March 17, 2023
Oh what fun it is . . . this post is a bit choppy and quite brief. It covers a lot of time and a lot of people. Instead of writing, I am just trying to get all of the memories down in one place. The adventure is overwhelming my story telling.
We remain tied to a dock here at Blue Haven Marina in the Turks and Caicos (Providenciales) and are enjoying our time here a great deal.
Jinhee flew out to New York for a one day meeting when Andrew and Isabella departed, but was back and returned to vacation mode very quickly. We had some time to clean the boat and do laundry before her sister and family arrived on the 7th.
We have packed a lot in despite the feeling of having accomplished nothing and perhaps that is the essence of retirement.
We have made friends with some locals too. The yacht behind us (Island Tempus) has a friendly crew and when their food isn’t completely eaten after a cruise they sometimes drop by with some lobster or Conch. When they are bored, they sometimes feed the fish and sometimes wrestle with them for entertainment.
Patrick, Debbie, Amelia and Elliot joined us for a week and got to sample small bits of life on a boat (despite being tied to the dock most of the time).
Here on Provo, there are a LOT of activities, but many of them are pretty expensive so we focused on things we could do with our boat and our equipment.
There is a really nice Mangrove area just a few hundred feet from the boat and plenty of turtles to see. We must go in by kayak and we typically see one or two dozen turtles. It’s quite amazing really.
We did anchor out in a protected cove for one evening to give everyone the experience of being at anchor and enjoying nature. Unfortunately we were not a long way from the dock and so there was still quite a bit of light, but it was peaceful and hopefully enjoyable for our guests.
Unfortunately I have been very rough on my bicycle and so riding has not been a key focus. Luckily our guests brought some bits and pieces for us, including this derailleur hangar which means my bike works again! Thanks to Juan at Bike Pro Service in Hamilton for getting that to me (and Paul for picking up some engine parts for me too).
We have also now experienced healthcare on the boat. It is one of the big worries when travelling the world. I have a dead tooth that was repaired years ago and it was getting infected, so off I went to Dr. Rachel Allan and I no longer have an infected tooth. The problem has been removed. Now I will need an implant but that is during the summer. We will see how that goes later. Total cost for the first appointment, imaging ($150) , extraction ($330) and antibiotics ($24) . . . ~$520USD. I don’t think you can even look at a dentist for $500 in Canada. No comments about medical tourism, but I can see why it’s popular.
After their departure on Tuesday we have gone through a whole lot of prep work again for the arrival of our daughter Megan who flies in later today to enjoy a week on the boat. Unfortunately, we will be moving again (to the Dominican Republic) for a few days of that, but we hope to get some quality time and some fun in the sun packed into the next week.
There were many turtles to show as well as a crab and some other fish from our snorkeling, but in the interest of completing a post, I will ignore some of that for now and perhaps catch up on video soon.
Next up, will be a few days of travel as we head to the Dominican Republic and hopefully catch a sight of a whale or two in Samana.
Great fun in the sun!