The Eyeball

Pirates of Salt Cay

2010-03-27T12:26:00.280-04:00

Pirates over ran the island on Friday night, March 27th as the Salt Cay Women of Action sponsored a Community Pirate Party and Dance for the diverse Salt Cay community that includes Turks Islanders, Dominicans, Haitians, Americans, Canadians, St. Lucians, Filipinos and a number of others countries.

A "finger food" buffet filled two large tables with BBQ chicken, fried chicken, cracked conch, deviled eggs, and numerous other wonderful dishes provided by many Salt Cay residents.

Festivities began about 7:30PM - actually a little later than that - they started on island time (which is always about 1/2 an hour later than scheduled).

Pirates of all ages arrived by bicycle, on buggies, trucks and on foot at the Salt Shed Community Center.

We had a great time standing around eating, drinking and visiting with each other for about the first hour while Papa Newt (aka Newton Bassett) got the music started and we waited for the Salt Cay Rake 'n Scrape Band to arrive.

After a few warm up songs with the Women of Action dancing the electric slide and the Cha Cha Slide, the Salt Cay Rake 'n Scrape Band got started and the "serious" dancing began. Unfortunately we had no microphone and missed a lot of the words to some of the great songs! And the one brief video that was taken really didn't show the great job the band did on Pirate Night.

Rogue's Gallery of Salt Cay Pirates include:

Vershina, Anna, Pirate Queen Roxanne, Yvonne, Shiela and Ann

Pirate King Mike

Don and Ms. Rosalie share a laugh

Vershina, Anna and Pirate Queen Roxanne

Little Pirate Gierdy

Heather, Cynthia, Sharon, Ann and Bobbi

Ann and Carolyn

Nurse Barbara and Shiela

Bobbi and Sharon

Clyde and Kim

Nic and Sharon

Pirate King Mike

Pirate King Mike's wife

The first Pirate Party on Salt Cay was a number of years ago at Mt. Pleasant Guest House sponsored by Candy Herwin (Pirates Hideaway) and Tim Dunn (Salt Cay White House) - a few years later Porter at Island Thyme Bistro hosted a few great Pirate Parties... and thanks to former Pirate Queen Sharon Herwin, the event has become a fun community event! We can't wait for next year... and look forward to the children's Pirate Party too!!

Salt Cay's Education Week 2010

2010-03-20T15:22:00.004-04:00

Among the many activities marking Education Week earlier in the month of March in the Turks and Caicos Islands is Career Day on Salt Cay. On March 4th, students of Salt Cay's Mary Robinson Primary School walked from the school to the Salt Shed carrying placards and singing songs about the islands at the start of Career Day 2010.

Arriving at the Salt Shed, students, teachers and community members were welcomed to Career Day 2010, by Mary Robinson Primary School Principal Shyvonne who introduced Salt Cay's District Commissioner Carolyn Dickenson.

DC Ms. Carolyn read an address from HE Governor Gordon Wetherall stressing the importance of education, thanking the teachers for the fine work they do with the students who are the future of the Turks & Caicos Islands.

Ms. Carolyn went on to encourage the students and reaffirm the importance of the theme for Education Week 2010, "Rebuilding the TCI through Commitment and Education."

The next portion of the program was the introduction of various members of the community to talk about their jobs and encourage the children to start thinking about what field they will be interested in when they grow up. With over 18 years experience, Nurse Simpson from Guyana works as a Staff Nurse, Midwife and Nurse Practitioner and she noted that one of the nice things about being a Nurse is that you can live anywhere!

Next on the program for Salt Cay's Career Day was a couple of songs by the students. They sang a song about the Turks and Caicos Islands and another that was a cute spelling song.

Police Officer Jeremy Spencer was a popular speaker of the day talking to the children about the various jobs in law enforcement including lawyer, judge and police officer. When he asked who wanted to see how the handcuffs worked, every hand went up! Raynard hammed it up as the officer showed how the cuffs went on - and he looked a little relieved when they were finally removed. Raynard's father, Fireman Newton Bassett got a few good pictures and laughs.

Richard, the divemaster, and Ollie, co-owner, of Salt Cay Divers were the most popular career of the day. Richard explained the equipment to the children and got volunteers from the audience to try breathing through a regulator. He explained to the children that they can start learning to dive at 8 years old and asked how many would like to learn. About four or five hands shot up!

Richard asked them to identify some of the fish shown in the book he had. When they identified the shark he asked if they knew what to do if they saw a shark, one child yelled, "Run!"

The children (and members of the community who attended) learned the underwater hand signals for "up", "okay", "down", "boat", "turtle" and "shark." Students were also able to come up and try on a mask and snorkel and try breathing with it on.

Ollie and Richard stressed the importance of helping the protect the underwater environment by making sure that all garbage, especially plastic bags and other things that can trap sea life are disposed of properly.

Next on the program for Career Day were interactive activities presented by Island Thyme Bistro and me. Haidee Williams, co-owner of Island Thyme Bistro had all the children crowding around to learn how to bake pizza and how to figure out how much to charge for that pizza if they had a restaurant. She reported that the actual making and eating of the pizza was more popular than figuring out the cost. :0)

I brought my computer to the Salt Shed and with the built-in web cam took each child's picture, let them pick some graphics to decorate their pictures and talked about the importance of learning computers in any job they might want in the future. It was a lot of fun getting each child to type in their name and select graphics to add to the picture!

The next day I took my thumb-drive with the photo graphics to the school to be printed and the Principal is going to laminate them and hang them on the wall until the end of the school year when the children will be able to take them home.

Ms. Heather Floan got the children thinking about saving money and working with money by asking "who likes money?" She went on to explain that if you have fun with numbers and like counting money, there are lots of jobs in accounting all over the world.

Best for last - the Salt Cay Fire Department. Fireman Newton Bassett and Ranfly Been demonstrated the proper use of a fire extinguisher and explained how to remember the steps for the use of one. P.A.S.S. = pull (the pin), aim (at the base of the fire), squeeze (the handle) and sweep (the flames).

Next the children went outside to get up close and personal to the fire truck and have it explained to them. And the firemen showed them how to hook up the hose. Screams of delight and lots of jumping around accompanied the water spray!

It was a fun day for students, teachers, demonstrators and community members - we look forward to next year's Education Week.

Octopuses Garden

2010-03-11T09:57:00.006-05:00

Morning on Salt Cay dawned with blue skies, not too much wind and fairly calm Seas... Heather rode her bike over and we took a kayak paddle toward the South tip of Salt Cay, hoping to spot a whale or two. No whales during our paddle... and as we turned back toward home we made plans to get together later that afternoon to kayak around Point Pleasant, beach the kayaks and do a little snorkeling.

By 2PM, the wind was coming out of the Northeast and had picked up enough that going around the North point of the island didn't look like a very good opportunity for snorkeling. Instead Heather, her Mike and I brought our kayaks onto the beach just South of the Lighthouse for a little snorkeling.

A quick snorkel showed off a trumpet fish, schools of blue tang, yellowtail snapper, a few butterflyfish, a big parrot fish, and lots of little fairy basslets among lots of little fish. Beachcombing turned up a few nice shells and a little bit of beach glass - and Mike Floan made the best discovery of all... an octopus in a tide pool in the rocks!!

We thought it was one octopus, but as Mike bent to touch it, the octopus squirted ink and moved to the other side of the little pool revealing another octopus under it. The first octopus then slithered over the rocks into another pool and immediately changed color to blend in the with bottom of that pool. It was incredible! Meanwhile, the smaller octopus moved up along side of Mike's foot (covered with a dive boot) and changed color to try to blend in with his foot.

Mike was keeping his foot very still and bent down to touch the octopus - it squirted him with water! Every time his hand would get close to it, the octopus would send a stream of seawater into the air toward him. Heather made her way over to the larger octopus to try to touch it and got the same treatment. I just watched. :0)

Luckily, Heather had an underwater disposable camera with her in the kayak and used it to take a few pictures of the octopus. The following picture is similar to what we saw and will stay here until she gets back to the States, can develop the film and send me a copy! Watch for that sometime in April.

Bullies on the island

2010-03-01T09:14:00.002-05:00

I walked with my friend, Marilyn, to a beach on the East side of Salt Cay on Saturday, we had to walk through a crowd of bullies... Armed with just my camera I took a picture of one of them. He didn't move and just glared at me for disturbing his peace and quiet.

We escaped unharmed and had a great time beachcombing. :0)

Salt Cay is for fishing and reading

2010-02-20T10:06:00.034-05:00

Sunday on Salt Cay is always a good day for fishing or hanging out with a good book. On a beautiful Sunday in February, Mike packed his fishing stuff and I grabbed a book and a couple of bottles of water for a few hours fishing, reading and of course some photos. We started out on North Beach... the water was a hundred colors of blue, turquoise, and aqua with no one in sight.

Years ago I visited a Salt Cay friend, Janet Onnie, and caught her relaxing in her hammock. We sat on her breezy outside porch and talked about a lot of things. What I remember the most is her telling me that when she has trouble sleeping she thinks of the Sea and Sky off of North Beach and tries to count all the different colors of blue.

Mike grabbed his stuff out of the back of the buggy and walked down the beach to try his luck in the surf. I sat up on the bluff, spread out a blanket and spent so long looking at the water, the islands in the distance, the beach and the waves that I never did get my book out. Mike walked back to join me at the bluff and we moved on to another spot for him.

Back in the buggy, we drove north past the Grey Salinas to the Northeast side of the island. There is an inlet from the Sea that is made of cut stone and allows water from the Sea to fill the Salinas on that side of the island. This channel was built over 200 years ago and is about 6 feet wide and about 600 feet from start at the Sea to the end that empties into the Salinas.
Following the inlet channel to the East, we watched crabs scurrying about, little fish swimming against the current, birds doing a little fishing and a gecko basking in the sun. Notice the incredible cut stone along the sides of the channel.

Walking along the wall of the channel, we arrived at the opening, a small opening in the rocky cliffs - a great place to try a little fishing.

It was mesmerizing watching the water flowing in and out of the channel, the waves crashing in to fill the little "bay" and spraying foam upon the rocks. Not much beachcombing to be done at this part of the island, but so many beautiful natural treats.

The skies were a bit overcast on Sunday with the sun breaking through from time to time and casting its rays down through the clouds. The Sea on the West side of the island was rough but on the East side it was fairly calm with a few good sized rollers from time to time. The sparkling brightness of the day was incredible.

Mike grabbed his bucket and pole and walked to the end of the small rock cliff to try his luck in the surf. The rocks can be pretty uneven at the end of the small cliff, I chose to stay back and take a look around with my camera.

Any vegetation on this side of Salt Cay has to be pretty hardy. The trade winds blow fairly constantly throughout the year from the East showering the plants with salt water and salt spray on a regular basis. Plants that would normally have a little height are more of a low growing ground cover or bush height.

The tangled branches of this Mosquito Bush (Strumpfia martima) have little barnacles growing attached on one side and beautiful fragile looking pink flowers on the other side. In folklore, when the leaves and branches of the mosquito bush are burned, the smoke is said to repel mosquitoes. I've tried transplanting a small plant and have not been successful getting it to grow on the West side of the island.

A large brain coral with a whole in the middle and another coral lodged inside of it rests next to the channel. I have to believe that a few people spent some time dragging it to this spot, although there doesn't seem to be any place that it could have come from. I enjoyed the contrast of the sun bleached, curvaceous white coral and the dark, sharp angles of the cut stone walls of the channel.

