French Riviera Condominiums

Jean Philippe (”J.P.”) Alonso could be described as an island “character.” He first came to the Turks & Caicos Islands nearly a decade ago to hunt for treasure in shipwrecks off the Silver Banks. He found no gold, but soon afterwards became a successful entrepreneur, whose primary focus was in his company Provo Landscaping Ltd. For a brief stint, he also served as owner/operator of Pioneer Cleaners, a local dry-cleaning operation. But through it all, the amiable Frenchman dreamed of building his own condominium project, and that is where his creative energy is focused today.

Named for J.P.’s roots in the south of France, the French Riviera is a condominium development like no other, distinctly reflecting the character of its creator. An intimate oasis of only six units in Providenciales’ sought-after Grace Bay area, each suite is themed after a city on the French Riviera. Utilizing knowledge that only someone intimately familiar with the region can offer, the decor reflects the characteristics that make each town special. For instance, while “Cannes” is designed in the warm colors of the south, “Grasse,” which gained its glory through perfume, features cool lavender tones and will include accent pieces of antique bottles. “St. Tropez” has a smooth finishing touch of the yellow mimosa flower, “St. Paul de Vence” offers a stylish olive green design and “Vallauris” interiors have been granted a personal touch of Picasso. Hand-painted murals on the walls also pay homage to each city’s unique atmosphere.

J.P. explains the imagination behind his concept, “I wanted to create a condominium community that offers more than just a sterile living space. I want the residents to see, feel, hear and breathe unique and beautiful sights, textures, sounds and aromas.” As such, units are rich in the warm colors and textures of the Mediterranean and are surrounded by lush gardens replete with butterflies and bird song. Covered and screened terraces etch each suite’s corners, with outdoor living clearly in mind.

French Riviera Condominiums

The French Riviera comprises two buildings. The first is an existing two-story structure which J.P. recently remodeled and decorated as a showpiece. He will live on the top floor, with the lower level already sold to another island resident. In the adjacent lot, J.P. is currently working with contractor Norman Slyvestre of Gold Coast Development and Design to construct the second building Ð a duplex with two bedroom units upstairs and two, one bedroom units on the lower level. They anticipate completion by early 2004.

The spacious two-bedroom units range in size from 1,300 to 1,900 square feet and include two baths; one with a Jacuzzi tub. One bedroom suites include 600 sq. ft. of indoor space and the same amount of terrace and mezzanine area, with the “Vallauris” boasting a private serenity garden with Jacuzzi and waterfall. All include full kitchens.

Because he will be living on premise and anticipates most purchasers doing the same, J.P. has paid a lot of attention to the things that make a “development” feel like a “home.” Besides the beautiful, mature landscaping that will surround the property (one of his many skills), there will be a large pool and waterfall in the back, surrounded by a spacious sun deck and outdoor barbecue, with a private gym nearby. Each owner will have a 55 sq. ft. private storage area in a separate building, ideal for use as a garage or workshop. J.P. says he’ll also maintain a French Riviera car for airport pickups, in keeping with the neighborly atmosphere he hopes to weave in the magical enclave.

Part of the French Riviera’s charm lies in its location. Nestled in a private cul de sac behind the prestigious Grace Bay Club, a two-minute stroll brings residents to spectacular Grace Bay Beach, and upstairs units offer magnificent ocean and island views. Yet by being set apart, the site maintains a peaceful tranquility that belies its easy access to over a dozen restaurants, shops, night life and the Provo Golf & Country Club.

Paula Brennan, agent at Coldwell Banker Real Estate Turks & Caicos, is handling sales. She says, “I see the French Riviera as more than just another condo in Grace Bay. This is truly a place that you can call home . . . your own little piece of paradise.” Paula says she believes the project will appeal to people who are looking for something beyond the often-sterile atmosphere of the larger condo developments. “This is a small, private oasis out of the mainstream, and it offers a more personal touch. It’s easy to see that J.P. has put his heart and soul into the design of each unit. It also offers excellent value for the dollar.” Coldwell Banker’s rental arm, Blue Horizon property management, will assist with owners who may be interested in renting out their units when not in use.

At press time, J.P. was planning a trip home in October to purchase additional items from towns along the French Riviera, including Biot, which derived its fame from glass-blowing. (You can guess what will grace the “Biot” suite here.) Owners have the option of several distinctly different appliance/furniture packages arranged through Donna Gatti of Island Interiors, which reflect J.P.’s decidedly non-standard approach to development. He says, “I have always had a different way to see things . . . that is what I am trying to create at the French Riviera.”

Mmmmm, just the thought of a plate of some homemade Turks & Caicos native food is enough to make my mouth water. (Yours also, if you are lucky enough to have sampled a dish or two.) Now I’m not talking about the new “fast food” culture of deep fried chicken wings and french fries drowned in hot sauce and catsup! No, I’m talking about the real deal. Dishes like Buds & Rice and Okra Soup. Dry Conch & Hominy. Cod Fish Cakes and Corn Bread. Stew Conch with Peas and Hominy. Chicken Soup and Pork Souse, Boil Fish & Johnny Cake, Steam Conch, Stew Fish & Grits . . . and the list goes on.

Many local restaurants sell some of these dishes, but it seems that most of the meals we eat these days consist of either chicken, beef, ox tail, pork chop, ribs or steak served with potato salad, baked macaroni and cheese and plantain. These meals dominate the scene due to the availability of the products and also to the fact that people can now afford to spend top dollar to buy these foods at the supermarkets.

