trip report oct 16-23
Nov 4th, 2007 | 04:21 AM
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trip report oct 16-23
Trip Report—Oct 16-23, 2007
This was our 7th trip to Provo. In the past we stayed at The Allegro once, which we didn’t like at all and 5 times at Ocean Club West. We haven’t stayed anywhere else up until now because we have had no real complaints about Ocean Club West and the Provobum likes to say “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
Since this was our second trip for 2007 we decided we would go with the best deal we could find for accommodations. Thanks to a heads up from Camke we found a great rate thru vrbo.com (vacation rentals by owner) for a studio with an ocean view at The Alexandra. I contacted the owner and got a response within a day or so. Booking was easy and payment was made thru Pay Pal with no issues at all. Before we left we got an e-mail with a reservation number and instructions for checking in. The owners also provided us with a phone number to reach them if we had any problems. We had none. Because of going thru the owner we did not have housekeeping for the week and we also did not have the 20% service taxes added on. Great for our budget.
We flew from Boston to Provo on US Air thru Charlotte. Charlotte is now a non-smoking airport. This surprised us given the strength of the tobacco industry in that area. We had to go outside and then back again thru security if we wanted to have a smoke. Not a huge deal but not as nice as sitting comfortably in the bar.
While in Charlotte Steve went to the duty free shop, which has now conveniently been moved to the international terminal, (and was just a counter not a shop) he browsed a booklet of bottles for the one we wanted, ordered and paid for it and it was delivered to us as we boarded the plane. No Problems.
We left Charlotte about 30 minutes late and still landed in Provo about 10 minutes early. I got to sit next to a sweet little 16 month old baby girl who kept me entertained (and I her) for part of the flight. I really enjoyed her company (my girls are so big now) and I think her Mom and Dad appreciated the extra diversion for her. The only bad thing about the flight is that we descended considerably fast and it caused me some significant ear pain for the first 12 hours we were on island, that’s a first for me, and that’s my only flight complaint in either direction.
We landed, deplaned, went thru customs and immigration, collected our luggage, declared our goods and were in a taxi on our way to the resort by 2:10. Pretty good for a flight scheduled to arrive at 2:14.
Out front of the airport doors are the taxis all there waiting for fares. Some resorts have representatives holding signs and directing visitors to certain taxis, but we didn’t see an Alexandra sign and had anticipated finding our own taxi. We weren’t rushing at all and wanted to smoke a butt. Steve went off to find a taxi and I sat with a nice local guy having a smoke and chatting. Steve came back and said he found us a ride and we gathered our stuff (in no hurry) and chatted and laughed a bit more with the big guy that was sitting with me. Suddenly a dude came over, he seemed to be in charge of some of the drivers, he was yelling at Steve that he had a taxi waiting for him and not to be talking to locals and wasting time. The friendly big guy (who I swear I’ve chatted with upon arrival before) laughed and tried to get the “Taxi Nazi” to back off, but he just kept on yelling and being a jerk. So of course Steve snapped back at him telling him to relax, we’re on vacation and tried to reassure him we’d take good care of our driver for his time. I just kept on walking but I heard my friend the big guy giving the Taxi Nazi guy an earful about being nice to the tourists. An earful that our taxi driver should have been privy to since he was as rude as his boss. I get really nice and in peoples faces when they are being rude. So I got right up in his business and asked his name and how his week was going and just kept on being friendly until he started to lighten up a bit.
Steve then asked him to stop at the IGA so we could get beer and his attitude came right back. He kept saying “the meter will be running, it will cost you extra” and Steve was like “don’t worry man; I’ll take care of you”. The attitude was pretty bad and if we were first time visitors it would have been a lousy way to start our trip. But we know the drill and just kept on talking to Mr. Noel Forbes. Niceness will get you everywhere, even when people are testy (as sometimes they are in Provo) just keep being nice and they snap out of it
. Steve was in and out of the IGA and the meter added $4 for the 4 minutes he was in the store (beer and limes that’s it). So it was $20 from the airport and $4 for the time at IGA. When we got to The Alexandra the Provobum handed Mr. Forbes $35 and said “Thank you sir, have a great day”. After he counted his money his attitude changed, he was all nice and tried to give us his card so if we needed a taxi we could call him. Thankfully we rented a car and that was to be our only taxi for the week.
The moral of the story, if a local (taxi driver, waitress, cashier at the IGA) is not kind or even seems rude, just keep on being nice, so nice that they have to return the energy or be a real a$$hole. Most times you’ll find they really don’t want to be rude or unwelcoming, we all have bad stressful days and remember, we’re the only ones on vacation here. Later in my report you’ll read how we witnessed the disrespectful way some of the visitors here treat those that work in the service industry and maybe you’ll understand. A little friendliness goes a long way to change their attitudes.
We are pretty used to all the construction on the island and knew to expect it. Since new buildings are going up at The Alexandra, I was surprised that it wasn’t that overwhelming. The front office/lobby is a small separate building near the entrance to the resort probably due to the construction on site. As soon as we pulled up Carlos welcomed us with a firm handshake and a handsome smile. He took our luggage (including our newly acquired case of beer) and put it in a golf cart while we went inside and checked in. No problems with that at all. I loved that they gave us a nice cold rum punch and were very welcoming. They gave us our towel cards and keys, and lots of information about the resort, but that cold drink was what mattered most.
Then Carlos brought us to our room. Room 3307. I liked the way this resort is set up so that all rooms face the ocean. We had a decent view of the water, the grounds and the pool. We also were looking right at the newest building, complete on the outside but not quite finished. Not an eyesore or construction noise issue at all. Our room was on the 3rd floor in the Prima Donna building. We had seen photos and knew what to expect, but we were still surprised at how small the room was. The studio at OCW is bigger, with a full sized fridge. It would however, be facing the island not Grace Bay. We would rather be in a smaller space and see the water.
It was nice at The Alexandra; everything seemed much newer than OCW. Beautiful granite counters, nice stainless ½ fridge and microwave/convection oven. Blender was glass and everything was quite a bit nicer than at OCW. It was a very nice room. And OMG the bed was so comfortable. It was only a queen bed but it was extremely cozy and I slept great all week.
We tended at first to notice every difference from OCW. Small things that by weeks end really didn’t matter a hoot. But I’ll write about them since I now can compare 2 (existing) places on Grace Bay. And just incase someone out there still thinks they will really care about the room after being on Grace Bay.
I knew I’d be dealing with a small fridge. I just didn’t realize how frustrating that would be. The freezer could hold 3 ice trays if it had not been layered so thick with ice. Only one fit. It took over 12 hours for the one tray to freeze. To solve the ice problem we bought a small foam cooler at the IGA and made ice runs to the bar. Also it was hard to fit a case of beer in it, never mind anything else. We got used to it but if we needed it for drinks AND food it would have been too small.
The room key has the room number right on it which makes the Provobum not too happy, and the room key is a odd shaped card that wasn’t easy for a man to have on him when wearing a bathing suit. OCW keys are on a spiral “bracelet” if you will, that can go around your wrist when swimming or snorkeling at Coral Gardens. They are hard to lose, they don’t put the room number right on the key. Just common sense says your room number on the key is not secure at all. Which brings me to the safe, it was barely attached to the wall and if someone wanted to take it they could. I, me, could have just pulled it off the wall and my only upper arm workouts are walking 2 potcakes.
The doors locked automatically behind you, no dead bolt to lock. We couldn’t leave the door unlocked if just he or I went to get ice or whatever.
They did have a door bell on each room that was kinda cool.
The small shower was an issue for me. No tub is okay, but the shower stall was tiny. It was nice tiles and glass door but if I raised my arms to wash my hair my elbows hit the walls, I bumped my head several times. There was no way at all to shave my legs while in the shower. I used to weigh a good 75 pounds more than I do now and that shower would have made me cry.