(Don't forget that by clicking on a photo you will be able to view it larger but you'll have to click the back button on your browser to come back to this page.)

I had a book in my bag and fully intended to sit down to read a bit... after a few more pictures.

... the bend in the channel right before it meets the Sea.

... the waves crashing on the cliffs.

... three Haitian islanders fishing a little further north along the same cliff with hand lines.

Mike enjoyed fishing for rock hinds or strawberry grouper along the East side of the island, moving from the spot at the end of the cliff to a place a bit further North in search of the elusive fish.

The wind-smoothed rocks on the top of the cliffs are very different from the razor like rocks of the cliffs further South on the island. After about 1/2 an hour, Mike returned to try his luck by the cliffs again. Caught by a wave or two, his shirt and shoes were soaked and he was ready to try something different on the end of his line.

I do not know the name of this little lure... and I don't suppose it really matters because it did not work! Relaxing on a rock with his (empty) bucket, Mike changed his lure hoping to attract a strawberry grouper or two...

The sounds of the sea crashing on the cliffs and echoing through the channel were a perfect accompaniment to the peace of fishing, relaxing and enjoying a little quiet time together.

I did actually read about four or five pages in my book before heading back after a day of fishing and exploring.

And no, Mike didn't catch anything that day. (Hmmmm, Mike read this and reminded me that he did catch a little sand fish - not worth eating or keeping - so he threw it back... does that count?) Heeheee.

Salt Cay's Annual Valentines Party

2010-02-15T09:42:00.037-05:00

Valentines Day on the island is a special time... The Salt Cay Valentines Party on Friday night was a success again this year with the dedicated work of District Commissioner Carolyn Dickenson, Salt Cay Secretary Vershina Forbes, members of the Salt Cay Women in Action and numerous other members of the community!We were greeted at the front door of the Salt Shed by the lovely Ms. Carolyn and escorted to one of the festively decorated tables to visit with friends, neighbors and island guests as more and more people joined the party! Wine, sparkling cider and conversation flowed as we waited for the festivities to begin.

Mike has fun table hopping and visiting with some of his favorite Salt Cay ladies. He took this opportunity to sit with our friend (his island mother) Mrs. Ella Hamilton and share a few laughs. It's always entertaining to watch the two of them banter!Ms. Ella was at the party with her two sisters, Mrs. Rosalie Glinton and Mrs. Melvina Simmons. A number of people took this opportunity to take a photo of "the sisters" and I hope that someone will pass one of the photos along to me to add to this blog.

Ms. Carolyn and Ms. Vershina started the festivities with a few Valentine games... the first game involved pulling a number our of an envelope and performing whatever action was written on a list. Mike and I pulled #11 - and had to stand up and kiss romantically. Hah, you know Mike... it was a little goofy but hey, that's part of the fun. (Again, no picture... email me if you have one!)

With much prompting, Ms. Rochelle pulled a number and stood up to read a romantic poem to her husband...

Mr. Mike Floan treated his wife, Ms. Heather, to a list of three things that he loves about her...

Mr. Porter Williams said a few special words to his special valentine Haidee...

Mr and Mrs. Sean Forbes were celebrating their 1st anniversary and Sean presented his wife, Kayla with a beautiful basket full of valentine treats...

Mr. Maurice Simmons elegantly spoke words of dedication and love to his beautiful wife Mrs. Barbara...

Don and Donna Shope joined in the fun with Don whispering sweet words of love to his lovely valentine...

And many others stood and celebrated the evening of love and friendship!

Following the Valentine games, we enjoyed a wonderful meal that included glazed ham, turkey, baked chicken, macaroni & cheese, sauteed vegetables, garlic potatoes and much more. The food was plentiful and very good!

Enrique Dickenson provided music for us during the evening with a mix of romantic and lively music for dancing.

The first dance was a special valentine dance (and I don't have pictures of that because I was dancing with my special valentine, Mike!)

During a pause in the dancing, the Salt Cay Rake 'n Scrape Band played a selection for us. And then on to more dancing and partying!

A special area was set aside for pictures... following are pictures of special valentine couples, beautiful single women, and good friends. Remember that you can click on a picture to view it larger and then right-click on the larger picture to save it to your computer!

Valentines Day on Salt Cay was a lovely evening filled with laughter, love and friendship!

Mike and Ann Hawkins

Vershina Forbes and Enrique Dickenson

Mike and Heather Floan

Carolyn Dickenson and Ann Hawkins

Vershina Forbes and Delphine Simons

Ed and Cathy Doyle

Kevin and Rochelle

Nic and Sharon Herwin

Rochelle Gray and Anna Dickenson

Ray and Cindy Cyr

Noyal Hamilton and his valentine

De Temes and her son, Sam
It's his birthday!!

Bernard Parker

Sandy and De Temes

Anna Dickenson

Foggy Day Walk

2010-02-08T08:25:00.013-05:00

One day last week (in fact, it was the 3rd... my granddaughter Rachel's 6th birthday), I woke up to find all the screens covered with dew. Looking outside toward the Sea I could see that it was a soggy morning with dew on the boardwalk and lots of moisture on the sand. And amazingly, when I looked out the front door toward the East - there was a layer of fog over South Creek! If you look closely at the picture you can see it hovering over the whole area.

Fog is just not something seen on Salt Cay! Inspired by this strange sight, I stuffed my camera and a bottle of water in a bag and set off for South Creek. By the time I got there, the fog had lifted and a calm hung over the Creek, setting us up for a hot day to come!

Even the Sea off the East side of the island was calm and as I walked past some clam beds, I spotted one of the young osprey perched on the top of the north osprey nesting platform.

As I walked closer to the platform, I could hear the young osprey calling to its mother. "Maaaaaama"... it really does almost sound that way! And loud! When the osprey used to nest in front of our house we were often awaken (at all times of the day and night) by the young osprey after they were kicked out of the nest. It's a relief to see them enjoying the other nesting platform instead of the roof of our house or the railing of our neighbor's house.

The osprey are not intimated by people walking close to their perchs... they turn their heads to get a good look at you as you're getting a good look at them. Unless of course they have young, just hatched babies - then they might just dive bomb you to keep you away.

But this osprey was perfectly happy to sit on top of the pole making noise. Notice the ropes draped over the nesting platform? Apparently, the osprey started to build there and for reasons known only to themselves, changed their minds and built their nest on the southern-most osprey nesting platform instead. I've also seen the osprey by the nest in town sitting there looking around... maybe one day we'll have three osprey families! At 2.5 square miles, that's about the maximum number of osprey Salt Cay can expect.

As I walked home, the mangrove area of South Creek was not without a few strange and wonderful treasures. The metal float has obviously been here for some time... it had to make it's way from the mouth of the Creek, turn right and eventually get lodged pretty close to shore. It looks like it's been here for a long time! I have no idea how long. With the sun just coming up, it turned the colors of the float brilliant orange, rich brown with some wonder rusty flakes covering it. A beachcomber's delight - and I'm sure Mike is very happy it's too heavy for me to roll home for our back yard.

The mangroves are a little difficult to navigate on foot... it's very mucky and slippery... but well worth it to catch some interesting photos of South Creek through the mangroves.

Hey! don't forget that you can click on any of these photos to view them larger. :0)

Barge delivery to Salt Cay

2010-02-07T14:35:00.010-05:00

Salt Cay is a small island, 2.5 square miles. The harbor, Deane's Dock, was probably originally built well over 125 years ago and is big enough for a few small fishing boats and three or four dive boats. Part of the dock crumbled in a number of years ago and the part of the seawall crumbled late in 2009. So when a 150-foot barge pulls in past the seawall toward the dock, it's something to see!
Saturday was a quiet day... my friend Heather and I had kayaked out close to the barge as it was waiting for high tide. The seas were a little rough with the wind coming out of the South, so we did a short paddle and then returned home to wait the couple of hours for high tide and the Big Event of the day - the barge unloading. :0)

Actually, there were quite a few people waiting for the barge. Standing around visiting with neighbors and friends, discussing the possible dredging of the harbor, repair of the seawall, the weather forecast for the following week, and of course, Sunday's Super Bowl teams.

It was probably about Noon when the 150-foot, Lew 2 (aka Lew Tide) finally came through the opening of the harbor and approached the dock. The barge stirred up quite a bit of sand as it made it's way into Salt Cay's little harbor.

Loaded with building supplies, the District Commissioner's new vehicle and a tractor for our neighbor, the Captain of the Lew 2 gently approached our aging dock and lowered the doors to begin offloading everything. The vehicles were driven off first... then, father and son team, Alan and Enrique Dickenson, operated the backhoe and forklift in a tight space and quickly had the supplies unloaded and the barge backing out of the harbor before the tide turned too low.

Watching a barge arrive and unload might not sound like much to people who think Caribbean vacations include all-inclusive hotels, cruise ships and shopping... but that's the kind of island Salt Cay is... laid back, simple and just a slice of real life.

Salt Cay Women of Action

2010-02-05T10:11:00.006-05:00

Salt Cay Women of Action

One Island, One People, One Aim

Last year island women got together and formed Salt Cay Women of Action, a chance for the women of the island to get together and get to know each other better. Last night we had our first meeting of 2010. We missed many of last year's members, but look forward to our next meeting when they will be in attendance!

Salt Cay Women of Action meet every Thursday at 5:00PM with meetings lasting about 1-2 hours depending upon what activities we're getting ourselves into! President Vershina Forbes helped us organize the schedule for February's meetings.

February 11th, 5PM - decorate the Salt Shed for the Valentine Party
February 18th, 5PM - Ladies Game Night (Scrabble, Dominoes and card games)
February 25th, 5PM - Dancing Night, learn how to do the Electric Slide and the Cha Cha Slide!

Member Carolyn Dickenson announced the following community activities:

Mondays @ 5PM, Eloisa Dickenson will be holding Spanish classes at the Club House (by the cricket field).
She also invited anyone to join her and Norma at 5AM for aerobics at the Salt Shed every morning... we all groaned about that hour and are not sure how many will join them that early!
Salt Cay will be hosting this years TCI Womens Conference the beginning of April, date to be announced.

Whales Ahoy!

2010-02-03T13:21:00.007-05:00

Humpback Whales migrate past Salt Cay on both sides of the islands using the Turks Island Passage and the Mouchoir Passage as they make their way toward the Mouchoir Banks and Samana Bay in the Dominican Republic. Our house looks toward the West and the Turks Island Passage. It's about 350 yards off the beach.

We've been spotting Humpback Whales swimming past for about the past two weeks and for the past three or four days it has been an all day, every day event. I've spotted them throughout the day in groups of two to four as they swim around the island. Just saw a group of four humpbacks about 1/2 an hour ago!

Okay... I've already posted this, but I have to edit a little because now - 2 hours later - we've got three whales right next to the "Wall" (that's what we call the dropoff from the reef to the Passage) and it looks like two adult whales teaching a small one to swim... they keep going back and forth in front on us.

Today, with the wind coming out of the West, the Sea is too rough to kayak but I'll be out there again tomorrow to see if I can cruise along with them!
The map shows our location as Balfour Town. That's the name of the area where the government offices are on Salt Cay. It's not really a town, but I'm not really sure how you let Google know that. Guess they'll have to come have a visit.

