Welcome to TCI

The final leg of our journey (60 miles, about 8 hours) to Providenciales (called Provo) Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI) was probably the easiest leg since rounding the northern tip of Long Island, Bahamas.  We left Mayaguana at first light, and for the first time since we arrived we saw no white caps on the outside of the reef.  Yippeee…that’s a good sign!  There was a three foot swell for the first few hours, but the waves were wide and gentle with a period of 9-10 seconds, which allowed us to glide over (as opposed to crashing and slamming). A few hours in, the swell disappeared and we had 1-2 ft waves with no real pattern, but it was calm enough to bait the lines and do a little trolling.

Unfortunately, the only thing interested in our ballyhoo was this barracuda.

The procedures for entering TCI are fairly straight forward, but quite expensive compared to our experience in the Bahamas.  Everyone entering must prove vaccination, negative Covid (within 72 hours), and proof of health travel insurance (which must include medical expenses, isolation costs, and airlift home if required).  For those planning to spend a week in TCI, this is probably a nominal fee, however, when I entered a 60 day stay into the quote calculator the cost came out to $500.  Yikes!  After comparing several companies we decided to purchase a one year policy ($740 for both of us), since we are hoping to spend this summer in Canada this insurance give us additional peace of mind.

All of our paperwork was submitted online, and we received our travel authorization for Monday, Jan. 3. However, by Sunday we knew the weather forecast had changed, and the wind wasn’t going to stop blowing until Monday night.  By this time we were already checked out of the Bahamas, and could not get another Covid test in Mayaguana.  Tuesday morning as we pulled the anchor we received an email saying that our travel authorization expired.  A previous conversation assured us that we could get a Covid test in Provo if we were unable to get on in Mayaguana, so we were determined to get here and work it out when we arrived.

TCI is the first place we’ve been that requires radio contact before you enter their waters.  As required, twelve miles out I started calling ‘Provo Radar’ as instructed in a previous email, which was attached to our entrance authorization approval. It took several attempts to get a response, but after asking our intentions and destination the officer instructed me to call back once we were anchored in Sapodillo Bay.  Once anchored (around 3:00 pm), I called back and was informed that we needed to go to a marina to check in, as the Sapodillo Bay ‘Port of Entry Office’ was no longer in operation…ugh!  

Finally, I was told to take my dinghy to the nearest marina (4 miles away) at 9:00 the next morning, and customs and immigration officials would meet me there.

The next morning after a long hard 4 mile slog into very rough conditions I arrived (soaked through) at South Side Marina.  No customs or immigration officials were on sight, but the marina called them and they met me there a short time later.  Thankfully, I had time to sit under the veranda and notice this amazing hummingbird nest (the first I have ever seen). We should take the good camera back to get better pics.

The officials met me at the picnic table to complete the transaction.  Luckily, I brought a significant amount of cash, because I was worried my card might be flagged since it was the first use in TCI.  I never imagined that a card wouldn’t even be an option…they wanted cash. There was a $50 entry fee and $300 for a cruising permit for boats staying longer than 7 days…and after all the fuss and expense, neither the immigration officer or the customs officer asked me anything about our Covid information. No request for vaccine, Covid test, or insurance documentation…ugh!

Note: most countries allow only the captain to come ashore to check into the country.  All other crew must remain onboard until the captain returns.  This is the first time I have gone ashore to check us into a country.  My two officials were mystified and shocked as to why my husband would stay onboard and send me through a 4 mile dinghy ride in rough seas to check us into a strange country.  They wanted to know if something was wrong with him…was he sick or injured?  When I explained that I was the captain (I didn’t say today) they both shook their heads and chuckled.  They either thought Keith was the craziest man alive, or the smartest man alive…it was hard to tell with the dark glasses and face masks🤷🏼‍♀️

After 3 hours I returned to the boat victorious!  Raise the Turks & Caicos flag.

The following day we went ashore and played tourist for the afternoon.  We are anchored at the public beach, which is a tourist magnet with vendor huts, food delivery, and numerous water sport rentals.

During initial explorations we have discovered many isolated beaches.  Apparently, TCI has a fairly large immigrant population from Haiti.  This is most likely one of the vessels involved (I’m sure they didn’t make radio contact 12 miles out).

What is this?  I have not been able to identify this creature.  It was very slow and wobbly swimmer. Similar to a tadpole whose legs have sprouted…it didn’t know whether to use the tail for propulsion, or the back fins, but they seemed to be working against each other.  

Here’s your challenge…The first person to make an accurate identification will win guava paste (our new addiction).  

There are many large rock outcroppings that might make good snorkel sites.

We explored an interesting little cave.

While sitting on the back deck with my coffee one morning, this flock of birds landed right on the boat.  I’m not sure why they thought this would make a good rest stop considering how close they were to land.  I quickly decided that they were cute, but they needed to move on before they deposited a huge mess on the rails.  I thanked them for their visit and shooed them away.

They didn’t go far…apparently they weren’t ready to leave.  Looking past the birds you can see the capsized hull of a vessel.

This is the close up.

Getting our bikes on shore was a bit of a chore, but well worth the effort after visiting two grocery stores on a 7 mile round trip ride.  This is what $85 worth of groceries looks like in TCI. TCI gets most of their food from the Dominican Republic so the grocery experience was new and interesting with many items I have never seen before.  There seems to be a huge Asian influence, with an entire isle dedicated to curries, sauces, and noodles from Japan and China.  Happy to be out of the food desert, and looking forward to trying some new things.  Berries were available, but very expensive so we substituted with the frozen fruit pulps (100% fruit) for only $2.50 for two 7 oz packets.  We think they will be perfect in either yogurt or rum!

I definitely need to learn more about root vegetables.  I am intrigued by the yellow Jamaican yam that looked and felt like a tree branch.  I have found a recipes for yam stew, and plan to try it on our next visit to the store.

Winds have still been high, but we have been enjoying great protection in this anchorage…with NO surge!!  Forecasts are for much lower winds in the coming week, so we plan to visit West Caicos for world renowned snorkeling.