Caribbean Cruise 2013: Grand Turk

We spent our first night, and the entire next day of our cruise, at sea, on our way to our first port: Grand Turk!

M and I had both heard some great things about the beaches here -- and were told by others on the ship that we would be pulling up right on the beach. There was no travel necessary to get anywhere. So come Monday morning, we were up and ready to go!

We had eaten breakfast and were debarking the ship by 730am, ready for a full day on the beach. Or, at least as long as we could be allowed! And that's pretty much what we did!

As soon as we got off the ship, we walked around Margaritaville for a few minutes, and made a beeline for the soft sand and clear waters the island offers up. We rented a cabana, and M rented some snorkeling gear, and we each did our own thing.

M spent quite awhile in the water, swimming out to see what fish were around. Although the water was quite cold, he didn't let that stop him. His goal was to see if he could spot the bottom of the ship -- I thought he was crazy.

While he was out, I spent my time in a beach chair reading and relaxing, since I'm not a swimmer. I walked down to the water's edge for a bit, taking a few pictures, and watching the local dog chasing some crabs and digging holes.

After M's swim, we had some margaritas there in the sand and just relaxed. Tart ... sweet ... cold. Just the right drink in hand for our morning out there.

After awhile, we decided it was starting to get quite hot, and we were done baking in the sun, so we turned in our rentals, got cleaned up and dressed, and walked around some of the shops they had in the area. A lot of tourist-y stuff ... nothing that we bought.

Until we saw a little cabana there under the palms trees. It was a real slice of paradise: beach massages ... and for a great price. M bought me a 40 minute back massage/stress buster. And I'll admit ... it was quite deep ... quite rough. And my body was sore for a few days afterwards ... but I needed it. My shoulders haven't been that hard and tense since then, and it was almost a month ago.

Three years of carrying babies and constant nursing had really taken their toll on me.

After our massage, we headed back toward the ship. Our day in port was coming to an end, and we wanted to make sure we were back on board with plenty of time to spare.

We'll always remember Grand Turk -- we have said since that it was the one place we went that we could see ourselves retiring [if we wanted to go the island route, that is!].

Maybe someday, we'll see you again!