The bathroom also had NO towel rods. There was the rack above the toilet that had folded towels on it and one round hand towel ring next to the sink, but nothing else to hang things on in the bathroom. There was one hook on the back of the door but it made a big mess if we left a bathing suit to drip dry there. Remember, no housekeeping, no extra towels.
Washer/dryer in the closet is good but no detergent. At OCW there are usually the small packets, enough to do a couple loads.
There was no dresser in this room at all. No drawers for clothing. I hung up what I could and then had to use the wire shelves in the closet. I had to use my suitcase for things like bathing suits and smaller items that wouldn’t work folded on wire shelving. There was a wall that a dresser would have fit perfectly on and I found it odd that there wasn’t one.
One thing that I didn’t like AT ALL was an inventory sheet in the kitchen that they expected me to check off and verify. Every item in the place needed to be inventoried by me. Upon our check out the maid would review the list and we would be responsible for any discrepancies. Really, it had 3 salad forks, 4 butter knives, 3 juice glasses, etc. ??? Every item was counted. I started to go thru the list and then it just seemed so ridiculous to me and I didn’t finish. Thank God we didn’t break a glass, who knows what they would have charged us. No inventory control at OCW.
No ceiling fan on the balcony in our room, but I noticed other units did have them so maybe it was a studio thing or just that unit.
The towel cards were another issue for us. We got over it but the deal is, at check in you get one towel card per person. At the bar you can exchange the card for a towel or exchange wet towel for a fresh towel any time you want, if there are towels available. A few times we couldn’t get a fresh one due to none being available. They are very strict about the one towel per guest. We tried. If you loose the towel or the card you will be charged $50 to replace it. These towels were not worth $50 even on an island. To us this was just wrong. I was glad we brought a couple beach towels from home. At OCW there are 3 carts with towels for guests to use. On the carts are stacks of clean towels and a drop off for the dirty ones. The dudes on golf carts come around all day and refill the clean and empty the dirty. It’s a great set up. They ask that each person take only 2 towels but there are always plenty if you needed an extra. No charge if you “accidentally” take one home or leave it in a taxi coming back from Captain Bill’s.
The beach chairs were plenty, they were mesh and nice but the sand collected on them and stuck all over our legs. With strapping it can be brushed thru, or an extra towel can be shaken off. Lol
There was so much space between set ups and it was very easy to get seated and feel like we had the beach to ourselves. No matter what time of day we arrived we always found chairs and umbrella, no “chair wars” here on this beach. There was one table that we got to use only once.
We loved the beach area better than at OCW. First, from this part of Grace Bay you can’t see any of the 7 story buildings around the bend. There are some 5 and even a 6 being built but it just seemed more serene. The stretch where Beaches is still has trees lining the beach that are taller than the buildings behind them. I liked that a lot.
Also the depth of the water was nice here. Walking into the water it was shallow for a longer ways out, it was more gradual and we really liked that. At OCW the water gets deeper much sooner.
These things really don’t and didn’t matter. We would indeed stay at The Alexandra again. We might go back to OCW again, maybe somewhere else, we have decided that we will go where ever suits our budget the best.
The weather; this should only take a minute. It was fantastic. All week long. Day one it was very very humid. Morning of day two it rained really hard from 6:45-7am. The rest of the week the sun shone and the breeze was gentle. There were just enough clouds in the sky to make for perfect sunsets. We saw rain on Blue Hills for one sunset, and felt a half a sprinkle while on half moon bay one day. The ocean was flat and warmer than it has ever been while we’ve been in it. No crashing waves on Grace Bay, but the shore of Turtle Tail was a bit choppy. In all our 7 trips to Provo we have never had the whole time be so perfect weather wise.
This was our 7th trip to Provo. In the past we stayed at The Allegro once, which we didn’t like at all and 5 times at Ocean Club West. We haven’t stayed anywhere else up until now because we have had no real complaints about Ocean Club West and the Provobum likes to say “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
Since this was our second trip for 2007 we decided we would go with the best deal we could find for accommodations. Thanks to a heads up from Camke we found a great rate thru vrbo.com (vacation rentals by owner) for a studio with an ocean view at The Alexandra. I contacted the owner and got a response within a day or so. Booking was easy and payment was made thru Pay Pal with no issues at all. Before we left we got an e-mail with a reservation number and instructions for checking in. The owners also provided us with a phone number to reach them if we had any problems. We had none. Because of going thru the owner we did not have housekeeping for the week and we also did not have the 20% service taxes added on. Great for our budget.
We flew from Boston to Provo on US Air thru Charlotte. Charlotte is now a non-smoking airport. This surprised us given the strength of the tobacco industry in that area. We had to go outside and then back again thru security if we wanted to have a smoke. Not a huge deal but not as nice as sitting comfortably in the bar.
While in Charlotte Steve went to the duty free shop, which has now conveniently been moved to the international terminal, (and was just a counter not a shop) he browsed a booklet of bottles for the one we wanted, ordered and paid for it and it was delivered to us as we boarded the plane. No Problems.
We left Charlotte about 30 minutes late and still landed in Provo about 10 minutes early. I got to sit next to a sweet little 16 month old baby girl who kept me entertained (and I her) for part of the flight. I really enjoyed her company (my girls are so big now) and I think her Mom and Dad appreciated the extra diversion for her. The only bad thing about the flight is that we descended considerably fast and it caused me some significant ear pain for the first 12 hours we were on island, that’s a first for me, and that’s my only flight complaint in either direction.
We landed, deplaned, went thru customs and immigration, collected our luggage, declared our goods and were in a taxi on our way to the resort by 2:10. Pretty good for a flight scheduled to arrive at 2:14.
Out front of the airport doors are the taxis all there waiting for fares. Some resorts have representatives holding signs and directing visitors to certain taxis, but we didn’t see an Alexandra sign and had anticipated finding our own taxi. We weren’t rushing at all and wanted to smoke a butt. Steve went off to find a taxi and I sat with a nice local guy having a smoke and chatting. Steve came back and said he found us a ride and we gathered our stuff (in no hurry) and chatted and laughed a bit more with the big guy that was sitting with me. Suddenly a dude came over, he seemed to be in charge of some of the drivers, he was yelling at Steve that he had a taxi waiting for him and not to be talking to locals and wasting time. The friendly big guy (who I swear I’ve chatted with upon arrival before) laughed and tried to get the “Taxi Nazi” to back off, but he just kept on yelling and being a jerk. So of course Steve snapped back at him telling him to relax, we’re on vacation and tried to reassure him we’d take good care of our driver for his time. I just kept on walking but I heard my friend the big guy giving the Taxi Nazi guy an earful about being nice to the tourists. An earful that our taxi driver should have been privy to since he was as rude as his boss. I get really nice and in peoples faces when they are being rude. So I got right up in his business and asked his name and how his week was going and just kept on being friendly until he started to lighten up a bit.
Steve then asked him to stop at the IGA so we could get beer and his attitude came right back. He kept saying “the meter will be running, it will cost you extra” and Steve was like “don’t worry man; I’ll take care of you”. The attitude was pretty bad and if we were first time visitors it would have been a lousy way to start our trip. But we know the drill and just kept on talking to Mr. Noel Forbes. Niceness will get you everywhere, even when people are testy (as sometimes they are in Provo) just keep being nice and they snap out of it
. Steve was in and out of the IGA and the meter added $4 for the 4 minutes he was in the store (beer and limes that’s it). So it was $20 from the airport and $4 for the time at IGA. When we got to The Alexandra the Provobum handed Mr. Forbes $35 and said “Thank you sir, have a great day”. After he counted his money his attitude changed, he was all nice and tried to give us his card so if we needed a taxi we could call him. Thankfully we rented a car and that was to be our only taxi for the week.
The moral of the story, if a local (taxi driver, waitress, cashier at the IGA) is not kind or even seems rude, just keep on being nice, so nice that they have to return the energy or be a real a$$hole. Most times you’ll find they really don’t want to be rude or unwelcoming, we all have bad stressful days and remember, we’re the only ones on vacation here. Later in my report you’ll read how we witnessed the disrespectful way some of the visitors here treat those that work in the service industry and maybe you’ll understand. A little friendliness goes a long way to change their attitudes.
