Salt Cay in the Turks and Caicos (Feb 12 to Feb 19, 2005 Part II)
On the morning of our first full day, Sierra and I slept in while the boys went diving. Unfortunately they discovered that the cold Brennan developed before leaving Calgary, affected his ability to clear his ears when descending. So he had to spend an hour sitting in a rocking boat while everyone else, including his father, were diving. Brennan got a terrible sunburn on his face and got very seasick. He wasn’t a very happy guy when he returned to the hotel. He definitely did not want to join Brian on the second dive of the day.
Instead, Brennan joined Sierra and I on a bike ride. It was interesting getting Sierra started. The bikes were the old-fashioned kind with no gears and push backward brakes. Her bike was the smallest and certainly the antique of the bunch. I think that they had taken it out for her. She panicked when I tried to get her going, mostly because she kept hitting the brakes. After a few false starts, we got her moving and she didn’t have any problems for the rest of the week. However, I can’t say that for the rest of us. Bike riding was a challenge on the island because of the rough roads, large thorns, chains falling off, wandering animals, animal droppings, large sandy patches and flat tires. It was still worth it though. The bikes gave us some mobility because cars were not available for rent on the island. Only about a dozen cars operate on the island and they are used mostly for transporting tourists and supplies. Later in the week, we got a golf cart rental with our accommodation but that’s another story.
The center of Salt Cay was very dry and flat and consisted of salinas or salt ponds. Until the 1960’s, the production and harvesting of salt was the main industry. When it stopped, everything was left behind. We walked around a lot of ruins and along the paths through the salinas. Later I found out, Salt Cay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the original plantation houses was still there and being used as a vacation home by the original owner’s descendants. Sierra thought she saw a ghost in one of the windows. We also discovered the old governor’s mansion. It was in quite a state of disrepair but it was intriguing. Porter told us that there were plans being developed to restore it. Many of these old homes, reflected the Bermudian roots of the original owners. Even the current homes, echoed these roots. Most of the buildings on Salt Cay, had walled yards with pillared gates built like those in Bermuda. This style was necessary to keep the ranging animals from destroying all the vegetation. We also rode out to the mangrove areas on the island’s south side. There was really a lot to see for a small island.
Brian had a fantastic time diving. He saw turtles, nurse sharks, moray eels, barracudas, rays and many types of fish. He was a happy guy. Brennan tried diving again on the second day but once again was unsuccessful. Later in the week after his cold cleared, he got out for three great dives. Sierra and I did lots of snorkelling instead. We also saw a turtle, a barracuda and lots of fish. Midweek, Sierra took a bubblemakers (junior) dive class to see if she liked scuba diving. At first she was very nervous but it didn’t take long before she enjoyed herself. Maybe we have another diver in the family?
During one of our beachcombing adventures, Brennan turned over a rock and discovered a small octopus. Later the creature left the rock and then attacked a sea urchin. When it did this, the octopus changed colour from tan to reddish purple immediately. It was a very cool sight to behold. We also couldn’t believe the number of conch shells littering the beaches. They were everywhere! Residents used them to decorate their fences, gardens etc.
January and February were migratory months for humpback whales. So we went out whale watching several times. During the first trip, we saw several whales but they weren’t very close to the boat. They were certainly too far to get into the water and snorkel with them. Sierra and I tried a second time and we were totally skunked. We never saw more than some spouting on the horizon. Ironically, we had our best whale encounters when we were on a dive trip. We saw at least two whales surfacing and diving around our boat. Some of the divers were fast enough to get into the water with the whales. It was incredible. We were actually going to the wreck site of the HMS Endymion. It was a British man of war that crashed on a shallow coral reef in 1790. The captain was exonerated of any wrongdoing because the reef was not marked on any charts at the time and it was located in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing to indicate that coral was so close to the surface. Even while snorkelling on the surface, Sierra and I could see the chains, cannons and anchors of the old ship. Brennan was able to hold a cannonball while he was diving. It was a marvellous experience for all of us.
The last new eating establishment that we tried was Pat’s Place. It was a small place attached to Pat’s home. She was a local resident and at one time had been a teacher at the elementary school. Her food was so delicious. We were stuffed with conch, chicken, salads, rice, potatoes, plantains and so much more. She did conch in a variety of ways but my favourite was the conch stew. Brennan joked that Pat was like Bubba in the movie, “Forrest Gump”, who could prepare shrimp in hundreds of ways. Pat did that with conch!