Despite this trend, if you look closely and make a few inquiries, you will still be able to find authentic local dishes being made and served to the lucky few that know where to go. (Remember that the type of dishes varies from island to island, but there is always one or two local restaurants or someone cooking out of their home on each of the Islands that really make you want to eat until you drop because the food is so good.)

FAST FOOD
It’s a blessing that, so far, we do not have American fast food restaurants and chains like McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and others in this country. I hope it stays that way. Their presence will surely bring a quick demise to the culture of authentic local cuisine. It’s hard enough these days to get good local dishes on a daily basis, let alone if the native chefs had to compete with the fast food industry offering low-cost junk food.

To an extent, we already see this happen with the chicken wings and fries shacks that are popping up all over. They offer meals for a few dollars from morning until late hours at night. Many natives on the go hardly cook at home anymore and sometimes they don’t want to pay the price for authentic local dishes. What many people fail to understand is that there are less fishermen out there fishing and diving for conch or farmers growing vegetables, so the cost for the raw ingredients is high and built into the cost of the food.

Many cooks are also using products such as catsup and canned ingredients with additional herbs and seasonings not originally found in these Islands. This can change the authentic taste of Island dishes. Ask the senior citizens and they will surely tell you that foods these days don’t taste as good as the simple dishes of their days because the fare is over-spiced, over-cooked and prepared with inferior ingredients.

WILL THE REAL TURKS & CAICOS NATIVE DISHES PLEASE STEP FORWARD?
To understand our local cuisine, you need only look at the lifestyle of the native people 100 years ago. Life was tough and they tried to survive on what they had around them. The ocean was the most reliable source for food and farming was done in conditions that were generally quite difficult. Corn, fruits and vegetables did grow — especially in the Caicos Islands where the soil was rich and fertile — providing carbohydrates, minerals and natural sugars in the form of corn, hominy, ground vegetables and fruits, while the sea provided protein and salt.

Today, many people think that “Peas & Rice” is what our ancestors ate since it is now a staple in the local diet, but the fact is that rice never grew in these islands. Rice came much later via trade with Haiti and Jamaica, though Grand Turk natives had access to a variety of imported food due to boats coming regularly for the salt trade.

The main staple in the Caicos Islands was hominy (or grits) made from a local type of corn called “Guinea Corn” that was ground in a hand mill to produce both hominy and flour to make Corn Bread. Long before we had “Peas & Rice” we had “Peas & Hominy.” Locally grown pigeon peas were added to hominy along with chunks of dry conch and sometimes (when available) bits of pig tail for flavoring.

“Peas & Hominy” was only one part of the meal. Because there was always a bit of uncertainty as to what would be served with it, the native folks use to say that dinner would be “Peas & Hominy and ‘Penn On’.” The word “Penn On” comes from the English phrase, “Depend On,” so the evening meal depended on whatever the husband would bring in off the boat. One day it could be Bonefish, the next Snapper, the other Turtle, and so on.

Valerie Forbin, the Tourist Board’s Assistant Director of Cultural Development, once told me that if we ever have a national dish, it would have to be “Peas & Hominy and Penn On” and I do agree. Both beef and fish were “corned” (cured in salt) since there was no refrigeration and were served as special dishes and not as the daily weekday meals.

OTHER NATIVE DISHES
Young leaves from the Cactus/Pear Bush (Opuntia dillenii) and Pear Bush Buds, which resemble Okra, were consumed. Okra was also added to the hominy and later, Crab was added to the rice the came from Jamaica and Haiti. Potato Bread, Cod Fish, Cod Fish Cakes and Red Bean Soup are local favorites.

Many different types of fish and seafood cooked in various ways were usually the complement to the rice or hominy. A popular breakfast on the weekends is “Boil Fish & Grits” some times served with “Johnny Cake.” Boil Fish & Johnny Cake is also a favorite choice for lunch.
The delicious Johnny Cake is really a kind of sweet pan bread that is baked, and the name comes from the phrase “Journey Cake.” This was the bread the sailors and fishermen would take with them on their journey aboard ship since it lasted a long time before spoiling. Over time, the word “Journey” was corrupted by the local accent and became “Johnny.”

Steam Conch & Grits, Conch Stew (with lots of gravy), Peas Soup and Dumplings, Okra Soup, Bread Pudding, Ginger Bread and Potato Bread all have a special place in the hearts of the generations that grew up in these Islands before the influx of canned and frozen foreign goods. Each of the six main inhabited Islands had their own specialty.

ISLAND SPECIALTIES
Each of the six inhabited islands have their own special way of making these native dishes and because of location and soil conditions, each island offered a variety of ingredients not found or used elsewhere.
Salt Cay was known for Whelk Soup and the famous Salt Cay Candy. Whelk Soup was made from the small whelks (mussels) that live on the rocks in shallow waters.

Although all the islands produced fish, South Caicos was known for its delicious Bone Fish and seafoods. South Caicos was the site for the very first canning factories in the Turks & Caicos and shipped Caicos lobster tail as far as Canada.

Middle Caicos Dry Conch was known for its sweetness and tenderness. North Caicos, the most fertile of all our islands, produced a variety of vegetables and fruits such as sugar apples, sapodillas, sweet potatoes, sugar cane, cabbages, cucumbers, okra and tomatoes. Both Middle and North Caicos were known for their potato bread and stew conch.

Providenciales, like South Caicos, relied on fishing and the lobsters found around her shores are said to have a special tenderness.