We are pretty used to all the construction on the island and knew to expect it. Since new buildings are going up at The Alexandra, I was surprised that it wasn’t that overwhelming. The front office/lobby is a small separate building near the entrance to the resort probably due to the construction on site. As soon as we pulled up Carlos welcomed us with a firm handshake and a handsome smile. He took our luggage (including our newly acquired case of beer) and put it in a golf cart while we went inside and checked in. No problems with that at all. I loved that they gave us a nice cold rum punch and were very welcoming. They gave us our towel cards and keys, and lots of information about the resort, but that cold drink was what mattered most.
Then Carlos brought us to our room. Room 3307. I liked the way this resort is set up so that all rooms face the ocean. We had a decent view of the water, the grounds and the pool. We also were looking right at the newest building, complete on the outside but not quite finished. Not an eyesore or construction noise issue at all. Our room was on the 3rd floor in the Prima Donna building. We had seen photos and knew what to expect, but we were still surprised at how small the room was. The studio at OCW is bigger, with a full sized fridge. It would however, be facing the island not Grace Bay. We would rather be in a smaller space and see the water.
It was nice at The Alexandra; everything seemed much newer than OCW. Beautiful granite counters, nice stainless ½ fridge and microwave/convection oven. Blender was glass and everything was quite a bit nicer than at OCW. It was a very nice room. And OMG the bed was so comfortable. It was only a queen bed but it was extremely cozy and I slept great all week.
We tended at first to notice every difference from OCW. Small things that by weeks end really didn’t matter a hoot. But I’ll write about them since I now can compare 2 (existing) places on Grace Bay. And just incase someone out there still thinks they will really care about the room after being on Grace Bay.
I knew I’d be dealing with a small fridge. I just didn’t realize how frustrating that would be. The freezer could hold 3 ice trays if it had not been layered so thick with ice. Only one fit. It took over 12 hours for the one tray to freeze. To solve the ice problem we bought a small foam cooler at the IGA and made ice runs to the bar. Also it was hard to fit a case of beer in it, never mind anything else. We got used to it but if we needed it for drinks AND food it would have been too small.
The room key has the room number right on it which makes the Provobum not too happy, and the room key is a odd shaped card that wasn’t easy for a man to have on him when wearing a bathing suit. OCW keys are on a spiral “bracelet” if you will, that can go around your wrist when swimming or snorkeling at Coral Gardens. They are hard to lose, they don’t put the room number right on the key. Just common sense says your room number on the key is not secure at all. Which brings me to the safe, it was barely attached to the wall and if someone wanted to take it they could. I, me, could have just pulled it off the wall and my only upper arm workouts are walking 2 potcakes.
The doors locked automatically behind you, no dead bolt to lock. We couldn’t leave the door unlocked if just he or I went to get ice or whatever.
They did have a door bell on each room that was kinda cool.
The small shower was an issue for me. No tub is okay, but the shower stall was tiny. It was nice tiles and glass door but if I raised my arms to wash my hair my elbows hit the walls, I bumped my head several times. There was no way at all to shave my legs while in the shower. I used to weigh a good 75 pounds more than I do now and that shower would have made me cry.
The bathroom also had NO towel rods. There was the rack above the toilet that had folded towels on it and one round hand towel ring next to the sink, but nothing else to hang things on in the bathroom. There was one hook on the back of the door but it made a big mess if we left a bathing suit to drip dry there. Remember, no housekeeping, no extra towels.
Washer/dryer in the closet is good but no detergent. At OCW there are usually the small packets, enough to do a couple loads.
There was no dresser in this room at all. No drawers for clothing. I hung up what I could and then had to use the wire shelves in the closet. I had to use my suitcase for things like bathing suits and smaller items that wouldn’t work folded on wire shelving. There was a wall that a dresser would have fit perfectly on and I found it odd that there wasn’t one.
One thing that I didn’t like AT ALL was an inventory sheet in the kitchen that they expected me to check off and verify. Every item in the place needed to be inventoried by me. Upon our check out the maid would review the list and we would be responsible for any discrepancies. Really, it had 3 salad forks, 4 butter knives, 3 juice glasses, etc. ??? Every item was counted. I started to go thru the list and then it just seemed so ridiculous to me and I didn’t finish. Thank God we didn’t break a glass, who knows what they would have charged us. No inventory control at OCW.
No ceiling fan on the balcony in our room, but I noticed other units did have them so maybe it was a studio thing or just that unit.
The towel cards were another issue for us. We got over it but the deal is, at check in you get one towel card per person. At the bar you can exchange the card for a towel or exchange wet towel for a fresh towel any time you want, if there are towels available. A few times we couldn’t get a fresh one due to none being available. They are very strict about the one towel per guest. We tried. If you loose the towel or the card you will be charged $50 to replace it. These towels were not worth $50 even on an island. To us this was just wrong. I was glad we brought a couple beach towels from home. At OCW there are 3 carts with towels for guests to use. On the carts are stacks of clean towels and a drop off for the dirty ones. The dudes on golf carts come around all day and refill the clean and empty the dirty. It’s a great set up. They ask that each person take only 2 towels but there are always plenty if you needed an extra. No charge if you “accidentally” take one home or leave it in a taxi coming back from Captain Bill’s.
The beach chairs were plenty, they were mesh and nice but the sand collected on them and stuck all over our legs. With strapping it can be brushed thru, or an extra towel can be shaken off. Lol
There was so much space between set ups and it was very easy to get seated and feel like we had the beach to ourselves. No matter what time of day we arrived we always found chairs and umbrella, no “chair wars” here on this beach. There was one table that we got to use only once.
We loved the beach area better than at OCW. First, from this part of Grace Bay you can’t see any of the 7 story buildings around the bend. There are some 5 and even a 6 being built but it just seemed more serene. The stretch where Beaches is still has trees lining the beach that are taller than the buildings behind them. I liked that a lot.
Also the depth of the water was nice here. Walking into the water it was shallow for a longer ways out, it was more gradual and we really liked that. At OCW the water gets deeper much sooner.
These things really don’t and didn’t matter. We would indeed stay at The Alexandra again. We might go back to OCW again, maybe somewhere else, we have decided that we will go where ever suits our budget the best.
The weather; this should only take a minute. It was fantastic. All week long. Day one it was very very humid. Morning of day two it rained really hard from 6:45-7am. The rest of the week the sun shone and the breeze was gentle. There were just enough clouds in the sky to make for perfect sunsets. We saw rain on Blue Hills for one sunset, and felt a half a sprinkle while on half moon bay one day. The ocean was flat and warmer than it has ever been while we’ve been in it. No crashing waves on Grace Bay, but the shore of Turtle Tail was a bit choppy. In all our 7 trips to Provo we have never had the whole time be so perfect weather wise.
Nov 4th, 2007 | 05:03 AM
#3
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 4,870
Likes: 0
Enjoying reading your trip report. You will continue it, I hope!
I'm really surprised to read that they're constructing buildings that tall on Provo. I've never been there, but I had assumed that the development boom happened alte enough there for them to enact the "no higher than the highest palm tree" rule that it in effect on so many other islands.
I'm really surprised to read that they're constructing buildings that tall on Provo. I've never been there, but I had assumed that the development boom happened alte enough there for them to enact the "no higher than the highest palm tree" rule that it in effect on so many other islands.
Nov 4th, 2007 | 05:25 AM
#5
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 5,764
Likes: 0
nice report laura. great comparison of the 2 resorts! it seemed to me, when i first went, that perhaps the belongers were a bit overhwhelmed by all the rapid change to their island paradise and this may explain the attitude one sometiemes encounter. agree with you - if i am just pleasant they always warm up.
am i correct that alexandra has minifrig but no stove? where did you eat?
now about this web site where your pics are posted - how does one find it???
am i correct that alexandra has minifrig but no stove? where did you eat?
now about this web site where your pics are posted - how does one find it???
