Eastern Caribbean aboard the Ruby Princess

Grand Turk: Feb. 18, 2011Grand Turk has some of the clearest water I have ever seen and, by far, the most conch shells!  We went on the Kayaking/Eco Hike expedition with a brief tour of the island on the way to our kayaking launch.  We learned that the island “manufactures nothing and produces nothing”.  Everything is imported.  We also learned that Grand Turk is home to people from “all walks of life.”  In fact, our kayak tour guide was from Jamaica.  Above, you can see the conch shells lining the road.  During our kayaking tour, we learned about the four species of mangrove trees that live on Grand Turk.  We also got to hold upside-down jellyfish!  These little, non-stinging jellyfish covered the bottom of the inlet. In the picture below, the greyish “blob” with black tentacles is an upside-down jellyfish. I took this picture from the pier looking down into the water.  That’s how clear the water was!After our kayaking tour, we took a walk along a beach path and had a spectacular view of the ocean where it came into the inlet.  I didn’t have my camera because I was afraid it would get wet while kayaking, so I took a lot of mental pictures.  Before returning to our kayaks, we learned about and passed around various marine life: sea cucumbers, sea urchins and star fish.  Then, came the most unforgettable part; tasting raw conch!  Our guide hammered a hole into the conch shell and then pulled out the live conch.  He then skinned it, removed the unwanted bits, and sliced it up into small pieces for each of us to taste.  It was chewy and salty, but it didn’t make me gag.  Maybe it would be good in a stew, but I didn’t care for eating it raw.  If you like oysters or clams, it might be your cup of tea.  All-in-all, I enjoyed Grand Turk and am glad we took the excursion.  Other than the shops at the port, there isn’t a lot to see and do on Grand Turk unless you sign up for an excursion.  Most of the excursions are “adventurous”, such as fishing, snorkeling, and kayaking, but most of them are not strenuous.  It was a great way to learn about and explore the island.