Grand Turk, the nation’s capital, has an abundance of cactus and prickly pear bushes and buds that were (and still are) used in both hominy and rice dishes. Cows were slaughtered at least three times a month at the Cow House on West Road and therefore Grand Turk had more available beef than did the other islands (although they did have turtle, hogs (pigs) and some cattle.) Land crabs, small birds, bird eggs and baby hatchlings called “Bo Bos” found on the Cays were eaten by fishermen who spent time drying conch there. Occasionally, Rock Iguanas and Flamingos were also eaten.

THE JAMAICAN AND HAITIAN CONNECTION
Changes in the way our ancestors prepared foods along with new additions to the diet came when trade to Haiti became a necessity. Conch by the hundreds of thousands dried on the Cays and, via sailboat, were taken to Haiti to trade for rice, flour, salted pig tails, fruits, spices, rum, oil, clothes, furniture and utensils needed for daily life. Islanders were also able to exchange dry conch for US dollars, since Haiti had the American dollar long before we did. We owe a great debt to our Haitian neighbors and they continue to provide fruits and vegetables at very reasonable prices to these islands, especially Providenciales.

Trade with Jamaica boomed when the Turks & Caicos found itself under Jamaican rule from 1873 until Jamaica’s independence in 1962. Rice, lumber, kerosene oil, peas, salt and corned beef, salt pork, chickens, tools, pork and beans and cloth all found its way to the Islands when sailors and merchants on steamships and our own two-masted schooners braved the open ocean to provide the items needed for survival. Of course they not only brought back goods, but also new varieties of dishes. Curry goat and curry chicken, two well-known Jamaican dishes that actually found their way to Jamaica via its large population of East Indians, are now an integral part of our local cuisine.

Jamaica was (and still is) a place of higher learning. Many of our distinguished leaders, teachers, lawyers and businessmen and women were schooled at the University of the West Indies (UWI), University of Technology (UTECH), Micro Teachers College and other top rate schools in Jamaica.

Jerk Pork and Jerk Chicken, along with Beef Patties and Coco Bread have recently made inroads into mainstream restaurants here due to the influx of Jamaican workers. They find our term “Peas & Rice” rather strange since they feel that their “Rice & Peas” is the original Island rice dish. (Now that’s another story.)

THE MACARONI & CHEESE AND POTATO SALAD INVASION
It is difficult to say exactly when macaroni & cheese and potato salad, along with meats such as pork chop, barbeque chicken and ribs took over but it’s fair to say that it must have started when boxed dry goods and frozen foods found their way to the Islands. Macaroni & cheese and potato salad are found throughout the Caribbean, with slight differences in the way they are prepared. This points to the availability of inexpensive imported American products.

In the Turks & Caicos, we originally made macaroni & cheese the British way, which is more layered. In recent years, however, many young people tend to follow the Bahamian way of just mixing all the ingredients together or just use Kraft Macaroni & Cheese boxes off the market’s shelves.

These days almost every local function where food is served will include macaroni & cheese and potato salad along with peas & rice and barbeque chicken, ribs or fried fish and fried plantain. This combination has become sort of the unofficial national dish of the Turks & Caicos. Tell this to a senior citizen and you are sure to get a lecture on the health benefits of peas & hominy with dry conch and how it, more then anything, deserves the title of National Dish.

THE BAHAMIAN CONNECTION
We have a lot in common with the Bahamas and at times, it’s almost impossible to distinguish one cuisine from the other. Bahamian cuisine utilizes conch, peas and rice cooked with beef and pig tail, and chicken and fish cooked in a variety of ways (fried, baked, grilled, stewed, steamed and soused.)

Crack conch, conch salad and scorch conch are a few typically Bahamian dishes that have found their way into the cultural cuisine of the Turks & Caicos. (Although many Turks & Caicos Islanders think it’s the other way around.) We share a love for conch fritters but generally, dry, steam and stew conch were mostly used in these Islands. We only recently started eating raw conch and dishes like conch salad.

During the exodus to the Bahamas for a better life during the hard years of the early 1900s, our people, mainly from the Caicos Islands, took with them the recipes for the dishes they were accustomed to and merged them with the ones already existing in the Bahamas. I doubt we will ever get to the bottom of the debate over who influenced whom and what dishes originated where since we are so intertwined with the culture and history of the Bahamas. The fact remains that these dishes are delicious and are here to stay for all to enjoy.

HEALTH ISSUES
It is a well known fact that high blood pressure (hypertension), heart disease, diabetes, asthma, obesity and intestinal problems have increased at an alarming rate since the shift in the local diet from native foods to imported foods. There is medical proof that over-consumption of meat products, deep-fried foods such as wings and french fries, peas and rice cooked with beef, bacon and pig tail, and salt and sugar products such as chips and sodas is responsible for these health problems.

The obesity that plagues both adults and children of this country is directly related to the consumption of too much oily foods and high fat meats, lack of substantial vegetable dishes and too much salt and sugar intake.

The majority of school lunches consist of potato chips, chicken wings, sodas, fries and maybe the odd apple or banana. This is no way to feed our children. The famous “Tuck Shop” and Food Vans that sell snacks at many schools need to stock more fruits, natural juices and native foods instead of this junk. Parents need to introduce their children to the foods and lifestyle that made their parents and grandparents strong and healthy.

Children would benefit from eating more Dry Conch & Grits/Hominy made from real Caicos corn and conch from the ocean that surrounds their island home. They need vegetables such as Sweet Potatoes, Eddo (eddy), Okra, Cassava, Green Beans, Pigeon Peas, Cabbage, Tomatoes, Yams and Peppers. They also need fresh fish and seafoods cooked the old way.

