The Turks and Caicos Islands

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In March S/V Wanderlust waved goodbye to our beloved Bahamas, and set sail through the Caicos Passage, on to our second international sail, to the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Turks and Caicos, or TCI for short, is a country just southeast of the Bahamas, consisting of two large Caicos islands, and the group of Turks islands. Geographically, the country is quite like the Bahamas, as they're both a part of the Lucayan Archipelago, but are, of course two separate sovereign governments.

After a calm and sunny day sail through the Caicos Passage with our buddy boat, S/V Basta, Wanderlust arrived to the lovely Sopadilla Bay of Providenciales, in the Northern TCI.

Because we'd arrived to Providenciales, or Provo for short, after hours of the customs office, Ben, Ruca and I were not allowed to go to land, but we didn't mind. We settled in, cruised the dinghy around the bay, met some fellow cruisers anchored in the harbor, and had a lot fun swimming from the boat on our sailboat rope swing.

The morning after our arrival to TCI, the customs office was open for business. Captain Ben went into town to check in, and contrary to what we'd heard, the process was easy as pie.

We'd heard horror stories about passing through TCI Customs and Immigration with dogs on board, and we had done tons of preparation to ensure Ruca could join us in the country. We had several certificates and special veterinary tests while in the US. But the customs agent didn't blink an eye when we mentioned our dog on board, nor did he ask any questions about her or ask to see any of her paperwork! Although we were a little irked to have spent all the money on Ruca's expensive tests and vet visits, we were happy to have a hassle-free entrance to the country.

After we cleared customs, we paid $50 for a 7 day cruising permit. With just a week of clearance in the country, we crossed our fingers that the weather would allow such a short timeline.

Ben, Ruca and I spent a couple days enjoying all that the island of Provo had to offer someone on a budget... which wasn't much to be honest! Prices for food and drink were exponential in the TCI, so we decided it would be best to avoid restaurants, bars and grocery shopping. Instead, we enjoyed all the free yet wonderful things around the island, like beaching, swimming and hiking.

The beaches in Sopadilla Bay were absolutely gorgeous, with clean, soft, white sand in a protected bay. The light breeze kept us cool from the sunny skies and great weather.

However we were even more astounded by the beauty of the Chalk Sound, a calm inland saltwater lake that shone a cloudy light sky blue. The shallow water in the isolated Sound, and the squishy, muddy bottom was paradise for our pup, Ruca, and she immediately took off critter hunting. We spent a good hour sloshing through the muddy Chalk Sound chasing Ruca down when she spotted a stingray and went running full speed in pursuit!

Back on the beaches in Provo, we shared the beaches with a handful of tourists and some ridiculously luxurious looking properties. The TCI had recently been voted one of the top vacation destinations in the entire world by TripAdvisor, so the beach was lined with villas and extravagant hotels, probably insanely expensive.

As Ben, Ruca and I enjoyed the same beaches and swam in the same clear water as the high-spending vacationers, we felt pretty sly about having traveled to this beautiful country by the power of wind. We'd paid next to nothing to sink our toes in the lovely sand, lounge on the beach and watch the Caribbean sunset... and the view from our boat was probably better. :)

We'd decided on just a 7 day permit for the TCI, so we didn't have the time to explore the Turks portion of the island chain. Plus, that area is known for dangerously shallow water and uncharted terrain, which would make for a dangerous sail. Therefore, we decided it was best to skip from Provo right over to the second largest island, of South Caicos, where we could make our exit towards the Dominican Republic.

After a day sail over the Caicos Banks, we arrived to the island of South Caicos. The charming island was much smaller, less developed, and slower paced that its northern sister of Provo. The water was rough and the island lacked beaches, but had some killer views!

We hiked the rocky cays surrounding South Caicos, and found a few small beaches, but mostly we swam, strolled around the small town, and enjoyed the secluded anchorage all to ourselves.

Finally, when our weather window arrived and we were ready to hit the waves, we paid the customs officials another visit to handle our check out process, and paid the $50 exit fee.

One day over our 7 day permit (oops!), we readied Wanderlust, prepped our underway meals, confirmed our weather, and charted our course for our longest passage ever. An overnight, 24 hour, 100+ mile sail lie before us, to the third country on our epic sailing adventure, the Dominican Republic!

Thanks for Reading,

Ben, Quinn and Ruca

#destinations #TurksandCaicos