Nov 4th, 2007 | 06:26 AM
#6
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,373
Likes: 0
hope it's okay to post this...the web site is www.provobums.com. Not sure if the new pics are up yet though...
Nov 4th, 2007 | 08:44 AM
#7
Original Poster
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
provobums.com is our website and you are welcome to browse it all you want...
i am still working on the newest album of photos from our last trip but there are lots from years past...
i will continue this report with things like dining and excursions when i get the chance...
i'm glad you all are enjoying it...and yes virginia...no stove in the unit but the microwave was also a convection oven...if i wanted to cook...which i didn't...lol...
we ate out every night and i'll include details of those meals in the next part of my report...
i am still working on the newest album of photos from our last trip but there are lots from years past...
i will continue this report with things like dining and excursions when i get the chance...
i'm glad you all are enjoying it...and yes virginia...no stove in the unit but the microwave was also a convection oven...if i wanted to cook...which i didn't...lol...
we ate out every night and i'll include details of those meals in the next part of my report...
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Nov 6th, 2007 | 05:38 AM
#10
Original Poster
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
Adventures and Excursions
As usual we had a blast. For this trip we rented a car. In the past we have found our way around on the gecko shuttle, taxis, and even friends who have been kind enough to take us to those out of the way places, but for this trip I wanted some independence. I called Grace Bay Car Rentals less than a week before we arrived and had a very informal conversation with a young lady who said they would bring our car to the resort at 10am Wednesday morning. I thought they’d ask for a credit card for the deposit or give us a confirmation number but they didn’t. Part of me worried a bit, but the other part of me knows this island and the laid back way things can be and my instincts said “no worries”. Sure enough, on Wednesday morning Grace Bay Car Rentals called around 10am to verify that we were actually there and then within 15 minutes they came to the resort and even came down to our building so we didn’t have to go anywhere. This was great. We didn’t get to meet Todd but his representative Paul was very nice.
I wanted a 4x4 so we could go to Malcolm’s Beach and also because I’m a crazy woman who felt like it would be slightly safer for us first timers to the driving on the wrong side of the road thing. The cost for the week was $350.00 for the 4x4 and then there is 10% service tax added to it. However, guests of The Alexandra save 10% which was nice, and then we opted for the insurance which was $9.95 per day. Total for the 4x4 from Wednesday to the following Tuesday was $416. Expensive yes, but we figured it’s about the same as the 2 of us going to Middle Caicos or the all day BBQ excursion. And it would last for the week not just a day. Next time we will go with the mid-size car and maybe swap it out for a day if we want to go down Malcolm’s Beach Road.
The first day the car was dropped off we weren’t ready to explore yet and had just got the blender going so we decided we’d just beach it for the day and then go off to dinner somewhere later that night.
This was the day of Gracie’s abduction, which I have now come to believe was more of her running away to live with her favorite Rasta lovers on Provo. I take full responsibility for the incident as I was the one who chose to leave her at the bar when the waitresses all starting laughing and ooohing and ahhing over her. I tend to be naïve and trusting. I expected (wrongly so) that the girls wouldn’t let her wander off. She’s a wild one that Gracie is and ever since she came home from college in June she’s been hard to control. She literally “cut loose” while at Zoo Mass, lol. The only pictures I have of her free of her bondage are from a day at Canobie Lake Park, we never got a single shot of her not praying on Grace Bay. And so it goes. Gracie is off living the life Provobum and I wish we had. Maybe someday she’ll find her way back to us. We met a lovely lady while there who loved the story of Gracie and her adventures. When she got home she looked at our website and e-mailed us excitedly asking our address as she had something special she wanted to send us. A few days later a small package was left by the mailman, inside was a brand new Gracie (who in Ty Beenie world is known as Hope, we renamed her obviously for Grace Bay) she came in a beanie display vault and everything. Still praying and in perfect condition. I couldn’t believe this woman actually had the same doll in its original case and such good condition. Or that she would send it to us so selflessly to replace our lost Gracie. My plan was to keep this new Gracie in her case and let her story live on, but I’ve been told by her natural mother that she is to see Provo and whoop it up like her predecessor. Provobum and I have decided her name shall be Dolly. Since she isn’t the REAL Gracie but is a perfect clone. Her adventures will begin on our next trip. We are so silly.
We’re DRIVING, we’re DRIVING, he’s a DRIVER!!! Our first moments driving were fun. We were the crazy people whooping it up from the car yelling “we’re driving” LOL My job as the co-pilot was to remind him if he wandered to the wrong side of the road. We had a Daihatsu Terrios with the steering on the right so we really got tested. Wrong side of the car, wrong side of the road, God help us. He did and we had no problems. Steve said it was so easy, and after one day he was begging me not to remind him anymore of the roundabouts or what side of the road to stay on. I guess I can be annoying. Go figure.
We hit the IGA for drinking supplies after dinner (I’ll do food and meals last in my report) and were surprised that even since April how much has changed. The store has a whole corner dedicated to alcohol and things you need with it. All the mixers and flavorings you could imagine. Excellent selection.
We got our usual $44 case of corona, $10 bottle of Triple Sec, strawberry mixer, diet coke, coke, water, no milk in the whole store so that was a bummer, laundry detergent, paper towels, Charmin (no housekeeping and I wanted to make sure we didn’t run out), we got a small foam cooler for ice and our total bill was around $70.
Having the car was nice; we made a few trips to the IGA during the week and did a little exploring. Not as much as we wanted to but time just goes by so fast.
We went down to Coral Gardens and snorkeled one morning. It was so quite there at 9am. By the end of the hour there were more and more people joining us. It seems like they took down a couple of the red buoys along the right side so that you can swim a bit more over the reef. Steve saw a huge barracuda hiding in the rocks. I did not have the pleasure thankfully. There were a couple of guys at the shore who were poking stuff with a stick and had only masks on like they were looking for something. After a little while the Coral Gardens beach guy came over and blew his whistle at them and made them stop. I guess the story is that they live on the island and were there to scavenge for lost jewelry. Interesting. They left after getting yelled at.
We drove to Malcolm’s Beach one day and I can’t say enough good things about that experience. The road is all they say it is. You need a high clearance vehicle to get down it for sure. There were just a few really bad spots. Some deep crevasses and gouged up road. Some steep hills, the Provobum said they should blow some snow over this one spot and it would make a great ski trail. The first half of the road wasn’t as bad but past the towers and thru the long rusted metal gate and the road changed drastically. It was so narrow that we wondered what would happen if car came along in the other direction, never did though. The island from this perspective is amazing. You can really tell how undeveloped it is when you’re out there. We saw Northwest Point Resort from a distance but we never made it there like I had wanted.
Eventually we came to a sign that said Northwest Point Marine National Park. The turquoise water sparkled behind it. The road turns right and we traveled along the beach for about 5 more minutes before we came to a dead end. Kind of a circle where there was one other truck parked. From here we could see parts of The Amanyara and it looked nice but I’d never want to stay way over there, but I’m not a gozillionaire movie star either. We took all our belongings and left the car unlocked as has been posted many times before. This beach is stunning. The sand isn’t as soft as Grace Bay but the water is crystal clear. There are quite a bit of rocks, large ground covering rocks that added to the beauty around us. We were disappointed with the amount of bottles and trash here. When we first pulled up there was a pile of about 10 trash bags right on the beach there. We walked way down around the bend until we couldn’t see Amanyara and we set up our spot for the day. Be careful of broken glass if you come here. It’s not terrible but there is glass in the sand along the shore. Some of it smoothed out from the sea but plenty of it was fresh sharp pieces of glass. We didn’t have shoes on and we didn’t cut our feet at all, it wasn’t awful but it was a surprise to me and I had to mention it. We collected about 10 bottles left behind on the rocks and so it’s easy to see how glass ends up in the sand.