I did not take the picture of the whale. A friend took it a few years ago... I have not been able to catch a picture of the whales this year and thought I'd use this to get your attention. :0)

South Point Stroll

2010-01-24T13:42:00.017-05:00

The wind picked up last night and the Seas just didn't look like a lot of kayaking fun... especially getting out through the surf. So this morning, we took a stroll to the South Point of Salt Cay . It has to be called a stroll because we had to stop a number of times for pictures and just a few brief "ahhhs". The first stop was to take some pictures of the Cactus Tree (Consolea (opuntia) nashii) growing along both sides of the road.

The cactus trees are just starting to flower and the brilliant red flowers are a striking contrast to the blues of the Sea and sky and the green bushes surrounding it. These cactus are native exclusively to the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands and can grow to a height of about 4 meters (or 13 feet) but I've only seen them grown to about 6 feet tall on Salt Cay. (If you click on the pictures they open to a larger size so you can see them better... the flower really is beautiful!)

Salt Cay is the home of many elusive and ever-changing pocket beaches. I call them that because they are little pockets along the shoreline that under the right conditions fill with beautiful sand and are a joy to play on! You just have to walk along either side of the island and you'll find them (or not!).

Even on fairly windy days, these little pocket beaches can be fun to use... bobbing in the water and playing in the surges. Maybe tomorrow... today, the stroll to the South Point is the order of business and there are so many things to see in just that small area. Looking South toward the point there was another little pocket beach within sight of the first one... I hadn't seen it before... it must be one of the more elusive ones! Just off these little beaches, we spotted the Salt Cay Divers' boat enjoying a bright and sunny Sunday scuba dive. A great place to enjoy beautiful scenery above and below!

It's usually better to go out for a walk early in the morning before it gets too hot, but this morning the winds are blowing about 15mph and keeping everything a cool 80.

As we approached the South Point the sounds of the Sea increased to a low roar as the currents coming around the West side hit the currents coming around the East side of the island.Two years ago when I kayaked around the island, this was the toughest part of the trip. There are reefs half-submerged and the currents both ways are very strong. It is impossible even on a calm day to stay very close to shore in the kayak. At one point, I remember looking at the shore and wondering if I was traveling forward at all! The wild, free waves are incredible to watch.

It used to be a bit of a secret that the very best shells could be found on the South Point. That's not the case anymore, now it's best to get there early after a storm to search through the seaweed if you want the best shells. The weather and Sea have been calm for the past week and I was fairly confident that I wouldn't find and real treasures, but looking is half the fun!

I found a great stick and proceeded up and down the beach poking through the sea fans, sponges, pieces of coral, small broken shells, and seaweed. And of course, there's always the odd shoe that washes ashore. (can you spot it in the picture?)

Because the Sea has been calm there were not many piles of seaweed to go through but I did manage to find a nice Chestnut Turbin and a couple little melanilla and a cowrie shell. Lots of beautiful bits of shell, including a bright orange scallop nestled in the seaweed.

With sand in my shoes and a smile on my face, I took one last look toward the powerful beauty of the currents at South Point and headed home.

Salt Cay Rake 'N Scrape Haitian Benefit

2010-01-16T13:24:00.007-05:00

Debbie Been, owner of Coral Reef Bar & Grill on Salt Cay, hosted a benefit for the island's Haitian families to aid them in finding and helping their relatives in Haiti after the earthquake. Salt Cay Rake 'N Scrape Band donated their talents to the event and entertained the crowd for about three hours. Debbie donated $1 from every drink sold and had a donation jar for people to make their own donations to Salt Cay's Haitian Relief Fund.

Through the efforts of Coral Reef Bar & Grill, Salt Cay Divers, Salt Cay Rake 'N Scrape Band, and the Salt Cay community over $2000 was raised for Salt Cay's Haitian Relief Fund

Winter Resident, Elinor Davies, graciously donated a number of original artworks to the cause. With the help of Sharon Herwin of Pirates Hideaway (pictured here), the Salt Cay Windmill watercolors were sold and the donations added to the Fund.

Salt Cay is home to many Haitian families, they are some of our best craftsmen and work hard to provide for their local families as well as sending money back to their families in Haiti. Communicating with their families in Haiti since the earthquake has been difficult. A few people have been able to find out information because their families do not live in Port au Prince and still have cell phone capability.

We have heard of two deaths to the Salt Cay Haitian families to date. There are a few of the men who are working to try to get enough airfare together so they can take the trip back to Haiti to find out about their families and help them in any way they can.

District Commissioner Carolyn Dickenson and Police Officer Kammeron assisted Salt Cay's Haitian community by providing them with phone numbers they can call to find out about their relatives earlier in the day and a Prayer Meeting at the Salt Shed was also held on Friday evening.

On Thursday the Salt Cay boat went to Grand Turk for the weekly shopping trip. We had heard on the local radio station that First Caribbean Bank has a special fund set up that sends the money donated directly to the Red Cross in Haiti and another contribution in that fund.

We would like to urge you to find out how you can help. And if you cannot afford to give a donation, please keep the people of Haiti in your thoughts and prayers.

Salt Cay's Morning Traffic

2010-01-15T09:34:00.006-05:00

Weather Report: Windy, blowing steadily from the... wait a second while I check the weather vane... okay... the full report. Sunny, with a few scattered clouds, wind blowing out of the East at about 20 mph, temperature about 75F. Some good swells out at sea but a great day for diving.

Traffic Report:
To the West of us... A beautiful three-masted schooner that spent the night off the West side of the island headed North in this morning at about 9:30AM.
To the East of us - I'll let this picture speak for itself. The wall on the left is our front wall, looking North on Victoria Street.

It looks like another quiet day on Salt Cay.

There are a few guests and divers on island enjoying a quiet, laid back vacation.

Tomorrow there will be a Haitian relief benefit for Salt Cay's Haitian population at the Coral Reef Bar & Grill. raising money to directly help our Haitian friend's own families. It's been so very difficult for many of them to find out what's happening with their families in Haiti... thoughts and prayers for our Haitian friends and their families please.

Stormy Weather Fun

2010-01-12T09:40:00.009-05:00

Waking in the morning to the sounds of the Sea, I sit up in my bed and look out the back windows to the Sea roiling and boiling as the winds come out of the West. I pulled the blanket a little higher waiting for the sun to bring light to another day on Salt Cay. I always feel sorry for guests to the island who come down for a couple of weeks and have stormy weather when they are looking forward to basking in the Sun. With all the stormy days we've been having since we arrived shortly before Christmas it has been necessary to just get on it! It's a "cold" 70-75 degrees, not bad really...

Climbing out of bed, I slip into my flip flops for a walk to the back gate for a better look at the Sea. Definitely not a day for kayaking or swimming on the West side of the island! After a brief stop in the kitchen to start the coffee, I opened the front doors and windows (shutters and screens no glass windows) and had a look to the East over the Salinas. Not bad!! A quick bike circuit to the airport and back before sitting with my coffee (and Bailey's) to check emails.
Our friend, Arnie, stopped by to find out when high tide is (3PM) and we talked about going kayaking on the East side of the island in the afternoon... a plan developed... Arnie, Sonia and I would meet at 2:30PM to take the kayaks over to the Creek and out on the East side of Salt Cay.

South Creek has always been a large shallow inlet but since the hurricane dumped a lot of sand in it, it's very shallow even at high tide. We had to drag the kayaks quite a way out to get them into deep enough water to paddle. There are a lot of submerged rock formations all along the mouth of the Creek but fortunately the water was calm enough to be able to spot those. With Arnie in the lead, Sonia and I followed him out between the two rock formations you see in this picture.

Heading into the wind (NNE), we played in the chop and paddled North for about 20 minutes. We could see Whale Island ahead and thought about paddling over to it, but decided that it was just a bit too windy and cold. As I think about my friends back in the States trying to stay warm in 12 degree weather, I realize just how lucky I am to be able to be “cold” in 70+ degree weather.

We turned around and headed back toward the creek with the tide and wind… very fun! It was a matter of steering the kayak and letting the tide and wind take you back. Fantastic! There are three spots to enter the Creek… the middle spot is the best with the least amount of underwater rocks and is protected by the rocks on either side so that there are not many waves to deal with as you paddle back into the Creek. Coming around the rocks and surfing into the creek was fantastic!

The stormy day adventure was not over... because the high tide was still not very high Arnie, Sonia and I had to drag the kayaks over a sandbar to the far end of South Creek were the blue holes are. As we approached water deep enough to kayak we had to wade through the muck of the clam beds. Once in the water again, a turtle popped its head up to take a look at us... a school of small bone fish flashed past us, little crabs scurried about and a heron landed and started to poke around for an afternoon snack.

We were down opposite the old bird watching station (falling apart after the hurricane) and not too far from the osprey nesting platform. In fact, the osprey flew into her nest with a little fish to feed the two baby osprey while we were paddling around looking at the blue holes. After a quick paddle to the other side of the Creek we portaged the kayaks back to the trailer and finished our Salt Cay stormy day adventure.

As I was riding my bike home I realized that the wind had shifted again and seemed to be trying to come straight out of the North bringing cool air and choppy Seas on all sides of the island. What a great way to spend a stormy day!

After Midnight - Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T09:49:00.012-05:00

The night was cool, the stars were bright and Debbie had a party at the Coral Reef Bar and Grill that was one of the best New Years Eve parties ever! The evening started out with the Salt Cay Rake 'N Scrape Band featuring Newton, vocals and bucket, Wilce on bucket, Dwight on the saw, Ranfully on tambourine and maracas and Spigot on the harmonica with guests joining in on the maracas that Mike Hawkins made and brought to the party.

Mike made about six maracas of coconut shells filled with small shells and rocks... great instrument for those of us who can't play the saw or harmonica! Spigot took a break from playing his harmonica to have a beer (or was that a glass of rum?) and play the maraca while visiting. That's the great thing about Rake 'N Scrape... you can take a break while the other band members continue on and join in at any time. Fantastic!

The Salt Cay Rake 'N Scrape band played for about an hour before it was time for their break (they played again after midnight joined by Shine on the bucket).

The rest of the evening DJ Newton (aided by Police Officer Cameron) spun a great selection of tunes and everyone was dancing, laughing and having an absolute great time!

Midnight arrived and kisses, hugs, and shouts of "Happy New Year" rang out through the night. Coral Reef Bar & Grill had two anniversaries and one proposal that night... a truly memorable and happy occasion!

I danced all night... we went home and I cooked bacon and eggs at 3AM... and today (January 3rd) I finally feel normal again! It just doesn't get any better than this.

Pirates Hideaway on Salt Cay

2009-12-31T09:23:00.009-05:00

There is a secluded oasis on Salt Cay and when the Seas are rough for swimming we feel lucky to be able to go to Pirates Hideaway and enjoy the beautiful pool. Yesterday, I hopped on my bike with towel, water bottle and camera to ride South on Victoria Street to Candy's (aka Pirates Hideaway). The other ladies were already there when I arrived relaxing on the Salt Cay chairs and discussing New Year's Eve plans.

The pool is surrounded by beautiful tropical plants and is a refreshing change from the salt water. Don't get me wrong... the beach is my preference - but on windy, rough days it feels so luxurious to lounge around this beautiful crystal clear water and take a dip when it gets hot!

