Faith, Folklore, and Friends

Grand Turk, one of the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean, is thought to be the first place Christopher Columbus made landfall when he sailed the ocean blue in 1492.  After astronaut John Glenn became the first man to orbit the Earth almost 500 years later, he splashed down in the waters off Grand Turk. Grand Turk was the last stop on our cruise, and we were exhausted from fun and sun and all of our adventures. Carnival Cruise Lines has built a beach side resort here, with  restaurants, shopping, and beach chairs.  It is a wonderful place to rest. We had lunch at Jack's Shack on the beach.  We had been told earlier that they had the best jerked chicken in the world.    Based on my extremely limited experience with jerked chicken, I would have to agree. If you look closely at this photo, you can see some workers painting the smokestack on the ship. I guess it has to be done sometimes. ...

Grand Turk is a small island (6.9 sq. miles) with beautiful beaches.  It was colonized in 1681 by Bermudians who set up a salt industry there. The pond at the top right of the photo is still being used to harvest salt from seawater.  The population is less than four thousand.  Like every island I have ever visited, they claim that Columbus stopped there first when he discovered America.   Steph, this one is for you.   In 1962, the whole world heard about Grand Turk, for it was near here that John Glenn splashed down after his history-making space flight.  The island has a replica of the Friendship 7   and John Glenn on display. There is the omnipresent Margaritaville on the beach, thanks to Carnival and Jimmy Buffett, where you can buy $40 t-shirts or stay dry during sudden rain showers.   The only time I hear Grand Turk mentioned now is on the Weather Channel.  The...