Turks and Caicos – Provo, Day 1

Welcome to Providenciales! (Provo) Sand so white it makes me look tan. I am staying at lovely Ocean Club West, a luxury condo/hotel set on the beach at Grace Bay. Hot but breezy, no mosquitoes, a calm turquoise sea,

I turned my furnace on for the first time this fall just this past week. So you’d think I’d be running to the Caribbean for the warmth, the stunning beach or the excellent scuba diving. Not exactly. Try international films! But you can watch them on the beach too. Tonight is Footprints in the Sand, the Provo version of Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. It is low season in the Caribbean as people head back to school and such up north and hurricane-wary vacationers hesitate. But this is the best time to be here. Deals abound, tourists do not. I was the only one on the dive boat today.

Provo Turtle Divers has been in operation since 1970 making it the longest running dive shop on the island. They work closely with Ocean Club Resorts and offer some great hotel/dive packages together. We dove The Aquarium in Thompson’s Cove and The Catacombs in Grace Bay. Both were a very short boat ride from shore. (Nearly all dives here are boat dives, but the Coral Garden is near shore and good for snorkeling.) Good visibility, no currents, healthy coral, and lots of fish. Sea turtles, lobster and small sharks were the notable bigger characters today. The easy diving makes this great for beginners and a wonderful classroom for someone coming here to get certified.

The condo suites at the hotel are quite large and very well suited for families. Washer and dryer, full kitchens with everything you’d need to live here (some people do, of course). A large screened-in balcony overlooks the sea and pool area and there’s a beachside restaurant if you aren’t here to cook. Nannies for the little ones if you want. And if it all isn’t enough, Ocean Club has a second location one mile down the beach with a shuttle to take you there.

The beach sand gleams white and is quite fine. This is often listed in those round ups for Most Beautiful Beaches. I’ll go judge for myself…

(See a short article about Provo at The Mad Traveler Online!)