With butterflies flitting about and birds chirping in the trees, it's easy to lose yourself for a few hours of true relaxation.Pirates Hideaway is the only place on Salt Cay with a papaya tree and look at the fruit... it will be a few more weeks before these are ripe and I'm hoping that I'll get a bite or two!

There is another reason for our visit to Candy's lovely pool oasis... yesterday, December 30th was Debbie (Salt Cay Divers) birthday! Happy Birthday Debbie. :0)

The Osprey of Salt Cay

2009-12-30T10:07:00.003-05:00

Salt Cay has been home to many osprey over the years. They have nested in many places on the island... on North Beach using abandoned telephone poles as nesting platforms, on the hurricane damaged communications tower on the West side of the island, on the old windmills in the middle of the Salt Cay main salinas and the latest spot is one of the new platforms built last year on the Southeast side of the island by South Creek.

In March 2009, two new osprey platform s were erected... one toward the North of the Creek and one toward the South of the Creek. And the wait began. The platforms are spread out enough to allow for three families of osprey on Salt Cay.

We took a ride down yesterday and the osprey are there!! As we drove up, the mother was sitting in a bush near the water close to the nest as the father osprey flew in with a fish for the two baby osprey.

The 2010 osprey family has choosen the pole toward the South of the Creek and there are currently two babies in the nest. I was not able to get close enough to take a picture of them, but Mama Osprey obviously loves the spot and feels very relaxed there. She just sat in her bush watching us.

Approaching the pole to try to get a picture of the little ones, the Father Osprey started to screech at us. We took the hint and left without bothering them.

When the osprey nested in the Salinas we loved to watch them fly over the house as they fished and fed their family. But, my lord are the baby osprey loud when they are out of the nest and calling to their parents!

Now we are able to watch as they fly over the island on their way South to feed their growing family and with luck the babies will be screeching a little further away once they start flying.

Another Day in Paradise

2009-12-29T09:10:00.003-05:00

It may be a little cloudy on Salt Cay the past few days and we've had a bunch of rain since we arrived last Monday... but that's perfect - nice to come from 20 degrees to overcast and "cool" 70-75 with the trade winds blowing. We spent the first few days cleaning and opening the house, hooking up the solar hot water heater and washing clothes. Darned mice came in the house while we were gone and left little piles of sea grape seeds everywhere! Have not had that problem before!

Mike's taken the boat to Grand Turk today to see if we can get the DSL turned on at our house so that I can actually have internet there! What a treat that will be although I will miss my morning trips to Porter's Island Thyme or Debbie's Coral Reef Bar & Grill, but it will be nice to be able to have more time to sit and work on this blog and other projects.

We took a trip down to South Creek to check out the osprey nest yesterday but I can't upload the pictures until tomorrow... so watch for Salt Cay osprey report coming soon!

Salt Cay... you can get there from anywhere

2009-07-10T08:31:00.008-04:00

When we left Salt Cay in May, there were very limited options to get to, or leave the island. I breathed a sigh of relief when I got ahold of a schedule of airlines and flight times!! Since I started this blog, I've had a lot of people contact me about Salt Cay as their next island vacation spot... and I refer them to http://www.saltcay.org/ for lots of info!

Caicos Express: New to the airline business in the Turks and Caicos Islands, residents have been happy with their service and consistent operation. We'll be trying them if the scheduling works out and have good things about them!
Agent: Patrice 649-243-0237.
Mondays: PLS-SLX 6:30AM, SLX-GDT-PLS 7:00 AM
Wednesdays: PLS-SLX 3:15 PM, SLX-GDT-PLS 4:00 PM
Fridays: PLS-SLX 7:30 AM, SLX-GDT-PLS 8:00 AM, PLS-SLX 3:15 PM, SLX-GDT-PLS 4:00 PM

Air Turks and Caicos: This airline is on again, off again... and apparently on again. They have upgraded their internet service to provide for purchase of e-tickets but I have no reports on how well that works yet... (as as of the middle of July I cannot recommend them at all!)
Agent: Debbie Been: 649-241-1009.

Global Airways: Airline charter service from PLS-SLX-PLS whenever you wish to fly. We've used them many times over the years and Lindsey always does a great job! If you want to be sure to get there from anywhere, fly Global.
Agent/Owner: Lindsey Gardner global@tciway.tc.

Into the Water on Salt Cay

2009-05-03T10:07:00.006-04:00

Yesterday was one of the last, lazy days. We are going to be leaving Salt Cay next Wednesday and like to spend a few days just relaxing. I was sitting in my hammock chair reading a book after lunch - well, I was reading and spending time just looking out at all the colors of the Sea and Sky. There was a bit of a breeze, but not bad. I took a break from taking a break...

And I went kayaking!

Just a short paddle down to the Lighthouse Cliff and back. It was wonderful. Just in front of the Salt Cay Harbor a turtle was swimming on the surface. She popped under the water as I came closer. I stopped for a bit to see if she would come back up, but she was off somewhere else so I continued my paddle North.

It was about a 45 minute paddle all together. A little bright in the middle of the day, but well worth the time. I'll be going out again this afternoon. Last year I was able to kayak around the entire island of Salt Cay (in a little over 2-1/2 hours) on a calm day, but we just haven't had any days calm enough to do it this year (and without Mike's boat in the water to check on my progress, I don't want to try it).

Ahhhhh, it was a great afternoon. Mike took pictures from the beach deck as I pulled in after my paddle. Then - into the water for a swim and float about. Wonderful.

Out of the Water on Salt Cay

2009-05-03T08:32:00.020-04:00

On Wednesday, the last day of April, it was time to take Mike's boat out of the water. Mike's homemade Salt Cay Dump boat trailer made it's maiden road trip to the harbor. We were a little concerned that with the weight of the boat (approximately 700 pounds) and the weight of the trailer (approximately 400 pounds) our little buggy might not be able to pull the boat out.

A few years ago, Mike watched (and laughed) as Nathan Smith - aka Teddy - tried to pull a boat out of the harbor with his truck and the truck roll into the harbor. It's not a laughing matter - Mike and others jumped to Nathan's rescue that day. But this day, Mike was hoping that he wouldn't have that problem!

Our friend, Paul Corti, helped Mike move the boat around from the dock to load it onto the trailer. All was going smoothly! The seas are calm, the tide is high, the sun is out and there weren't alot of other people around...

Once the boat was pulled onto a little bit onto the trailer, Paul disconnected the rope, connected the wench line and started cranking. It was quick and easy. Mike jumped out of the boat the make the final adjustments to the boat and was ready to haul the boat and trailer out of the water.

Mike hopped into the buggy, I crossed my fingers hoping the boat, trailer and buggy did not go backwards into the harbor (Mike told me later that he wasn't really worried about that and knew it would be okay - hah, thanks!)

He didn't roll backwards into the water, but the buggy just wasn't heavy enough to pull the boat and trailer out. Barber Selver had been sitting by the dock in his white truck watching the whole thing and as Mike spun his wheels, Barber pulled the truck around to the boat launch and got ready to pull.

After hooking the rope on to the back of the truck, it was a breeze! It took about 2 minutes to pull the trailer and boat out of the harbor. What luck that Barber was there or we would have had to go find someone to help. And even though Mike said there was no chance of the buggy rolling backwards into the harbor, I was really relieved!

The buggy towed the boat and trailer home without a problem and Mike got ready to put the boat away. He knew there was a leak somewhere so he took all the floor boards out of the boat, washed the boat, found the leak and will be prepared to fix the leak and put in new floor boards when we return.

It took the rest of the day to get everything out of the boat and ready to "put away" until we return. We leave Salt Cay next week, I'm not ready. But then, I'm never ready to leave the island.

P.S. Did I mention that Mike decided to name the boat "the Tub" as in "rub-a-dub-dub-tub"? He just didn't think the boat felt like SalVage. :0)

Salt Cay Soldier Crabs

2009-04-28T10:06:00.007-04:00

I think we may have found the smallest soldier crab (aka hermit crab) on the island of Salt Cay! This little hermie is so small it was not even curling up when Mike picked it up but kept crawling around all over his hands.
And this little guy was quick! The first couple of photos I tried to get were blurred because he just kept scooting around from one hand to the next. Salt Cay's smallest soldier crab is about the size of 1/2 of my baby fingernail! Amazing

From Widipedia -- "There are approximately 15 terrestrial species in the world, and of those, the following are commonly kept as pets: Caribbean hermit crab, Coenobita clypeatus, and the Ecuadorian hermit crab, Coenobita compressus. Other species such as Coenobita brevamanus, Coenobita rugosus, Coenobita perlatus or Coenobita cavipes are less common but growing in availability and popularity as pets. In certain regions of the Caribbean, such as Jamaica and the Florida Keys, hermit crabs are commonly used in a sport known as crab racing, where they are placed in the center of a ring and whichever crab reaches the outside of the ring first wins."

Salt Cay has some great hermit crab races! None this year, but with luck next year we'll be able to do a few races. The hermit crab races were used as fund raisers for the Balfour Town Public Library on Salt Cay about five years ago and for other community projects too. Lots of fun!!

If you're ever on Salt Cay when we have hermit crab races, be sure to ask for Soldier Crabs from Mike & Ann! This is a picture over our north fence of just a few of the hundreds of soldier crabs in our "stables"!

To Market, To Market - Salt Cay Style

2009-04-26T08:56:00.018-04:00

Grocery shopping on Salt Cay is not just a drive to the local IGA or supermarket. We have four small island shops that have potatoes, onions, flour, eggs and assorted other "staples" when you need them, but many people get on the Government Boat (aka Brittany Leigh) on Tuesday to take the 45 minute boat ride to Grand Turk to buy groceries. Grand Turk is the capitol of the Turks and Caicos Islands and is about 5 miles North of Salt Cay as the osprey flies.

I don’t do the shopping. Mike makes the trip every week or two to buy vegetables, meat and whatever else we need. Personally, I'm glad that Mike does the shopping. I don't really mind the boat ride, but the other end of the journey can be challenging. The Salt Cay boat used to pull up to a nice small dock with stairs going up to the main dock in Grand Turk. Then, about five years ago the configurations changed and now there's a horrible ladder that you have to climb up to or climb down and jump onto the boat. Not me! The Government keeps saying things will get changed, but I am not holding my breath on that. I suppose one of these days someone will really get seriously hurt (people have already been hurt) and they might think about giving Salt Cay back a dock that works for the small boats.

I used to go shopping with Mike, it was fun. We’d take the plane or boat over, go to all the stores (you can’t shop in just one store because each store has different things) and then go for lunch before heading back to the Salt Cay dock to get on the boat home. Those days are over, even if the dock was fixed, without a vehicle on Grand Turk to use for shopping Mike often walks everywhere and there is no way my short legs will keep up with his long ones! But hey, that’s not to say it can’t be done… just not by me.

I think Mike likes riding the boat with the ladies who do take the boat from Salt Cay to Grand Turk! The younger women will often go over to have their hair or nails done and visit their friends. Miss Netty is also a regular on the boat and he loves to tease her. (From what I hear, he knows just about every shopkeeper on the island!)

Salt Cay seems to have a bit of a problem when it comes to keeping a boat running. Some years ago, Shine (Alan Dickenson) bought a boat to ferry people and building supplies back and forth. One of those boats, the Lucky Lady, sunk in the Salt Cay harbor during Hurricane Ike, his other boat (the Buccaneer) ended up in a tree in Grand Turk (word on the street is that it has been turned into a tourist attraction.) There has been lots of talk about how to get Lucky Lady out of the harbor.

