 |
| Nature struts her stuff with OK Computer blasting in the background. |
When I decided to go to Turks and Caicos (T&C) to learn
how to kite surf, I was expecting to see a lot of crashing, but I thought it
would be of me being flung about the ocean, not from the tarmac watching a plane
that I just got off crash landing on the runway next to me. More on that to come …
 |
| Caribbean Donkey Strutting |
T&C is an island chain in the Caribbean surrounded by
picturesque turquoise waters lapping up on white sands beaches dotted with palm
trees. The 40 island chain is approximately
550 miles southeast of Miami and was made famous in the western world when John
Glen’s Capsule landed here in 1962 after the first successful manned
orbit. The air and water temperatures are
approximately 80 F (27C) year-round, with a steady breeze keeping one refreshed. The only thing not heavenly about the islands
are the prices – no place is perfect after all J
Week 1, I spent on the Provo Island to kitesurf and I was
joined by Rich and Lisa on Week 2 to scuba dive on Grand Turk Island some 50
miles to the Southeast. On Provo, I
stayed on Grace Beach which is considered by US News & World Report to be
one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in the world. Even when it is raining, the beach is
amazing. Listening to Radiohead while
caught in an evening island storm walking the beach is a slice of heaven.
 |
| Happy Birthday Kendall! |
I took 3 days of lessons from Alex at T&C Kiteboarding (http://www.tckiteboarding.com/). TCK is a fantastic organization and Alex is a
great instructor; both are relaxed but very professional. Kitesurfing for the first time is kind of
like standing on a skateboard trying to grab cars driving by on the
freeway. Exciting … but it is not going
to end well the first few tries. Throw
in the added risk of drowning while tethered to a kite larger than your first
apartment, and you get a feel for the experience. I think my adrenal gland stopped working at
some point during the trip.
 |
| Rich & Lisa |
Rich and Lisa came to T&C on week two - their beaming
“I’m so happy to be on vacation” smiles, brought an end to the rainy
weather. We stayed in at the Bohio Dive
Resort (http://www.bohioresort.com/). We woke up to delicious breakfasts on the ocean
watching the waves break and marveling at the packs of wild donkeys that roamed
the beach. Rich and I did two morning
dives while Lisa read on the beach - we returned to a tasty lunch and boozy
smoothies telling tales of tropical fish and corral.
 |
| Sorry Rich, I'm Irresistible :) |
Rich, Lisa, and I became fast friends with Kendall and John
who were visiting from New York. John
surprised Kendall with the dive trip to celebrate her birthday. The five of us were thick as thieves for the
week and we are planning to travel the world together once we earn proceeds
from our investment in the drug ‘mycoxafloppin’. Fun Fact:
We found out in conversation that Kendall and John’s daughter once dated
Alex (my kitesurfing instructor) in Australia a few years back. This coincidence is approximately as likely
as the Mets winning the next Superbowl.
 |
| Our plane goes splat and closes down the airport for hours. |
As for the aviation incident … the plane that Rich, Lisa and
I just stepped off immediately crash landed on its next flight. Turns out that the landing gear stopped
working. I was on the tarmac looking out
the window as my last plane crashed on the runway beside me. Thankfully no one was hurt. I kinda wished I was on it when it crashed, how
cool would that have been to survive two emergency landings in less than a
month!
- - Travelin T
PS, I used my GoPro 4 for the first time on this trip while kiting and diving; I’ll try and post some video if I can ever figure out how to download files from the thingamajig.
