19th to 24th April 2021
After navigating the wide entrance between areas of coral reef, we found somewhere to anchor in about 3 meters. Holding was excellent. It was perfect free diving distance for Arthur and there was a very large ship anchor left on the bottom, which origins of which the kids loved speculating about.
The next morning, we went to procure a local SIM card so that I could work and access the Internet. Both Flow and Digicel offer out expensive but very fast 4G Internet. On the way to the Digicel office, which was maybe a 15-minute walk, we saw some wonderful graffiti in half constructed houses. And a diverse array of houses along the road next to the front. It is a very interesting little town which we would have quite enjoyed exploring further. The difference to Samaná is large and immeditaely obvious- quiet roads with few cars or motocycles/scooters, lots of cyclsits, quiet with less music and people chatting in the streets, more orderly, no street vendors, open, relatively flat land. But everyone was just as friendly and welcoming.
We did the things we normally do, playing on the beach, swimming ,etc. The kids are quite enjoying the clear water, and we spent a little while exploring by dingy, although most of the areas shallow enough for the kids to freedive were relatively barren compared to Arthur’s heightened expectations of coral reefs in Turks and Caicos. The drop off where the diving buoys were located was too deep for us.
We played on the beach and went to the museum with another cruising family. At the museum, we had a good look at the history and culture of Grand Turk. There were some wonderful artifacts, particularly in 900 year-old canoe paddle used by the natives that was found in a mangrove. And a replica of it, so that you could feel the size and weight of the paddle, which quite impressed Theo especially. Arthur particularly enjoyed the lighthouse exhibit- you could switch the light and rotation on and off and see the rotating gears. And the depiction of the coral reef drop off with a lot of different fish species, which he enjoyed identifying with the other children. The gardens next door were also interesting, if small- we would have revisited if we had spent longer in the area.
On our last evening off Cockburn Town we went to the beach once again. Charlotte went to the supermarket to pick up some supplies for our next few days in more isolated areas and we had pizza on the beach. With lots of swimming.