Unfortunately, vegetables form a very small part of the new Turks & Caicos diet. This “side dish” usually consists of a slice or two of tomato with a few leaves of lettuce drowned in salad dressing. Then there are the little heaps of canned sweet peas and corn and carrots, courtesy of the Jolly Green Giant. Cole slaw (cabbage with carrots and raisins) is a popular vegetable dish but this too is drowned in heaps of mayonnaise and sweetened with sugar.

Children need to eat more fresh fruits and drink juices, drinks and teas made from the native bushes, fruits and leaves. This is the only way to ensure a healthier population and, at the same time, preserve our native cuisine.

I love secrets. Unfortunately, on a small island, there aren’t many to be found.

That’s why I was pleasantly surprised when the Harbour Club Villas & Marina were brought to my attention. Nestled on the south- central shore of Providenciales (below what locals call Jim Hill) on Venetian Road, Harbour Club just happened to be off my beaten path. Discovering this tranquil enclave is a secret that I simply can’t keep to myself.

Harbour Club Villas

Obviously not part of the Grace Bay Beach scene, a stay at Harbour Club brings to light a different version of utopic Caribbean living. Its six individual villas are built on land that straddles the peaceful expanse of Flamingo Lake and the Atlantic Ocean at Discovery Bay. This unique positioning invites outstanding views, refreshing breezes and a variety of recreational options. Staying in a private villa allows guests the freedom to enjoy themselves as they please — and what is pleasing to many are bonefishing, scuba diving, kayaking and exploring.

The on-site owners are Barry and Marta Morton, a personable Canadian couple who obviously enjoy their life in the Islands as much as their guests do. After spending 25 years running tourist gift shops in the chilly mountains of Banff, Alberta, they were more than ready for a change in climate. Marta spent much of her childhood in the Caribbean and had fond memories of sunny days and a slower pace of life. Barry made the initial foray to Providenciales in 1995 and, following several weeks of scouting, was especially impressed with a plot of land recommended by local realtor Bob Pratt, which was soon to become the couple’s new home and livelihood. Bob sold them the adjacent property to his home where he was developing South Side Marina which made for a natural dock extension incorporating their canal frontage.

Barry recalls, “One of the most fortunate things to happen early-on was meeting Oliver Stubbs. Through his business, Oliver & Oliver Drafting, he was able to prepare, submit and have our plans approved. Then he brought in his brother Keith, cousin Mike and other friends and family members to get the construction done in record time. Danny Delancy handled all the plumbing and electrical projects which got us up and running.” This enabled Barry and Marta to work on some of the finishing touches and decorating, and they are proud to say that no two villas look exactly alike!

They also laud Nicky Turner and Dudley Forbes at Island Landscaping, who turned what was literally a mound of bare limestone rock into the lush oasis of greenery that Harbour Club is today. Marta explains, “We couldn’t believe it could be done, but they filled holes in the rock with topsoil, planted young bushes and trees and instructed us to do lots of watering.” The results were inspiring and these days, gardening has become one of the couple’s passions.

Harbour Club opened for the 1999/2000 Winter season and, ironically, it was one of the first guests who shared a secret of his own. Barry explains, “Chris Coile, president of the Maryland Bonefishing Association, told us that the waters around our property — Flamingo Lake, Turtle Lake and the ocean flats — offered some of the best bonefishing in the world. Prior to that, I didn’t even know what a bonefish was!” And just like that, Harbour Club had found a niche in the market.

Bonefishing at Harbour Club

Today, bonefishing enthusiasts rave about their experiences here and, when fishermen get together they passionately exchange tips on locations, fly-tying and casting techniques. Barry says, “Many of our fishing guests will spend one or two days with a guide (who are all well-known among aficionados, who do their research ahead of time) and other days exploring the flats on their own. We’re compiling comments from our guest books and websites to create our Bonefish Bible, which is a best seller here!” Marta adds, “It’s especially alluring when, on calm days, guests can see bonefish tailing in Flamingo Lake from their villa windows. Recently, 21 bonefish were caught and released in a two hour period as we watched from our deck. It was amazing and our guests talked about it for days!”

Another group of visitors who have found a haven at Harbour Club are scuba divers. The property’s south boundary is a dock along the Discovery Bay canal and four local dive operators — Provo Turtle Divers, Flamingo Divers, Caicos Adventures and Beaches Resort — keep dive boats at the marina for trips to West Caicos and French Cay. These destinations offer some of the most outstanding and pristine wall diving in the Turks & Caicos Islands. Harbour Club’s unique location offers avid divers quick and convenient access to the dive boats which is especially appreciated for their traditional early morning departures!

Other popular pastimes include kayaking in the peaceful waters of Flamingo and Turtle Lakes, through the canals or in the ocean itself, a trip that can combine fishing and snorkeling off nearby Bay Cay. There’s also plenty of room for relaxing around the club’s private pool and sunning patio, complete with covered gazebo and a barbecue grill for guests’ use.

Harbour Club Interior

Each spacious villa — at 650 sq. ft. much larger than a hotel room — feels comfortably like home and reflects a relaxed Caribbean lifestyle. The open-plan living area includes a rattan sofa and queen sofa bed, with a separate window-lined dining alcove overlooking the lake. The kitchen is fully equipped and includes a versatile countertop bar. Although numerous ceiling fans, louvered screen windows and steady breezes keep the villas quite cool, the bedroom does include air conditioning to ensure a good night’s sleep. Tropical decor includes terra cotta tiles, colorful fabric and artwork of typical plants, birds and Old World maps. Hand-cut native stone patios, walls and walkways connect the cottages, with lush landscaping ensuring privacy.

