Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos

Our first stop on our cruise (after a full day at sea) was Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos.  It is the largest island of Turks and Caicos.

Marc and I chose to go snorkeling and swim with the stingrays.  I don't have pictures of these two events because we didn't have an underwater camera.  It was my first time snorkeling, but Marc had done it before.  It was different.  The reef that we visited was not very big.  There was not a lot of different types of coral, but the fish were everywhere!  Marc and I got to pet the fish, and we even saw some eels lurking in the coral.  Good thing they stayed away from us!  The water was very warm, and it was a beautiful day.

After snorkeling, we got back on our boat and traveled to the other side of the island to see the stingrays.  Marc thought they were awesome, while I was terrified!  We were allowed to hold the stingray, feed it, pet it, and kiss it.  Marc did it all.  I on the other hand, stayed off to the side and watched.  Our instructor made me touch the stingray.  That wasn't so bad until it started thrashing it's tail.  Then I began to freak out.

Our stingray was a female, and she was three to four feet in diameter.  These things are huge!  The men don't grow that big, and they don't like people.

After our excursion, we went back to the island and walked around the shops.  I got some postcards and souvenir coffee mug.  Since our excursion was in the morning, we had the rest of the day to ourselves.  We went onto the beach, took naps in the sun, and splashed around in the water.  I also finished book number one in the afternoon.  Good thing I brought three with me!

Here we are in the plaza waiting to go to our excursion.

Some of the shops on Grand Turk.

A view of Grand Turk while we were on our way to the stingrays.

Our ship and the beach!