Providenciales in Turks and Caicos makes a dream trip
By Cheryl Blackerby
The Palm Beach Daily News (Dec. 20, 2014)
PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos — Dreamer was my dream horse, a white Paso Fino/Arabian whose Spanish bloodlines were obvious in his smooth ambling gait on the hard-packed sandy roads.
We turned onto a narrow path cut through the palmetto and seagrape scrub of rural Providenciales, a 38-square-mile island in the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Dreamer stepped nimbly over limestone rocks and fallen branches until we emerged from the dense shade onto a beach.
Feeling the mid-day heat, Dreamer plowed chest-first into the ocean, his platinum forelock and mane blowing in the trade winds. His hooves lifted off the bottom and the cool December water washed over his shoulders and my legs.
He looked back at me, and flapped his lips in horse talk. I knew what he was saying, “Man, this feels great.”
It feels great just to be in Providenciales, or Provo, which is pretty much perfection — some of the most beautiful white beaches in the world lined with some of the most luxurious condos and villas.
I stayed at one of the best, Ocean Club Resort, which along with its sister resort Ocean Club West have primo spots next to the 12-mile-long Grace Bay Beach. The resorts were named a World’s Best by Travel+Leisure readers, who ranked it among the Caribbean’s top 25 resorts. Grace Bay was named World’s Leading Beach Destination 2013 by the World Travel Awards.
Seafood is on the menu at Da Conch Shack next to the beach. Photo by Cheryl Blackerby
The Turks and Caicos are not in the Caribbean, by the way, but really close, just 90 miles north of the Dominican Republic. Provo, one of the country’s six inhabited islands, is the most developed with upscale shopping complexes and every amenity.
I spent an hour one morning getting a massage at Spa Tropique and left with suggested exercises to de-stress a tense neck. But I think my photos of Provo had the same benefits when I got home.
Another morning I did nothing more taxing than parking my sun-screened self on gorgeous Grace Bay Beach. From my beach chair, I saw more energetic guests heading for the tennis courts and the Provo Golf Club’s 18-hole championship course.
Several guests got seasick paddle-boarding — who knew? — and others went fishing, diving and snorkeling.
One afternoon, I went kayaking with a Big Blue guide, and watched a lemon shark cruise by, the front dorsal fin slicing the surface of the water. A cool mist fell as we paddled in peaceful quiet through the mangroves.
But my chair on that glorious beach was my first choice on most days. I could see the waves breaking over the coral reefs, and I thought: Snorkeling or mahi-mahi tacos at the lovely beachside Cabana Bar & Grille? Tacos won.
Restaurants range from the sophisticated Opus at Ocean Club, known for its roasted whole snapper and seafood curries as well as its wine cellar and 50 varieties of rum, to Da Conch Shack next to the beach in Blue Hills. Both are good spots for celebrity watching.
Danny DeVito ate at one of the aqua picnic tables by the beach at Da Conch Shack in late November, a couple of weeks before I got there. The late singer Prince frequently ate here. He had a house nearby. Bruce Willis, Derek Jeter, Cedric the Entertainer and most of the New York Rangers team have eaten at the Shack recently. It is THE place to eat conch — cracked conch, conch creole, coconut conch stew, conch fritters and grilled, fried, and blackened conch.
The food, luxury accommodations and beaches are all wonderful, but, for me, the people are the reason I’ll be back — locals such as Tibi Gula, the skipper of the 77-foot schooner Atebeyra, one of the last of the tropical trading schooners. The captain told us entertaining stories about the vessel’s history when it carried rum and beer between the Turks and Caicos and Hispaniola.
Rescue horses go for a swim in Providenciales. Photo by Cheryl Blackerby
Now she carries passengers who can help pull the lines and even take the helm. Capt. Gula and daughter Alexie, 3, were gracious hosts, offering nachos and salsa and answering questions about Provo.
Alexie prompted her dad to tell us how he threw children overboard on one trip. Say what?
“My arms and legs were aching after throwing kids into the water all afternoon. But they were having so much fun,” he said.
Then there was Dreamer’s rescuer. After riding Dreamer to the beach, I chatted with Camille Slattery, who owns Provo Ponies. Never expecting to own a stable, she inadvertently started the business when she and friends bought a dozen horses that were abused and starving. It was the only way to save them, she said. She now has 27 horses, all rescued.
“I was resistant to starting a stable,” she said, holding the reins of Clyde, a big thoroughbred/Clydesdale, who had spent years pulling carriages before being abandoned on Grand Turk, where there is no natural grasses for horses to eat. “It was a big commitment, but the universe said this is what you are going to do.”
And the universe was telling me it was a really good idea to go to Provo.
Details:
Provo is an easy trip for Americans. It’s only an hour and a half by air from Miami.The currency is the U.S. dollar and the language is English. The name Turks comes from the indigenous Turk’s Head cactus, while Caicos is a Lucaya term meaning string of islands.
Ocean Club East: Winter rates (Jan. 3- April 5) range from $309 per night for a studio suite to $909 for a three-bedroom ocean-view condo. 800-457-8787; www.oceanclubresorts.com
Atabeyra schooner charters: Sun Charters’ Happy Hour Sunset tours start at $39 per person; half-day sail, $95. www.suncharters.tc
Provo Ponies: 60-minute ride, $85 per person; 90-minute, $105. Private rides can be reserved. www.provoponies.com