DAY THREE: Friday, 26
October 2007
I got up and walked along the beach
before Lee got up. When she did come
out, she watched me stop here and there to pick up shells. I was grabbing smaller shells (roughly a
little larger than my thumbnail) so Henry’s wife could string them together
into a necklace once we got back to Austin . As this was to be a surprise to Lee, I hadn’t
mentioned it. She just commented that I
picked up a lot of shells, and couldn’t believe I was bringing that many
home. I’d also been trying to find at
least one of each type of shell present, which I was collecting for myself.
After breakfast on the beach, and
my swim and Lee’s sun time, our objective today was to explore the shopping
area known as The Saltmills. From the
information we read, it sounded like it was “pretty big,” so we figured that
would take up a good chunk of the day.
We also figured as we were out and about, we’d figure out where to get
lunch, and then have dinner back at the Mango Reef (so we could have our rum
punches and evening sunset afterwards).
As tonight was suppose to the full moon (and tomorrow her birthday), Lee
considered this to be a special time.Across from the Saltmills was a
more ritzy shopping area called Regent
Village
When we were finding our way into the
Saltmills, I noticed a castle-like structure nearby. We checked it out, and it was an Irish pub
named Danny Buoy’s. I got real excited
to have something there, but there was some renovations going on, so we didn’t
eat there. I did buy a polo shirt with
their logo, which I planned to wear to work when I got back. We were on the island during “off-season”
(but just before the “tourist season” began), so there were a number of places
we’d read about in the various literature we’d gotten that were currently doing
their renovations or even closed. This
was the time for places to get themselves fixed up for the season.
We did make our way back to the
Saltmills for lunch at a little place called the Saltmills Café. This was a small café/deli, and we chose to
sit inside in the cooler section. We
were wearing shirts, shorts, and shoes, so we knew we were dressed
appropriately. While it was considered
“bad form” to wear your beach attire into the establishments (no matter how
laid back they said they were), apparently there was one item of clothing which
was considered optional in the Saltmills Café.
Shoes. First I thought it was
just a few people that had taken off their sandals. Then I saw a couple walk in, place orders or
grab tables, who were sans footwear.
While I’m sure there must be something from the local health board that
says not to do that, no one seemed to mind.
After a decent lunch, Lee then spied a massive chocolate cake in the
cooler. It cried out to us to consume
it, and we joyfully did.
It had been bright and sunny in the
morning, and by the afternoon the clouds had rolled in. We weren’t sure if it was going to rain or
not, so we worked our way back to RWI in order to get in some more beach time. The clouds made it less hot, and more
comfortable to sit out on the beach, but this wasn’t the sunny weather we
wanted. There was suppose to be a green
flash as the sun went down over the horizon, and there was no way we’d see it
like this.
DAY FOUR: Saturday,
27 October 2007
Lee had been reading about co-ops
where you could get hand-crafted items from some of the other islands that make
up Turks & Caicos. She found a place called the Blue Hills Artisan
Studio, and thought that would be a good place to visit. Blue Hills is
the western side of the island, far away from where the resorts are, so we’d be
in local territory. We weren’t worried about that, it’s just part of the
adventure. The guides we had said there were a couple of restaurants up
that way also.
We hopped on Leeward Highway , and headed westward past
both the Graceway IGA and the turn off which would take us back to the airport.
(Learning how to drive back to the airport is always a good thing,
especially when you might be travelling back in the dark). We found the
sign for Blue Hills Road ,
and headed that way.
While most of the resort area
(eastern portion) of Providenciales is pretty flat, the western side has small
hills. There’s not much elevation to these hills, perhaps a couple
hundred feet at the very highest point. We past the only school on the
island, and many neighborhoods, and it wasn’t the prettiest of looking regions.
You have to keep in mind that tourism dollars have only been flowing in
for about a decade or two, so much of that hasn’t trickled down yet.
Also, in a region where the sun beats down three-hundred-some days of the
year, as well as the salty ocean air, that does a number on any house’s paint
job. The area isn’t as economically depressed as it appears.
Only a short distance after turning
off from Leeward Highway ,
Blue Hills Road
begins to parallel the coast. We were able to look out at the blue water
of the Atlantic Ocean here, and we could tell
the beach wasn’t as pristine as it was on the other side of the island.
