TCI

Our Boat flying our extra large Turks and Caicos Flag

After a rather rough and wavy sail where we debated turning back and heading for Mayaguana in Bahamas we finally made it to Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). We came to Providenciales (Provo) the main island because we were meeting friends who were flying in for the week.  We anchored in Sapodilla Bay - a very rolly anchorage but the setting is beautiful and is on a lovely beach.

Sapodilla Bay Anchorage

In Sapodilla Bay there is also a short hike up a rocky trail to the top of a hilltop that offers great views of the Bay and Chalk Sound. At the top of the hill are rock carvings dating back to the early 1800s done by sailors who were shipwrecked there. The carvings give the dates and names of the sailors.

Rock Carving

Views from hilltop 

Checking in with Customs and Immigration was a nightmare! It took three tries and two days for immigration to even show up, despite us having to pay the weekend premium. TCI provides a one week pass for crusisers where you have to pay US$50 to check in and US$50 to check out plus an additional US$15 checkin and out fee on weekends. We arrived Saturday but weren't able to check in until Monday since no one knew where the immigration officer was. So technically our boat was only allowed to stay for a week starting Saturday but James and I weren't checked into the country so couldn't leave the boat until Monday evening - kind of a rip off. After the seven days cruisers then have to pay an additional US$300 to stay!!! It's not the smartest plan since it just encourages cruisers to leave within the week. We went to Customs and Immigration on the following Saturday to clarify if our week was up or if we could stay until Monday since we had no desire to pay $300 for another few days. Low and behold no one could find customs or immigration to check us out. Security was calling and texting friends and no one knew where they were so we were unable to check out! oops. It certainly was not for lack of trying.

Enjoying a beer at the Bar across the street from our anchorage while waiting for our friends to fly in.

We had an awesome week hanging out with our good friends Tracy and Baude and their two sons Nate and Gabe. They all flew in from Florida and rented a condo in Grace Bay so we were able to spend each day with them exploring the beaches, trying in vain to find Flamingos, snorkelling, swimming and eating some awesome food! Since they had a condo it meant that we got to have free daily fresh water showers! They also very generously brought some much missed comfort foods like chocolate and other British delicacies along with an Amazon order we placed! Nate is a big people person and makes friends with literally every person he encounters. He'd been at the beach for approximately 14 seconds and had made friends with two kids from Boston. We ended up making plans with their parents, Andy and Nicole, to meet the family the next day at another beach so the kids could play. Turns out Andy is a bit of a bartender and had made his own mixes for Mojitos and Rum Punch and so we enjoyed a rather lazy day on the beach chatting with our new Bostonian friends and drinking divine rum based cocktails!!

Tracy and Baude and the kids even braved it one night and came "glamping" on our boat! It was very windy and fairly rolly but they were troopers and stuck it out. Sadly, it was so windy there was a "Small Craft Advisory" so we weren't able to take them for a sail. We did however enjoy a sunset, star gazing and we got to see "glow worms". For about 2-3 nights after a full moon marine worms, called Odontosyllis enopla or "Bermudian Fireworms", gather in the shallow waters of the TCI Banks to mate and spawn. The female worms release their eggs which then rise to the surface of the water. The eggs emanate pulses of bright green light that signal the male worms to come and fertilize the eggs. They are only found in the shallow waters of TCI, Bahamas and Bermuda.  They're called "glowworms" in TCI because the worms emit green flashes of light that are visible from the surface of the water. So all around our boat were sparks of neon green luminescence - it was quite beautiful!  

Boat Uno 

Cheeky Sailor

We all went to the Thursday night Fish Fry - an island wide event where about 15 food venders

Conch Ceviche

gather and cook their specialities with live music and artists selling handicrafts. We shared a delicious conch ceviche, grilled red snapper, ribs, BBQ lobster, and jerk chicken while listening to a local band playing a variety of Caribbean music. It was a lovely night with such a great atmosphere. James and I really enjoyed spending time with friends and it gave us a mini vacation from the boat.

Fish Fry!!

Our plan from TCI is to head to Haiti and around to the south coast of Dominican Republic (DR). Most cruisers head to the north coast of DR where it sounds like they don't get to see much of the country and spend their time waiting our weather in one location before braving the Mona Passage. We're both really interested in the history of Hispaniola since both Haiti and DR are big players in the history of the Caribbean. We met another boat in our anchorage and were briefly chatting with them about our plan to head around Haiti and south in the DR and they were interested in our plan and did some reading on it and decide to join us! We're super excited to have another boat for this part of our journey and are really looking forward to travelling with Michael and Becca on SV Dark N Stormy.

Crowd at the Fish Fry

Conch Ceviche Bar

Fish Fry Band