iPhone photo gallery
Turks and Caicos was one of the best vacations I’ve ever been on and I know— everyone says that with each new place they visit, but this Carribean island was truly paradise. For starters, Trip Advisor declared Turks and Caicos to have the best beaches in the world, and boy are they right. The water was so calm and tinted with the most beautiful blues, from the brightest blue water I have ever seen to the clear sparkling waters of the inlet creeks. The streets were decorated with foliage such as tropical palm trees, hibiscus flowers, and plants like aloe. One of the highlights of this island were the dogs that roamed the island, as everywhere we drove or walked there would be dogs and puppies following us or gazing up at us. We lived in a cute, pink AirBnb, which I think I prefer to a hotel or resort because it truly made me feel as if I was at home as a resident of Turks and Caicos. Our neighbors had four puppies and a mother dog, so every night I’d fall asleep to the sound of dogs howling and every morning I would go up to the fence to watch the puppies try to rush to me while they scratched the sides of the fence, trying to escape. Another unique bit about Turks and Caicos, is the conch (pronounced like conc not con-ch). This is actually one of their most popular foods, yes, I’m talking about the creature living inside the huge pink shell. I saw conch farms, conch piles on the beach and ate from conch salad to conch fritters, so basically conch is like the chicken of the island.
One of my favorite nights was Thursday, because this is the night of Fish Fry, a weekly street fair with a lot of vendors and a DJ and host. Once I got there, I couldn’t resist but rush up in front of the stage and dance with the crowd. There was something absolutely magical dancing underneath the glistening stars in an island where everyone around you was equally free and happy. The positive energy was running wild and I lost myself in the music. Soon, it began raining, but I thought it would just be a drizzle, since the weather had always been so clear and sunny for the past few days; however, it just got worse and worse. Suddenly, I had to stop dancing in the rain and find shelter under a tent, but the rain just keep growing and the roads began to flood. In the midst of the chaos of people cluttered under these tents, I heard the sounds of drums and other precessional noises and I looked up to see a procession of Turks and Caicos islanders wildly creating music in the middle of the street fair, getting absolutely drenched, but indifferent. I saw other vacationers whipping their shirts in air behind the procession, too getting drenched, and that’s when I realized that these islanders know how to turn everything into a positive situation. The entire island was filled with good vibes and such pure and beautiful scenes. It was in this week that I completely disconnected with the society centered, over social, over pressured city in which I live in. It was in this week that I felt absolutely free- from disregarding what I wore or if I put on makeup to not caring if I was dancing terribly in front of a lot of people.