The Mortons say that guests typically “come and go” during the day, often eating breakfast and lunch at “home” and enjoying dinners at local restaurants. While some choose to rent cars, it’s not a necessity. ‘”We’re happy to do what we can to accommodate our guests. We’ll run them up to the supermarket, drop them off at Turtle Cove for snorkeling and the north side beach and even take them to Ports of Call for shopping. Often, they’ll spend the day ‘doing their thing’ and take a taxi back.”

This attitude reflects Marta and Barry’s similarity to old-fashioned innkeepers, who treat guests as family. In fact, Harbour Club welcomes many return visitors, the Mortons say. “Many came the first time for a special occasion — honeymoon, anniversary, birthday or reunion — and just keep coming back. This is one of the few places we know of where guests hug us when they say good-bye and keep in touch all year round.”

Harbour Club is not a secret to all local residents. Its atmosphere of peaceful beauty has inspired it to serve as the site for several retreats, including Oliver Ferguson’s annual vacation bible school and Tri-Island Yoga’s weekend get-away.

The Mortons say that future plans could include adding outdoor patios to the front of each cottage, converting the villas into single-owner condominiums and in the future, building additional units and a restaurant. But, they add, all of that just might hinder the personal feeling of tranquility that they enjoy every day. And that is one secret to happiness they are more than willing to share.

For more information about Harbour Club Villas & Marina, phone or fax (649) 941-5748, e-mail harbourclub@tciway.tc or visit www.harbourclubvillas.com or www.bonefishing.tc.

Feelin’ crabby — like your head is bunched between your shoulders and you want to pinch somebody else’s head off? Well, it’s more than just an attitude for some, and for those poor souls, there is simply no adjusting.

I’m speaking of the true crabs of the world, those that live and thrive along the shores or in the shallows and deeps of the seas. Can you imagine what it would be like to have ten legs (two of which you have to eat with), be terminally flat-chested and humpbacked with no neck or head to speak of, and have eyeballs that stick out on stalks? You would spend your life hiding in holes or crevasses to keep from being eaten, and have to scrounge around the sea floor scavenging bits of day-old debris. I’d be a little crabby too under the circumstances.

But regardless of what would appear to be a seriously sad state of affairs to us, crabs are pretty well adjusted creatures. Not only do they deal with their seemingly dire set of circumstances, but they have flourished in their underwater realms. They have also managed to come up with some very colorful and creative ways to stay alive. As they say, if you are going to have an attitude, then you might as well make the most of it.

I’ll start this soppy soap opera with a crabby version of the birds and the bees and some other basic processes. Then I’ll lead you through what we think we know about the lifestyles and attitudes of the different types of cantankerous crabs.

GET A LIFE!

As if living in the body of a crab wasn’t enough to get you down, here’s something that will really break a woman’s heart. Many female crabs only have sex ONCE IN THEIR LIFE!! And yep, you guessed it, the boys constantly run around. But at least when they do get their chance, the males will court them appropriately and cuddle them for a few days first, with the one-time deed actually lasting for several hours.

Now don’t think I’m a pervert, but in my earlier studious years, I once clocked blue crab sex, and am pleased to say that for the poor females, the pair I watched mated for 12 hours straight. Once the act is complete, females may store the sperm for successive batches of babies and they never have need of a man again. Anatomically speaking, male and female crabs are pretty well equipped and easy to differentiate. If you looked at the abdomen, which is the underside of a crab, it would appear that the back of the crab wraps up under the belly. Where it overlaps contains the sex organs of the crabs. Premature females have a V-shaped flap that turns into an “apron” for holding eggs once she has had her once-in-a-lifetime encounter. Males have a prong-shaped flap that resembles, well you know . . . a male.

I’ve never really thought of a crab as being cuddly, but in fact they are — at least with each other that is, and only when they are trying to procreate. The male crab will literally cuddle the female beneath him, carrying her around for up to week or more prior to their mating. When she finally undergoes her pre-terminal molt (yes, another horror story I’ll get to later), then they are capable of copulating. The male will continue to cuddle and protect her until her shell hardens again. Then he is off for another tryst and she is left to raise the kids.

How do we know some of these sordid details? Much of the information comes from fishermen. One of my favorite books is Beautiful Swimmer by William Werner, which eloquently describes the life and times of the beleaguered blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay. In Werner’s accounting, he tells of a fishing method (called trot lining) commonly used by the local fishermen. With this technique, fishermen bait a staked line with a male crab (called a jimmy) to attract the young females. A single male can attract hordes of females in this manner over time. When hormones are running high, the fishermen can harvest a new female every few hours.

Enough about blue crab gigolos, what happens to the poor women? Well, if they’ve been arrested on the trot line, I’m afraid they are served a life-time sentence — on somebody’s plate that is, as a delectable soft-shell crab dinner. But if they get to live happily ever after, they go on to being “sooks,” and bear large batches of babies. In my estimation, they take the female domesticate role a bit too far, with their aprons and red painted pinchers, but whatever it takes to keep the world in blue crabs.

When they are ready, the female crabs extrude their eggs, while releasing the stored sperm to fertilize them. The eggs are carried in the apron-shaped abdomen, which looks much like a sponge attached to her belly. Here the female broods her eggs, cleaning and oxygenating them until they are ready to be released. The eggs hatch into what is a called a zoea larvae, which looks more like something from outer space than the beginnings of a crab. The larvae go through several molts (shedding their skins) before metamorphosing (really big changes in appearance) into megalops larvae (yes, it looks like it sounds) and finally into their final torturous form.