Makes sense why the resorts sprang up where they did. Our view was
only interrupted by the occasional house or establishment, as most where on the
other side of the road. The locals drove at a pretty good speed. I
was driving a little slower, but not significantly so, only because we weren’t
as familiar with the roads, and we were trying to figure out where we needed to
be.
The Blue Hills Artisan Studio was a
small building on the coast-side of the road. Not much parking, so we
just pulled off on to the shoulder where we could find a spot. Inside
there were some painting, pottery, and other large works which would be
difficult to bring home. There also were a lot of woven baskets of
various sizes. Lee found one smaller one which she liked for a pretty
reasonable price. Keep in mind when buying things form a co-op, you know
the money goes right back to the artists.
We stopped for lunch at one of the
few places which was open here, called Horse-Eye Jack’s. There had been a number of good things said
about this place on TripAdvisor, so it seemed like a good place to try.
The parking lot was rather chaotic (kind like Kerby Lane off of 183, where there’s
trees and potholes covering the lot), and there were many tress and shrubs to
obscure what the place looked like. There was a pathway, which resembled
a dock, which cut through the jungle back to the restaurant. Out front,
mounted on a raised platform, was a sea-green coloured 1950’s pick-up truck
with the place’s logo painted on the door. That was rather odd, and we
figured it just added to what sounded like an interesting establishment.
Upon entering the main portion of
Horse-Eye Jack’s, there was an open-air bar section where we could see a patio
seating section, and the beach beyond it. To the immediate right of the
bar was a white stucco building which housed the enclosed kitchen.
Stretched out to the left was a dining area under thatched roofs.
The walls were thatched panels on hinges which could be opened to see the
ocean beyond it. The look of Horse-Eyed Jack’s made this feel like Gilligan’s
Island meets Cheers.
One of other things we noticed was
a group of a half-dozen British ex-pats hanging out, and having their drinks.
The number of empty glasses sitting in front of them was a testament of
how long they’d been sitting there, or how much they’d drank, or both. While we waited for our food to come, we
chatted a bit with the ex-pats who were over here on holiday. While it
seemed odd to find so many Brits so close to continental America , this is a popular overseas
destination for them. It was a kin to American’s going to Hawaii .
We were able to take a few moments
and wander on the beach in front of Horse-Eye Jack’s. There were steps
from the place down to the beach, probably so those who came strolling by could
stop in. We could look across the water, and see the island curve around,
and almost tell where RWI was located. Even if we had binocs I doubt we
could’ve zoomed in on our home-away-from-home, because of the little point the
resort was beyond. The sand here was the white soft powder like what Grace Bay
When it was time for dinner, being
Lee’s birthday dinner, she wanted her favourite food. We’d learned there
was only one Tex-Mex place on the entire island, and she wanted to be able to
have her cheese enchiladas and a margarita. Heading back down Leeward Highway , we
went past the Graceway IGA, and about half-way to the turn off for Blue Hills Road to
find the little plaza called Central
Square . Buried within was our destination:
Hey Jose’s.
It wasn’t much to look at inside,
so pretty average, as far as we were concerned. There was a short wait to
get a table, but a longer wait for everything else. It turned out to be
the worst dinning experience we had on the entire island. Hey Jose’s was
a pretty inexpensive place, but the entrees were pretty average. We both
got cheese enchiladas, and they were nowhere as good as what we could get back
home. The reviews said this popular with American visitors and ex-pats,
but probably because they don’t know what good Tex-Mex is.
We’d gone a little earlier to try
to beat the dinner rush, so we could be back at RWI in order to see the sunset.
One of the things we noticed when we’d sat down in Hey Jose’s was they
didn’t take plastic. We did make sure we
had enough cash on us to be able to order.
When we were done with our meal, our server had seemed to vanish, so it
took far longer than normal to get the check, as well as the change. It
was dark by the time we finally got out of there, and obviously missed the
sunset we’d wanted. If the food had been better, we probably wouldn’t
have minded the slow service. They say you can’t judge a place by a
single visit, but all the factors made it so this wouldn’t be a place we’d be
in a hurry to go back to.
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