Larry & Nancy's Blog

laran1 — Tue, 11 May 2010 03:02:35 +0000

View of Turks and Caicos Island from the balcony of our suite. Notice how narrow the island is

laran1 — Tue, 11 May 2010 02:59:27 +0000

"Mutt and Jeff"? Carnival's "Miracle" accommodates about 4x as many guests as Regent's Voyager, and it takes a long time for them all to dis-embark or embark

laran1 — Tue, 11 May 2010 02:52:41 +0000

Now we must pack! Actually, it only took us about 3 hours, splitting our luggage between Phoenix and Edmonton

May 10, 2010 Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos

laran1 — Tue, 11 May 2010 02:45:33 +0000

One of the first questions that one might ask about Turks and Caicos is “Why bother to come here?” (Unless you are a scuba diver, that is). It is a narrow, low-lying island about 7 mi. long by 1.5 mi wide, narrower in places. It does have some nice beaches and beautiful turquoise waters. Divers love it because of the steep drop-off to 7000 ft. deep beginning only 300 yards out to sea. Cruise ships are starting to come here more frequently, with about 300,000 visitors annually. The population of the capital town of Grand Turk is under 4000.

The most interesting aspect of our visit here was that Carnival’s mega-ship “Miracle” was here this afternoon, disgorging its nearly 3000 passengers to the beaches. The line of returning guests waiting to re-board at one point stretched for several blocks down to the end of the pier. If we needed reminding, this is one reason we like small ships better.

Today’s port was the final one in this year’s world cruise and we will be completing the cruise in Ft. Lauderdale the day after tomorrow (May 12th). I have both enjoyed and been challenged by the project of writing the blog for each port. There have been times where the internet was so slow, it hardly seemed worth the effort to continue. But we now have a record of the trip and will undoubtedly refer to it from time to time. Nancy and I hope that you have enjoyed the journey with us. Thank you for checking on the blog so regularly and for your positive comments - there were several days in which there were over 100 visits. Now, we’re looking forward to getting home and seeing you, our friends and family.

laran1 — Mon, 10 May 2010 23:23:28 +0000

Crew presentation of song and dance. The girl on the left is our stewardess, JackLynn

laran1 — Mon, 10 May 2010 23:20:39 +0000

Another view of Road Town harbour

laran1 — Mon, 10 May 2010 23:17:25 +0000

View of Road Town harbor and the Voyager from the mountain ridge above town

laran1 — Mon, 10 May 2010 23:13:50 +0000

This unusual bar/restaurant along the beach on Tortola is apparently a local favorite

laran1 — Mon, 10 May 2010 23:08:49 +0000

This marina at Sopher's Hole on Tortola was postcard beautiful

laran1 — Mon, 10 May 2010 23:04:53 +0000

Sailing is one of the major pastimes in the BVI's and there are some fine boats here