Ed’s corner of the web

In preparation for our honeymoon trip to Australia, Carisa wanted to get me scuba-certified. I admit to having been a little apprehensive about the whole thing, as I am - at best - a poor swimmer. Still, I’m a confident and strong snorkeler, and scuba seemed the next step if I was going to scratch my underwater photography itch. So, we did our course work and pool work through Mass Diving (highly recommended), and we booked a trip to Turks and Caicos to do our checkout dives.

Our destination in Turks and Caicos was Salt Cay (pronounced “key”), a remote little blip of an island measuring about 2 miles long and having a little over 60 year-round inhabitants. To get there, we flew from Boston to Miami, then Miami to Providenciales, then Providenciales to Grand Turk, and then finally Grand Turk to Salt Cay. If you can imagine in your mind a quiet, tropical backwater where time and worries blow away on gentle ocean breezes, then you pretty much have a good idea of what this place is all about. Well that and really great diving.

Can you believe it? Me!

Of course, having only dove in a YMCA pool prior to this, I didn’t have much to compare it to. But still, I thought it was really great regardless, and Carisa - who has a little experience diving elsewhere - also gave it high marks.

The birding was fun, too, as you can see from the rest of the photo library. But I think coolest of all (along with the diving) were the people on the island. Comprising a mixture of native Belongers, immigrants from other Caribbean countries, and ex-pats from the States and the UK, the unifying traits among the island’s inhabitants were openness and friendliness. Everyone waves at everyone as they pass. People stop and chat with complete strangers. Even the dogs are super friendly.

We also ate surprisingly well for being so far off the beaten path. Special thanks here go to Porter Williams and Miss Nettie.

So bottom line is we had a truly wonderful and restful time while we were there. We felt like we had slipped a little off the map and out of the normal flow of time. It was a very nice feeling.

After you travel a bit, I think it becomes silly to put any sort of rank on a trip - best trip, second best trip, etc. Every trip becomes special for its own reason. Likewise, each trip has its standout moments, whether good or bad. But if you held me at gunpoint and told me to choose my favorite trip, I would have to choose the trip we just took to Ecuador and the Galapagos.

We had high expectations for our week visiting the islands of the Galapagos. Our pre-trip research had us eagerly anticipating the fauna, the landscape, and just being present in such a historic crucible of scientific thought. The preceding week in Ecuador was a sort of tack-on to appease Carisa’s sister and mother.

The islands were everything we expected and then some:

On the ground…

In the air…

Or under the waves…

We were pleasantly surprised, however, by how awesome our week on the mainland was.

We had yummy food…

Made some new friends…

And got to see some really great stuff…

You can see (a lot) more pictures from the trip here.

At some point in time, I’ll post a more detailed account of what we did in the travel log section of the blog. But until then, you can take my word that Ecuador and especially the Galapagos are not to be missed. Basically, it’s one of those places that should be seen by every person alive. It’s that good. What are you doing reading still? Go book your ticket now!