Turks and Caicos Christmas 2021 - Day 2: The Bight Beach

We had an early breakfast on the veranda this morning, before it got too hot.

In the distance, the turquoise water beckoned to us; we could not resist it.

It's only about 1/3 of a mile down to the beach, so it's theoretically possible to take the bicycles down to The Bight beach park... but there are only four of them, and five of us.

Also, the bikes seemed to be claimed by several small lizards, who were patrolling the area (hopefully eating bugs).

Here's the front of the Airbnb, nestled among the palms.

Instead of riding or walking, we decided to take the rental car down to the beach, so we could leave bags and the cooler in it.

Just as it was two years ago in St. Croix, our rental car is left-hand drive, which feels odd when also driving on the left. (We tried to open an identical rental car in the parking lot today, except it was right-hand drive. That, and the fact that it wouldn't unlock with the fob, clued us in.)

The only other people at the beach at 9:30 AM were there for sailing camp. Other than that, it was practically deserted.

We lazed around in the sun, reading, napping, people-watching, and occasionally going for a swim to cool off, for several hours.

I put on a snorkel/mask and floated in the crystal-clear water for a bit, following a few schools of fish around. The only notable sight was a small school of (what Google tells me are) palometa.

Approaching 11:30, the beach was still empty. Throughout the morning, parasail boats landed occasionally to swap passengers.

Just after 1 PM, a few tour boats returned from half-day jaunts. There's some talk of going parasailing, some time in the next week. Terms are still being negotiated.

Finally around 2 PM, people had gotten hungry enough to take action. There were a few promising-looking resorts a mile or so up the beach, but our internet hotspot wasn't working (overheated, possibly) so we we loaded up the rental car and headed down the road in search of a beach bar. As we entered the Grace Bay area, it got more crowded and harder to find parking. Not wanting to waste time driving around, we once again headed to a known entity: Solana.

After a leisurely lunch, we walked up the beach, marveling at all of the watersport options.

Grace Bay beach goes on for several miles; We strolled for almost a mile, within sight of the northern end of the crescent, before returning from whence we came.

Rudy got a sudden burst of energy near the end, and chased some sandpipers down the beach.

Sometimes, relaxing can really be exhausting; we were all tuckered out by 3:45 PM, so we headed back to Solana, found the car, and returned to the house.

We had drinks and snacks on the veranda while the sun set in the distance.

After an hour or two of watching cars drive down the side road, towards the neighboring business that we could barely see through the trees, Rudy and I got curious enough to go see what all the commotion was. We had driven past it earlier in the day, and also seen it on Google maps, but the large sign reading Business Solutions wasn't very helpful.

The best way I can think of to describe it is: like a small Target, but without any food. 

It's your one-stop shop for stationery, cleaning supplies, furniture, toys, bikes, electronics, sign-printing, appliances, party supplies and balloons, guitars, holiday decorations, etc.

Despite seeing several things that would've been helpful to acquire, we hadn't actually brought any money/cards/wallets. There was only half an hour until close, so we decided we could return some other day if necessary, as its just down the street.

It would honestly be very helpful if the Airbnb reviews mentioned "if you forget anything, you can probably get it next door at the department store".

We had eaten a late-and-large lunch, and also snacked on the veranda, so nobody was particularly hungry for dinner. Instead, we had a smorgasbord of leftovers from yesterday, washed down with some of IGA's finest beer and wine.

Two hours after our retail adventure, someone decided that Rudy and Jeanne should pose for a Thank You photo, for the woman who provided the biscotti for the trip. I suggested they should feed it to each other, and the idea stuck.

This required some hands-on direction from the photographer, but she eventually got the shot.

The weather forecast mentioned rain tonight and tomorrow; there was a lengthy and aggressive lightning display to the west, earlier, but nothing is wet so far.

I recall being unimpressed with the accuracy of weather forecasts around this latitude, previously, but if it turns into a rainy day, we'll have to get creative with the agenda, as there really isn't much to do here that isn't outside (pandemic or not).