Yesterday I was so delighted to meet Herb that I neglected to report on Grand Turk.

We arrived at 7 AM at what appears to be a very new pier with a cruise ship shopping terminal near by.

Some of you have been here because I remember photos of the pool at Margaritaville. The terminal is filled with duty free shopping and assorted souvenir and T-shirt shops.
Everything is shiny and clean, just what the average cruise passenger want to see.

I had selected the reef snorkeling tour that started at 8:30. I wasn’t so sure about flippers in the water at that time of the day, but it wasn’t too cold and everyone jumped right in! We visited two reefs. The first was beautiful coral – it looked so perfect I wondered if it was fake. Yes, sorry, after the cruise terminal I was a little skeptical. I’m sure it was the real deal but there weren’t many fish in the area, most of them very small. Perhaps the “big” ones didn’t get their wake-up call before we arrived.

The second location was selected to send us home talking about Grand Turk. As soon as we arrive a stingray started to circle our boat, next a barracuda swims up and schools of fish appear everywhere! This time they don’t have to encourage us to jump in – we are there as soon as the ladders go down.

One of our guides was feeding the ray and the rest of the fish are “standing in line”! This snorkeling area is a horseshoe shaped reef with less coral but lots of fish waiting for a handout. I brought along my underwater camera but discovered that shooting through a mask and plastic camera casing while swimming AND breathing can be a challenge! Every time I thought I had a good one the fish was gone before I could snap the shutter!

We spent about 40 minutes at this area and then it was all aboard and back to civilization. As we approached the cruise pier the driver slowed the boat to explain that there is a 7,000 foot trench on the edge of Grand Turk – we could actually see it’s location, the water changes from a beautiful turquoise blue to a deep sapphire color. Divers come from all over the world to dive the wall.

While I’m not ready for those depths, I’m glad I saw the first few feet under the waves of Grand Turk. It was a fun time visiting the “locals”.

Today is our last sea day before Fort Lauderdale. There will be lots of activity, some reluctant packing ;( and many sad farewells :hug: .

For now I’ll leave you with another pillow chocolate saying – one I believe sums up the feelings of many at LCT….

Happy Easter,

Margo