We stayed for a few hours but as the day wore on and the sun got hot it was really hard to be there and not be in the water. Which by the way was spectacular. Crystal clear like nowhere we’ve seen on Provo. The sand was heavier and if your feet kicked it up it settled again immediately and the water stayed crystal clear. We had swim goggles but no snorkels on us and we wished we had brought them because the waters there had all kinds of rock formations and coral further out that I suspect would have been interesting to check out. It was a special day. We had the whole beach to ourselves except for one woman who must have been staying at The Amanyara. We named her naked booby lady. Can you guess why? She walked by us wearing only her thong bottoms and a big giant floppy hat. She walked by and by and by. She and her boobies went back and forth past us about 10 times until I finally let my boobies out too and then she decided not to come back by us again. LOL Other than her we saw one other couple looking for shells that walked by us once. Talk about a private getaway. I highly recommend that everyone rent a 4x4 and go to Malcolm’s Beach. We had our cooler of beer and water, and a can of Pringles but once the liquids were gone we had to start heading back to civilization. Bring lots of water, it’s hot out there. I took lots of pictures and hopefully soon I’ll have them posted in the gallery for all to see.
I have to go get my wisdom teeth pulled in an hour so I’m going to stop now and pick it up again later with more of our adventures around the island, our trips with Caicos Dream Tours will be next, sunsets with BeachBumJen, puppies and then on to food…
As usual we had a blast. For this trip we rented a car. In the past we have found our way around on the gecko shuttle, taxis, and even friends who have been kind enough to take us to those out of the way places, but for this trip I wanted some independence. I called Grace Bay Car Rentals less than a week before we arrived and had a very informal conversation with a young lady who said they would bring our car to the resort at 10am Wednesday morning. I thought they’d ask for a credit card for the deposit or give us a confirmation number but they didn’t. Part of me worried a bit, but the other part of me knows this island and the laid back way things can be and my instincts said “no worries”. Sure enough, on Wednesday morning Grace Bay Car Rentals called around 10am to verify that we were actually there and then within 15 minutes they came to the resort and even came down to our building so we didn’t have to go anywhere. This was great. We didn’t get to meet Todd but his representative Paul was very nice.
I wanted a 4x4 so we could go to Malcolm’s Beach and also because I’m a crazy woman who felt like it would be slightly safer for us first timers to the driving on the wrong side of the road thing. The cost for the week was $350.00 for the 4x4 and then there is 10% service tax added to it. However, guests of The Alexandra save 10% which was nice, and then we opted for the insurance which was $9.95 per day. Total for the 4x4 from Wednesday to the following Tuesday was $416. Expensive yes, but we figured it’s about the same as the 2 of us going to Middle Caicos or the all day BBQ excursion. And it would last for the week not just a day. Next time we will go with the mid-size car and maybe swap it out for a day if we want to go down Malcolm’s Beach Road.
The first day the car was dropped off we weren’t ready to explore yet and had just got the blender going so we decided we’d just beach it for the day and then go off to dinner somewhere later that night.
This was the day of Gracie’s abduction, which I have now come to believe was more of her running away to live with her favorite Rasta lovers on Provo. I take full responsibility for the incident as I was the one who chose to leave her at the bar when the waitresses all starting laughing and ooohing and ahhing over her. I tend to be naïve and trusting. I expected (wrongly so) that the girls wouldn’t let her wander off. She’s a wild one that Gracie is and ever since she came home from college in June she’s been hard to control. She literally “cut loose” while at Zoo Mass, lol. The only pictures I have of her free of her bondage are from a day at Canobie Lake Park, we never got a single shot of her not praying on Grace Bay. And so it goes. Gracie is off living the life Provobum and I wish we had. Maybe someday she’ll find her way back to us. We met a lovely lady while there who loved the story of Gracie and her adventures. When she got home she looked at our website and e-mailed us excitedly asking our address as she had something special she wanted to send us. A few days later a small package was left by the mailman, inside was a brand new Gracie (who in Ty Beenie world is known as Hope, we renamed her obviously for Grace Bay) she came in a beanie display vault and everything. Still praying and in perfect condition. I couldn’t believe this woman actually had the same doll in its original case and such good condition. Or that she would send it to us so selflessly to replace our lost Gracie. My plan was to keep this new Gracie in her case and let her story live on, but I’ve been told by her natural mother that she is to see Provo and whoop it up like her predecessor. Provobum and I have decided her name shall be Dolly. Since she isn’t the REAL Gracie but is a perfect clone. Her adventures will begin on our next trip. We are so silly.
We’re DRIVING, we’re DRIVING, he’s a DRIVER!!! Our first moments driving were fun. We were the crazy people whooping it up from the car yelling “we’re driving” LOL My job as the co-pilot was to remind him if he wandered to the wrong side of the road. We had a Daihatsu Terrios with the steering on the right so we really got tested. Wrong side of the car, wrong side of the road, God help us. He did and we had no problems. Steve said it was so easy, and after one day he was begging me not to remind him anymore of the roundabouts or what side of the road to stay on. I guess I can be annoying. Go figure.
We hit the IGA for drinking supplies after dinner (I’ll do food and meals last in my report) and were surprised that even since April how much has changed. The store has a whole corner dedicated to alcohol and things you need with it. All the mixers and flavorings you could imagine. Excellent selection.
We got our usual $44 case of corona, $10 bottle of Triple Sec, strawberry mixer, diet coke, coke, water, no milk in the whole store so that was a bummer, laundry detergent, paper towels, Charmin (no housekeeping and I wanted to make sure we didn’t run out), we got a small foam cooler for ice and our total bill was around $70.
Having the car was nice; we made a few trips to the IGA during the week and did a little exploring. Not as much as we wanted to but time just goes by so fast.
We went down to Coral Gardens and snorkeled one morning. It was so quite there at 9am. By the end of the hour there were more and more people joining us. It seems like they took down a couple of the red buoys along the right side so that you can swim a bit more over the reef. Steve saw a huge barracuda hiding in the rocks. I did not have the pleasure thankfully. There were a couple of guys at the shore who were poking stuff with a stick and had only masks on like they were looking for something. After a little while the Coral Gardens beach guy came over and blew his whistle at them and made them stop. I guess the story is that they live on the island and were there to scavenge for lost jewelry. Interesting. They left after getting yelled at.
We drove to Malcolm’s Beach one day and I can’t say enough good things about that experience. The road is all they say it is. You need a high clearance vehicle to get down it for sure. There were just a few really bad spots. Some deep crevasses and gouged up road. Some steep hills, the Provobum said they should blow some snow over this one spot and it would make a great ski trail. The first half of the road wasn’t as bad but past the towers and thru the long rusted metal gate and the road changed drastically. It was so narrow that we wondered what would happen if car came along in the other direction, never did though. The island from this perspective is amazing. You can really tell how undeveloped it is when you’re out there. We saw Northwest Point Resort from a distance but we never made it there like I had wanted.
Eventually we came to a sign that said Northwest Point Marine National Park. The turquoise water sparkled behind it. The road turns right and we traveled along the beach for about 5 more minutes before we came to a dead end. Kind of a circle where there was one other truck parked. From here we could see parts of The Amanyara and it looked nice but I’d never want to stay way over there, but I’m not a gozillionaire movie star either. We took all our belongings and left the car unlocked as has been posted many times before. This beach is stunning. The sand isn’t as soft as Grace Bay but the water is crystal clear. There are quite a bit of rocks, large ground covering rocks that added to the beauty around us. We were disappointed with the amount of bottles and trash here. When we first pulled up there was a pile of about 10 trash bags right on the beach there. We walked way down around the bend until we couldn’t see Amanyara and we set up our spot for the day. Be careful of broken glass if you come here. It’s not terrible but there is glass in the sand along the shore. Some of it smoothed out from the sea but plenty of it was fresh sharp pieces of glass. We didn’t have shoes on and we didn’t cut our feet at all, it wasn’t awful but it was a surprise to me and I had to mention it. We collected about 10 bottles left behind on the rocks and so it’s easy to see how glass ends up in the sand.
