste, e.g. King Crab legs and lamb. The dessert, however, was phenomenal—Chilled Mini Raspberry Panna Cotta (like a little mousse), Honey-Hazelnut Semifreddo with Nutella Twist (creamy), and Tiny Gateau Opera (layered chocolate and cream), all three delicately served together.

After dinner, we ran to the comedy show with Jim McDonald who has appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. He was quite humorous—not the usual jokes about passengers or his family. At the end his slide show about cruise ship situations was especially funny.

Culinary Delight of the Day: New York Strip Steak and the three part dessert; TK: King Crab Legs; cheeseburgers/fries at Margaritaville, Grand Turk, of course!

TK’s Takes: This is his idea of paradise. He even submitted song requests to the DJ ("Coast of Carolina.")

A Note to our Granddaughters B and B: We found the most beautiful Ron Jon/Grand Turk t-shirts that I hope fit! There was a “Flowrider” here where people try to surf. The islanders who work have no problem surfing, but tourists did not find it so easy. I bet B1 could do it though!