Providenciales, Turks and Caicos

Shades of turquoise water and azure sky meet pearly white sand, soft and sugar-fine, the kind you sink your feet into and sigh. From the vantage point of my beach chair, I watched a dad and his young son building a sand castle near the shore. I smiled at a couple strolling hand-in-hand near the water’s edge, then sank back to doze a bit before leaving my beachy lair for lunch at Ocean Club West’s Seaside Café. I’d arrived on the island of Providenciales (commonly called Provo), the most developed of Turks and Caicos’ eight inhabited islands, less than 24 hours ago, but, like the sun’s warm rays, I was already feeling its laid-back vibe penetrating my pores.

After lunch, I strolled down the beach to check out the original Ocean Club, less than a mile away. I could have grabbed a bike or called for a shuttle van—both are available to guests anytime during their stay. Opened in the early nineties as Grace Bay’s first luxury hotel, the Ocean Club East location is a bit larger, with 89 units compared to the 68-unit Ocean Club West, added in 2000. Both are on Grace Bay, a 12-mile stretch of prime real estate and a “best beaches” list regular.

The design of the three level buildings maximizes views of the sea, the pool and tropical gardens. From studios with kitchenettes to three-bedroom suites with full kitchen facilities, guests can choose the size and location that fits their needs. All of the individually owned and furnished rental units have washer-dryers and screened porches or balconies.

I walked the grounds and took a refreshing dip in the pool next to the Cabana Bar and Grill before joining friends who were enjoying a local Turks Head brew at the bar. The distinctive beer label includes the Turks head cactus, which is also depicted on the Turks and Caicos flag, along with a Queen conch shell and a spiny Caribbean lobster. The Turks part of the islands’ name is a reference to the indigenous cactus, while Caicos means “string of islands” in the language of its earliest inhabitants, the Lucayan Indians. There are, in fact, 40 islands and cays that make up the chain, located south of the Bahamas, 550 miles southeast of Miami, Florida.

The avid golfers in our group chose to stay at the east location, since it’s just across the road from Provo Golf Club. Country music star Toby Keith, who enjoys “Chill-axin’” on Provo, has been known to play a round or two on the 18-hole tournament level course.

Later that evening, my travel companions and I returned to Ocean Club’s east location for dinner at Opus Wine Bar and Grill, which attracts guests from all over the island. Like many of the gourmet dining establishments in the Grace Bay area, locally caught fish and seafood are always on the menu. Another draw is its extensive wine list—14 are offered by the glass. Or, select a rum flight from more than 50 Caribbean and South American rums.

Whether you’re a true pescetarian who eats fish but shuns meat and fowl, or, like me, just like to gorge on fish when you’re on an island vacation, Provo won’t disappoint. Considering its size, a mere 38 square miles, Provo boasts 50+ restaurants, from casual to gourmet, with not a fast-food chain in sight. “There was a KFC a while back,” I was told, “but it closed.” Grouper, mahi mahi, yellowfin tuna, snapper, wahoo, Caribbean spiny lobster, and the marine mollusk the island may be best known for—the Queen conch—are often listed on menus, according to the day’s fresh catch.

The next morning, we learned more about conch and its life cycle at the Caicos Conch Farm, said to be the world’s only commercial operation of its kind, located on the east side of the island at Heaving Down Rock, near Leeward Marina. During a short, informative tour of the facility, we learned that overfishing has nearly depleted wild stocks of Queen conch, now considered a commercially endangered species. Egg masses harvested from the sea floor by divers are taken to the farm’s hatchery where they progress through stages of development in onshore ponds and later, an off-shore sub-sea pasture, until they are ready to harvest three to four years later.

We followed our visit to the Conch Farm with lunch at da Conch Shack and Rum Bar, one of the best places on the island to sample conch. First, we observed the process of how the meat is removed from its shell, ready to be prepared for hungry customers. As we watched the extraction process, three of us were adventurous enough to try the conch “pistol,” a long, translucent, gelatinous rod, said to be an aphrodisiac.

Next we watched as conch fritters, cracked conch (lightly battered, fried strips of conch), curried chowder, conch creole, and marinated conch salad were delivered to our picnic table for a luncheon feast. If you’ve never tasted conch (pronounced konk), think of clams, with a more defined texture.

As the only certified SCUBA diver in our group, I was more than ready to dive in, and Provo Turtle Divers was ready to take me there. The next morning I donned mask, fins, and SCUBA gear for some easy wall diving off West Caicos Bank. The waters surrounding Provo are part of the third largest coral reef system in the world, attracting divers for the variety and number of healthy, colorful reefs along with snorkelers, who’d rather observe sea life from the surface.

The following day we booked a 77-foot former rumrunner for an afternoon of sailing. Prior to boarding, we met up with island native, David Bowen, Director of Culture for the islands and a former professional dancer who appeared in Michael Jackson’s “Beat it” video before returning to the Turks and Caicos. He educated us on island traditions such as sounding the conch—using the shell to trumpet the call for announcements or warnings. He also demonstrated ripsaw music, which originated in the Turks and Caicos, using a handsaw as the primary instrument.

Having filled our stomachs with specialties of the islands and our minds with a dose of native island life, we walked to the dock to board the Atebeyra. Johnny Depp’s yacht was within eyeshot, pointed out to us by one of the crew. There were rumored sightings of the Pirates of the Caribbean star in the area the week before, while the über-reclusive Prince, who has a place on Provo’s south end, is said to be “like a bat; he only comes out at night.”

Our day on the water left me yearning for more of the sailing life, as we soaked up sun on the bow, stopped to snorkel, and ended the day watching the sun slip into the sea. We sailed past small cays northeast of Provo, stopping short of Parrot Cay, where you could find yourself walking the beach with the likes of Keith Richards, owner of one of many multi-million dollar private residences on the 1,000-acre private island, and Johnny Depp’s co-star in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Other A-listers with homes on Parrot Cay include Bruce Willis, Donna Karan, Christie Brinkley, and Oprah, while Paul McCartney, Justin Timberlake, Julia Roberts and a string of others have been known to visit.

Back on Provo, I was ready to find just the right souvenir to remember my island getaway. Boutiques and gift shops are clustered in the Grace Bay area in small shopping plazas. Since no cruise ships visit here, shops don’t cater to the cruise customer, which adds to the island’s get-away-from-it-all appeal. A few shops carry locally made craft items, handmade baskets and dolls, paintings and pottery by local artists, and conch shells. After purchasing three shells, the maximum allowed, I was cautioned, “Be sure to pack them in your checked luggage. According to airport security, they may be viewed as weapons.”

On an island that boasts one of the lowest crime rates in the Caribbean, where peace and tranquility reigns, considering a conch as a weapon somehow makes perfect sense.

The area code for Providenciales is 649.