We awoke a bit later today, all that bone fishing produced quite a need for rest. We decided to venture via car today and see the island. After a quick bite at the villa, we packed the car with beach chairs, umbrella, a cooler of beer, and hit the road. To leave Harbour Club Villas, you must travel a few miles on an unpaved road that we have come to enjoy – it is a true off road experience and Chad gets bolder with each attempt! After bumping our way along Venetian Road, we hit the main drag of the island, Leeward Highway. The road extends as the vein of the island, with many roundabouts along the way. Each roundabout is an adventure as well, so many tourists and locals mixing on these terrifying little turnstiles, it really gets the nerves racing as you approach each one, hoping for a smooth landing on the other side.
I was elected navigator, a job that I failed MISERABLY today! The map spread across my lap, you would think I could help Chad get somewhere – wrong answer. I was so discombobulated that I eventually just chucked the map and we decided to see what would happen. Providenciales is still a pretty undeveloped place – while there are basic staples such as a supermarket, power company, and of course a liquor store – there really isn’t much else. As we moved through the island, many locals were walking to work or waiting for rides. We saw school buses and small houses as we headed toward the beach. Our goal was to find a spit of beach that we could relax and snorkel. After a good car tour of the island and, of course, we scouted a place to eventually land for lunch, we made our way into the Grace Bay National Park and decided on its beautiful spread of beach. The sand was white and warm, the water was a perfect aquamarine with a clear view of the pristine bottom. We settled ourselves on the beach and immediately decided to snorkel. There wasn’t much in the way of exotic sites to see, but we were thankful for the cool water. The beach was pretty much empty, despite some adorable local boys frolicking in the surf. As we continued to snorkel, I noticed some older teenage boys moving down the beach and my instinct was to get closer to our belongings in case something looked exciting to take. Little did I know, my concern should not have been for those boys, it should have been for my own legs! As I looked back down in the water in front of me, a four foot barracuda swam, literally, a foot from me! He was a big sucker, and I just about lost it right there in the water. Chad was close to me and was startled as well at how close it had gotten. That is a lesson in being aware of your surroundings, while you may think you see something that needs attention far away, you really need to be aware of the things closer to you that may present more danger!
We enjoyed the water for a bit longer and more local families arrived to enjoy the park. Today was a national holiday for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Since this is British territory, the island enjoyed a three day holiday. The families spoke different languages, some English, some others, but they all interacted just like any other family – it was neat to see local people enjoying their island. Beer-thirty was upon us and a cold Turk’s Head and some sun kept us busy for a few hours. We lounged and watched people up the beach parasailing, paddle boarding, and kayaking around their resort areas. We even spotted a HUGE yacht anchored out in our view and we speculated on who was visiting TCI on that monster of a boat. The heat eventually set in and we needed to seek shade and food.
We drove to Horse Eyed Jacks, a cool rounded tiki bar with blaring music and a cool vibe. Set right on the beach in Blue Hills, the beautiful conchs and bar atmosphere made this a great choice. Two Presidente beers started our experience, following by cracked conch, a panko battered conch served with a spicy sauce – crispy delicious! For lunch, I ordered the jerk chicken with peas and rice – a local version of beans and rice. Chad ordered jerk pork with peas and rice. The flavor on the meat was spicy and dark, a vibrant jerk flavor of the island. We shared our lunches so that both of us got to try the chicken and pork. After lunch, I found my way to a little table of jewelry that was manned by a local lady. I bought a beautiful carved ring as a keepsake of this experience.
It was clear the sun had sucked the life out of us, so we headed back to the pool at the villa. At this point, our plan was to get out of the sun for the afternoon, reemerge in the evening, and head out for dinner. What is so great about days without an agenda is that sometimes, you just can’t be bothered. As sunset was upon us, we ventured back out to the pool. We made plans…. to do nothing and relax! No sunset on the beach, no dinner in town, no stroll to the marina, we just wanted to hang out poolside and have some drinks.
As we lounged, Barry came out to visit with us and we talked shop. The couple whom just arrived also came to the pool and grilled steaks. We had a pleasant conversation with them, learned they were honeymooners from Canada. We told them, marriage is awesome and it just keeps getting better. They were happy to be here, but were as taken back by the heat as we were on our first day. Having been here for multiple days now, we just take it in stride. We retired back to our villa and Chad cooked the most delicious cheeseburgers. I made a salad with large chunks of tomato, celery, cucumber, and carrot. We ate dinner on the porch outside the villa, next to the light of the hurricane lamp. It was an early night for us, as we had Darin awaiting us at 7AM for another day of bone fishing in the morning. Ah, this is the life! A full day of relaxation and enjoying each other, life is good!
Check out some video of our drive…