In the Adventures of Captain Mike I think I talked about how the dock at Salt Cay slid into the harbor on March 6, 2000. (the link will take you to that day!) The Government was going to fix it but never got around to it. Plans were drawn and budgets made, officials came over to inspect the damage but the dock still sits pretty much like it was after it collapsed - there is a wire frame filled with rocks to keep the rest of the dock from falling down.

This year, 2009, the government days for the boat are Tuesday and Wednesday. They’re called government days because the government subsidizes the trip for the boat owner those days. I’m not sure if that’s happening this year because the government is broke. Everyone pays to go on the boat – Round trip for men is $12 and $8 for women (don't ask - that’s just the way it is) Mr. Barber Selver collects the fees for the boat trip. When we first arrived on Salt Cay it was $4 for women and free for men because the men would help unload the boat but now that there's a crew to do the loading and unloading everyone pays.

Mr. Maurice Simmons (pictured here) collects for the freight on the boat - $1.00 per box, bag, cooler or packet on grocery day. Building materials and gasoline are charged at different rates. Seas willing, on grocery day the boat does not leave Grand Turk to return to Salt Cay until about 2:30PM.

There are no gas stations on Salt Cay, if you need gas for your buggy, propane tank or boat you send tanks and cans on the boat to be filled. Gasoline does not go on the boat on grocery day. If you don’t go on grocery day you can bring some groceries back on gas day but gas day is a short day with the boat leaving Grand Turk at about 12:30PM.

When you’re shopping on Grand Turk you take a pen to mark your boxes and bags with your name or mark. After all the passengers are off the boat, the crew starts unloading the groceries. They’re piled onto the dock and you’ve got to be there to put your stuff in a pile for Mr. Maurice to count and charge you.

In this picture, Miss Netty is making sure her stuff all comes off correctly so that she can transport it to her shop. Lots of flour, cartons of eggs, cases of coke and fruit juice, rice, canned beans and lots of other tins of food are brought over every week so that those who do not take the boat can purchase from the little shops on island. Even though we go to Grand Turk at least every two weeks, we still go to Miss Netty’s (Miss Netty’s Variety Store with our friend Coral Jennings in the doorway). or the Dickenson’s Store for eggs, flour and juice (Mr. & Mrs. Dickenson’s Variety Store – closed but I’ll try to get a picture of the lovely Mrs. Eloisa behind the counter before we go!) They have freezers with chicken, pork chops, bacon and a few other things to make it through until the next shopping day.

Even though it's been a long day, Mike and Carolyn manage to exchange a few laughs about the boat ride home. It’s usually a wet ride even on a fairly calm day and District Commissioner Carolyn made me promise to photo shop some of the water off her clothes. (and I did!)

Before leaving Mike makes sure that Mr. Maurice has the proper count and pay for our freight. (No they're not dancing, just goofing around!)

The buggy is loaded - it’s time to go home, unload and take a nap!

Sounds of the Island, Salt Cay

2009-04-22T07:42:00.011-04:00

Stretching slowly as I wake in the morning, I am greeted by the unique sounds of Salt Cay. Every day the sounds are different and every house on Salt Cay greets the morning with different sounds.

Often, the first thing I hear is the wind howling through the windows (screens & shutters, no glass windows) and the sounds of the Sea crashing off the walls and ceiling - that’s when the sea has kicking up and the waves are pounding the reef and beach. On other mornings I can barely hear the waves and my eyes fly open so that I get up quickly to take a look!

Those days when the Sea is almost quiet and just sending a small whisper through the house, it will be a perfect morning to put in my kayak for an early morning paddle to the cliff by the Lighthouse. When the Sea is quiet, I can also hear the sound of roosters crowing in the distance. Depending upon which way the wind is blowing, I can hear either the South District roosters or – even more faintly – the North District roosters.

South District roosters were elusive as I tried to catch a photo of them this morning. They were taking their broods into the bushes for a late morning bug or two when I happened to catch this one heading into Periwinkle Park. At 9:30AM, he was quite finished for the day – having started at about 4:30AM (possibly a little earlier) with the South District Salt Cay wake-up call that is kind of… “Caa Coooooooooo Coo.”

Not to be confused with the North District Salt Cay wake-up call that goes something like… “Caa Caa Cooooooo Ca”. Of course there are a few variations to the crowing depending upon – well, I’m not sure what it depends upon.

While I was trying to take a picture of Miss Netty’s rooster (North District) she was telling me the old timers on Salt Cay could tell the exact time by the way the rooster was crowing and which rooster crowed.

It does take a little while to get used to the call of the Salt Cay Rooster in the morning and throughout the day. Many homes both North and South (this is a picture of Miss Netty’s and her rooster) have resident Roosters. Mike and I had a Rooster that used to sit on the wall outside of our bedroom window one year. Thankfully he has moved back South – I don’t miss him at all.

Occasionally a donkey will stroll down Victoria Street and stop in front of our house to bray (at 4AM) because he can’t break our gate open to get in and chomp my flowers and plants. And there have been a few times that we’ve had to get up after hearing the donkeys hooves on our walkway because they’ve managed to get into the yard for a very, very early morning snack.

Sleeping in late (7AM) I hear workers on their way to work signing hymns or bantering back and forth among themselves. A bicycle squeaking past my house is not enough to wake me - but if I’m already awake, it’s enough to make me smile, stretch, and start another day with all the adventures it has to bring.

Salt Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands

Churches of Salt Cay

2009-04-18T09:26:00.013-04:00

Salt Cay is approximately 2.5 square miles with a population that includes Turks & Caicos Islanders, Dominicans (Dominican Republic), Haitians, Americans, French, Dutch, Grenadians, Canadians and a host of other countries. The population varies from about 70 people to about 150 people depending upon how many guests or workers are on island (or how many Haitians come snuck in). There are no resorts but a number of small guest houses and lodgings. You can find out more about all that at http://www.saltcay.org/. There are three bars (two with restaurants), one restaurant without a bar, four small grocery stores and five churches.

Beginning at the airport (North), The Church of God of Prophecy is the first church you pass when you arrive on right hand side. Pastor Antoinette Talbot (also knows as Miss Netty) presides over the lively, dedicated congregation. Any Sunday you will pass by (or stop in), the joyful sounds of song and praise fill the air.

Continuing down the road you will come to Salt Cay Methodist Church on the left side of the street. Pastor Noyal Hamilton has moved the small but mighty group of worshippers to the rectory after Hurricane Ike took off the beautiful roof on the church. The rectory building of the Methodist Church is also the emergency shelter for the island in case of another hurricane.

As you come to the intersection of Victoria Street and turn left you will come to St. John's Anglican Church on the right hand side of the street. Canon Been often comes to officiate, but in his absence Mr. Holton Dickenson is the Catechist. The picture on the right was taken by Michele Belanger-McNair (Compass Rose Guest Cottage) of Father Mark on Trinity Day in 2007.

St. John's Anglican Church also has a very old cemetery within it's walls that is interesting to walk through. Standing on the grounds of the church, looking out to Sea is most spiritual and peaceful.

Continue your walk toward South Town on Victoria Street, past the Balfour Town Government Offices, Mary Robinson Primary School and Balfour Town Public Library and just a little bit past The Folly and you will see Mount Zion Baptist Church. Pastor Gary Lightbourne officiates on Sundays with Miss Rosalie Glinton playing the piano as the congregation raise their voices in praise and song. Most recently the Mount Zion Baptist Church hosted an all-faith praise day on Easter Monday. Members of all churches and the community joined together to sing and listen to the Senior citizens and members of the Mary Robinson Primary School sing selections. This was the first time for the event that will continue every year! It was truely wonderful.
I don't have a picture of the fifth church on the tour... but if you continue down Victoria Street and turn left on Glinton Street you will come to the cricket field and Community Center. Pastor Luckner Mondesair presides over The New Jerusalem Church. Be prepared to speak Creole or French at this wonderful gathering.

Most Sundays you will find me looking out to Sea, thankful to be able to enjoy the beauty and peace of the day.

Animal adventures on Salt Cay

2009-04-15T08:47:00.011-04:00

Want to adopt a cat? Some years ago, a woman came to Salt Cay with a number of cats. Slowly but surely the cat population on island has increased until there are too many cats. It has become a problem that has been addressed in various ways. Porter (Island Thyme Bistro) uses a Have-A-Heart trap to help relocate the cats but it's a very slow process and hardly makes a dent in the overall Salt Cay feline population.

Nancy Connolley fell in love with one of the cats hanging around and came up with a unique way to transport the cat back to her home in Oregon State, USA. Mike (James) used a tackle box, drilled holes in the top of it and created a cat carrier for her to use to take Rebella back. Nancy contacted the vet in Providenciales to make an appointment to give the cat the necessary shots and international health certificate. Fortunately, Rebella is a female! The decrease in population may not be huge but every little bit helps.

Salt Cay's premier Animal Advocate and Donkey Friend, Pat Coe, has contacted Susan Blehr, the Director of the TCSPCA, and hopes to bring volunteer vet Dr. Rich Sefcik over sometime within the next couple of weeks to spay/neuter as many dogs and cats as possible. Debbie Bean (Say Cay Divers) is coordinating this effort now that Pat has gone off island.

It is illegal to have an unspayed female dog in the Turks and Caicos Islands, but it does happen. Salt Cay currently has a puppy population in need of spay/neuter services and we welcome the services of Dr. Rich to help with the problem.

I am happy to report that the new donkey, April Sassy, is doing well and seems to be gaining weight steadily. She is shown here with Pat Coe. April Sassy is extremely tame around humans but is learning the skills she will need to survive on Salt Cay. We hope that one day there will be an opportunity to round up the donkeys and neuter them. The hurricanes decreased the donkey and cow population quite a bit but it doesn't take long for it to get out of control again.

One population we don't want to decrease around Salt Cay is the humpback whale population! I wrote that we hadn't seen any humpback whales for a bit and they may have been heading North, but I was mistaken! Ollie (Salt Cay Divers) and Mike (Hawkins) have both spotted many whales all around the island. Yesterday at about noon we watched from shore off the West side of the island while a pair of humpbacks played for about an hour. They seem to be waiting for the weather to warm up before they head North again (hmmm, I must agree with that).

No article about about the adventures of animals on Salt Cay could be complete without a mention of a rare species spotted just after Easter at the Cyber Cafe in Island Thyme. Bunny Dive Master Dave, one of the great dive masters from Salt Cay Divers.

Picture Perfect Mornings on Salt Cay

2009-04-11T18:35:00.012-04:00

My backyard changes every day. At the beginning of every day, I walk out the back door to the Sea and enjoy my first morning minutes watching the waves. The oyster catchers walk back and forth along the shore picking up little bits of food along the way. An osprey glides gracefully overhead with a sharp eye on the reef and a morning meal. Occasionally a little white crab will dig himself out of the sand and poke his head up before jumping out of the hole to skitter along the beach. It's just fifteen steps from my backdoor to the gate... fifteen of the best steps I take each day.

If the seas are calm enough I pull my kayak down into the lighter way and paddle North to the Lighthouse Cliffs and back. Lighter ways are places along the West side of Salt Cay that were cut out of the reef to allow lighter boats to load and unload salt during the salt industry days on the island. The lighter way in front of our house was maintained by the Morgan saltraking family.

