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Conch Shells
All the conch shells displayed at Da Conch Shack- cool!Providenciales, or Provo as everybody calls it, is the westernmost island in the Caicos Island chain as well as the tourist center of the Turks and Caicos. Due to all its recent development, it is downright cosmopolitan (by island standards). Posh mega-resorts line Grace Bay, a beautiful white sand beach that runs the entire north coast of Provo for miles and miles. And there are lots of great restaurants and shopping centers to support the over 100,000 visitors annually. But besides the beach and tropical climate, the main reason people visit Provo is for the renowned scuba diving. Due to its geography and geology, the Turks and Caicos have some of the best wall dives in the world. So we were super excited to go out there and check it out.
We were blown away by the diving there. After zipping out to the dive sights on the North West Point, we would gear up and jump in. The dives would typically start on the shelf, at about 30 feet. And once everybody was ready, we would swim out to the drop off. The top of the wall is in about 40-60 feet of water, and the bottom is over 2,000
Scuba Diving
Jay getting ready to dive the wall off North West Point- awesome! feet- holy cow! Talk about a wall. It is wild, swimming over the edge and looking down into the deep abyss. It is almost like a flying sensation, and you can’t help but think that there really is nothing stopping us from dropping to the bottom of the ocean (except the BCD, of course). We would then swim over the edge and level off at about 80-90 feet for the rest of the dive. On your left is a beautiful coral reef, filled with fish and turtles and eels and rays. But then you look out to your right, and it is the deep blue. You always want to keep an eye out there, for you never know what you are going to see passing by. This area is famous for whales and manta rays and sharks. So what did we see out there? Yes, you guessed it. Sharks… lots and lots of reef sharks. As luck would have it, I am quite the shark whisperer (not that I want to be, let it be known that I am actually deathly afraid of sharks). But if there is ever any chance of sharks in an area, sure enough they will
Grace Bay
No lack of beautiful beaches here in Provo. come out when I am in the water. Jay always jokes that I am shark bait- oh ah ah! So the diving here was exhilarating, to say the least. But it also gave me an opportunity to overcome my fear and try to just enjoy watching these majestic creatures. All in all, it was an awesome experience.
After all the scuba diving we did at Turks and Caicos, we needed a few days to decompress. So we decided to rent a car and explore the island. Although there really isn’t much to see in Provo. We did a little shopping and enjoyed some of the great restaurants on the island, but besides that we pretty much just drove in circles. Provo is not a big island, roughly 14 miles long. There is the main road that follows the beach and the leeward highway, which runs down the center of the island. So effectively, a loop around would take us about an hour or so, not including stops. We basically drove around, exploring all the side roads, and finding many great beaches along the way. If there is one thing that Provo doesn’t lack, it is beautiful beaches. And we happened
Beach
Hanging out at the beach, decompressing from all our dives. upon the kite board competition one day out at the beach on Long Bay. That was cool, watching all the kite boarders surf the waves and fly thru the air. And we also found Da Conch Shack and Rum Bar when we ventured out to the far west end of Grace Bay. That was another great stop; right on the beach, sitting with your feet in the sand, and enjoying conch salad, which was harvested from the bay after you order- talk about fresh!
But I guess the highlight of our driving adventure was when we found the hole (insert sarcasm here). Actually, we liked the sign for the hole better than the hole itself. Boasted as one of the tourist attractions on the island, we were a bit disappointed to find out that the hole is just that, a giant hole in the ground. The only thing that is kind of cool about it is that it does in fact connect to the ocean, so is filled with sea water. But that is pretty much it. We were expecting to have a hole-lot-of-excitement at the hole, maybe there could be a hole-lot-of-swimming or a hole-lot-of-exploring. But sadly, no.
Da Conch Shack and Rum Bar
Hanging out at Da Conch Shack, with our feet in the sand and enjoying the freshest conch salad on Provo. You can’t swim there or cliff dive or even spelunk the hole. There is not even a hole-lot-of-wildlife at the hole. In fact, it is surrounded by thick scrub in a developed neighborhood. So basically, you just get to look at the hole, and go, “Huh? That’s one big hole”.
But overall we are glad that we got to spend time in the Turks and Caicos, and we sure did have a hole-lot-of- fun in Provo.
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margie
non-member comment
fun in the sun
Hi, the drop-off appears to rival the Mariannas trench-you could do that next time.happy sailing---^^^^--M