Sooo… Where do I start? *scratches head*

OK! So I just came back from Turks and Caicos. Ya’ll know I like an adventure but this trip was nothing like any other trip I’ve been on. No excursions were booked and I didn’t stay at a poppin’ hotel with a view of the ocean and I’ll explain why. Well this trip was a spur of the moment type of trip. Very uhhh…spontaneous, to say the least. It was literally booked two weeks before the departure date and I had no clue that it was Spring Break and Easter weekend; so all the nice hotels were booked. At the end of it all we ended up staying at a hotel called The Lodgings close to the airport, which actually wasn’t bad at all. I rented out a car for the stay and made myself a tour guide for 3 days. Let me back track real quick, I want you guys to feel like you were there with me. As I walked off the plane, I was hit with a calm breeze and a shining sun that beamed off my bald head. Before getting to Turks and Caicos I had made reservations for a car so I can explore the island. As I walked up to Avis, they told me that they only have manual cars, which I wasn’t comfortable driving because I haven’t drove stick shift in a very long time and due to the fact that I had to drive on the opposite side of the road I really wasn’t widdit. I told the Avis representative that they could cancel the reservation and luckily out of all the car rental places at the airport, Dollar was the only place that had automatic cars, so I went with them. Now I’m driving with the steering wheel on the right side on the opposite of the road. Total opposite from the way we drive back in the states. The locals told me “just stay to your left!” and that exactly what I did. I landed in Turks and Caicos pretty early and there was still daylight so I figured why not take advantage and visit some places that I’ve looked up on the gram. The first place I went to was Bungaloo’s Conch Crawl. We had a view right by the water, with a live band playing, James Brown (a fake one) dancing and our hostess Omar made the experience well worth it. When you make your way here ask Omar for the “Omar Special”! Don’t tell him I told you about it. It was a rum punch on crack! It had me fried and worried if I would make it home that night! I ordered the conch burger and my lady friend had the coconut conch with macaroni. Both dishes tasted great! When you’re in Turks and Caicos, you have to try their conch! And try it in as many ways as you can! Cracked conch, coconut conch, raw conch, conch salad, conch burgers, ALL OF IT! (Something like Bubba and his shrimp)

After, we headed over to Grace Bay Club. It was a perfect place for a couple looking for good wine and dine. Live music was playing, there was a calm breeze, a fire pit to snuggle next to and one of the best beaches in the world to walk and dream on.

Anywho, lets fast forward to the beaches! The beaches are uhhh-may-zing! Nah seriously, they’re AMAZING. Some of the best beaches I’ve ever been to in my life. All of the beaches in Turks and Caicos are beautiful, with silky sand to soak your feet in with a side order of breeze. It’s perfect for someone who needs total relaxation. I would recommend getting a car and going to Las Brisas, Chalk Sound, Sapodilla Beach, Grace Bay Beach and Long Bay Beach where you can watch or go kite surfing, Da Conch Bar, and Bungaloo’s. The island of Providenciales (where I stayed) is pretty small and you can easily see everything in a day or two. I would also recommend going to the Sister Islands like Grand Turk, Salt Cay, and Middle and North Caicos. I didn’t get to visit the Sister Island’s but the lady at Dollar car rental told me they are nice and only about a 30-minute boat ride away, so be sure to hit these islands up if you got time during you’re stay. Turks and Caicos uses the American dollar and is very expensive to my liking as far as food goes. So be prepared to spend bread.

Da Conch Shack was actually my favorite place to eat so I went twice. The first time we went we were the 1st customers so I took advantage and spoke with some of the employees and took as many pictures as I can before the crowd arrived. One of the people that I met was Eve. When I first saw Eve, he was ducking his head in and out of the ocean throwing things into a yellow banana boat. I assumed it was conch because that’s what they eat there and I was correct. When Eve got back to shore I saw him hammering away at the conch shells. I walked up to him and asked him politely if he minds if I take some pictures and he said sure! Next thing you know Eve and I was chatting up a storm. Eve is from Haiti and has been catching conch and preparing the conch before it gets cooked for some years now. He then began to show me which parts of the conch is safe to eat then I witness him pull out some wormlike thing from the conch, which he ate. I screwed my face up cause it looked nasty, but then he told me “it makes you STRONG!” (SO YOU KNOW I HAD TO TRY IT!) It was kind of slimy and salty but it wasn’t that bad at all (video below). After that I felt like a local. Any who, I left Eve to his job and ordered rum punch, conch salad (ask for chips with it), jerk chicken and jerk chicken tacos (don’t forget to ask for scotch bonnet if you like your food spicy), which was the BOMB DOT COM! Our waiter Moses was very cool (if you reading this Moses we owe you a night out!). We were supposed to go out with Moses one day but his phone died and the 2nd time we were going to link up we was too drunk to operate and woke up 4 in the a.m. pissed that we missed a night of festivities. The 2nd time we went to Da Conch Shack it was at night and they were playing all the reggae tunes, and the workers were all dancing so you know I had to show them my moves. If you know me you know I used to think I was a Passa Passa dancer back in my day so I bussed my move and they were all hype! (No footage, but just know that it happened! LOL). Any who, when you’re leaving Da Conch Shack, make sure to make a right out of the parking lot and drive down Blue Hill Road until you see the swings on your right hand side. You’ll be in for a nice treat if you catch the sunset. I almost forgot! Make sure to grab a conch shell & listen to the sound of the ocean!