Grand Turk

Day 3:

 

We arrived at our first port of call in the Monday morning. Grand Turk, the capital island of the Turks & Caicos (a string of islands) has an interesting bit of history behind it. In the 18^th century this network of islands served as as the perfect location for pirates to stash their treasure. The most famous of these pirates being Calico Jack who designed the skull and crossed swords flag known as the Jolly Roger which is now the emblem for piracy. According to legend, his home base was Pirate’s Cay, now known as Parrot’s Cay. We did not see any legit pirates, however, but did see a touristy looking pirate ship and pirates who were more than willing to pose in photos with us.

We had a quick breakfast and disembarked the ship at 8:00am to start our Catamaran excursion. This would take us to the “the wall” a drop off that goes from 30 feet to 7,000 feet. Our crew was by the far the best we have ever had on any excursion in the past in that they went out of there way to make sure everyone was having a good time- and they were having a great time themselves! After about 30 minutes cruising on the waves we reached our spot that would take us to a scenic snorkeling experience of the famous drop off. There were lots of colorful fish as well, but the drop off was incredible and well worth it. We also encountered multiple jellyfish swimming around with us. Although Chris was well aware of them and was even making sure to stay at a safe distance, he still wound up getting stung on his arm while I on the other hand (who was totally unaware) was having a grand old time and remained completely fine. I guess it’s true what they say ignorance is bliss. My parents also wound up getting stung, but nothing a little vinegar (as an ointment) and rum to drink couldn’t solve.

Our next stop was a secluded beach that we were able to spend an hour at. Again more rum, more swimming, and no jellyfish so I was happy. The captain saw "my condition" so to speak and was kind enough to bring me some awesome fruit juice that was alcohol free and very delicious. Everyone was having such a good time, but before we knew it our tour came to an end and it was time to head back to the ship (some of us a little more tipsy then others).  Back on the ship, we had lunch and then I went with Chris to help him prepare for his important ping pong tournament. While I don’t really care too much about ping pong it was good practice for me, and I actually wound up learning a few things and improving my skill set even though Chris was still able to beat me every time.

While Chris was waiting on his tournament my dad took me to a Cupcake Tea which was held in the Dining Room for a father /daughter date. It was really nice to spend some quality time with him and chat about a variety of things. We both tried a mint tea that was delicious and had no caffeine. We also sampled several mini cupcakes which were tasty as well (I had the double chocolate and a strawberry one). We then returned to the Ping Pong Tournament to find that Chris was already out on the first round. Unfortunately for him, as he put it, he was unfairly matched up with an Asian for his first round. I was able to catch some of her performance in the second round and she was scary good. The way he described the match sounded like a UCF game in that he had a strong lead and she slowly snuck up on him and defeated him after she got warmed up. The final score was 16-14, but I still thought that was very impressive. Afterwards, we caught the first part of The Avengers in the screening room before getting ready for dinner.

Tonight’s dinner had a Caribbean-inspired theme and we were all able to try several things that were quite new to us which is always fun! Some of the more interesting things we had were part of the Appetizers/Soups and Salads portion. I had an Eggplant Caponata which is cooked vegetables made from eggplant and celery seasoned with a sweet/sour sauce. It sounds odd, but everybody wanted a taste when it came out and they all agreed it was very good! I also had the Curried Breadfruit Soup which was very rich and creamy with a variety of Caribbean spices including a hint of nutmeg (everything I have ordered up to this point including the night before was from the Vegetarian gourmet selection-good stuff!).

curried breadfruit soup

Chris had the Chilled Guanabana Soup which is a fruit blend with a coconut and nutmeg flavor. I am not a fan of chilled soups, but he said he found it very enjoyable. And of course everyone ordered Carribean Island Fritters.

**On a side note the portion sizes are very small (probably ¼ of what a normal appetizer serving would be in a restaurant and ½-1/3 for the entrees which allows us to sample more items!).

The favorite entrée of the night was probably the Island Spiced Rack of Pork which was served with sweet potato and island coleslaw. My mom had some pineapple yams with her Beef entrée which were very good while my dad had a Swai filet( a mild flavored fresh water fish). I continued my vegetarian streak with Fusilli Prima Vera (noodles and veggies which were amazing). The majority of us had Key Lime Pie for dessert. Chris had Pistachio ice cream served with his which I got to try for the first time ever. Sad to say I am not a fan, but Chris enjoyed watching me make a funny face as I swallowed my bite. I will stick to chocolate as flavor thank you very much.

Chris and I finished the night by heading to the Pub and participating in a friendly trivia match. Calling ourselves Team Maitland we did well with most of the questions and scored a decent score of 16 out of 25. The group with the highest score was a 22 and they had five people on their team so I was proud of how we did with just us two. This has been a very competitive cruise for Chris and he is already talking about getting us into a Bingo tournament so we will have to see how this all plays out.