In actuality, there is not much to the body of a crab. Basically, they have ten legs which puts them in the Order Decapoda along with lobsters and shrimp. Two of the ten legs are formed into pinchers or claws used pretty much like our hands to get food to their mouths. Everything else is sandwiched between top and bottom shells. The top shell is called the carapace and its underside the abdomen. The only other movable parts are their stalked eyes and mouth parts, located front and center on the carapace between their two claws. The whole package is typically round or oblong, looking somewhat like a Jamaican patty or pastie with legs and a couple of eyeballs.

EVER WANT TO JUMP OUT OF YOUR SKIN?
And I mean this literally. What if every time you gained a few pounds, you not only couldn’t fit into your clothes, but you couldn’t fit into your skin, either? What a painful thought, being squeezed into an entire suit of too-tight jeans. Well that’s life for a crab, as well as for any other crustacean out there. Crustaceans are basically soft-bodied organisms encased in a shell-like skin. This exoskeleton, as it’s called, is made up of a hard substance called chitin and calcium.

Crustaceans grow in increments, whereas they obtain a certain size and then need to shed their exoskeletons to get to the next size. This process is called ecdysis or molting. Talk about an excruciatingly painful looking event!!

Imagine having to crawl out of your own skin. First you would need to secrete a substance that would dissolve your inner skeletal lining. Then you would need to crack open a line along your back and pull your legs, arms, torso and head out of that crack. (Oh, and don’t forget those organs!) Then, you have to swallow a bunch of water to pump your body up to the new size. Mind you, you are totally soft now so you must seek a place to hide for a couple of days until you can harden up again. And watch out for falling rocks and predators — it’s easy to lose a leg or a life at this stage. And your attitude towards this lifelong process? A bit more complicated than just getting your knickers in a twist, I’d say, and probably more like perpetual PMS.

IT’S A DOG-EAT-DOG WORLD
For the inhabitants of the watery realms, the daily drama is eat or be eaten. It’s basically survival of the fittest down there, and makes our daily lives look like a cakewalk in comparison. Just think what it would be like to spend your days scurrying to and fro frantically searching for food, while keeping an eye on the nearest bolt hole in case a predator comes cruising by. Or having to prostitute yourself on some corner coral reef, in hopes of gleaning a few parasites from a passing fish. Or worse yet, burrowing up to your eyeballs in oozy mud or sand just to save your hide or find the odd clam to munch on.

Crabs are mainly scavengers of sorts, underwater vultures that feed on the leftover carrion of the sea. If by chance a dim-witted creature comes within grasp, they are capable of pinching someone’s head off, but for the most part they take what they can find. Some crabs are more ambitious, like the yellowline arrow crabs found on reefs, and set up cleaning stations to attract and groom passing customers. Their efforts are rewarded in mere morsels of flesh, mostly flakes of dead skin or parasites that they remove. A few species of crabs (like those known as the clinging crabs) are more herbivorous, and scrape rocks for algae and other small protein particles with their specially adapted claws.

Who are their enemies? Well just about anything with jaws and teeth that can crunch. In their larval stages, crabs are free floating plankton, with little mobility or protection on their own. They can be sucked in and slurped up by even the tiniest of other marine creatures. As they grow, their likelihood of life loss in this manner decreases. Once they have attained the real crab look, with their sharp claws and spiny and more rigid outer shells, they are better prepared to protect and defend themselves.

Most crabs live in the oceans of the world, but there are a few that have taken to land and even some freshwater species. In the sections below, I have written about some of the crabs that may cross your path (or rather you theirs) here in the Turks & Caicos and throughout the Caribbean. In doing so, I’ve tried to view life from their perspective and maybe with just a hint of what I imagine their attitudes must be about their peculiar set of circumstances.

FEELING INSECURE?

Feel like you’re hanging from your toenails, upside down on a sheer rock drop-off? Then you can probably relate to the Clinging Crabs that often do just that. Members of the Spider Crab family, these crabs have long spidery legs and are often seen literally hanging by their toenails in some rocky crevasse or reef.

There are a number of clinging crabs relatively common to this area, including the Green, Banded, Paved, Nodose, Red-ridged, Hairy and Channel Clinging Crabs. All are of the Genus Mithrax. With the exception of the Hairy and Channel Clinging Crabs, the others are less than one inch in size. The Hairy Clinging Crab reaches a size of four inches, while the Channel Clinging Crab gets up to at least seven inches in carapace length.

Because of its size, the Channel Clinging Crab is often a food source throughout the Caribbean. Its popularity inspired scientists to research into its culture capabilities, with the first ever Mithrax crab farm being located here in the TCI on the island of North Caicos. The marketing name chosen for Channel Clinging Crab was the Caribbean King Crab and its culture potential was developed by West Indies Mariculture, Ltd. The farm’s delicacy was the production of soft-shelled Mithrax crabs, which were truly mouth-watering. Unfortunately, the farm closed before realizing its full commercial potential, but it did manage to leave a legacy of the Caribbean King Crab.

A common denominator for all clinging crabs is the blunted tips of the claws that fit together like small rows of teeth. These claws are typically used to scrape algae and other bits off the rocks and reefs where they are found.

DROWNING YOUR SORROWS . . .

This is not an option for members of the Swimming Crab (Portunidae) family whose lives depend on their ability swim. These crabs come readily equipped with paddles on their last pair of legs enabling them to swim for their lives if need be. Unlike the other crabs who are limited to one mode of transport, swimming crabs can crawl and swim, and are quite capable of lengthy trips from onshore estuarine habitats to offshore open ocean grounds.

