Providenciales - Thursday 10th July

Today Ken and I explore some of the Island - in his Jeep (Oh yeah).

Here's a map and route (in red) of our travels. We head up to North West Point and then down and over to Malcolms Beach. Later, we go down to the south side of the island and visit South Dock.

1) North West Point
This was amazing; completely deserted and very beautiful. On the way there we drive via Blue Hills beach which has lots of local restaurants and bars (sheds) on the side of the road.

We vow to hang out here next time and go to the Conch Shack which looks like an old shed but has a worldwide reputation for being 'the' place to eat conch (here's the menu) in a perfect setting.

We're very glad we have the Jeep as the majority of the way is a stone road or dirt/sand track. There trees and low-bush all the way, which means lots of butterflies and birds. We see a "Mourning dove", which is apparently very rare and lots of "Kiskadee" which may not be the right spelling (sorry Ken!)

When we get nearly to the tip of North West Point we stop and walk out onto the beach.

It is completely empty with amazing dark blue and turquiose water. We drive slightly further to the actual point and at the tip are two navigational posts.

On one of them two Fish Hawks (Osprey) have made a nest. They are both just sitting there 20 feet above us. They are huge and it is amazing to see such big birds up close. One of them swoops over my head so I know it's boss.

Then we walk over the tip of the point to the west side. This is much more dramatic with dried coral reef up to the side of the beach where the sea has receded. It is very hot so we risk a swim and have to walk over the coral to get out to sea.

It is then that Kens' sandle gets stuck between two pieces of coral and he falls cutting his hands, leg and foot. It's very sharp stuff and also bits of coral get stuck in his hands. It is not the weather or location to be injured.

Luckly, after a beer and a sit down in the air-conditioning of the car, he feels ok to go somewhere where we can have a swim without killing ourselves. We head off to Malcolms Beach next.

2) Malcolms Beach (at Amanyara Resort)
The Amanyara resort is an exclusive low-level hotel for uber-rich camera shy types as it is near nothing and is completely secluded and gorgeous. There are sandy beaches and coral reef all around it. It has some of the best diving in Turks & Caicos (TCI) and we saw several dive boats moored up just on the edge of the reef.

After finding the place we stop for packed lunch and then head into the water to cool down. As it's low season in TCI there is no-one on the resort beach so we swim just to the side of it for ages. I am loathed to leave after a few hours but we decide to hunt down one more location before the day is done.

3) South Dock Bay
The area called Five Cays which is to the right of where we drive south has many more local residents and schools. The area after Five Cays, a thin strip of land with bays on both sides, is an expensive area with private detached houses.

The water on either side of this strip, South Dock Road, is the most turquoise water I have ever seen. There are no obvious beaches, or public routes down to the water, but from the road it is beyond pituresque.

There are small islands dotted throughout the water which add to the view. It reminds me a bit of the view from Croagh Patrick (St Patricks Mountain) on the West coast of Ireland with the islands dotted about the bay below.

After such a fresh-air-filled day of beautiful sights, amazing wildlife and injuries we are both pretty tired. We have dinner and discuss South American politics and the state of the British Government before calling it a night.

I say goodbye to Ken and take a final look over the beach and sea before heading back to the hotel to pack.

I am off home tomorrow and although I am loathed to leave my holiday I am also very excited to be going home.