Snorkeling out the lighter way toward the buoy is fantastic. (Click on the picture to view it larger and look hard to see the little red buoy out in the Sea). The lighter way ends at a little reef that is absolutely beautiful. Lots of the snorkeling places around the island are beautiful, but this always feels like my own little aquarium. The sea fans gently swaying while the brightly colored little fish swim in and out of the rocks.

I never tire of walking along the beach collecting bits of beach glass and little shells. And now that the beach deck is done I have a great place to put my treasures. The picture to the right is looking from the water's edge up toward the beach deck and the house beyond the gate. Every day brings a different shape to the beach and the hurricanes of 2008 really made some big changes... there is more sand going out further into the water. With a little less sand up toward the beach deck. It's hard to see it in this picture but there's a little step down from the wood walkway to the beach.

There were some songs I couldn't get out of my head all day from an album by Edie Brickell called Picture Perfect Morning... listen to it sometime if you get the chance - it's a good one.

The morning progressed wonderfully and by mid day we found ourselves having cracked conch at Debbie's Coral Reef Bar & Grill with a few friends who were headed back to the States. With soft trade winds keeping us cool, it was fantastic to relax while we watched the activity in the harbor.

Just as we were finishing our lunch, we watched the largest yacht any of us have ever seen cruise past Salt Cay! Debbie hailed the yacht on her marine band radio and invited them to stop by so we could buy them a beer. :0) They were very friendly but let us know they were headed to Grand Turk (to clear customs probably) and were just cruising. The name of the yacht is the M/Y Mayan Queen IV. Looking it up we found out that it is 301 feet long! Amazing!

We celebrate the differences and contrasts on Salt Cay! This was certainly a fun one to experience.

The rest of the day was spent snorkeling, laying in the sun, reading and a little light gardening. Okay, and I did a load of laundry and hung it up to dry. Regardless of what we're doing, at 6:30PM we head out to the beach deck every day to watch the sunset. A picture perfect evening begins...

The Salt Cay Dump, treasures to be found...

2009-04-10T09:32:00.010-04:00

In March I wrote a little bit about The Further Adventures of Captain Mike or Another Boat on Salt Cay and I promised to write more about the launching of the boat and everything it took to drag the boat from South Creek to North Beach, fix it up... etc., etc. Well, it's just too darned nice outside to sit at the computer that long, so maybe I'll get to it on a stormy day.

Rain or sun, Mike keeps busy. Even before launching the "Sal Vage" he was thinking about what he would do for a trailer to pull the boat out. He had intended to build a trailer for the boat that blew away in the hurricane - it was a lot smaller. This new boat... well, it needs a big trailer.

Once a week we take the trash to the Salt Cay Dump and spend at least 15 minutes to 1/2 an hour looking around for treasures. FM Mike told me about a great chandlier and brought it to the house for me - I'm going to string it with sea glass for the beach deck. Mike's found some really cool antique stuff. But that's not what I'm writing about today, I'll take a picture of his find and write about that another time! I wanted to tell you about the giant boat trailer (well, pieces of it anyway) that he found. Exactly what he needed to construct a trailer for the new boat.

The frame was much too big and needed a lot of modifications. At the Salt Cay Dump, with the help of FM Mike (that's First Mate), Captain Mike cut apart the frame and brought home the pieces he needed to construct a boat trailer. He had an axel laying around that he was going to use for the other boat trailer and it's coming along pretty well.

He had to cut the frame and weld it to get the exact shape he wanted and now that the main part of it's done he's beginning to work on getting the rest of the parts he needs to finish the trailer.

It's heavy! Keeping our fingers crossed that our buggy (aka Kawasaki Mule) will be able to pull the trailer once the boat is loaded onto it. I'll be there to take pictures.

Donkeys of Salt Cay, a birth announcement

2009-04-09T11:00:00.004-04:00

Louise Knucklehead, daughter of the late Thelma Knucklehead and sister to Stormy gave birth sometime between afternoon water and breakfast yesterday morning. The new Knucklehead is a gorgeous little gray female foal. Her name is April Sassfras Knucklehead (of the South District Knuckleheads) aka Sassy.

Premier Donkey Caregiver, Pat Coe, reports that both mother and daughter are doing fine. They spent their first day on the grounds of Compass Rose. Michelle (owner of Compass Rose) reported that the baby was nursing and Mom just ate a cardboard box. It is expected they will move on to other gourmet treats soon.

A Deserted Island in the Turks and Caicos Islands

2009-04-07T10:03:00.007-04:00

Exploring deserted islands is a fantasy that we enjoy fulfilling as often as possible in the Turks and Caicos Islands! It's fantastic to have Mike's little boat (the "Sal Vage") and the chance to explore some of the over 30 small uninhabited islands around Salt Cay and the Turks and Caicos Islands. On Sunday a small group of explorers ventured to one of those islands - about a 15-30 minute boat ride from Salt Cay. The Seas were calm, the sky was clear and the colors of the sea and sky were absolutely breathtaking.

(The boats at rest by the reefs we snorkeled.)

We arrived on the island (I know the name, but to keep in anonymous I'm not telling) at about 11:45AM. Unloaded a few coolers of food, water and beer and snorkeled around the little reefs off the west side of the island while waiting for a few more explorers to appear.

(Photo looking down from the small cliff above the beach with Salt Cay on the horizon)

After everyone had arrived we had a light lunch and took off to have a look around. As we hiked up above the beach we came to a small path made by local fishermen and started off toward the old sisal fields and ruins of a sisal farm.

(Mike standing in the ruins looking at the sisal plants beginning to bloom.)

Coming upon the ruin, we were surprised to find that the walls of the old place are in remarkably good repair for their age - it's fascinating to imagine what it was like when the sisal industry was active. We do know that there were small goats on the island brought to provide milk and food for the sisal farm. We did not have an opportunity to see any of them while we were exploring.

The island was too big for us to explore the whole thing. We hiked along the coast before returning to the beach for a swim. The skies were clear and it was hot - a little too hot for too much more hiking. The island had a little shade (we forgot to bring our urban umbrella) and the water was warm, clear and great. I think we probably spent at least an hour just swimming, snorkeling and floating around talking while we enjoyed the beauty of the day.

The day's adventure was almost over - climbing into our boats we made our way slowly back to Salt Cay, enjoying the changing aquas and blues of the sea and sky. The peace and beauty of the day were a special gift that we all enjoyed.

(Don't forget that you can click on any of these pictures to view a larger image.)

Platform Party on Salt Cay

2009-04-06T09:36:00.014-04:00

Tim & Nancy Connolloy, long time Winter residents on Salt Cay, lost their home in Hurricane Ike - well at least the top half of it... and the bottom half was filled with water and debris. UGH! They have shipped down tons of building materials and are preparing to rebuild. BUT... no event can go without a party - and if anyone knows how to do that it right, it's Tim & Nancy! Knowing that the barge full of building materials was due to arrive on Tuesday (or Wednesday, or Thursday), they hosted the first (and last) Salt Cay Platform Party at Captain Morgan's Retreat on Salt Cay! It was strictly a BYOE (bring your own everything) event.

They had a stairway on the outside that went up to the "platform" but it was deemed too shaky and we walked through the bottom of the house to the inside stairway. Here's a picture of Mike James coming up through the stairwell to join the party. It was a bizarre feeling coming up the stairs to the open platform that used to be the second floor of the house!

What a view of the island from the "Platform"! You could see att the way to the South... and the views of the water and salinas were breathtaking!! Mike Hawkins brought a battery to plug in a converter and operate the blender, everyone brought snack foods and the Platform Party was on! Little by little more and more people arrived bringing their own chairs, food and drinks.

Tim (in his solar hat) and Don Shope took a little time out to study the plans for the new house. The Platform will be transformed into a wonderful kitchen, master bedroom, living/dining room and two beautiful decks (one on the south side and one on the north side of the house). I can't remember what the plans are for the bottom of the house, but if Tim & Nancy are on island, they'll be happy to show you the whole thing. And by next year it will be ready for the actual house warming party! WooHoo!

This is just one small story among many of the recovery efforts after Hurricane Ike. During the Platform Party, many people took the time to sit and talk about their own experiences with recoverying from the winds and waters that came through the island. Earl Talbot and Mike Hawkins sat and talked about the history of hurricanes on Salt Cay - it's fantastic to listen to Mr. Earl talk about the history of the island and what past hurricanes did to the island.

We were all a bit nervous about how many people could safely be in one place on Captain Morgan's Platform... but not so much that some of us didn't brave it and get together for a group picture to commemorate the event!

Tim & Nancy are fantastic... in the face of all of this they always take time out to remember why we were all drawn to Salt Cay in the first place. The sleepy, laid back atmosphere, the wonderful people who call it home (permanently or seasonally), the fun times getting together to celebrate (and needing very little reason for this!), the beautiful waters to snorkel, dive, kayak, swim and just float it - and so very much more.

BEST WISHES TO TIM and NANCY!

Salt Cay's Humpback Whale Playground

2009-04-03T08:39:00.007-04:00

The humpback whales are heading North - out of the Turks & Caicos Islands and back to their northern homes (off the coast of Maine, Massachusetts, etc.) It has been a wonderful whale watching season (mid-December until sometime this month) this year and I will look forward to their return next December.

It's hard to know when they will show up but be assured that they are here in the months January and February. It was a bit cold this year and I'm wondering if that's why we didn't see as many sightings as usual during those months...

This year we saw them playing off the shores of Salt Cay throughout the month of March. So great! Perhaps the best times are when they hang out right off the Wall (about 150-200 yards from our house). Watching the whales play with each other - slapping the water with their flippers and tail, throwing their bodies out of the water as they breach, and calling to each other in their eerie beautiful voices - are some of the best memories we keep with us every year as they leave their "playground" off the shores of Salt Cay.

(Pictures by Donna Shope - thanks Donna)

Salt Cay's new Osprey Nesting Platforms

2009-03-30T08:26:00.014-04:00

The osprey families of Salt Cay lost their home in 2008 because of Hurricane Hannah (August 30-September 1st, a Category 1 with rains that flooded the island) - followed a few days later by Hurricane Ike (Category 4+ on September 7th with winds clocked at 135+ mph that destroyed many homes).

In the past, opsrey have built their nests in the tops of the windmill frames in the salinas (picture on left from February 2008), on the tops of telephone poles with just a few supports in the North Beach area, and most lately on the ruined Cable & Wireless communications tower on the West side of the island (picture March 2009).

Osprey will use a nest over and over again... continuing to build and make it strong over the years. They are single family dwellings and osprey are territorial birds. One problem is that without a permanent place to build their homes they tend to spend a lot of time rebuilding every year. The nests on the Salinas and pole on North Beach lasted years and years. Eventually the communications tower will be taken down and the area will be cleaned up, but meanwhile that is the only suitable place for them to build.

Anther problem - without enough places to build, the osprey will move on. Salt Cay could easly sustain 3-4 osprey families but without the tall outlooks for them to build on, they will fly off to other places in search of accommodations.

Earlier this year while our friend Candy Herwin (owner, Pirates Hideaway) was over having a cup of morning coffee, she and Mike discussed building a few osprey nesting platforms to help relocate and provide adequate places for the island osprey to nest. The idea??? Use telephone poles that fell during the hurricane. With that idea in mind, the construction of osprey nesting platforms began. Keyroy (grandson of Ma Lucy, South District Salt Cay) began the project by removing the wood from the tops of the poles to use in constructing the actual platform.