We stayed for a few hours but as the day wore on and the sun got hot it was really hard to be there and not be in the water. Which by the way was spectacular. Crystal clear like nowhere we’ve seen on Provo. The sand was heavier and if your feet kicked it up it settled again immediately and the water stayed crystal clear. We had swim goggles but no snorkels on us and we wished we had brought them because the waters there had all kinds of rock formations and coral further out that I suspect would have been interesting to check out. It was a special day. We had the whole beach to ourselves except for one woman who must have been staying at The Amanyara. We named her naked booby lady. Can you guess why? She walked by us wearing only her thong bottoms and a big giant floppy hat. She walked by and by and by. She and her boobies went back and forth past us about 10 times until I finally let my boobies out too and then she decided not to come back by us again. LOL Other than her we saw one other couple looking for shells that walked by us once. Talk about a private getaway. I highly recommend that everyone rent a 4x4 and go to Malcolm’s Beach. We had our cooler of beer and water, and a can of Pringles but once the liquids were gone we had to start heading back to civilization. Bring lots of water, it’s hot out there. I took lots of pictures and hopefully soon I’ll have them posted in the gallery for all to see.
I have to go get my wisdom teeth pulled in an hour so I’m going to stop now and pick it up again later with more of our adventures around the island, our trips with Caicos Dream Tours will be next, sunsets with BeachBumJen, puppies and then on to food…
Nov 9th, 2007 | 05:43 AM
#13
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Joined: Sep 2006
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We really spent as much time as we could just sitting around on the beach and enjoying the beauty that is Grace Bay. Early on in our trip we met a couple of lovely ladies who had overheard us talking about how our 17 year anniversary was coming up and they were just in a partying mood I guess because the next thing I knew we were being sprinkled with confetti and getting our pictures taken. This woman was so nice. She said she had a vision of us she wanted to see in film. She used my camera and took a bunch of photos of Steve and me in the water and on the beach. Great pictures, like no others we’ve got, even after so many times on island. It’s hard to get pictures with the 2 of us. So Janice posed us in the water and on the edge of the water and really went to town taking what turned out to be some of my favorite pictures of all our trips. The Provobum says she reminded him of Reva Shayne, if anyone out there watches Guiding Light. She was a hot ticket and loads of fun. It turned out that her friend Carolyn had just recently lost her dog and was thinking about getting a new puppy when she got back to the states. We however immediately thought about the potcakes on island that needed homes and we suggested them to her. We just happened to be going to drop off puppy supplies that day and so we traded information between the Potcake Place volunteers and the 2 lovely ladies and they made a date to meet some puppies. As fate would have it, 2 puppies found their way into her heart. The puppies were getting big and needed to find a way off the island soon and this woman fell in love with them both. A brother and sister and took them both home with her. We were so thrilled that she was healing from her loss and loving 2 new dogs that truly needed her will give her so much love in return. It was pretty cool. I can’t wait to see an update on Potcakeplace.com. They were such nice ladies and every time we went out to the beach we looked forward to chatting with them.
We met a lot of great people this trip. I guess we always meet a lot of great people. At Hemmingway’s for dinner on our second night we were approached by a pretty girl with a big smile. It turned out to be BeachBumJen. I was so thrilled that she recognized us and spoke up because I wasn’t sure how I would find her otherwise. We chatted for a few minutes and made plans to join her and her friends for sunset the next night. So the next night (and again another night) we walked down to The Sands (10 minutes from The Alexandra) and hung out with Jen and her hubby and friends. They were all such great fun. Hi Pat, Anthony, Rich and Jim, thanks so much for your hospitality. We look forward to more sunset cocktails with you all. Jen, Steve and I all stayed in the water thru sunset and it was so amazing. Warm and clear even in the almost dark. The Sands is a gorgeous spot for sunsets. The clouds were pink and there was rain on Blue Hills making for some great pictures. It was so relaxing and wonderful and another first for us, being in the water after dark. Fantastic. Although I will admit we did get out pretty quickly when Jen felt something swim by her. Provobum laughed at us but we felt it was time to get out of the water and I’m not ashamed of that. It was so nice to meet another trip advisor poster and to make new friends. They were “wicked” nice people and I hope we stay in touch.
The film festival, what can I say? It wasn’t why we were there and I can’t say we cared either way that it was going on. The big screen the beach at night was neat. It was inflatable and each night at sunset they blew it up for the evenings shows. I think there were 4 movies each night. It was loud I will say that. The last movie started at 10:30 or 11:00 each night and we could hear it clearly from our room if the doors to the balcony were open. We had planned to go out to the beach one night and watch a 10:30pm documentary called “Roots of Reggae” but I crashed long before 10:30 and we never made it. We saw a bunch of stars but we weren’t there for that so I can’t say it was big deal. Lots of people with “all access” passes around there necks, it was easy to see how important they thought they were. I’m not good with names but while walking on the beach I saw a comedian I’ve seen in movies. Another actor at Da Conch Shack I’ll write about in the food part. It was kind of exciting because so many people were buzzing about the stars that were around. Camera crews and lighting guys and all the important people, but Grace Bay and relaxation in paradise are what we wanted, and what we got.
Caicos Dream Tours. What can I say? What a great operation this guy has going on. We had gone out on one of his boats in April 2006 and because we got picked up and dropped off at OCW we never got to meet the owner John. He really makes a point to meet every person that goes out on one of his boats. In 2006 he called me that night to make sure that we had a good day and that his crew took good care of us. I thought that was really nice at the time. Do you know this guy is so good that when I mentioned the day we went out he remember that he never got to meet us and was so pleased that we came to say hello. What a great guy. Every day we watched him bring coolers to his boats in the morning and greet all his guests, and then he would always be there when the boats were coming in to make sure everyone had a good time. It was so nice to see all the effort he put into making sure his guests had a wonderful day that included everything they wanted it to. We knew we wanted to go out on one of his trips but we had no idea we’d love it so much that we’d do it twice during our week.
The half day conch salad trip is the perfect half day trip. It’s $89 per person and is worth every penny. John told us to be on the beach at 9:15am and all we needed would be sun block, maybe a hat. Wear a bathing suit and bring a towel. Oh, and a camera if we wanted. Before departing, John says hello to all his guests while they get fitted with fins and sign the paperwork saying you promise to have a good time. His 2 boats and crews wait on the shore and he directs each guest to which boat they are heading out on for the day. I think he tries to put like people together and match personalities. He really pays attention to every detail. After the boats are loaded he personally brings the coolers on board. Coolers full of beer and rum punch, soda or water if you prefer, chips, pretzels and all the fixings for the conch salad to be made later. He also then brings on a bucket of freshly cleaned masks and snorkels. I can’t say enough good things about the pride and effort this man puts into his business and it shows in the great time we had on both our days with them.
For our first trip we had our friend Shaun as Captain and Vario was his mate. Shaun is a native Turks Islander, these waters are home to him and it shows. We left the Alexandra beach front with about 15 people on board. Bob Marley was blasting from the radio and Shaun was bouncing to the music. It was a good vibe from the very start. There was plenty of shade on board and also plenty of sun so which ever was wanted could be found.
We cruised along Grace Bay heading east and passing the seven story construction sites. This is when I really felt for the first time that those buildings are so out of place. I guess being amongst them as they were being built these last years made it harder to see how they don’t belong. But after being away from them at the “shorter” (as in the height of the buildings) end of Grace Bay it was a shock to round the corner at Point Grace and see the difference. We went out towards the Leeward Canal and the east end of the island passing our favorite walking spot. Down past Ocean Club, it looks like it’s a new experience now, if you can get around the giant construction of what looked like an infinity pool being built. So many changes in such a relatively short time.
