Times of the Islands Spring 2017

All winter we’ve explored. We’ve seen the flamingos
in South Caicos, snorkelled with a whale and its
calf in Salt Cay, meandered along Duke Street in Grand
Turk. Each island has had its own unique characteristics
and given us incredible experiences, which we
don’t believe we would have found elsewhere in the
Caribbean.
But in February 2016, I think we found the icing on
the cake. It is Little Ambergris Cay, where the shallow
banks stretch to the horizon and water a bright duckegg
blue is specked with stingrays. It is several miles
to the nearest island—Big Ambergris Cay, where only
non-human residents live.
We managed to sneak into a bay so secluded it
felt as though the last people to have visited could
well have been pirates. Its narrow entrance passage
is around 3 feet deep, but once inside, a basin perfectly
fit for our 34-foot catamaran encircles us in 10
foot depths of warm emerald-green waters. The grassy
floor below attracts an array of inquisitive creatures,
including a nurse shark who saunters past but doesn’t
stay too long. Later, a dozen squid line up in a perfect
row, facing the boat. They swim in perfect symmetry
towards and away from our vessel, getting the courage
each time to edge a little closer, wondering what on
earth has arrived on their patch of the sea.
At sunset, bonefish tails skim the surface over by
the mangroves and at sunrise a hummingbird hovers
outside our door, attracted by the shimmering gold
and pink fishing lures left hanging to dry in the sun by
the winch-handle holder.
The beach is just as you’d expect for a deserted
island—as white as pearls, as soft as icing powder.
Despite being the epitome of a place to relax, I’m
seduced into exploring its every inch. A short 10 minute
walk reveals 21 pristine sand dollars—no wonder
the sand is so white. I stop collecting them, as there
are too many to carry.
Having already spent two weeks away from land
while exploring the other islands, we’re running short
of everything. Water, food and gas are worryingly low.
But we’re not ready to leave this paradise we’ve only
just discovered. We ration more than ever before, even
turning off our fridge to conserve the gas only for
cooking. Luckily, we have a freezer that runs on 12
volts, so the little food left goes straight in there.
One afternoon we head out several miles to a shipwreck
to try bottom-fishing for our dinner. It starts
slow, the only action is the seagulls that keep fleeing
their perches on the rusty wreck every time the osprey
circles above. As they all settle down we get our first
bite. Half an hour later and we’re heading back to the
bay with a healthy helping of yellowtail snapper, triggerfish
and a grouper. We plan to cook the snapper
that night on a beach bonfire.
As we collected the wood for that evening’s fire I
realise that it’s Valentine’s Day. “This will be the most
romantic Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had,” I think as I
drag a large branch across the beach to a spot right
on the tip of the sandbar; a perfect sunset viewpoint
with our boat as the foreground. We head back to the
boat, grab some sparkling wine we’d saved for a special
occasion and head back out on the dinghy.
With the fire mimicking the orangey-red of the setting
sun, my partner Andy hugs his arms around my
waist as he turns me toward him, and I start to feel an
unusual energy about this moment. “There’s only one
thing left to say . . . will you marry me?” he asks nervously
as he bends down on one knee. “Of course I’ll
marry you!” I say as a tear rolls down my cheek and I
try to recover from the shock. We hug each other tight
and kiss in celebration.
“I was going to buy you a ring but I spent the money
on two new engines instead,” he jokes as I reach to
top-up our fizz. (I had been wondering about the ring!)
But in typical Andy style, he’d been trying to fashion
me a ring out of a conch shell, which unfortunately
had proven far too tricky to handle. All of a sudden
the flight back home to England seemed much more
appealing, now that we’d be making an unexpected
stop in New York for a ring along the way! a
Katie Gutteridge is a freelance writer who has been visiting
TCI for almost a decade. Unfortunately, she won’t
be getting married in Turks & Caicos, as she’s planning
a large wedding party at home with friends and family.
For more information on her business, Creative Copy
Kate, visit creativecopykate.weebly.com.
52 www.timespub.tc