flew out of bangor maine. my plane broke and so was late enough to cause me to miss my direct flt from logan. should have arrived provo 2:30 - did arrive at 9:30 pm same day. due to the delay i waited with about 200 marines while their plane fueled and readied to go to kuwait. i was so struck by how young and beautiful they all were. in bangor we have a veterans greeters group. they were on hand to chat and offer free use of cell phones to anyone wanting to call anywhere. a supremely poignant experience.
ok, so i took a suitcase and cooler with most of what we intended to eat for the 2 weeks. neither of which arrived until 4pm the next day causing further distress. cleverly i had carried a bathing suit, my mask and snorkel in carry-on (having lost luggage before) so all was in fact not lost.
we stayed in a small villa right on the beach just east of smith bay reef . the snorkeling there is still fabulous (we saw a huge, beautiful spotted ray, also a smaller pair and there is a BiG cuda that lurks around). however, some mean landowner has fenced off the old drive in and park spot. the closest now is to go to the end of the lane towards the marina channel and park in that sandy area. don’t get in to far or you’ll get stuck in the sand.
the beach vista looked quite different from my last visit 2 yrs ago. there is a cluster of hotels that look too tall and crowded together. there are huge construction cranes in 3 places. there are resorts coming signs EVERYwhere.
the malcolm beach road is now passable by car but once you get down there you can only walk about ½ mile south as the aman resort cuts you off. they do not allow access to the resort, stopping you some distance from the water/hotel. a ritz will be built there soon as well. the bight road has been repaved and speed bumps removed. south dock and chalk sound roads will be paved momentarily.
the new da conch shack is just not the same. still good just not the same.
as reported by blamona one of the better accesses to leeward beach area in now also closed off by mean landowner. she gave perfect directions to alternate and we enjoyed a few hours there. you can still get onto long bay beach in the same 3 hidden spots. this area does not seem to have changed much. a lot of new houses on chalk sound and silly creek. if you are out touring be sure to go see the place at the end of silly creek road. it has its own moat and drawbridge! the house is mammoth. maybe in the 25-30 mil range to build? when we were there the italian tile workers were just heading home for the day.
it was unseasonably windy for our 2 weeks (3/18-4/2). not a good vacation for those who wanted to dive. we snorkeled though and it was not to bad. great for sleeping! no bugs!
have been in nov previously and did notice the water to be cooler this time. still nice but not as warm for staying in for long periods.
there were several huge yachts and one - well small ocean liner (like 200’) at turtle cove marina that were lots of fun to look at.
anacona still beautiful. service definitely improving. still very pricey. the outdoor living room is very cool but don’t sit down in your dress or you’ll have a wet spot.
enjoyed bella luna a great deal. the owner was waiting tables and was very nice.
tiki hut is just as fun as ever. hemingways was excellent for lunch. had breakfast by the pool as ocean club and that was nice as well. grocery prices are always a shock.
grace bay is just as magnificent a place as there is, make sure you have polarized sunglasses to get the full effect. and for sunscreen/block i advise 80. i pretanned and still burned. and am now peeling. we had 45 and it just didn’t seem to be working at all.
read a great book by guy lovelace about salt cay called ‘the carnival never got started’.
shopping: there is more now, but nothing different. my main observation was that all the t-shirts seemed too flashy.
all in all i enjoyed every minute of my time on island and as usual did not want to come home. upon return home i found i was thrilled to get into my own bed.

Hi Virginia. Thanks for posting. As you know we're going in September (you and Blamona suggested to me some restaurants in a previous post).
I was aware of the construction boom there but it's still so depressing to read.
Well, I'm still looking forward to a beautiful beach, great snorkeling and good food!
Welcome back!

Virginia,

Enjoyed the trip report. Thank you for sharing!

~Karen

Virginia - Did you by any chance stay at the Coriander Cottage?

Virginia-I like that you didn't "sugar coat". Excellent report!
It does iritate me that some people are rich enough in the world to close off public access to beaches. (I don't mind that they're rich, just what they do with it!)
there is still a way to access Malcolm's beach. I'll let you know after my next trip!

Thanks, Virginia. Loved hearing about your trip. We will be there in late June. I would think the water temp will be just fine by then. I'm even more anxious now to put my feet in that pretty white sand!

BTW, what changed about Da Conch Shack? Its on our list to try.

Glad you had a good trip. Mine can't come soon enough.

chasechow - we stayed at windows ala mar. corriander is even closer to smith reef. you can actually get to the beach by walking the west fence line of this house right now. comes onto beach right by the entrance which is now marked with a huge pile of rocks.
beachgurl - the conch shack used to be a very funky old 3 sided building. you had to walk across the street for beers or bring your own. now he has moved it down the beach into new building. still the same great conch but a bit less funk.
blamona - my friends did the middle caicos trip. went past willis house. they report that belongers are quite annoyed, as he has bouyed off part of the sea in front of his house. signs say no boats. lol. hows that for nerve.
i am happy to say that no one has yet found a way to make the water around provo look anything but stunning. the colors are like no others. note the vista coming down hill from leeward hwy at turtle cove and from just before iga on pratts road.

enjoyed your trip report very much, virginia. and am in complete agreement with you re: folks who cordon off beach access for their own private use.

Thanks for the informative report - - it brought back fond memories of the most beautiful beach and water I have ever seen.