Returned from Turks & Caicos 6/19/10

[seaangel]

I had a fantastic dive trip in Turks & Caicos. We dove with Dive Provo 6 days total of 14 dives ( I only did 10 of them) but they were awesome!

I found the water to be easy diving, little to no current. Water temps were ranging 84-87 all week. I wore my 1mm skins for the first three days and then switched to wearing a rash guard and swim shorts over my bathing suit. I was quite comfortable.

We went to so many dive sites there is not enough time or space to give detailed reports on here. I did attempt to use my new camera, the JVC HD in the Ikelite housing and found that videoing is a different experience while diving. I did get some really good video of a caribbean reef shark that came in very up close and personal to me.

We stayed at the Comfort Suites, which I found to be quite comfortable for the week, I liked the location and easy walking distance to several restaurantes and shopping.

Downside of the week was the attitude of the locales, they were rude and lacked skills in customer service. We had several problems with their math calculations on our meal tickets, had one incident where they refused to unlock the room for the 18yr old non diver that stayed back while we were diving when she was locked out by the maids. We had a problem at the Caicos Cafe with our bill and I ended up paying $70 for my dinner( not two meals just a single) The waiter insisted we were shorting him $65, he allowed us to recalculate the tab and we came up that it was $35 short, looked like he forgot to put my meal into the tab. When we tried to show this to him he refused to even consider it and kept insisting we had to pay $65 so he could keep his job. I finally took all I could stand of sitting there and the table arguing with him so I just paid it off. I would never go back there even though the food was superb, but not worth that much.

Some of the divers in our group said they would never go back to T&C due to the local people and how expensive it was to eat there. Even though I agree the locals are rude and it was pricey, I would love to go back. Now that I know more about Provo I can handle them, and I really loved the diving.

Cindy

 

[deeper thoughts]

Thnx for the info

 

[vyperman]

My wife and I returned from a dive and holiday trip to Providenciales on 18 June 2010 so we enjoyed the same weather and diving conditions. We dove with Jayne and Mickey at Flamingo Divers at sites off northwest point and West Caicos. Conditions were great with many wonderful walls and healthy reefs.

We stayed just off the beach on Grace Bay. We had a great experience and enjoyed the locals and the places the locals congregated. My take differs in that we know we are visitors and make an effort to understand the local culture and how things operate. We talk to everyone who is willing to listen to our questions about local history and culture. We immediately noticed the significant differences between living conditions of the natives (not just the locals) and island infrastructure between where the local live and the tourist areas. TCI does not have income or property taxes. Thus, the economy is strictly based on tourism. The natives appear to be at the bottom of the economic ladder. Consequently, the locals are dependent upon service jobs and tips. As a visitors we often go out of our way to learn what the locals experience and that is often rewarded. Consequently, we greatly enjoyed our visit and diving. We'll be going back and hanging out with the locals, not the tourists.