Anyway. We went out to the reef where the crew grabbed a mooring and pointed out the best spots for snorkeling. Vario watched out over all the snorkelers, (I could almost see numbers in his eyes he was so focused as he counted heads) and Shaun assisted with making sure masks were fitting properly. You could tell these two guys have a system of working together.
Everyone snorkeled for less than an hour. It was a bit choppy out here which surprised me given the calm shores at the Alexandra beach. Still most everyone snorkeled and had great stories of what they saw. There was a Barracuda circling the boat while they all were snorkeling and that was exciting enough for me. After everyone had their fill of snorkeling Shaun brought us down the Leeward Canal, past the marina and the new big pink resort next to it. I think its Pelican Point or something like that. We went right out to the Caicos Bank. All the trips we’ve taken and been all around this island and still this was another first. Going all the way thru the canal and coming out in the Caicos Bank. Here on the southern side of Provo the water is 3-4 feet deep for miles and miles and miles. It was so clear and so perfect. This is where everyone got to go “conch hunting”. Steve said that when the bottom got stirred up it was hard to find the conchs because it took forever to settle again, unlike Malcolm’s Beach that settled so quickly. Even still, everyone was finding tons of conchs. They filled a huge bucket in no time at all and we were off to the perfect spot to picnic.
Shaun then took us back around Mangrove Cay and to the backside of Half Moon Bay. The story is that Little Water Cay and Big Water Cay didn’t used to be connected, until a hurricane came along and created Half Moon Bay bringing the 2 cays together. It’s a breathtaking location. Shaun weaved his way around sand bars and shallow spots until he found the perfect spot to go ashore. Beautiful shallow lagoons surrounded us, and within a 5 minute walk we were faced with Half Moon Bay in all its glory.
One of the best parts of this trip was that when Shaun was cleaning the conch at the waters edge it attracted lemon sharks. 3-4 foot lemon sharks that wouldn’t come too close, no matter how hard people tried to get close to them they turned and swam away if we got within a few feet. There were about 5 or 6 of them at one point just grabbing scraps of conch and bolting away. We did get some good pictures. They are bright yellow and quite pretty actually.
After getting to swim in Half Moon Bay, we got to explore the lagoons and found an iguana hanging out in the grass. Everyone took pictures and thought that was pretty cool. When we got back to the boat Shaun was on the shore scraping the grass off of and cleaning the conch shells for those who wanted a souvenir and Vario was on board cutting up the conch, peppers, tomato and onion to make the conch salad. Some of the others on board weren’t too sure they wanted to eat the conch but we knew it was yummy and couldn’t wait. We weren’t disappointed. It was Fantastic. It has a sweetness to it that can’t really be described and along with the rum punch we were in heaven. I think it was about 2pm when we got back to the beach at the Alexandra. Steve and I had the best day ever and we got off the boat whooping and hollering and causing a scene. I think everyone had a great day that day.
Later in the week we decided we wanted to spend another half day out with Caicos Dream Tours. On that trip we had Captain Jay and his mate Ashlee. I think John set this boat up with all north easterners because we had 5 couples on board, 3 of whom were from Mass (Hi Basset Mom) and the other 2 were from NY. There were also 3 newlywed couples on board which was kind of fun. I don’t know why after being married for 17 years somehow its fun to see how newlyweds relate.
There were small differences in the 2 trips that I’ll point out but for the most part it was the same day. The first was that we were on a different boat; I think it was a bit smaller than the first but I may be wrong. Both boats had plenty of shade and seating. One cool thing about this second trip was that we went out to the reef right in front of the resort for snorkeling. I didn’t snorkel but it was a neat point of view to be there and see how clear the water was. So much life and coral can be seen from above it was pretty cool. We hit the rum punch a lot sooner on this trip too. The crew served it to snorkelers if they needed to rinse the sea water taste out of their mouths. It’s was too fun. After everyone got their fill of snorkeling Jay took us out to the Caicos Bank to find some conch for lunch. He pointed out a boat that was stuck in the sand because someone thought he could beat the tide. Now the owner will have to spend some obscene amount of millions of dollars to get his boat back. Or leave it forever. One of the newlyweds lost his wedding band here while hunting conch. I felt so bad for him. It’s a good story for his grandkids someday though. After collecting enough conchs Jay brought us in to almost the same spot that Shaun had brought us. The tide was much lower and we could explore a bit more, and also no sharks came calling either. I think maybe because of the tide or maybe because they have a better bond with Shaun, LOL. Now I don’t want to say this to throw Jay under any buses or anything but Shaun was all over cleaning a conch shell for each guest on board. By the time we got back from exploring he had a deck full of nice clean shells for all aboard. Jay waited until someone asked for one and then cleaned a couple up for whoever asked.
The conch salad was delicious and the day was perfect as we knew it would be. The 10 of us on board that day managed to drink all the rum punch and all the beer in the cooler. We had so much fun. We got back to The Alexandra beach around 2ish again and again John was there greeting his guests and making sure everyone had a great time.
Captain Jay came back and watched the sunset on the beach with us that evening and he said that the guys that work for John have a joke between them. He said they can break a propeller and its okay, they can dent the boat and its okay, they can come back late and still no worries, anything can happen and it’s okay but if they bring back unhappy people they better watch out cause that’s when John will get upset with them. This guy runs a top notch operation and takes great pride in ensuring every guest gets what they want out of their day with his crew. I highly recommend Caicos Dream Tours. John spoke to us every time he saw us at the beach and he even went so far as to offer us the use of his paddle boats and kayaks since we had been repeat customers and he wanted to thank us for our business. He really works hard to please his customers and I think that’s something we all can appreciate.
now i'll work on food and final thoughts...
We met a lot of great people this trip. I guess we always meet a lot of great people. At Hemmingway’s for dinner on our second night we were approached by a pretty girl with a big smile. It turned out to be BeachBumJen. I was so thrilled that she recognized us and spoke up because I wasn’t sure how I would find her otherwise. We chatted for a few minutes and made plans to join her and her friends for sunset the next night. So the next night (and again another night) we walked down to The Sands (10 minutes from The Alexandra) and hung out with Jen and her hubby and friends. They were all such great fun. Hi Pat, Anthony, Rich and Jim, thanks so much for your hospitality. We look forward to more sunset cocktails with you all. Jen, Steve and I all stayed in the water thru sunset and it was so amazing. Warm and clear even in the almost dark. The Sands is a gorgeous spot for sunsets. The clouds were pink and there was rain on Blue Hills making for some great pictures. It was so relaxing and wonderful and another first for us, being in the water after dark. Fantastic. Although I will admit we did get out pretty quickly when Jen felt something swim by her. Provobum laughed at us but we felt it was time to get out of the water and I’m not ashamed of that. It was so nice to meet another trip advisor poster and to make new friends. They were “wicked” nice people and I hope we stay in touch.
The film festival, what can I say? It wasn’t why we were there and I can’t say we cared either way that it was going on. The big screen the beach at night was neat. It was inflatable and each night at sunset they blew it up for the evenings shows. I think there were 4 movies each night. It was loud I will say that. The last movie started at 10:30 or 11:00 each night and we could hear it clearly from our room if the doors to the balcony were open. We had planned to go out to the beach one night and watch a 10:30pm documentary called “Roots of Reggae” but I crashed long before 10:30 and we never made it. We saw a bunch of stars but we weren’t there for that so I can’t say it was big deal. Lots of people with “all access” passes around there necks, it was easy to see how important they thought they were. I’m not good with names but while walking on the beach I saw a comedian I’ve seen in movies. Another actor at Da Conch Shack I’ll write about in the food part. It was kind of exciting because so many people were buzzing about the stars that were around. Camera crews and lighting guys and all the important people, but Grace Bay and relaxation in paradise are what we wanted, and what we got.
