We awoke to a beautiful Monday morning ... the town no more of a bustle than the day before (where nothing was going on) ... we knew we had to be the center of attention here ... the arrival of two yachts being the only two yachts in the entire bay had to be pretty conspicuous.
With this in mind, we decided to raise Customs and Immigration on VHF ch 16 as this is the procedure stipulated for arriving vessels for these islands when clearing in. In fact, some guide books place specific caution to the fact that one is not to leave the vessel as customs will come out by boat to clear you in!
Well ... so much for that ... after relentless calls with not so much as a hint of a response ... from anyone ... I decided it was time to head over by dingy and search out the authorities on land by way of a taxi or something!
I called Andrew Fehrsen on Champollion who was of the same opinion, lowered the dingy and picked him up along the way.
We headed to the 'Government Dock ' .... the 'mess' and presence of people 'hanging around' there watching us as we came in was a bit intimidating.
As we neared the area to tie down, I noticed that there was no decent place to lock the dingy and had the feeling it would not be safe to leave it tied by rope. (Later I was told that in fact the town is safe from things like dingy theft).
There also was no clear sign of any sort of building or structure which represented any form of authority or place of friendliness .... you know ... like the cute little pub or street corner cafe one sees when entering a village.
A very friendly gentleman walked up to us at the dock ... I initially thought he was going to beg for some money or something ... he did not ... 'Can I be of assistance to you sir' he said.
Andrew explained that we would like to clear in at Customs and Immigration and could he please point out the location of these buildings.
The man drew a smile and said he could take us there but it is a fairly long walk to customs and that immigration was much deeper into town.
We inquired about the services of a taxi ...'there are none on this island' he said.
We thanked the man profusely but said we would take the dingy around to another dock closer to customs rather than to walk ... of course my intentions were more toward the safety of leaving the dingy without a means to tie it down.
As we idled the dingy out of 'Government Dock' bay, I starred at the old boats under various state of repair ... some had half sunk and others looked like they should be half sunk ... there was nothing to suggest any sort of wealth there.
We rounded the corner and headed to what looked like the most 'structured pier' in the bay which on our chart was referred to as 'Salt Bay'.
Here the bay seemed to be more quaint ... steep calcrete (Limestone) cliffs lined the shoreline and there were some little buildings with bright blue shutters on the waters edge ... I somehow likened the image to that of a little bay in Greece somewhere!
We brought the dingy alongside and tied up to the little dingy dock ... one part of the dock had collapsed into the water placing the top of it just below the water line (depending on tide).
We were later to learn that this had occurred with the recent passing of hurricane Sandy.
As we walked up onto land I observed a huge old wall made of limestone blocks from the 'days of old'.
This ruin was the original old salt shed where salt was stored and shipped to distant shores ... all in the day when these islands were among the best salt producing islands in the world.
We observed a large building to our left as we walked from the jetty past the shed and decided this would be a good place to get some assistance ... and a good place is exactly what it proved to be.
This was the SFS Center for Marine Resource Studies, an organisation that caters for students and young people alike.
Who are they?
SFS creates trans-formative study abroad experiences programs through field-based learning and research. Their educational programs explore the human and ecological dimensions of the complex environmental problems faced by their local partners and thus contribute to sustainable solutions in the places where we work and live. The SFS community is part of a growing network of individuals and institutions committed to environmental stewardship.
When we walked into the complex it was obvious to us that lectures were on the go and for a moment no one was to be seen, but within minutes lectures were completed and a huge number of happy looking and bubbly students emerged for their 'tea break'.
The SFS Center for Marine Resource Studies seemed to us to be a very well run organisation and it was really such a pleasure to see so many enthusiastic young people enjoying their studies here.
Once inside the complex it is easy to see what the students enjoy ... a lovely old swimming pool overlooking the spectacular bay.
We were soon introduced to the Center Director, Heidi Hertler, who greeted us warmly and placed calls on our behalf to Immigration and Customs. (Heidi can be reached viz. email at hhertler@fieldstudies.org should her program be of interest to you ... I, for one, would certainly have loved for my children to attend this program)
Heidi was told that Immigration and Customs do not go out to arriving vessels here and that rather visitors are to report to the offices.
Heidi also advised us that there used to be a taxi on the island, but since the driver had died over a year ago there no longer was one.
