So first of all a little about the Turks & Caicos islands ........
They are a dependant British Territory comprising 8 islands (providenciales, north caicos, middle caicos, south caicos, east caicos, west caicos, grand turk, salt cay) and some 40 cays. They lie at the Southeastern end of the Bahamas chain, 575 miles southeast of Miami and 90 miles north of the island of Hispanola. The islands are generally flat, the highest point on Provo is 250 feet.
Providenciales is the main tourist area, with a population of 30,000 people, this is where we are based. North, Middle & South Caicos are sparcely populated (middle caicos has less than 270 people). West & East Caicos are unpopulated (east caicos is the largest unpopulated island in the world; Grand Turk is the capital and Salt Cay has the smallest population of just 40 people.
The Cays are varied, ranging from mangroves to sand bars. Many are unpopulated, whilst some are very exclusive and private (Parrot Cay has celebrity houses - Bruce Willis for example).
So, thats the background to the islands, so a little about our arrival and the first few weeks of adjusting.
We stayed overnight at Heathrow, arrived at the terminal early and boarded the Virgin flight to Miami. I can't rate Virgin enough, and the flight passed quickly. Miami Airport was hell and we just caught the flight to Turks & Caicos, arriving about 8:30 pm local time (1:30am UK time). There was noone from Beaches to meet us (the lack of organisation became the norm), eventually we sorted ourselves out by catching the taxi with guests staying at Beaches and got dropped off at the reception - luckily they knew we were coming and we were shown to our room - tired from flying and the hour (UK) we slept well.
The next morning (Thursday)we got our bearing and walked around the resort that would become our place of work. It was massive, covering many acres, with 7 restaurants, 5 pools, many activities and loads of Americans - it can hold 1500 of them ! We walked to the beach looking for the Watersports department where we were to start Sunday, however, all we could find was an old hut that looked like it was a storage hut for windsurfers etc - Oh no this was the Watersports Department - a bit of a shock I can tell you. We introduce ourselves, the place is worse inside than it looks outside and I have to be honest I wondered what we had let ourselves in for - a 5 star centre, with no shop, cramped storage space for staff (19 of them), no classroom, no changing rooms, a dirty toilet etc etc. Friday we went diving to get an idea of the setup - all boat diving, maximum of 10 divers to an instructor, all seemed OK. We then meet the other couple who are starting at same time as us (Jo & Torsten) and are taken to the Staff House. Its about 3 miles from Beaches (we have no transport), its a nice place but lacking a few things - well beds, bedding, any kitchenware etc etc. Saturday we move beds and bedding from beaches and then are driven into 'town' where we have to buy our own kitchenware and household necessties as well as food etc. Sunday sees us standing by the side of the road at 7am trying to get to work. The system is that people with cars in various states of disrepair pick you up and charge you $2 per person for a ride (being white they try to charge you more but you just stick to your guns). The name for such a vehicle is called 'jitney', which means 'share taxi'. A lift takes anytime between 1/2 minute and 1/2 hour.
We arrived at the dive centre, there was no formal orientation or introductions, we were just left to integrate ourselves. Most of the instructors were friendly and helpful, I got the feeling that alot were reserving judgement to see how we faired ! The instructors are a mix of Jamaicans, locals (belongers), English & other europeans (German, Italian, French), Canadians & South Africans.
The daily schedule varies, daily jobs include:
1. orientations (advising new guests on what is available/ checking their diving skills in a pool)
2. guided diving (either a 2 tank dive or a 1 tank dive)
3. Resort course (discover scuba diving). Pool work in morning & dive in afternoon
4. Teaching Courses - mainly scuba diver
5. Tune ups (for those who had not dived for over 18 months)
6. General duties - tank filling etc.
We work from 8am - 5pm, 5 1/2 days per week.
We were thrown in at the deep end as busy, so we were guiding and teaching by the second day. Although the sites were unfamiliar, they were all boat dives, dive to the reef wall, follow it and come back to the boat, so nothing too difficult. It was a much bigger learning curve for Jo as she had to get her head around teaching for the first time, as well as working in a new environment.
Being used to a very busy centre with few instructors, I found alot of time on my hands which was frustrating. I could be scheduled a one tank dive at 9:30 (back by 11:30), then nothing to do until another dive at 2pm. This was probably the biggest culture shock for me.
At the end of everyday we would get a lift home and chill at the house/watch TV. House mates are Torsten (German), Jo (English) & Marco (Italian). They are easy to get on with, which obviously helps.
The first few weeks passed quickly, we soon got into the routine of work and seem to be accepted by all the Instructors, as hardworking and not needing to have our hands held ! Getting too and from work and around is very frustrating, everything is very spread out with no central structure. Everything is also very expensive as it is all imported. The island is a building site, with lots of construction and not what I expected from a Caribbean island. On a diving front though it is not too bad, warm and clear water with plenty of fish and coral life, pretty frequent shark & turtle sightings. The wall dives are also impressive, with them dissapearing out of sight beneath you, the sheet coral and tube coral on the walls are pretty impressive too.
I suppose a few weeks is too soon to make a judgement and only time will tell, however, first impressions are that apart from transport issues, I am sure we will adapt to our new life.
