We were on Grand Turk, the capital of the combined islands to form Turks and Caicos. Altogether, there are 40 islands with nine being inhabited. Grand Turk is the capital.
The Caicos portion of the country is 22 miles away. The theme of the island country is “Beautiful by Nature.”
Originally the four of us were going to be on the Duck boat Excursion but after snorkeling on Princess Cays, Cindy and Randy wanted to go snorkeling again. So we divided and all did what wanted.
Bob and I opted to stick with the Duck boat Tour.
There is local government in Turks and Caicos, voted on by the people since the 1970s. There is also a governor who is appointed by the UK. Mostly he stays out of island business unless assistance is requested such as with natural disasters.
Because of their British background, they drive on the left side of the road.
Residents of Turks and Caicos pay no taxes. Tourists pay a hospitality tax but there are no taxes otherwise.
Sixty percent of residents work in tourism. Most tourists are from US, Canada and countries in Europe.
Education is provided on the island up to and including a 4 year college degree.
Grand Turk gets 21- 26 inches of rain per year. The island has a desalination system and their water costs 3 cents per gallon.
Everything is imported as there is no manufacturing but they do have their own types of beer, tequila and rum.
Buildings are remnants of 1950s US military base
The space capsule replica is of Friendship 7, in which John Glenn returned to local waters after orbiting around the earth.
There are salt ponds on Grand Turk. They are man made from local limestone and are 1.5 feet deep. Gates open to flood the pond and then the area takes 6-8 weeks to dry – if there was no rain. Islanders would bag the salt and use donkeys to haul the bags to ship yards. Salt was once used to preserve meats but that industry collapsed in the 1960s with the rise of refrigeration. The resident wild donkeys are left from that industry.
This boat, and others, were damaged in Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017. The British military provided initial life saving support. The storms took out 80-90 percent of the electricity infrastructure. Crews from Canada and USA-Arizona came and helped to restore their electricity capability.
Our guide said the island nation can usually survive hurricanes levels 1, 2 and 3 with little to no damage.
We transitioned to the water-craft portion of the Duck boat tour and went from the mangroves into the lagoon. The mangroves are home to fish, iguana and crab.
This lagoon has a many types of fish and shellfish as it is open to the ocean.
Back on land again, we drove by the Historic Lighthouse, which was a gift from the UK, installed in 1852.
There were donkeys everywhere and, when I asked our guide how many, he said there is no clue!
Residents who have a home church, such as St Thomas Anglican Church, established in 1823, are buried in the church’s private cemetery. There is a public cemetery, for those who are not attached to a church.
Bob and I enjoyed our Duck boat tour!
Cindy and Randy had a good time on their snorkeling and stingray adventure!
When Randy and I returned to our cabin, our steward had decorated for my birthday, September 25th.
That was a nice touch, although I was really trying to keep my birthday low key!
Later we joined up on a back deck for drinks and to watch the sail away. Each time we left a port, the ship would play the refrain from The Love Boat over their horn system! The TV series is also available on the cabin TV.
The next day was a “sea day” and our final day of the cruise.
We went to a presentation about working on board as crew. It was quite interesting.
We spent time packing and gave extra gratuities to a couple of the crew. This was our room steward who cleaned 16 cabins twice daily by herself. Most cruise lines we have been on have stewards who work in teams – and have more cabins to clean.
She explained that “turn around days” are very hard with needing to clean the cabins thoroughly between cruises. Other crew help gather and wash linens but, if she needs more help, she has to pay out of her wages for that extra help. All that has to happen by 1:00 pm These people work so hard!
We picked up our photos from the photo shop.
It was a relaxing day to end our cruise.
We enjoyed one more evening at the Wheelhouse lounge.
Usually the last night of the cruise means “bags out” so the crew can transfer them to the pier when the ship is docked. As we were walking off ourselves, and not taking any transfers to the airport, we didn’t have to put our bags out. It is nice when plans go that way.
More on what we did instead in the next post.
