Beach

There are several beaches on Providenciales (Provo for short), but we managed to only visit two beaches (much to my dismay)- Grace Bay and Sapodilla Bay.  The apartment we rented is located on Grace Bay and it is about 12 miles long.  My mother and I managed to walk part of it every other day- mainly to collect seashells and stop by a tent where locals sold souvenirs (every time we went, they were closed due to the high winds and high tide). Since the weather up north (from the US) was causing the high winds on the island, the waves were constantly hitting the reefs at least 6ft high.  There was so much debris left on the beach. 

 

Sapodilla Bay on the other hand, is on the southern part of Provo, with less wind and very calm waves.  A small beach, but very fine white sand.  It’s also very difficult to find.  Total bliss.

 

Accommodations

Aquamarine Beach House consisted of three separate houses on the beach.  The one we rented was beach level, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms (for better ocean views, get the top floor).  Originally the owner, Paula, agreed that we were to rent out the two bedrooms, but somehow we were lucky to be upgraded to a larger apartment.  Her husband John (Paula had to fly back home, so we never met her) was very helpful in every way- we ordered 18 spiny lobsters and 10lbs of grouper fish.  We also rented a Lexus car for $250 for the week (a jeep is probably a better choice for this rugged island).  Outside of the house, it came equipped with an outdoor swimming pool (it was too chilly to swim in it), a kayak, tennis court provided with balls and rackets (Sophia was our ball girl on day one and by day two she wasn’t falling for that trick).  In the house, we had a water cooler, DVD, VHS, cable satellite TV (we watched NYC Channel 7 and 11 news), WiFi (my borrowed PDA didn’t work) and a kitchen with a coffee pot, blender, cooking pots, pans, cooking and eating utensils, bowls, plates, cups, etc.  John also drove us to the grocery store.

 

Food

We only went out to dinner twice.  We had to try A Hole in the Wall- a Caribbean and Jamaican cuisine.  The name just sounded so appealing!  Instead of eating at the restaurant, we took it to go.  I ordered steamed conch and boy that was extremely spicy.  I managed to put some down without puking (I can’t handle too much spicy food).  Phil ordered curried goat (eek!), my father oxtail (yum), my mother fried fish and sister Kim jerk pork.  All came with a side order of peas and rice, potato salad and corn on the cob.  I would recommend eating there if you’ve never had island food before.

 

The next night, we went to Tiki Hut that serves your typical American cuisine food- burgers, pizza, grilled chicken and ribs.  Some of us had the $10 special- ribs, chicken or combo of both.  Phil ordered conch chowder and pizza.  We also ordered conch fritters, conch fingers, calamari and jerk chicken wings for appetizers.  It was a good cheap meal indeed.

 

As previously mentioned in my “lost” daily dribbles, my parents and I packed some frozen steaks, ground meat (for burgers) chicken, hot dogs.  I also packed some canned tuna, chicken and beans, spaghetti, spaghetti sauce and macaroni and cheese (phew!).  We somehow managed to finish it all.  Unreal. 

 

The only groceries we picked up at the store were milk, soda, yogurt, bread and vegetables.  Our second day there, my mother, Phil and I decided to take a 15-20 minute walk to the grocery store only to be accosted by two medium-sized growling dogs.  At first we thought they were stray, but we noticed they had collars around their neck.  We realized they were protecting their home up the hill so we kind of froze for a few minutes, backed up and cross to the other side of the road.  Stray dogs seemed to be a common problem on the island (and one of the very few negatives).

 

Funny moments

All week long, Phil kept saying how he planned on go skinny-dipping to swimming with trunks on, under the full moon.  I was in no way partaking in his little party.  My mother said she’d give him $50 if he promised to go swimming under the full moon.  Full moon came and Phil was found snoring in the bedroom minus $50. 

 

Day before the snowstorm, we were constantly calling Kim.  We didn’t know if the airports were closed, we didn’t know if she left, we didn’t know what was going on because OUR PHONE WAS JACKED UP.  My father was so frustrated after making many attempts to reach Kim and the phone would never work.  He almost threw the phone out the window!  Luckily Phil’s credit card saved the day and spent almost $100 on calls to NYC. 

 

Kim, who was supposed to arrive on Sunday, didn’t because of the obvious snowstorm that hit the city.   She and the high winds arrived on Monday, along with the customs officer who questioned us with Kim’s passport.  My father, Phil, Sophia and I were waiting outside of the airport, ready to pick her up.  The customs officer inquired if we knew her and we answered yes (uh, she looks like us).  Kim had no idea where we were staying, therefore delaying her release from customs! 

 

There are no mosquitoes on the island.  There are some flies and bees buzzing.  There are some random bites from the no-see-ums (you don’t see them sand flies) if you’re on the beach after dark.  There are an abundant amount of teeny tiny ants.  They love sugar.  We made a mistake of leaving the blueberry muffins and butterfly cookies out.  Everything must be kept in the fridge.  My father brought various medications with him; one container filled with thyroid pills coated in sugar.  That one container was filled with ants the next morning.

 

 

Of all the islands* we’ve been to, this is probably one island we will return.  There was so much to see and do that we didn’t get a chance to do them all.  Aquamarine Beach House was clean and easily accessible to the beach (literally right outside your door). 

 

*We’ve been to Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Grand Cayman, St. Thomas, St. John, Virgin Gorda,  (British Virgin Islands), St. Martin, St. Barts, Anguilla, Grenada, Aruba and Bermuda (not in order).