Grand Turk

Friday, November 15, 2019

In a reversal of our normal routine, Bob's alarm went off at 6:50 am and he headed out the door to breakfast first. I followed shortly after. Jon was the last one to show up...he had gotten up early and gone to the Sunrise Stretch session in the fitness center.

The view from our faux porthole (aka the television).

The actual view.

This was the day the guys had been looking forward to. After booking the cruise, Jon decided he wanted to get scuba certified so he could dive. He had taken the confined water sessions in Georgia, but just the previous weekend had finished up his certification by doing the open water dives in the Florida Keys.

Bob and Jon left the ship to meet their dive group on shore at 8 am. Michelle and I stayed at breakfast a little longer and then packed up our beach stuff and went to shore. About the distance of a football field from the ship is the cruise center built by the Carnival Corporation. The center has various stores, eating venues and a Margaritaville with a large pool.

There were plenty of chairs and umbrellas, but only the ones owned by the cruise center (with the green umbrellas) were free. Enterprising individuals looking to make a few bucks have set up their own chairs and umbrellas at the water's edge which they will gladly rent for the day.

Michelle and I grabbed a couple of the free chairs in the back row. It was entertaining to watch others who would come and get settled into a chair in the front, thinking they had just made a great find. Once they had gotten comfortable, the chair hawker guy would come along and tell them they had to pay.

Sittin' in the cheap seats.

We had just sat down when Michelle looked up and saw the guys walking down the pier towards the beach. I yelled at Bob to get his attention and they came to where we were sitting. They had gone back on the ship to drop off their gear after their dives had been cancelled due to rough seas and poor visibility. It was quite a disappointment that they didn't get to dive.

As they had done the previous day at Half Moon Cay, the guys took off walking down the beach to see what they could discover. Michelle and I took the inflatable noodles and floated in the water. A mom with a little girl was very jealous when she saw them. She said she had looked in all of the gift shops at the cruise center for some type of inflatable and ended up paying $10 each to rent two little tubes.

There was a drop-off in the sand right at the water's edge which made it difficult to get in and even harder to get out of the surf. There were just enough waves to knock you off your feet as you tried to navigate up the steep area. Michelle and I were entertained by watching a group of ladies fall down over and over trying to get up onto the beach. (If only I would have had my GoPro handy!!)

When the guys returned they didn't say much except they had helped support the economy of the island. The four of us headed down the beach in the opposite direction. We walked until the beach gave out but the guys climbed the embankment and continued. Michelle and I turned around and went back.

A replica of John Glenn's Mercury Friendship 7 capsule which splashed down in Grand Turk in 1962.

Michelle and I stopped and bought "pina cooladas" (fruit smoothies) and went back to our chairs. By the time the guys got returned, we had finished our drinks and were getting ready to go in the water. Bob and Jon were still commenting on how they had helped the economy but not giving any details. It wasn't until Jon took off his hat that we discovered their little joke. Jon had paid to have his hair braided!! Sometimes I think those two need "adult" supervision.

Side note:  Jon was actually a student in my 10th grade geometry class during my first year of full time teaching. Although we have become good friends since, I can say there were many times that he tried my patience with his antics in school! 

Our day in Grand Turk was a short one, with all aboard time set for 2:30 pm. Before going back onto the ship, we walked over to the Margaritaville and checked out the pool.

The crew at the cruise center take that yellow line pretty seriously.
Throughout the day we could hear them blowing their whistles to warn the offenders.

Damp towels and cool drinks were always available when we returned from a port.

Lunch was hot dogs and burgers from the Dive In and we ate sitting by the midship pool. Afterwards I went outside and watched as the ship pulled away from the dock. I debated about staying outside for awhile longer, but opted to take a shower and a nap while Bob was out of the cabin playing pickleball. By the time he got back, I was dressed and almost ready for dinner.

A comedian, Scott Harris, was on the main stage for the evening entertainment. His routine was centered around old people jokes much like the comedian from the previous week, but a little more entertaining. One part of his act that really got the audience involved was where he was say the beginning of an old advertising slogan and the audience would finish. Bob and I knew all of the slogans, but Jon is 10 years younger and was stumped by some.

Our game of Wizards was played in the Lido buffet. We were losing an hour of sleep by turning the clocks one hour ahead so we didn't stick around for late night snacks.

What a goof. He was paying the price for his silliness though. The braids were so tight he had developed a headache!