The immigration office was a few miles away and customs was down the road just past the church ...
Fortunately for us, Heidi was headed for town and offered to give us a ride to immigration and collect us afterwards .... without her kind offer we would have spent a good couple of hours walking just to be legally cleared into the Caicos Islands!
The drive through town revealed an island (1200 inhabitants) which could soon become a ghost town. I am not sure how these people all survive here, but we believe that conch and lobster are caught in abundance here and exported to the USA and France. Of course the fishing grounds are hugely prolific here due to the sudden steep drop off into the ocean. Apparently this phenomenon attracts many sports water fisherman and is regarded as one of the best fishing grounds in the world.
Fishing permits are required on these islands.
We had arrived at Immigration ... a building situated far from the sea and it seemed odd to us that they did not bargain on many yachts arriving here ...
A very friendly immigration official greeted us here with a smile and welcomed us to her island.
A few papers were filled in and our passports were stamped ... we paid a $15.00 immigration fee and were set to go ... next stop ... customs!
Heidi had returned to collect us and drove us back to the SFS center where I asked her a number of questions about the history of the island.
A VERY INTERESTING comment pricked my ears between all the wonderful information she mentioned she shared ... the church which has a bell that was retrieved from the wreck of the RMS Rhone steam mail packet ship that went down off Salt Island in the British Virgin Islands.
From my previous letters you will know that I have had a fascination with the RMS Rhone, have dived on the wreck and written a number of blog letters about it, including a visit to Salt Island where the graves can be seen to this day.
I had also dived off the mouth of Great Harbour Peter Island) hoping to see the anchor which had been cut away by the Captain, and now, here in South Caicos on this little island was the bell belonging to the wreck! I HAD TO SEE THIS!
We walked down the road toward the church and toward customs ...
After a few minutes we spotted the church entrance and walked around the back of the building where we spotted the bell of the RMS Rhone dangling from a 'make shift' structure and in a state of neglect.
I imagined this bell in the days of old, brightly polished , hanging there for all to see, and then the 'ring' at the captain's order as the RMS Rhone was about to leave dock ... and that fateful day which saw the bell go down along with the ship off Salt Island ...
I wondered who / how /what had brought the bell here, how it had arrived on South Caicos, dangling from a make shift structure and clearly not well cared for ...
Andrew Fehrsen could not resist the urge and tugged once or twice just to hear the sound ... it has a beautiful tone but I did get the feeling we were being carefully watched by the neighbors.
We arrived at the customs office which apparently is in a new location from where it once stood.
The customs officials are located upstairs in this old building and once inside I could not help but find myself staring at the old wooden beams and timber ... It is old and longing for someone to put care into restoring it.
Behind the desk were three officials, all smiling and very friendly ... what a pleasure!
I cracked a joke or two and had the three officials in hysterics which made me realize how much they loved to have 'new people' around. I even threatened that I may have to marry one or two of them to gain citizenship to their beautiful island.
They looked a bit confused but pointing at Ana asked if she would not be upset ... I looked briefly in Ana's direction and said 'not at all, where I come from in South Africa it is perfectly fine to have 5 wives if necessary ... in fact, our president has a number of them and many children'.
We loved their good sense of humour and it was truly a pleasure to interact with such down to earth and lovely people.
None the less, we had arrived on Sunday and although we were clearing in on Monday we were still subject to an OVERTIME clearance fee ... a total clearing in fee of $65.00 which permits a stay of up to 7 days. I believe this is made up of a standard $50.00 fee plus $15.00 overtime clearance fee
A stay of any longer than 7 days would mean one would have to purchase a 90 day cruising permit which includes a fishing permit at a cost of $300.00.
However, the individual visas for entry into the Turks and Caicos islands are always only valid for 30 days and can be renewed twice in a year at a cost of $50 per renewal.
Office hours are from 08:00 - 16:30 daily from Monday through Friday.
This payment is required at any one of the 3 ports of entry ... Provodenciales, South Caicos or North Caicos Islands.
Vessels wishing to remain in the Turks and Caicos Islands for more than 180 days are subject to an 11% import tax of local evaluation or the vessel must leave and not return until the following year.
Vessels wishing to depart must clear customs 24 hrs ahead of the scheduled departure time.
Personally, I feel Caicos Islands (especially Provodenciales) hyped themselves up to become the 'next major destination' for the 'rich and elite' but the island never quite got there ... not even close.
