Turks & Caicos plus THE Crossings

Arriving at South Side Marina (SSM) with the high tide we were soon tied securely for a much-needed break and chance to explore these islands.  SSM is on Provenciales Island - referred to as Provo - in the Caicos group – the western group with the Turks making up the eastern group.  The islands of the Caicos ring a shallow bank similar to the Bahamas Bank on a slightly smaller scale.  Most of the population lives on Provo and it seems to be booming.

Bob's Bar above the marina

Bob's Boccie Ball Court

Bob Pratt, the owner and manager of SSM has given us a brief history of some recent boom and bust cycles on the island.

During our stay we enjoyed visiting the “Do It” center – a mix of Home Depot and Wal Mart minus any food items.  For food we visited the IGA for a wide selection of familiar brands with an interesting mix of exotic European items. We made the must stop at Da Conch restaurant on the beach on the north shore. 

breakfast at the French Bakery in Grace Bay

checking holiday shop in Do It Center

Bob's Bar from the boat!

two Elizabeths

After a relaxing 6 days, we traded the busy Provo for the much quieter Grand Turk.

Turks head on top!

Dolphin Welcome

Dinghy Landing

Grand Turk and the other Turk Islands are only accessible by boat or plane.  There is a very busy cruise dock for the big boys – fortunately we were securely anchored inside the reef on the opposite end of the island. We did encounter lots of the passengers as we wandered the streets of the town – Cockburn Town.  Our main stop was the Museum housed in a restored traditional home.  The displays included the story of the oldest ship wreck as yet discovered in North America.  The ship was once thought to be part of Columbus’ fleet although many discount that attribution.  It has been dated to pre-1513 based on the artifacts and weaponry recovered at the site.  While the harvesting of salt was responsible for the first boom on these islands, diving and cruise ship/tourism are the current money makers.  However, donkeys used as the original power source for the salt works still wander the streets.  At one time there were more than 800 donkeys, but numbers are now greatly reduced and usually confined to a less populated section of the island.  Perhaps for the tourists a few are still allowed to appear in town since we spotted these next to Cee’s Warehouse Grocery.

Erben Renewal to the rescue!  After spending a few relaxing days on Grand Turk, Steve visited the officials to pay our exit fees and get an official exit paper called a Despacho, or Zarpe – needed to enter our next destination – the Dominican Republic. We left Grand Turk to stage and take an afternoon break off Big Sand Cay – an uninhabited island which makes a good jumping off point to cross 90+ miles to Hispaniola.  All was well and the weather continued to look great for our night time crossing as we approached the calm anchorage behind Big Sand.  However, on the beach Steve spotted a boat and several men on shore.  They began waving as we approached and we could see their boat did not appear to be floating.  Long story short, we launched our dinghy and retrieved the guys with their fishing gear and cooler and returned them to just off Salt Cay – about a two hour round trip for us in our slow boat.  One of the men informed us he had never been on such a slow vessel.  They were never in great danger since they had plenty of food and even could get cell coverage at the top of the hill, but it did provide some entertainment for us as well as filling our afternoon. They would have had to wait perhaps several days before one of their friends was able to make the trip out to rescue them. That was our excitement since the crossing to Luperon was calm and totally uneventful.

approaching the mountains of Hispaniola 

fishermen in the entrance channel

Luperon in the Dominican Republic is a small town tucked off a protected bay almost straight south of Big Sand Cay in the Turk Islands.  We saw a few of the big cruise ships as they headed to Amber Cove further east in the Dominican Republic, but otherwise the seas were empty and smooth although we dodged a few storm cells in the hours before dawn.  We made such good time that we actually slowed down the last hour to have daylight for entry into the harbor.  This is one of the harbors visited by Columbus and the serpentine passage made us marvel at his navigation skills. For us it was well buoyed to miss the shoals plus we had the benefit of computer and GPS navigation. 

Papo responded to our request for a mooring ball and with his helper got us secured to one of his balls – a mere $2 per night. Papo and Handy Andy provide all manner of services to the boaters visiting Luperon, but first we had to navigate the “entrance” formalities.  While the DR has had a questionable reputation in the past with regard to above board procedures, we experienced a very professional and courtesy welcome.  It started with a visit to our boat by three officials from the Navy – Richard handled all the communication and paperwork issues in flawless English while the Comandante looked spruce in his camouflage gear and took photos of our Teddy.  There were no charges or even hints about any for this service.  Next, we launched our dink and went into town and visited the other officials – this included four stops all conveniently housed in a building at the end of the government dock. We arrived during lunch time, but the gentlemen there called to get those away to return quickly.  We even returned the next day to finish up with the two who handled the agriculture clearance. All fees were posted and no hints or requests for tips were ever suggested. With a fat file of paper work we were officially in the country and free to explore. 

shopping with shades of Khobar

Papo and Handy Andy visited us every morning to offer water, fuel or any of their other services.  The harbor has a “net” for visitors on Wednesday and Sunday morning where lots of useful tips are shared.  We also visited the Los Vellas restaurant for happy hour and music at the Marina Puerto Blanco just next to our mooring. In town we enjoyed the local vibe with exotic touches and the very warm welcome and smiles on the faces we encountered. A big shout out to our Google Translate app which stretched our limited Spanish to help bridge the communication challenges. It probably provided some entertainment for the locals as well although everyone patiently helped us with our struggles. Papo provided taxi service to the falls where Steve hiked up for the ride down – sorry no photos – nothing was allowed – although helmets and life vests were included. (not even glasses so Julia opted to give it a pass – why go if it was all a burr?) The ride to the falls gave us a glimpse of the countryside in this very beautiful country with steep hills cloaked in lush green foliage. All in all, a very dramatic change from the islands of the Bahamas Chain.

Making our next passage requires heading east along the north shore of Hispaniola then across the Mona Passage to reach the western shore of Puerto Rico. The Mona connects the mighty Atlantic with the Caribbean Sea and a particular weather “window” of “calmish” winds to moderate the typical trade winds is necessary for a comfortable trip through this 280+ miles.  We left Sunday evening hoping the good weather would hold and although we had a couple bail out points, the conditions held and we continued on to Puerto Rico and Marina Pescaderia in Puerto Real. (46 hours in our SLOW boat against the current.) While checking out of the DR involved a trip by the captain to see the Navy officials one more time, checking in to Puerto Rico was accomplished via the new ROAM app in the air-conditioned comfort of the marina office. Resting up in Puerto Real and getting decked out for the holidays before exploring the south coast on our way east.