TCI 2022: We all need paradise (part 1)

Greg and I love Turks and Caicos. We first visited in 2014 when Greg surprised me with a 15th anniversary trip. It was just for a few days but we fell in love with Providenciales and quickly booked another (longer) trip there in 2015. Again, it was fantastic! Of course life then got in the way for a few years and we were unable to go back right away. Then Covid hit and it delayed us even further.

But this was our year to return, and we did....FOR 10 DAYS. 

No itinerary planned. Just ten days to do whatever we wanted, to relax, to soak in the sun and the beauty of God's creation, to just be together. Life has not been very kind recently, so to have this opportunity to recharge was incredibly appreciated and well-timed.

The trip did not disappoint. It was spectacular! It was clear after a couple days that there was no way to adequately capture Providenciales in just a few Instagram posts, so I decided I'd write a travel blog post and only offer a few sneak peaks on Instagram. I'll break up the blog into a few posts, a few days detailed in each, with about a million photos. 

Turks and Caicos needs to be seen to be truly appreciated for just how stunning it is!

JUNE 2

We traveled on June 2 and for the most part our travels were uneventful. Greg got major husband points for booking First Class tickets, and we definitely enjoyed the luxury of sitting in row 2! We had the drinks already flowing at 7am. Our connection was through Miami, and for a short while we were delayed because they needed to find a First Officer for the flight. We were assured that we would definitely be taking off that afternoon, however, and we only ended up arriving about an hour delayed. We got through customs, grabbed our luggage, got into the shuttle, and arrived at The Sands at Grace Bay Resort in no time. 

Seeing that turquoise ocean again after seven long years was a sight for sore eyes. I instantly felt at peace.

We had a chill evening of walking along the beach and eating dinner at Hemingway's, the restaurant on The Sands property. Of course my first order was the conch appetizer. Funny enough, we actually were staying in the exact same room as we did in 2015...what are the chances of that?

JUNE 3

We had thought about scheduling excursions ahead of time, but quickly scrapped that idea in favor of just taking each day as it came and deciding our adventures as we went along. We knew we wanted our first day to be simple, laying on the beach (rated the number one beach in the world!), enjoying the warm, clear water, taking way too many selfies, drinking plenty of the local rum (Bambarra, which you can't get in the United States), and eating as much seafood as possible. 

Before we could enjoy the beach, however, we needed to head to the market to stock up on food and drinks. What we love about The Sands is that we can book a condo with a full kitchen. We typically make our own breakfasts and keep plenty of water and drinks on hand. The Sands has bikes to borrow, so we headed the half mile to the store, stopping at Shay Cafe for breakfast first (a Canadian gentleman permanently relocated to Provo several years ago and opened this cafe and we were happy to see it was still there!). Once we were sufficiently stocked up, we could relax.

The beach was just as spectacular as I remembered and to be here again felt like a dream.

There are so many incredible restaurants on the island and for the first few days we knew we would go to one within walking distance. We did plan to pick up a rental car on the 6th to explore the rest of the island for a few days. Tonight we chose Somewhere Cafe at Coral Gardens Resort, about 1.3 miles down the beach from The Sands.

I forgot how tiring it is to walk in the sand, but it was worth it to get some exercise and to go to a place we hadn't been before (and of course, it's on Strava). The view from the second level of the cafe was just perfect. 

It was not a bad night. We got to watch the sunset and walk back to our hotel in the dark along the beach. Successful first full day in TCI and we were sufficiently relaxed.

JUNE 4

Another beautiful day enjoying the beach, getting more sun, more selfies (Greg brought a lot of different Goodr sunglasses and each required a new selfie), swimming, paddle boarding, and drinking too much rum.

But first....Greg needed to run. I walked since I hadn't started running yet after surgery. 

Paddle boarding was interesting. The water was a little choppy and the current pretty strong, so while it was very easy to paddle away from shore, coming back was really tiring. I haven't done much cardio in the last few months due to my foot surgery, and I'm sadly out of shape. Another girl couldn't make it back and had to be rescued by the water sports employees on a boat. I refused to allow that to happen to me (embarrassing!), so I kept at it until we finally made it back to shore. It required more rum consumption after that of course. 

Every time we visit TCI, I make sure to enjoy all the flavors of daiquiris and coladas at Hemingway's, and today I chose the banana daiquiri. A frozen blended drink is always good for a break from the heat at the beach....and it looks really pretty. And the sunglasses are cool. 

For dinner we chose to walk the short distance to Bay Bistro at Sibonne Beach Hotel. It's a more upscale restaurant with a great wine list, and we enjoyed a diversion from seafood and instead enjoyed beef tenderloin and lamb chops. It's right on the beach as well, and we got to enjoy yet another beautiful and relaxing sunset. 

After dinner we continued walking on the beach to check out the new Ritz Carlton resort. It's huge and expensive, so not anywhere we plan to stay. But checking out the pool grounds and the bar was fun. 

JUNE 5

I know it will come as a complete shock, but we thought it would be great to spend most of our time today at the beach. But first..... a selfie....

Funny story about my bikini. I actually wore this on our honeymoon 23 years ago. 

I think I filled it out better as a 25 year old.

A midday trip to the Hemingway's bar was in order to cool off a bit. Rum punch for Greg, mango daquiri for me. 

Both time we were here, we always made sure to check out the local sports bar, Danny Buoy's, just a short walk from The Sands. We always seem to come here during NBA Finals, so while we aren't huge basketball fans, it's still a fun way to spend an evening watching the game at a fun restaurant. In 2015, we even managed to see Shaq when he arrived at the same bar and Greg got a fist bump from him. He had to duck to clear the doorway to the bar. No Shaq sightings this time, but a fun evening anyway watching Game 2.

So concludes our first few days in Providenciales. Stay tuned for the next blog post with more awesome photos!