As you have probably guessed, my mom came for a visit last week. We had a pretty good time. She arrived on Wednesday which was my first day off, I was able to sleep in the morning and be up when she arrived in the afternoon. After a walk on the beach we had dinner in.
Thursday we went to the Grace Bay Club Resort. It is one of the most fabulous resorts on the island, we spent the day pool side and had a delicious lunch at one of the restaurants there. It was a simple day but really nice.
Friday was the snorkeling trip. We went out in the morning on a boat and first snorkeled along the reef. The island has the third largest barrier reef in the world, and it is beautiful. I took an underwater camera with me, lets hope the pictures work this time. After the reef the boat took us to a calm area on the south side of the island where we dived for Conch. I found quite a few, but the had to go back as they were juvenilles. After we had collected a decent number of adults (one per pair/family) we moved on to a beach. There one of the crew showed us how to get the conch out of the shell and clean it up. Then he made us a conch salad.
We spent about an hour on the beach, we were able to walk around and see the TCI Iguanas that live on the island and then go back to our beach for lunch, which was our conch salad and doritios. We also had lots of beer and rum punch on the boat which was cool. We saw plenty of fish on the beach, coming to claim some of the bits of conch. As well as a red starfish was floating by, there were some debates as to if it was alive or not.
Saturday, we went to the islands of North and Middle Caicos. There we rented a car and I drove around the islands again. This time we went to the Caves where the original indian inhabitants used live out the hurricane season. It was very interesting, just clambering through the caves with a guide and flashlights. No lighting, no guiderails. We had lunch at Daniels Cafe, the only restaurant really on Middle Caicos but just wonderful. Also did some shopping at a little co-op in the town of Conch Bar where they sell things made by crafters from all over the island.
We stopped at Mudjin Harbour, which I still think is one of the most beautiful places on earth, and had a walk on the beach. We ran into one other couple, and it turns out the woman had grown up in my hometown and even gone to my high school at one point. Small world! We also explored North Caicos a bit, the town of Kew is beautiful, a cute little town. Then caught the ferry home.
I had to go back to work at this point. My mother was able to enjoy a couple days on the beach, snorkeling and enjoying the sun. We also went out for dinner a few times and tried some delicious restaurants. The last day, it was just before I started my nights, I rented a car and showed my Mom all around Provo. It is a little island, but there is still much to see including some huge houses out on the amazingly blue Chalk Sound. We had lunch at Da Conch Shack too.
Last night was my last night shift on the island. And it was an interesting one. About 9:30 we got called to an airplane emergency at the airport. Before you get excited, it was an excersize! They had been planning to run a Mass Casualty Incident at the airport for a couple months and finally got around to it. It went well, but due to a lack of resources we, the EMS service, really couldn't devote our equipment to the scenario. We participated and worked with the patients, but it wasn't too realistic since we didn't actually treat any patients beyond verbalizing. Still it was a fun experience and I was glad to be able to participate.
So today starts my final count down. I am in my final week on Provo. Lots to pack up and get sorted before I leave, though I am excited to go home. See my family, friends and cat again!
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