North and Middle Caicos Exploration Day

Today we decided to take the ferry over to North Caicos so we could explore two other islands. The ferry ride was about 25 minutes and when we arrived on the islands we had a chance to see what the more isolated islands are like. We stopped at an island cooperative and I bought a bowl woven out of rope and then had cracked conch at Daniel's Cafe. It was yummy. While I waited for lunch we explored the beach and found amazing coral that had washed up on shore. I so wanted to keep a piece but the islands ask that nothing leaves the island so I respected that. I did take a picture! We found a spot for lunch and after eating we swam and snorkeled at our own private beach. We saw a huge barracuda while snorkeling! Wow! Then we headed back to Provo on the ferry. These islands were beautiful and it was a great adventure! 

My brain coral rock!

Private beach!
 

 

Scuba and Geocaching day

This morning we headed out to Northwest Point again for another amazing adventure diving. Both dives went well, and I saw three sharks, a turtle, barracudas, lobsters, a lion fish, and huge schools of fish. The diving was perfect with great visibility and we had the boat to ourselves! Truly a magical morning! After getting back home we decided to rent bikes and track down some of the geocaches in the island. Geocaching is a global treasure hunt where participants use GPS coordinates to track down hidden treasures and trade swag. More information about geocaching can be found at geocaching.com. We headed to Snorkel Bob's and rented cruisers and soon had three caches in hand. We dropped two travel bugs and picked up two so all in all was a great day! 

Hanging out with the barracuda today! 

Lionfish with my friend Deb. 

Featherduster on a coral. 

Cache in hand at Bight Park. 

 

Snorkeling at Coral Gardens on Bight Reef

Today was all about the green sea turtles. We went to a protected reef and snorkeled along a snorkel trail. Turtles were out eating in the sea grass. It was so fun to watch them. This turtle is named for the color of its fat not the color of its shells. The turtles are mostly herbivorous and enjoy eating sea grass. They keep the sea grass healthy by keeping it cut. Green sea turtles migrate long distances and can live to be 80 years old. The green sea turtle is listed as endangered so if you are ever snorkeling or diving with one give it space to come up for air and never harass it or try to touch it. It was a pleasure to share the water with these turtles today! 

 

Scuba day on Northwest Point

I can not even begin to explain how amazing my two dives were today. We dove at one of three top spots on the island called Northwest Point. Our first dive was at The Crack. After our decent, we got to swim through a crack in the coral and got to our lowest depth of 86 feet. After we got through we explored along the reef and two sharks discovered us. We also saw a big barracuda and a huge lobster! The fish and coral were amazing! After our surface interval, we moved to a second spot called the Coral Stairway. Our deepest point here was 56 feet. In addition to lots of fish and a school of barracudas, I had two reef sharks that hung out with us. They were so elegant and strong. Overall, I'm thankful to my friends Steph and Deb who encouraged me to get certified. Our dive masters Jane and Mickey with Flamingo Divers were professional and friendly and helped me feel comfortable on my first open ocean dive.  This was an amazing experience! 

Pre-dive shot of my dive buddies! 

Going through the crack with my friend Steph watching!

Reef shark off the wall!

Amazing coral!

Reef shark right behind us! 

Close up of my shark friend!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Princess Alexandra National Park

Today was a beach day and the morning was all about snorkeling. We walked down to Princess Alexandra National Park. This 6532 acre park is located off the north coast of Providenciales. This area had the most beautiful coral I have ever seen. The fish were amazing as well. Towards the end of my first snorkel I saw a big reef shark. It was my first shark to see in the wild. I didn't get a picture because I was so shocked! It was a successful day! 

 

 

 

Safely arrived in Turks and Caicos

We have safely arrived in Turks and Caicos. We headed over to Shark Bite Cafe for a quick bite. I ate my first conch fritter. Tasty! A conch is basically a large sea snail. After I ate I went snorkeling at the beach outside of our house and actually found a conch shell on the sea floor. Planning to get in the blue water again soon! 

View of the ocean from my bedroom!

 

 

 

Flamingo Divers

I am planning to dive four times while on the island. I have two other friends I'm traveling with who are also certified. We have chosen to dive with Flamingo Divers. We are hoping to dive French Cay, West Caicos, and Provo's Northwest Point. These are wall dives and there should be lots of sealife including rays, sharks, and dolphins. The dive master takes pictures as we dive so I hope we will get lots of pictures!

  

History of Turks and Caicos

You may be wondering where Turks and Caicos is located. I have included a map below for your reference. The islands are approximately 650 miles southeast of Miami. They are officially a British Overseas Territory. The islands were first settled sometime between AD 500 to 800 by the Taino people who came over from the island of Hispaniola. In 1521 Spanish conquistador Ponce de Leon sighted the island and soon the Spanish began capturing the native people and used them as slaves to replace the slave population in Hispaniola. By 1513 the population of the islands waned and remained that way until the 17th century. During the 18th century pirates used the islands as a hiding place and soon after the British began developing salt production on the island for export. Slavery was banned in 1807 in Great Britain and became illegal in its British colonies by 1833. Today the islands are known for their tourism, beautiful sand beaches, and blue water. I am so excited to see the islands in person and learn more about the history and the beauty of this location.

Summer Adventures 2016

Hi all, I'm back! This summer adventure starts with a trip to the Turks and Caicos located in the Carribean. In anticipation of this trip, I got scuba certified at El Mar Dive Shop in Mesa. In addition to my pool dives, I have been diving 4 times at Lake Pleasant. I am excited to get in to the warm blue waters filled with tropical sea life.