Of the swimming crabs, the most famous are the Blue Crabs, prized for their delectable meat. A strong and somewhat stable commercial fishery from Cape Cod to Florida, they are unfortunately not as common in the Caribbean. In particular, they are not readily found in islands like the TCI that have a paucity of fresh and brackish water rivers and run-off for nutrient loading. In other words, the clean, clear waters found here are less productive.

A few other types of swimming crabs found in this region include the Ocellated Swimming Crab that is easily distinguished by the two red-ocellated eyespots on its carapace. The Sargassum Swimming Crab is colored to blend in with the floating rafts of sargassum where it lives. Blotched Swimming Crabs are varying shades of brown with some blotches and mottling to blend with the bottoms of harbors and bays where they are commonly found. Redhair Swimming Crabs are smaller (1 to 1 1/2 inches) and have red blotches on their reddish to yellowish brown carapace. These crabs inhabit shallow areas of sand and can often be found washed up in the surf.

All of these crabs are voracious carnivores and can do real damage to small fish, clams and any other mollusk they come across. Swimming crabs have strong, sharply pointed pinchers for this purpose. They can also inflict a great deal of pain to human fingers and toes if given the chance. (I’ve even seen a number of swimming crabs clipped to the noses of unassuming and overly curious dogs.)

FEELING FRAGILE?

Try being a Porcelain Crab, with a tiny body that for most, is less than an inch long. This family of crabs is more closely related to Hermit crabs (Section Anomura) than the rest of their brachyuran relatives. There are several species you may happen upon here.
Porcelain crabs do look somewhat fragile with their flattened carapaces and bodies, but make up for this with enlarged claws which appear about half the size of their entire bodies. The Green Porcelain crab is mottled shades of green and the Red Porcelain crab is a deep red, with the Banded Porcelain crab banded red with shades of yellow to brown.

The Spotted Porcelain Crab is the most colorful of the group, being red to orange with large white and violet spots ringed in red. This little wee crab is commonly associated with Giant Hermits, Stareye Hermits, Red Hermits (with matching coloration) and Queen Conchs. When disturbed, it will withdraw into the host’s protective shell.

SHAME ON YOU!

Whatever dastardly deed the Box Crabs’ ancestors committed, we may never know, but now the poor souls are forever covering their faces in shame. So much so that Box Crabs’ alias is the Shamefaced Crab. There are three species of Box Crabs commonly found in this area: the Rough Box Crab, the Ocellated Box Crab and the Flame Box Crab. All of the Box Crabs have a “pinched in” area located on the top of their carapace, but their most distinguishing feature is that the crab appears to be hiding its face with its claws. The claws fit perfectly against the shell, making a compact box of a crab.

The Rough Box Crab varies from pale yellow, pink, red, orange and brown in color, but often becomes encrusted, hiding the true colors of its shells. The Ocellated Box Crab has a network of dark brown to reddish brown to lavender lines on its carapace. The Flame Box Crab is similar in coloration but the pattern on this species fades towards the rear becoming a series of non-intersecting lines.

All three types of Box Crabs inhabit sandy bottoms with the latter two also liking to live in areas of mixed sand and rubble. Not only are they shame-faced, but shy, often burying themselves up to their eyeballs in sand to hide from passersby.

TALK ABOUT A BAD HAIR DAY!
What do you do when your doo just won’t do? The Sponge and Decorator Crabs have it all worked out. Just plop a piece of colorful sponge, bits of algae, some seaweed, or maybe a few hydroids on top to cover up the mess. These clever crabs even have built-in bobby pins to aid all their hairdressing needs.

The Sponge Crabs are the real stylists. They literally cut and shape their fancy sponge “caps” before hooking them on with two pairs of their short, upturned rear legs. These crabs range in size from one to three inches.

The Decorator Crabs are not as savvy in the styling salons, but are true pioneers in camouflage coordination. Their secret seems to be in utilizing a variety of locally made materials, such as sponges, hydroids, anemones, zoanthids, tunicates and both leafy and hairy algae. They go all out too, and cover not only their carapaces, but snouts and legs, securing the debris on built-in tiny hooks. A lot of fuss for a 1/2 to 3/4-inch long crab.

ALL WASHED UP
Crabs of the Genus Percnon seem to be perpetually in peril as they dash around the splash zones of rocky intertidal areas. Here in the TCI, they are commonly seen along the ironshore, where the surf pounds the rocky ledges. Most of the ones I’ve seen are black/brown with some bright red markings.

These may or may not be the same species as the Nimble Spray Crab, Percnon gibbessi, that is commonly found on the reefs. Also known as the Urchin Crab, this clever creature often hides beneath the protective spines of the Long-spined Urchins.

LIKE A FISH OUT OF WATER
There are species of crabs that are literally like fish out of water, from when their ancestors invaded terra firma many thousands of years ago. (Talk about having to dry out for a while!)

In this neck of the woods we commonly call them land crabs, which refers to the members of the family Gecarcinidae. The family includes Cardisoma, which lives in the fields and woods in southern Florida and the West Indies and also Gecarcinus, which inhabits grasslands and forests along the coasts of Florida, tropical America and throughout the West Indies.

Although terrestrial, the land crabs are nevertheless coastal in distribution, for the females must return to the sea to release their spawn. To be able to live on land, the crab’s gills have had to become more like lungs. Land crab gills occupy cavities that have become so highly vascularized with fine blood vessels that the cavities can take up oxygen from the air. They must keep their gill cavities moist, but can do so by taking up droplets of dew from plants or moisture from sand.

