16th December 2024

During the second week of our cruise, we are revisiting several ports from last week, and today sees us return to Turks and Caicos. Having already explored much of the island by golf cart during our previous visit, we decided this time to follow a coastal walk from the port that we had spotted on Google Maps.

Disembarkation began at 7 a.m., but we opted for a leisurely breakfast and waited until the queue at the gangway had subsided. Stepping out from the air-conditioned comfort of the Nieuw Statendam, we were instantly enveloped by the intense heat of a Caribbean scorcher. It was going to be a very hot day.

After a 200-metre stroll along the pier, we reached the welcome shade of the port’s shops. There, we came across a statue commemorating John Glenn’s splashdown in the sea off the island in 1962. We paused to take some photos and read the accompanying information boards.

Locating the start of our chosen path, we set off through thickets of low, densely packed bushes, quickly beginning to sweat in the hot, humid, and utterly still air.

It was a relief to emerge onto a beach at the tip of a promontory, where a strong, cooling breeze met us. A handful of fellow tourists were sitting on the sand, enjoying the sunshine and the sight of distant islands rising from the vivid blue sea.

Leaving them behind, we continued our walk along the water’s edge, scanning the stranded flotsam for treasure. Scattered among the debris of modern life were large, sun-bleached conch shells, coconuts, and buoys lost by unlucky fishermen. Whenever we found a patch of shade, we paused to rest and watched small flocks of sandpipers darting through the beached sea grass in search of insects.

We ambled another 500 metres or so to a derelict group of buildings, where we paused to sit on an upturned crate. We speculated about their original purpose and watched the occasional tourist boat speeding past en route to one of the distant islands.

As the heat began to intensify, we retraced our steps, stopping once more at the same shady spots. To our delight, in one of these havens, we came across a pair of donkeys grazing on the sparse vegetation. Unfazed by our presence, they obligingly posed for photos before we left them to their meal.

Back at the port, we made a beeline for the cool sanctuary of the air-conditioned shops, gasping with relief at the sudden and welcome drop in temperature. Once we felt suitably refreshed, we joined the other passengers in the familiar “pier dash” back to the ship for lunch.

Our original plan had been to return to shore in the afternoon and, rather than heading right along the coast again, explore the busier, more commercial beach to the left of the port. However, with the ship due to sail at 2:30 p.m., leaving us barely an hour to spare, we decided to play it safe. Instead, we settled on the Lido deck, where Sue enjoyed her book while I caught up on some work at my laptop and scanned the island with binoculars.

As we watched the beaches gradually empty, several shipboard announcements revealed that four of our fellow passengers had failed to return in time before the ship set sail. There are always some who take no notice of timetables, etc. This mistake was going to cost them a pretty penny, but at least they had a couple of other donkeys to keep them company.

Later that afternoon, we attended a presentation about our next port of call: San Juan, the capital and most populous municipality of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. We hadn’t planned any specific activities for this stop, other than visiting the two historic forts located in the Old Town.

Dinner in the Deck 2 dining room didn’t go quite to plan. We were given a pager to notify us when a table became available, and had to wait in one of the bars until it buzzed. When we were finally shown to our seats, we were disappointed to find we’d been given a table for two, rather than the shared table we had requested. That said, the service was efficient, and we finished in good time to make the 7:30 p.m. theatre show without a hitch.

The performance, Hey Mr DJ, featured Cassidy Robertson, Billy Dawson, Wyatt King Lysenko, and Company. It was an excellent production, blending music and dance with a radio-inspired theme. We sat with our Indian dining companions from the previous evening, which added to the enjoyment.

The night’s entertainment continued in the Billboard Lounge, where two pianists played popular hits to a lively crowd. We ended the evening in the Rolling Stone Lounge, where the ship’s resident rock band delivered an energetic set of New Wave classics, a fitting close to a full and varied day.