One sees a huge number of uncompleted MAJOR projects into which tons of money has been invested only to have the 'plug pulled' midstream.
When I look at the price of property and houses here, I cannot help but feel that some people got caught up in the hype and are struggling to off load at 'the right price'.
We were warned about the unfriendliness of the people of Provo and the tight controls but to the contrary we found the officials to be warm and friendly, perhaps not as warm and friendly as those of South Caicos but certainly friendlier than many in the Caribbean Islands.
I wondered if perhaps the people had not got a 'reality check' when all the construction activity came to a halt during the world crisis and now have come to terms with the fact that tourism is important for them.
Anyway, back to South Caicos ... the island where a great part of the beauty is that warm friendliness carried in the souls of it's people ...
We had cleared customs and were now on foot roaming the town.
As mentioned before, one is literally swept back in time ... 200 years plus.
We found the old customs and excise building in ruin ... abandoned along with most other structures in this town
Andrew and Mathew Fehrsen explored the town with us and we were likening the potential of it's development to an old styled place in South Africa called Greyton, a place where one feels far removed from city life in a quaint village atmosphere.
Some sheds and buildings here are over 200 years old.
We had returned to the SFS Center to thank Heidi for her assistance ... she is truly a magnificent person and whilst discussing what it is the students there do there, she also willingly shared some good diving spots we might enjoy.
We returned to the dingy and headed back for Impi and Champolion feeling a sense of belonging here ... such was the power of the warmth and friendliness these people had shown us.
We decided to do some diving and snorkeling right at the entrance off the eastern point of Long Cay.
The water was beautifully transparent, such as I have not seen before.
As I dived down onto the reef for the first time I immediately observed a Flamingo Tongue Snail having a snack. These snails are beautiful in colour and pattern but the colour one sees is actually the living organism within the shell.
Divers remove these shells for their beautiful colour but are soon left with only a white shell as the organism dies ... sadly they are becoming more and more scarce.
Soon afterwards I noticed a pair of beautiful spotted eagle rays cruising along the edge of the reef ... unfortunately they were a lot more skittish than those in the Virgin Islands and by the time I had the camera ready they were at distance from me
We had also spotted the odd ray leaping up out of the water and it seems they are large in numbers here.
Of concern was the tidal current which at one point had us making the decision to rather get out of the water and take the Fehrsen kids exploring the shallows ...
As one moves toward the western part of the anchorage the water becomes shallower. We were determined to explore a little 'island' which turned out to be more like a mangrove cluster.
The water was beautiful and although we had some cloud cover the temperature was perfect for swimming and exploring
Ana took some really nice photographs ... the back drop across the Caicos Banks
We had had a great time exploring the shallows of this vast expanse of water and Ana had hopped back into the dingy and was wanting to head back to enjoy watching what was promising to be a great sunset evening
We took Ana, Carolyn and the kids home ... I think the girls wanted to shower and be dressed to relax and watch the sunset. In the meanwhile Andrew and I took Hanna with us on a quick tour of the surrounding small islands ... what a fantastic day we had had.
And sunset ...
Of course these are those special moments, moments to reflect upon ... the signature that seals day by day into the history books of time ... one day less to spend with loved ones ... a reminder to make EVERY DAY COUNT ... and here in South Caicos ... our days will go down as being truly well spent!
As always, your detailed account entertains. The sunset makes my heart sing....reminds me of the years I watched the sun sets on Bonaire. How is the local conch population? On Bonaire, the locals overfished to extinction.
ReplyDeleteHi George ... thanks for the comment. Yeah, the sunsets are just too beautiful to describe. We saw quite a few conch under the boat ... alive ... which we had not seen in the islands south of us. Having said that though I must admit one of the little cays we visited and explored by dingy which is meant to be a nature reserve is actually just covered with conch shells. When we landed the dingy I jumped out and immediately punctured my foot on a few of them (empty shells) ... definitely mass harvesting going on. Anyway ... we are right now set to leave for the Bahamas, so will chat on the other side ... all my best Brent
ReplyDeleteYou can tell the health of the local population by the size of the recently cracked shells you're seeing. As they get smaller & smaller...the writing's on the wall. On Bonaire, 10 yrs ago when I left, they were mostly bringing in conch smaller than avocados.
ReplyDeletePretty sad.