First time with Children!

We landed in the Turks and Caicos many years ago, before Grace Bay looked like Vegas on Final Approach, also before we were blessed with a 5 year old niece that needed us as much as we needed her.

It was on one of our short dive vacations on Grand Turk that we discovered Salt Cay. Our feet hit the ground there about 4 years ago, my wife and I looked at each other and we knew this was the place for us. A perfect fit.

It was before BryAnna, it was when my wife and I found our vacations based on diving and landscape that we began our trips to Salt Cay. We quickly made friends and felt a comfort that we never had in other places.

When we decided that our little BryAnna was ready for a “family” vacation, there was not even a question on where to take her. Is there a better place on Earth to take a child than Salt Cay? There is no crime, the people are friendly, there are children her age, the entire Island has wildlife, and there is Ocean!

Our trip did not disappoint! BryAnna had the time of her life. She made friends with Ann and Rebecca (Miss Pat’s Granddaughters), she ate cracked conch with peas and rice for the first time in her life and loved it (well, we didn’t tell her what the cracked conch was right away)! She also spent about 27 hours a day in the Ocean. We could not have asked for anything more.

Miss Debbie at the Coral Reef made sure we had what ever we needed (within reason, it is a small island). Debbie also kicked in a swimming lesson for BryAnna right at the dock! Porter seemed like he was ready for children with little bottles of bubble maker and a Parrot that will sing and talk. My wife and I normally can’t wait to sample some of Miss Pats cracked conch, but Miss Pat was ready with Macaroni and Cheese for BryAnna! We weren’t expecting that for sure.

We rented a buggy from Nick and Sharon, and when we were tired of swimming in front of our rented house, we took the buggy to another part of the island where we swam on the nicest beach in the Caribbean, plus we never saw a sole while on the beach.

Nick, who is a 26 year resident of Salt Cay, also took the 3 of us on an “Island Tour” in his buggy. I was actually surprised that after 4 years and an Island 3 miles by 1 mile, that Nick showed me things I had never seen before. He was also full of stories and tips on how to go clamming and the how to make the best Whelk Soup!

There are other things to do on Salt Cay, like renting an Ocean Kayak or biking, but we just never felt much like working while there.

Traveling to Salt Cay has gotten easier over the years. A new airline, Caicos Express, seems to actually go to Salt Cay when they say they are going to Salt Cay! Never thought I’d see that in my life. But they were friendly and reliable.

There is one thing that we totally forgot to do while relaxing and making our yearly effort to get away from our wired world, we never went diving! Quite ironic since diving is what brought us here years ago. Don’t get me wrong, there is GREAT diving on Salt Cay, but for some reason, it just didn’t fit in with our doing as little as possible all week!

Actually, we were stilled “wired”, even on Salt Cay. My Blackberry was able to pull up the internet, text pictures home and make phone calls. But if you don’t need to, I would leave it in my suitcase. It just doesn’t fit in to the whole theme.

If you have a family, I can’t imagine a better place to go. If you dive, it becomes twice as good. The dive sites are minutes away, it is rarely crowed on the skiffs and I’m sure Debbie would customize a trip that would get you back to your kids when you prefer.

Your children will remember this trip and this new cultural experience for the rest of their lives.