(The photo on the left shows Arnie Scheller and Mike at the beginning of the first nesting platform erection).

Using the wood that carried the power and telephone lines, Mike built two platforms that fit onto the tops of the telephone poles. Assembling a team of volunteers from the winter resident population, the osprey nesting poles were ready to put in place.

The photo on right shows Mike James holding the platform while Mike Hawkins makes a few last minute adjustments to it before the erection of the first osprey nesting pole and platform. In the background, Don Shope and his backhoe are ready to lift everything in place.

This close up is Mike fitting the platform on the second pole. The osprey nesting platforms are located by the Creek (on the East side of the island.)

One platform is down the south side of the creek by the old bird watching station - the other is north on the Creek by the mangroves. I've been to a few different places on island since they were erected and you can see at least one of them from almost everywhere on island.

I've got a lot of pictures of the erection of the osprey nesting platform and have tried to pick the ones that show everything. The photo on the right is the first platform finished with the crew of (from left to right) Mike Hawkins, Don Shope, Arnie Scheller and Mike James. And although we're not in the picture, Sonia Scheller and I helped on the final stage of filling the backhoe bucket with rocks that were piled around the base of the pole for support.

The second opsrey nesting platform (down by the mangroves) was finally erected by about 3:00pm. Pictures are (from left to right) Mike Hawkins, Mike James, Mike DeNegris, Tim Connolley, Arnie Scheller, Ann Hawkins, Don Shope and Bob Robertson. Not pictured but present and taking pictures are Cindy Robertson and Sonia Scheller.

We're looking forward to the osprey moving into their new homes.

Salt Cay Beach Chair Company

2009-03-29T10:01:00.006-04:00

Last year Mike started the Salt Cay Beach Chair Company... building at least forty beach chairs. No, he hasn't gone back to work! It was purely by accident. He made a couple for us and soon everyone wanted two, or three or twelve! It was quite a year for him. He was going to make more chairs this year but with all the hurricane recovery work and just general upkeep on the house he doesn't have any time.

Porter, Island Thyme Bistro owner, ordered a bunch of chairs and stained them with a teak finish - they look great! Here's a picture of Porter with his staff (from left - Lolli, Apol, Porter and JoJo) taking a couple of minutes to relax in the sun on the front deck of his restaurant and bar. In the evening when the bar is full, these chairs are always occupied too! Lots of fun to be had by all!!

Looking at the picture of Porter and crew, you'll see a foot stool in front of Porter. They make these chairs perfect for laying in the sun or just sitting under a beach umbrella with a book. I'm looking forward to getting a couple of stools for the chairs we have on our beach deck. And be sure to notice the nice curved back that makes these things so comfortable. Mike is responsible for many people living a stressless life because the Salt Cay beach chairs are so comfortable you just don't want to get up to do anything (well, except maybe go for another rum punch.)

Nothing better than a comfortable chair to sit it, a good book and beautiful sunsets!

Scuba Diving on Salt Cay

2009-03-28T09:48:00.012-04:00

I don't dive, I snorkel. My friends on island and many guests on the island love to go diving with Salt Cay Divers. When Rose, my youngest daughter, was in high school she came down during one of her Spring breaks and had a great time getting certified and diving with Debbie and a couple of other younger divers who were getting certified at the same time. Carey, my oldest daughter, came down the next year and - not to be outdone by her younger sister - got her certification too. They had a great time. Debbie, Ollie and their staff always do such a fantastic job with new divers. I think the best part of diving here is that you aren't out there with a bazillion other divers. They have three (hmm, or is it four?) boats and with all the great dive sites you're usually only out with about 4-6 other people.

I've been out to snorkel Point Pleasant and see it from above - it was fantastic. I came face to face with a turtle one day - awesome! With luck it will be nice enough to get out there today, the Seas are finally starting to calm down. That's the problem with just snorkeling... I can only go out when it's nice. Divers have been out there listening to the humpback whales and having a great time swiming with the fish and through the coral while I sit on shore waiting for the days that are calm enough to snorkel.

It's been a couple of years since I've gone with Ollie (Salt Cay Divers) to swim with the sting rays - I wish someone would come visit so that I'll have to go with them. I know, I know... I could go anyway but it's so much more fun to go with someone who's never been swimming with the rays before. I'll never forget my first trip - I will admit to "swimming" around the house pretending I was a spotted leopard ray for days. They are so beautiful and move so gracefully!!

I'll be getting in my kayak to paddle up to Point Pleasant and do a little snorkeling. It just doesn't get any better than this. :0)

Salt Cay's Bryan Sheedy

2009-03-27T10:07:00.003-04:00

If you've read the Adventures of Captain Mike about the "Beachcomber" (aka Porpoise) you will have heard mention of Bryan Sheedy, the original owner of the boat. He used it for the first scuba dive operation on Salt Cay that was run out of Mt. Pleasant Guest House. We hope to reach as many people as possible to help him with rebuilding after Hurricane Ike. Pass the word along!

Salt Cay, Turks Islands, 5 March 2009.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT This Official Statement has been prepared for the purpose of offering two hundred Subscription Certificates at an offering price of one hundred United States dollars ($100) each, each to constitute evidence of one advance purchase of Squire Bryan Sheedy’s forthcoming memoirs recounting his experiences visiting the Turks and Caicos Islands in the 1970s and operating the Mount Pleasant Guest House on Salt Cay from 1988 to 2000.Proceeds of these Subscription Certificates will be applied to the completion of Bryan Sheedy’s house on the ridge, Grand Turk, which was completely destroyed by the tandem hurricanes Hanna and Ike in the Fall of 2009. The house is rebuilt and roofed, but needs to be finished. It is contemplated that Bryan’s memoirs will be completed by end of the year 2010. A publisher has not yet been chosen, however, prospective subscribers are apprised of the timeliness of the Macmillan Company’s just-issued History of the Turks and Caicos Islands, edited by Dr. Carleton Mills of Providenciales. A list of Subscribers will be published in the memoirs.In the unlikely event that no publisher agrees to publish the memoirs, Bryan Sheedy shall undertake to email to each holder of a Subscription Certificate one copy of his memoirs.Porter Williams of Island Thyme Bistro, Salt Cay, has agreed to serve as Subscription Certificate Agent, to record the name and address of each subscriber, to collect cheques from prospective subscribers and, upon receipt of cheques aggregating a minimum of fifteen thousand dollars, and not more than a maximum of twenty thousand dollars, to deposit same into the Bryan Sheedy Memoir Fund at Scotia Bank, Grand Turk, and to issue Subscription Certificates signed by Bryan Sheedy to each paid up Subscriber. As soon as the minimum quantity of Subscriber Certificate proceeds are received and Subscriber Certificates are signed and posted, Porter Williams shall transfer the contents of the Bryan Sheedy Memoir Fund to Bryan Sheedy. In the event that a minimum of 150 Certificates are not purchased, prospective Subscribers cheques will be returned. Cheques should be made out to the order of Bryan Sheedy Memoir Fund. Issuance of Subscriber Certificates may continue for six months after the minimum fifteen thousand dollars are received and paid out, but in no circumstances may more than 200 Subscriber Certificates be issued. There is no limit on Subscriber Certificates per Subscriber.Subcriber risks: Bryan Sheedy will celebrate his seventieth birthday on 16 June 2009. Although he undertakes to complete his memoirs in good faith, there is no provision for refunding Subscriber Certificates in the untimely event of his death. His health at present is good. Prepared by Josiah Marvel, who has committed to purchase one Subscription Certificate.
(Please email Josiah (Si) Marvel to arrange your subscription.)

After Sunset

2009-03-26T09:24:00.008-04:00

Sunset on Salt Cay is a time to stop whatever you're doing and celebrate the beauty of the world. Sometimes it looks like Michelangelo walked across the horizon painting the partly cloudy sky with color.... other times it's aglow with golds and blues. Any of the Turks and Caicos Islands have beautiful sunsets, but I think that watching the sunset on the very quiet island of Salt Cay is more special than sitting in a fancy resort. There's just the feeling of being one with nature that you can't get other places...

This picture was taken looking out the West "window" of the Coral Reef Bar & Grill at Deane's Dock. Deane's Dock is a small harbor where all the local boats are kept. Salt Cay Divers boats, local fishermen's boats and Mike's new old boat are there along with Shine's new community boat and the submerged old community boat.

The old community boat sank during the hurricane and no one has taken it out yet - the Seas are currently too rough to move it safely right now. There are a number of people ready to get the boat out of the harbor and make it into a dive site off the reef somewhere within the next week or so.

Once the sun has set, Coral Reef Bar & Grill is a favorite place to hang out. This picture was taken last year. If you look closely you can see me at the end of the bar and that's Mike sitting at the bar watching Levi sing. Karaoke on Saturday nights can be fun. There are some really great singers on island... and then there are the rest of us. I bring my kazoo along and have actually gotten quite good with it. There is actually a video on Youtube of one night with me playing the kazoo with a bunch of guys singing Dollar Wine. Pretty funny. :)

Salt Cay Swimming Pool in the Sea

2009-03-25T12:24:00.004-04:00

If you walk for about 5 minutes from my house you'll arrive at the "swimming pool". Left over from Salt Cay's salt industry days, this pool is a very popular place for kids to swim and play during the summer and many people enjoy going down to swim when the seas are too rough. I just saw plans for the development on Salt Cay and it looks like there is a possibility this will not be here eventually. But who know? No plans are certain yet and meanwhile we have this great place to play. It's always interesting to climb down into it - be sure to wear your water shoes. It's also a fun place to snorkel in and out of during calm seas. I've pulled in here on my kayak a couple of times to look at the fish and take a break.

Victoria Street, Salt Cay

2009-03-24T10:54:00.004-04:00

Victoria Street, heading South. On the left are the Salinas, on the right the Sea... the buildings you see in this picture are the Brown House (now being called Sunnyside) and St. John's Angelican Church.

In the far distance you see the White House where the Harriott and Dunn families lived during the salt industry days. It is still owned by the Dunn family today. It lost parts of the roof and sustained extensive damage inside due to the hurricane, but the family is on island working to get it put back together.

Our house is just a short distance past the White House and was actually built at the same time as the White House (approximately 1830) using some of the Bermudian cut stone that was left over from the construction. Our house was originally home to the overseer of the Harriott family salt industry and eventually was bought by the Morgan family, another salt raking family. One of the links on the right eventually goes to pictures of the inside of our house... but this link (CLICK HERE) will take you immediately to pictures that I took in 2001. The inside of the house still looks the same. (Well, actually the walls probably need a new coat of paint but they're not bad). But any pictures of the garden are completely different. WOW - I'm so glad I took all those pictures so I have something to look back on - sure wish I had started doing that sooner!

Some of the other picture links go to things that are no longer here - they've either been taken away by the Hurricane Ike, just slowly deteriorated into nothing or just changed because every year is different on Salt Cay - things and people move on... There are still no paved roads on Salt Cay.

Winter Weather on Salt Cay

2009-03-23T08:50:00.006-04:00

The coldest day on Salt Cay is still better than the warmest day in North America this time of year! I just got an email from one of my friends (Hi Gracie!) in Penn Yan to let me know that it is a "balmy" 20F there right now but warming up during the day. And another email from Danny (Mike's cousin) to report that he actually could go out without a hat (just gloves and warm coat). Brrrrrrrrr. I must report that we had to close all the shutters last night because it was only 70F, windy and "freezing." Isn't it funny what a person can get acclimated to!??

