We spent the night here in preparation to head across the banks.  There are 2 other sailboats here that look as if they have been here awhile.  One of the boats actually has some kids on it.  We never see the parents, only these 2 young girls who keep screaming at each other.  Dan calls them “Children of the Corn.”  The anchorage is ok.  The water is not clear and not too long after we anchor, ferry after ferry comes to dock here.  A few are dive boat operators but most of them are ferries for construction workers.  All this construction is definitely helping the economy here. 

It’s really hard to get a good feel for Turks and Caicos from Provo.  It’s also very hard to find a native.  The town has a very diverse mix of Dominicans, Haitians, Filipinos, Asians, Canadians and Americans.  I think this is all driven by the rampant construction here.  Provo does have some good shopping, such as an IGA grocery store, a big home improvement store and something we haven’t seen since Florida….. a bookstore!

We rented a car after we ended up walking 2 miles to the IGA and the bookstore.  As we left the bookstore we asked the clerk if we could call a taxi.  She told us to go up to the bus stop shelter on the main road.  A white van should be along soon.  The van would beep its horn and you would wave at it if you wanted a ride.  The cost was $2.00 person.  She also said that if we didn’t find a taxi, we could ride with anyone who pulled over.  It was perfectly safe.

We stood outside the bus stop and within about a minute a small white van stops and lets some people off.  It was the official taxi, but it was too crowded.  A horn honked and a small car pulled up to offer us a ride.  The windows were all smoked glass, and it already had 3 people in it.  The driver was Haitian and we really couldn’t communicate anyway so we waved him on.  Right behind him, a huge semi truck pulls up and honks.  Dan and I look at each other.  No way are we getting into that.  Next thing I know Dan has some other questionable car pulled over and we all pile in.   We were delivered safe and sound to the marina.  It’s funny, we would never have done that in Charlotte.

The next day we were at Scooter Bob’s renting a car. This worked out well as we had some provisioning to do.  The prices here aren’t bad so we stocked up.  Provo isn’t bad: I guess it is just hard for me to see so much commercialism after the Bahamas.

I have a fading full moon in front of me and a rising sun behind me as we make our way out of Abram’s Bay to head to Turks and Caicos.  It was a long day as we had 50 miles to go after we picked our way through the coral heads leaving Abram’s Bay.  We motored as we were heading into the wind, and we needed to get to Turks and Caicos before 6 pm, as that was when the Turtle Cove Marina would close.  The trip was fine until about 2 hours outside Provo.  Tristan spotted a spray of water.  It turned out to be a huge sperm whale.  The whale came close to the boat and stayed on the surface for awhile.  He was huge!  We have definitely seen more whales than we have dolphins this trip, which I don’t understand.

An hour out, the waves started hitting on the front quarter, and everything started getting tossed inside the boat.  It was a rough last hour, and we cut it close, arriving at 5:45 pm.  A guide brought us into Turtle Cove Marina, and thank goodness we had one, because it was terribly confusing trying to get in.   Dan and crew had stayed here last year when they brought Alegria to Charleston from the BVI’s.  He said the marina hadn’t changed at all, but the island had.   Provo was really built up with hotels and houses.  What a shock!  It was hard to come from sleepy Mayaguana to this.  The customs lady was there right after we pulled in, so we were able to clear customs right away.  That was great as we were anxious to get off the boat and get something to eat.  It had been a long day.