Grand Turk was a wonderful place. The people are friendly, it is quiet and very "un-touristy". A great place to get away from it all. But at the same time, it is very poor. It was pretty much like being in a third world country.
It is a place of great contrasts: It is a British Colony, but they use American currency, the American Coast Guard patrols their waters, and the military bases are American Navy Bases. They drive American cars, but they drive on the left side of the street. It is very beautiful, yet also very desolate. It is not a lush, rain-forest looking kind of place. It is windswept and rather dry.
Our hotel, the Osprey Beach Hotel, in many exemplifies the contrasts one encounters on the island. It was right on the water, prime beachfront property. One would expect it to be a high priced resort hotel. In fact, it was pretty rundown. A new owner recently acquired it, and she has already done a lot of renovation work to improve it. For what I was looking for, I thought the place was fine. The plumbing all worked, the air-conditioning worked, the television worked, there was free HBO, etc. But anyone who is looking for 4-star or 5-star accommodations would be sorely disappointed.
The Sea Dancer was the opposite of Grand Turk. It was 5 star accommodations all the way. The food was excellent, the crew was excellent, everything about it was excellent. I'd recommend these folks to ANYBODY.
One thing that was the same on the island as on the boat: the diving was all world class. I will definitely be back again some day.
Now, on with the show.