Caicos Dream Tours. What can I say? What a great operation this guy has going on. We had gone out on one of his boats in April 2006 and because we got picked up and dropped off at OCW we never got to meet the owner John. He really makes a point to meet every person that goes out on one of his boats. In 2006 he called me that night to make sure that we had a good day and that his crew took good care of us. I thought that was really nice at the time. Do you know this guy is so good that when I mentioned the day we went out he remember that he never got to meet us and was so pleased that we came to say hello. What a great guy. Every day we watched him bring coolers to his boats in the morning and greet all his guests, and then he would always be there when the boats were coming in to make sure everyone had a good time. It was so nice to see all the effort he put into making sure his guests had a wonderful day that included everything they wanted it to. We knew we wanted to go out on one of his trips but we had no idea we’d love it so much that we’d do it twice during our week.
The half day conch salad trip is the perfect half day trip. It’s $89 per person and is worth every penny. John told us to be on the beach at 9:15am and all we needed would be sun block, maybe a hat. Wear a bathing suit and bring a towel. Oh, and a camera if we wanted. Before departing, John says hello to all his guests while they get fitted with fins and sign the paperwork saying you promise to have a good time. His 2 boats and crews wait on the shore and he directs each guest to which boat they are heading out on for the day. I think he tries to put like people together and match personalities. He really pays attention to every detail. After the boats are loaded he personally brings the coolers on board. Coolers full of beer and rum punch, soda or water if you prefer, chips, pretzels and all the fixings for the conch salad to be made later. He also then brings on a bucket of freshly cleaned masks and snorkels. I can’t say enough good things about the pride and effort this man puts into his business and it shows in the great time we had on both our days with them.
For our first trip we had our friend Shaun as Captain and Vario was his mate. Shaun is a native Turks Islander, these waters are home to him and it shows. We left the Alexandra beach front with about 15 people on board. Bob Marley was blasting from the radio and Shaun was bouncing to the music. It was a good vibe from the very start. There was plenty of shade on board and also plenty of sun so which ever was wanted could be found.
We cruised along Grace Bay heading east and passing the seven story construction sites. This is when I really felt for the first time that those buildings are so out of place. I guess being amongst them as they were being built these last years made it harder to see how they don’t belong. But after being away from them at the “shorter” (as in the height of the buildings) end of Grace Bay it was a shock to round the corner at Point Grace and see the difference. We went out towards the Leeward Canal and the east end of the island passing our favorite walking spot. Down past Ocean Club, it looks like it’s a new experience now, if you can get around the giant construction of what looked like an infinity pool being built. So many changes in such a relatively short time.
Anyway. We went out to the reef where the crew grabbed a mooring and pointed out the best spots for snorkeling. Vario watched out over all the snorkelers, (I could almost see numbers in his eyes he was so focused as he counted heads) and Shaun assisted with making sure masks were fitting properly. You could tell these two guys have a system of working together.
Everyone snorkeled for less than an hour. It was a bit choppy out here which surprised me given the calm shores at the Alexandra beach. Still most everyone snorkeled and had great stories of what they saw. There was a Barracuda circling the boat while they all were snorkeling and that was exciting enough for me. After everyone had their fill of snorkeling Shaun brought us down the Leeward Canal, past the marina and the new big pink resort next to it. I think its Pelican Point or something like that. We went right out to the Caicos Bank. All the trips we’ve taken and been all around this island and still this was another first. Going all the way thru the canal and coming out in the Caicos Bank. Here on the southern side of Provo the water is 3-4 feet deep for miles and miles and miles. It was so clear and so perfect. This is where everyone got to go “conch hunting”. Steve said that when the bottom got stirred up it was hard to find the conchs because it took forever to settle again, unlike Malcolm’s Beach that settled so quickly. Even still, everyone was finding tons of conchs. They filled a huge bucket in no time at all and we were off to the perfect spot to picnic.
Shaun then took us back around Mangrove Cay and to the backside of Half Moon Bay. The story is that Little Water Cay and Big Water Cay didn’t used to be connected, until a hurricane came along and created Half Moon Bay bringing the 2 cays together. It’s a breathtaking location. Shaun weaved his way around sand bars and shallow spots until he found the perfect spot to go ashore. Beautiful shallow lagoons surrounded us, and within a 5 minute walk we were faced with Half Moon Bay in all its glory.
One of the best parts of this trip was that when Shaun was cleaning the conch at the waters edge it attracted lemon sharks. 3-4 foot lemon sharks that wouldn’t come too close, no matter how hard people tried to get close to them they turned and swam away if we got within a few feet. There were about 5 or 6 of them at one point just grabbing scraps of conch and bolting away. We did get some good pictures. They are bright yellow and quite pretty actually.
After getting to swim in Half Moon Bay, we got to explore the lagoons and found an iguana hanging out in the grass. Everyone took pictures and thought that was pretty cool. When we got back to the boat Shaun was on the shore scraping the grass off of and cleaning the conch shells for those who wanted a souvenir and Vario was on board cutting up the conch, peppers, tomato and onion to make the conch salad. Some of the others on board weren’t too sure they wanted to eat the conch but we knew it was yummy and couldn’t wait. We weren’t disappointed. It was Fantastic. It has a sweetness to it that can’t really be described and along with the rum punch we were in heaven. I think it was about 2pm when we got back to the beach at the Alexandra. Steve and I had the best day ever and we got off the boat whooping and hollering and causing a scene. I think everyone had a great day that day.
Later in the week we decided we wanted to spend another half day out with Caicos Dream Tours. On that trip we had Captain Jay and his mate Ashlee. I think John set this boat up with all north easterners because we had 5 couples on board, 3 of whom were from Mass (Hi Basset Mom) and the other 2 were from NY. There were also 3 newlywed couples on board which was kind of fun. I don’t know why after being married for 17 years somehow its fun to see how newlyweds relate.
There were small differences in the 2 trips that I’ll point out but for the most part it was the same day. The first was that we were on a different boat; I think it was a bit smaller than the first but I may be wrong. Both boats had plenty of shade and seating. One cool thing about this second trip was that we went out to the reef right in front of the resort for snorkeling. I didn’t snorkel but it was a neat point of view to be there and see how clear the water was. So much life and coral can be seen from above it was pretty cool. We hit the rum punch a lot sooner on this trip too. The crew served it to snorkelers if they needed to rinse the sea water taste out of their mouths. It’s was too fun. After everyone got their fill of snorkeling Jay took us out to the Caicos Bank to find some conch for lunch. He pointed out a boat that was stuck in the sand because someone thought he could beat the tide. Now the owner will have to spend some obscene amount of millions of dollars to get his boat back. Or leave it forever. One of the newlyweds lost his wedding band here while hunting conch. I felt so bad for him. It’s a good story for his grandkids someday though. After collecting enough conchs Jay brought us in to almost the same spot that Shaun had brought us. The tide was much lower and we could explore a bit more, and also no sharks came calling either. I think maybe because of the tide or maybe because they have a better bond with Shaun, LOL. Now I don’t want to say this to throw Jay under any buses or anything but Shaun was all over cleaning a conch shell for each guest on board. By the time we got back from exploring he had a deck full of nice clean shells for all aboard. Jay waited until someone asked for one and then cleaned a couple up for whoever asked.
The conch salad was delicious and the day was perfect as we knew it would be. The 10 of us on board that day managed to drink all the rum punch and all the beer in the cooler. We had so much fun. We got back to The Alexandra beach around 2ish again and again John was there greeting his guests and making sure everyone had a great time.
Captain Jay came back and watched the sunset on the beach with us that evening and he said that the guys that work for John have a joke between them. He said they can break a propeller and its okay, they can dent the boat and its okay, they can come back late and still no worries, anything can happen and it’s okay but if they bring back unhappy people they better watch out cause that’s when John will get upset with them. This guy runs a top notch operation and takes great pride in ensuring every guest gets what they want out of their day with his crew. I highly recommend Caicos Dream Tours. John spoke to us every time he saw us at the beach and he even went so far as to offer us the use of his paddle boats and kayaks since we had been repeat customers and he wanted to thank us for our business. He really works hard to please his customers and I think that’s something we all can appreciate.
now i'll work on food and final thoughts...
