13th Annual Valentine's Day Cup

Image via brilliant

We missed attending this years 13th annual Valentine's Day Cup in Middle Caicos but luckily Brilliant didn't!  Anita and Chanelle captured all the fun and festivity with flying colors, please see their blog posts Part I and Part  II for a picture perfect recap.  To see more of North and Middle Caicos and the Cup festivities, check out last years post here.  To view the race results click here.

Thursday Night Island Fish Fry

Image by Brilliant via turksandcaicostourism

Thursday nights from 5:30-9:30pm enjoy a little local food, fun, and entertainment!  The Bight Park located on Lower Bight Road will be hosting this weekly event sponsored by LIME, the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board, and the Cultural Department.  Please check out a fabulous review and photos from the opening night here and see enews for the participating restaurants and more details.

 It's a family affair so bring everyone to enjoy this exciting new tradition at this fantastic public park!

Grand Turk named one of the 10 most charming island towns

Image of Cockburn Town via  tourhotspot-turks-and-caicos-mostly-undiscovered

Read why Cockburn Town made the list on smartertravel.com!

Conch Festival 2010

November 27th marked the 7th annual Turks and Caicos Conch Festival in Blue Hills.  At 12 noon the tasting tent opened with 23 restaurants competing to push chef Clive and crew off the championship pedestal after their 4 consecutive wins.  I very much look forward to this event every year; a mere $20 will buy the most delicious feast of the fall season. The Conch is prepared in every which way one could imagine; from Americanised versions such as the burger and chili, to international varieties such as crepes and stirfrys, to the traditional stews and ceviche salads.  To read more about conch click here and to see the the high nutritional and protein values of conch, click here.

At 3pm the Bambarra Song Contest took the main stage.  Here is the always entertaining Lovey Forbes performing his lively song.

As the afternoon progressed so did the crowds!  Onlookers cheered on the participants in the kids games, the tug-o-war, and the conch knocking and conch blowing competitions.

David Bowen, Director of Culture, congratulating the champion conch blower.

The junkanoo costumes hang in a nearby building, waiting for their owner's to get dressed and start the parade. 

Blue Hills

The island I call home is Providenciales, the most populated and developed in the Turks and Caicos chain of approximately 40 islands and cays. Providenciales was formerly known as Blue Hills, and luckily this charming name is still in use for one of the most quaint and colorful areas on the island. A drive down Blue Hills road one will see traditional and contemporary architecture, large bustling churches, seaside cemeteries, and brightly painted boats and native sloops. All along the road, just feet away, lies the arching palm tree lined beach, one of the few outside the national park where you may go shelling. The people dotting the streets are just as noteworthy as the environment; schoolchildren in uniform, fisherman at work, teenagers playing hoops, men slapping down dominoes, and women walking to mass in big beautiful hats and tailored suits. Not only is it a fantastic place to take a slow drive and soak in the sights, it's highly recommended you stop into one of the restaurants and soak in some native fare and beverage. Here you may just be able to watch your conch being caught, knocked, and prepared before it sits on your plate. The photo above is one of my first portraits of Blue Hills, taken in 2004.