The Seas continue to be high but as the day is progressing the clouds are being blown away and it looks like it will be a fairly sunny (but windy) day. We have to remember that it's winter here too and if Pa Sammy were still alive he'd be sitting around in his winter coat with his hat pulled down around his ears! Me??? I feel lucky that I can still wear sandals and a sweatshirt to stay warm - oh, and just put a blanket over me at night.

See all the seaweed on the beach? I will end up raking it all into a pile, taking it off the beach and letting it sit for awhile to leech the salt out of it. And... I will probably find some really cool shells in it. I've got a pretty nice collection of shells (don't really go shelling that much lately) and my beach glass collection has really grown after the hurricane! Beachcombing at it's finest.

You should have seen me riding my bike North this morning! The wind is blowing 23 miles per hour and I was afraid if I stopped pedaling I would end up going backwards. Going home will be a breeze. :)

Another Day in Paradise

2009-03-22T10:35:00.008-04:00

Taken at dawn yesterday morning, it looked like we were going to be in for a stormy day! Believe it or not, the clouds went away and it was another fantastic day. "Another day in Paradise" was written about Salt Cay. The temperatures have been cool at night (low 70F) and the tradewinds have been keeping the island in the low 80F during the day. Incredible.

Personally, I love the cool, cloudy mornings... perfect for taking a bike ride around the island, coming home to make an omelet with juice and homemade bread, doing a little gardening and then biking down to connect to the internet to "take care of business." By the time I'm through with all of that, it's time to think about what to have for lunch. At least once a week I meet with another lady or two (sometimes as many as six) for an Anchovie Cheeseburger at Debbie's Coral Reef Bar and Grill. But I do enjoy my salads or leftovers at home too!

The seas have been rough to get in and do any kayaking. I was in one day - probably could have gone in a couple of other days but decided to snorkel intead. The snorkeling has been fantastic and I've been hearing great things about the diving too. Beachcombing has been great... lots of shells found down at Southwest Point. Amazingly there are now dirt roads that go to most places instead of crashing through the brush. It's nice, but just another sign of how much things are changing. Of course you can always just hike around the island and there are still a bazillion little places you can't get to any other way.

This picture was taken the day before yesterday... there have been some awesome sunsets. How great is it to sit and releax on the beach deck at the end of the day watching the waves and enjoying all the colors of nature.

The Salt Cay Fix

2009-03-21T11:10:00.003-04:00

If you've visited Salt Cay, you know that many people get around in buggies (aka golf carts and other golf utility vehicles). We brought a Kawazaki Mule down - hmmm, I think a little over 10 years ago. Mike has been incredible at keeping it maintained and running. We were not sure how much longer we could get away with some of the "Salt Cay fixes" to the buggy. Fortunately for us, someone else shipped down a Kawazaki Mule and we were able to buy it for a parts buggy. It wasn't the exact model of ours but close enough that Mike is able to take some of the parts off to help keep ours running. This picture is Mike attempting to get the bearings off the "parts buggy". He ended up putting it back together so that we can push it to a spot in the yard that is a little more out of the way (less trashy looking from the street) and then will proceed to take it apart again. Removing the bearings seems to be one of those jobs that will not be easy.

Our buggy has a solor panel on the roof to charge the battery, you will see the new stainless steel and gravity fed gas tank behind the driver's head. There are probably a few other unique features but I can't remember all of them right now. (Did you know that you can click on these photos to view them larger?)

I ride my bike (about 12-13 years old) almost everywhere but it sure is nice to have this buggy when we're "going out" or to gather beach reed or other adventures that are too much for the bikes!

My bike has also been through a great many "Salt Cay fixes" and is still going well!

The Further Adventures of Captain Mike or Another Boat on Salt Cay

2009-03-20T09:16:00.007-04:00

I'm in the process of assembling the Further Adventures of Captain Mike or Another Boat on Salt Cay. Yes, it's true... he's resurrected another boat. This one is quite a bit smaller than the M/V Porpoise and came together a lot faster! The picture on the left is the earliest picture I have of the boat. It was found about six or seven years ago by our friend, Ed Wieszczek, after it drifted into South Creek. He used a backhoe to move the thing up to North Beach... and it sat there until March 2009 when Mike took the sand out of it and began to fix it up. I'll go into a bit more detail in the actual "story" that will be linked on this blog but that's enough to let you know what we've been doing.

We woke up early this morning when the rain started pouring down! As soon as it was light Mike rode his bicycle down to the harbor to start bailing out the boat. Oops - one of the joys of boat ownership. I stopped by the harbor on the way to Island Thyme to use the internet and he was still bailing. It took over 1/2 an hour to get all the water out of the boat. But hey, it was still afloat!

Here's a picture taken by Mike James (First Mate of the unnamed boat) on the maiden voyage from North Beach to Deane's Dock.

The clouds are moving away and the sun is coming out. All the cisterns got lots of water and we're finding out just how well the patched roofs are working. It will be another glorious day on Salt Cay.

Salt Cay Donkeys

2009-03-18T10:08:00.002-04:00

This is a picture of Stormy that was taken in 2007 when he was a baby. There are not as many donkeys or cows on island after the hurricane but we still have a few "herds" roaming around.

Stormy survived the storm and is alive and well hanging out on the south end of the island!

Salt Cay, Humpback Whale Sightings

2009-03-16T08:15:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was a fantastic whale watching day - no need to even get in a boat to watch the humpback whales heading South. Starting at about 7AM, whales (at least six different sightings) where spotted off the North West side of the island... more spotted about 9:30AM further South but still off the West side of the island and then in the afternoon... It was fantastic! A few boats where in the water getting up closer to the whales too.

From www.saltcay.org/whales.htm:

Salt Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands is in the middle of the humpback whale’s annual migratory route to the Silver Banks, a humpback mating and nursery area, north of the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean Sea. It is a 75 square mile shallow coral reef area, an underwater plateau of limestone. It is believed that the whales choose this area for birthing and nursing because of the numerous coral heads which break the surface providing protection from ocean swells. Some estimates show 3,000-5,000 humpback whales passing through the waters of the Silver Banks between December and mid-April each year, making it the largest breeding and calving grounds, often called a nursery, in the world.Great Sand Cay, about 9 miles south of Salt Cay, has been the “emergency room” to many expecting humpback whales through the years. Humpback whales born in the waters around Great Sand Cay and their mothers as well as other humpback whales are often spotted both by passengers on boats and from the shores of Salt Cay.

Salinas Windmills on Salt Cay and other ramblings...

2009-03-15T10:56:00.006-04:00

Remnants of Salt Cay's industry (the harvesting of salt) - the windmills - became home to osprey until Hurricane Ike brought them down. Mike is working with Keyroy, Candy and a couple of other guys to put up new homes for the osprey today (I'll be sure to post a picture of the new poles/homes once they're up.) This salt pond windmill was located down the road from our house, there was another one located directly in from of our house that actually worked when we first arrived on island 15+ years ago. This picture was taken in 2007.

With luck one day there will be funds available to restore at least one of the windmills as a historic site. We've got a number of pictures of how they worked and were built that Mike could refer to... But right now it's hard to get any building materials to the island and there are so many houses that need repair after the hurricane that the rebuilding of the windmills are the least of our concern!

Most of the houses have roofs on them now - there are still a few houses that Haitian workers live in that are covered with tarps and unfortunately the owners of those houses don't seem very interested in repairing them. I have no idea what will happen when the rains start in September and October. The funds that have been collected for hurricane repairs are slowly being used to fix the homes of the senior citizens on island. Volunteers and paid members of the community will be working together to be sure that the roofs don't leak and the inside of the homes are repaired (many ceilings fell in). Unfortunately those homes with rotten or termite infested beams will not be able to have those beams fixed... there just isn't enough money for that. Keep your fingers crossed that the new roofs don't blow off because they're attached to bad wood if another hurricane comes along!

Yesterday was a community clean-up day and there is still a lot of debris from the hurricanes laying about. But bags and bags were collected yesterday and the island is looking better every week! Yesterday was also a banner day for whale watching! Doug and Angela spotted six different whales while enjoying their morning tea on the beach by Coral Reef (Debbie's restaurant at the harbor) and later in the morning I was standing at Mike & Marilyn's and two different whales were sighted. Yesterday afternoon I was walking out to the beach deck and watched two whales right off the "Wall"... the whale watching was fantastic! I'll post a couple of pictures of the humpback whales tomorrow.

Flower Gardening on Salt Cay

2009-03-14T09:03:00.006-04:00

This morning the sun came up bright and beautiful! A few small clouds floating through the sky but it looks like it will be another glorious day on Salt Cay. The view from the front door of my flower garden was just too special... I had to take a picture. The hibiscus are blooming better than they've ever bloomed before - the rain from the hurricanes has soaked the ground so well. The ground is sand - but over the years of planting stuff (and having plants die) there is a bit of organic matter. The bright yellow/orange/red flowers are gaillardia that I got from Ms Netty about 14 years ago. They come up willy-nilly wherever they want to. I've tried to plant them in specific places and that never seems to work.

It's taken so many years to have the front yard look like this... I really should look through my pictures and see if I can find a picture from the beginning of this adventure. We've probably planted at least 30 palm trees in the yard but the cows always managed to get in and eat them before they could grown. (That's the reason for the walls - to keep the cows out!)

The view out the front door is looking over the salt ponds. Until the 1960s salt was the main industry of Salt Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands. Today the Salinas are in disrepair but still a peaceful, beautiful sight to behold!

Beach Deck in Paradise

2009-03-13T09:33:00.006-04:00

It's so fantastic to have the Beach Deck back! After collecting more beach reed, cutting it in half length-wise, we now have a great wind break so that we can sit out and enjoy whale watching, glorious sunsets and the sound of the Sea.

I found an old chandelier in the dump last week... after taking all the rusted, rotten electrical wires out of it, I'm ready to attach bits of beach glass, pottery shards and shells to it, string some little lights on it and hang it from the middle of the roof inside the Beach Deck. Thinking that a few small buoys might be kind of cool to hang from it too.

The Sea has been a kind of rough the past month but we have managed to get in a few times. With luck it will calm down today and we'll be able to put the floats in and enjoy a day out on the water.

<---Mike enjoying a quiet morning look at the Sea before starting his day.

Beach Deck

2009-03-12T10:57:00.000-04:00

In September 2008, Hurricane Ike came through the Turks and Caicos Islands and Salt Cay with a vengence. The boat Mike built was on the beach deck and when the winds reached the island, they tossed the boat around enough to collapse the roof of the deck. The boat either drifted off or is in pieces at the bottom of the Sea.

We did find all the pieces to the roof of the beach deck though... and this week we collected beach reed (aka bamboo) and Mike spent endless hours going up and down the ladder to put the beach deck back together.

During the hurricane, the high seas caused about a foot of sand to be relocated (we now have a wider beach but it's a foot lower!) Note the "interesting" scaffolding arrangement -- that scared the heck out of me -- he devised to get to the front of the beach deck roof!

Here's another view of the lengths of bamboo being attached to the backside of the beach deck... as of today the back is completely done. Yesterday afternoon we went out to East Beach and picked up the final bits of beach read to go along the sides... picture to follow tomorrow after it's completely done.

It's so great to have our outside room back!