Yay! It was a super awesome birthday guys. I couldn’t wait any longer to post all about the awesomeness.
It all started couple of months back. We were all about going to a Caribbean vacation and were mostly interested in Bermuda since t’was close to where we live compared to the other Caribbean Islands. All flight and hotel deals were checked and places to visit were noted down. Only to find out in the last minute that Bermuda had no rental car and we would have to commute by taxis or local buses. That hit us hard. With Lime it would be very difficult for us. And so, for that reason Bermuda plan was dropped out.
And then past weeks, we had been browsing through ‘Trip Adviser’, a zillion times, to find the best Caribbean island to visit with a toddler. And that’s when I came across this beautiful place called ‘Turks and Caicos Islands‘ (TCI). Believe me, we never knew Providenciales (Provo) existed in this world. Neither have we heard from someone nor read about it anywhere. But the-crazy-Lemon-and-Lavender that we are, we decided to go this place. The photos, the reviews, the flights, the resorts, the deals were all super awesome. Everything was decided and booked in a day and we left early morning on April 4th, the-best-day-of-my-life!
It was a 6 hr journey from our place with one stop in Charlotte. I was thrilled to see the plane full actually. Full with people – girlfriends & boyfriends, young couples with toddlers, old couples with grand kids, teenagers,the pilots and flight attendants. How did so many people know about the island that we have never heard of? Are they all like us? Travelling for the first time or are they returning visitors? Bunch of questions popped my mind. But I threw those thoughts away and tried to relax.
We fell in love with Provo even before touchdown.The view from the flight was awesome. We landed at around 12.30 PM. The moment I stepped out of the flight, it was hot but pleasant. Lime started sweating in just few seconds. I had to change his T-shirt and pants while waiting for Immigration (Yes! TCI is a UK Territory and requires immigration). We then picked up our rental car. Lemon was jiggling with the GPS for sometime and then he shouted “It’s not working!“. “How will it work? Aren’t we in a different country?“, I shouted back. After that we realized that we had to use the map (which the rental car company gave us) and find our own way. To add more confusion, people drive on the left-side in TCI. So, I will leave it you guys to imagine all the chaos that I would have created in giving directions from a stupid map that had no much details to Lemon.
Our plan for the first day was to relax in our resort and enjoy the oceanfront suite. We booked Northwest Point Resort in the last minute and had no idea what to expect. It was about 30 minutes drive from the airport. We stayed in a ocean front suite and were not disappointed. The only thing was that we had to drive through a dirt road to get to the resort. Yes, the resort is remote, but was definitely worth it.
We went to the Grand Turks Island one of the days. The beaches were so beautiful. We went to the Cruise Center and spent our entire afternoon there. It was initially quiet and empty. And then a cruise arrived with lots and lots of people. But the beach was so wide that it never felt crowded. We had our fun. It was so glorious.
Everyday was lovely. I would just lie back in the lounge chair and enjoy nature. It was just perfect! All evenings we would get take-outs from Garam Masala and return back to our resort to rest. The food was definitely good. We ordered Shahi Paneer and it was terrific.
Snorkeling in TCI was lot of fun for Lemon. The water was crystal clear with lots of tropical fish and the weather was just perfect. We had our own snorkel gear and all Lemon had to do was force me into trying it. He first asked me to wear the gear and see what it feels like… And then he made me float in water.. I did all that he said only to realize that the water was calm but alive in the beach. The ocean moved and it would just take me wherever it wanted to.. I was so scared. But then, I tried doing it once and I saw not just one but plenty of colorful fish. I jumped in excitement. They were all near my legs you know. Some in blue, some in white and some in rainbow. It was just beautiful but I din’t want to go away with the waves and so I stopped. Lemon enjoyed a lot of this and all I can say is he simply loved this sport.
Next on the list was Grace Bay beach. It was an extraordinary beach. There was no one around and we had it all to ourselves. We were the only two people in sight, if you ask. And then, we also went to Leeward / Pelican beach. This one also had the white sand and turquoise water like every other beach in Provo. I personally loved both leeward and grace bay more than any other beach in Provo.
Surprisingly, I got bored of shopping in the island. Did not like anything other than the souvenirs.
For the last day of our trip, I just had one mission in mind: Floating in water with Lime. While Lemon did all swimming and snorkeling. I on the other hand got all aquaphobic. Tubes wouldn’t help me as well. So, I usually opted out all water activities. But this time, besides snorkeling, Lemon also insisted that I at least try the Tube.. So, I did it finally.. in Sapodilla Bay! Next time around, I am planning to take a water noodle to help me float. Let’s wait and see how well I do it next time.
Oh, we also met a lot of nice people in TCI. Mostly those were the ones who took our photos. One of them was from Italy, the other came from Colorado to escape the cold just like us and then another came from England to visit their daughter who lived in TCI. It was so nice to know about people.. everyone had a different story but we all loved TCI.
What more do I say? I had a wonderful time standing beneath the bright blue sky surrounded by turquoise water and white sand everyday. All I know now is that I am dazzled by turquoise and aquamarine water and the sparkling white sand. I even remember telling Lemon that I wouldn’t mind dying there. For which he just laughed and said ‘We are not coming back here again. We have so many other places to see in the world‘. Huh! Good for him. But for me, I can never imagine getting tired of TCI. Providenciales, I love you!
Some pictures…
The first glimpse of the radiant sea – Ah I loved it. I wanted to jump off.. but that would be so stupid, and so I stayed in the plane.
Our way to the beach
This was super relaxing
We enjoyed watching him play in sand and the beach
It was funny seeing him talk to the ocean
Lime & Lemon in the sea – Can you spot them?
The Grace Bay ~ The colors made me fall in love
Loved walking in the sea shore with my chweet baby
My darling Lemon setting up the the camera
hi5 in the ocean 😉
And just because Lime loved the pool-like-ocean, we let him float for a while..
That’s Lime exploring the yellow cooper
Look what I found in the island: Lemon 2 go Coffee 😉
And it was fun eating this shaved ice – Lemon, Margarita and Mango flavor 🙂
Okay okay, now I will stop. I am done talking about the beautiful relaxing vacation and all that… Next post, I will come back to reality and talk about cooking, work, laundry, dishes etc! Tada!
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