Adventures in Grand Turk

Continuing with my weekly recaps of my Eastern Caribbean cruise, today I'm talking about Grand Turk! I wrote about the breathtaking scenery of St. Thomas and the history of the Bahamas, and now I'm going to talk about the charm paradise has to offer. First, let's talk about the island.

The largest of the Turks & Caicos Islands, although only 7 miles long and 1.5 miles wide, Grand Turk is the capital of this Caribbean nation. If it weren't for the cruise lines and a few resorts (which I didn't even really see) it would literally be a desert island. Pulling up to the dock (no harbor because it's too small) it's quite a sight. You can see the entire chunk of land and beyond. It's crazy how tiny it is. Look at this picture. You can see ocean on the other side of the island!

Despite it's size, the beauty Grand Turk possesses is huge. Of all the stops, this one had the most beautiful water. Underneath the boats you can see their shadows - that's how crystal clear the ocean is.

Upon docking, there's a beach just for people from the cruise lines. We hung out here for a few hours drinking coconut drinks, playing in the water, and soaking up the sun. I got such a bad sunburn that three weeks later I am still peeling. There's red, there's lobster, then there's the color I was. Not cute.

Later that afternoon we went snorkeling in that otherworldly teal water. In addition to seeing coral and fish, we also had a shark encounter! I'm pretty sure these sharks are "tame" but they are not captive. They live in the ocean, they are sharks...so when we first jumped in the water and saw one about 4 feet long, it was a tad surprising. It was spooked and swam away pretty quickly, but there was another that swam over to the boat and people were able to touch it. I'm so mad I missed out on that. I probably should've been more scared that I was - especially since the shark was scared of us. But who can say they swam with a wild shark?!

The sunset after leaving the island was probably most beautiful of the entire trip. So tranquil and serene!

Be sure to read my St. Thomas and Bahamas recaps!
Next week is my last recap and it's all about Puerto Rico.

Linking up for  Travel Tuesdays with Bonnie & Tina & Megan