Day One in "Paradise"

Paradise comes in all different forms. The Turks and Caicos is an island with the most amazing Caribbean water. Beaches that stretch and stretch, but do come to an end when you hit ragged limestone rock, which inevitably will lead to anther gorgeous beach and then more jagged rock, and so on. There seems to be a mangled culture on Provo, therefore lacking a culture altogether. I'm obviously simplifying, but you don't visit this place because of the culture or the delicious tropical fruit or the interior rain forests - none of those really exist...you visit Turks and Caicos for the beaches and the water. And the water and the beaches. And the Beaches and the water. Get the point?

Dave on a limestone bluff overlooking the Caribbean.

The view behind Dave while standing on the bluff shooting the Caribbean. We first thought it was a resort. Upon further investigation it is actually two super-huge vacation homes with the Caribbean on the left side and a human-made marina on the right side. Paradise? Not for me, but certainly out of this world!

For our first full day here, we rented a car to explore the rest of the island. 25 miles long and only a couple of miles wide, by sunset we had seen it all...with a stop for lunch along the way. With the car, we were able to "discover" a couple of more hidden beaches on the Caribbean side of the island, along with Chalk Sound National Park (above photo), where a thin peninsula creates a super shallow "inland" water way. Spectacular, and surrounded by huge vacation homes.

Lunch at Horse Eyed Jacks. Great, friendly service, and a great Jamaican jerk sampler platter to split. The cheapest restaurant meal thus far. And the best views. Yes, we are on a budget. No, we didn't stay at an all-inclusive.

Fun with sunset and cameras at Taylor Bay-Caribbean side.

More fun at Taylor Bay. This is a long exposure, giving the motion of the water a ghostly effect, as Dave illuminates his face with the flash.

As always, a huge shout out to Dave and his spectacular camera work and allowing me to use some of his photos on my blog: http://davidseaver.com/