Land crabs live in deep burrows, sometimes in the dune areas, intervening flats and upper lagoon shore-type areas. They are most often seen at night, when they emerge to feed. This is also a good to time to catch them if you hunger for land crab fare. A burlap sack, stick and torch are the tools of the trade, but speed and skill are the key components for harvest success.

WELL FIDDLE DEE DEE
Even Scarlett O’Hara would have to show some sympathy for the lowly Fiddler Crabs that abound in the muddy marshes of the deep south (and up to Cape Cod) as well as along our sand and mud shores. The poor little (one-inch) Fiddlers are rather drab in appearance, usually a chocolate to grey coloration with some purples and/or reds speckled through. They would never stand out at a crab cotillion, but in fact are quite gregarious and burrow very close to one another.

This makes it easy for the males and females to get together. Males are easily distinguished by their claws, of which one is greatly enlarged. The females have two tiny claws. The males are actually quite courtly and have an elaborate ritual of claw waving and rapping to attract the females to their burrows (their way of saying “Hey Babe, wanna come to my place?”).

If you are out walking along an intertidal shoreline, look for dozens of small holes with balls of soil at the entrances. The fiddlers make their burrows by excavating the sand/mud to the surface in small balls attached to their legs. At low tide, fiddlers come out to eat the detritus along the shoreline and retreat to their burrows as the tide comes in.

LIFE’S A BEACH AND THEN YOU DIE
Another amphibious sort is the Ghost Crab, who spends his entire existence haunting the beaches of the world. Rarely seen during the day, they race up and down the beaches at night in a sideways fashion, constantly changing directions as they go. Late-night beach lovers are often startled by the crabs’ sudden appearance and equally astounded at the speed with which they can vanish in the blink of an eye.

Their coloration is also cause for their ghostly name. They are white to nearly opaque to blend in with their sandy surrounds. On average, their carapace is about two inches from side to side, but I have been startled by some monsters that were at least five inches long.

Ghost Crabs are not as gregarious as the Fiddlers; they like their burrows spaced far apart and build them in a J-shape down to the water table. Like the Fiddlers, they can exist on land as long as they keep their gills wet, so the subterranean shelter includes a small dipping pool. Both types of crabs have reduced gills capable of extracting oxygen from the air, much like their land crab cousins.

Most active at night, Ghost Crabs can be seen scavenging at the surf line for detritus and bivalves while taking a dip to wet their gills. For this reason, it is important to leave the weed lines along the beaches intact, if we hope to keep our Ghost Crabs around.

DON’T BE A HERMIT
Talk about the ultimate embarrassment! The poor Hermit Crabs really have it rough. The top half of their bodies are armored like the rest of the crab world, but their rears are totally exposed soft skin. To cover this seemingly embarrassing predicament, they cloak themselves with a shell, but even it, of course, is a hand-me-down from some poor deceased snail.

To add insult to injury, the hermit crabs’ lives are still complicated by the molt thing, so as they grow they must constantly seek larger shells to fit their expanding form. (Their predicament adds a whole new meaning to “shop ’til you drop.”)

Apparently modest as well, when hermit crabs do find a new outfit, they are extremely speedy changers. They will park their shell as close to the aperture of the new one as possible and switch in an instant, so that no one has the chance to view (or take a chunk out of) their exposed hind end. They would rather die (and probably would) if they were forced to leave their shell before finding a new one.

Opportunistic in all regards, hermit crabs spend the rest of their time scavenging for dead animals and debris. There are several types of hermit crabs and they can be found on both land and in the sea. Sizes range from the Giant Hermit Crab (5 to 8 inches), often seen living in adult conch shells, to the tiny Red-reef, Orangeclaw, Red-striped or Polkadotted Hermits (1/2 to 1 inch) that are found in any appropriately sized shell.

CHANGES IN LATITUDES, CHANGES IN ATTITUDES
So whether you are a regular here in these fair isles or just passing through these latitudes, crab a lil attitude — adjustment that is. When you’re feeling a bit crabby, think of the poor cantankerous crabs and all the deserving reasons they have for being the way they are. Picture yourself in one of their seemingly ridiculous predicaments, and see if that can’t put a smile on your face. We will all be the better for it . . . well, except for the crabs.

Marsha Pardee is a marine ecologist who has lived and worked in the Turks & Caicos Islands for the past 11 years. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not of the crabs. The author asks that the readers please forgive any insults, comments and/or comparisons to members of the opposite sex. The author also wishes to thank the readers for putting up with her cranky attitude — she’s just been feeling a little crabby lately . . . but is working on an attitude adjustment while counting her blessings and being thankful she is not a crab.

It’s hard to believe that Leeward Highway, that well traveled stretch of road connecting one end of Providenciales with the other, is almost 25 years old. (Although to those of us who drove its ragged, pot-holed length often over the last decade, its obsolescence comes as no surprise.) Actually, it aged fairly well
when you consider that there were only a handful of cars on the island at its inception and today there are in excess of 5,000 vehicles registered for use within Providenciales.

All of that is in the process of changing as the ambitious, $15 million Leeward Highway reconstruction project has been underway for nine months (since January, 2003.) And if island drivers can muster the patience to put up with the unavoidable detours, delays, dust, lumps and bumps, the end result will make travel by vehicle enjoyable again Ð and do justice to the upscale SUVs, sports cars and luxury sedans that many residents enjoy owning.

Johnston International Ltd. — the contractors who laid the original Leeward Highway from the airport to Club Med in 1981 — are tackling the reconstruction task. A great deal of planning has gone into this project. It was three years ago when Johnston submitted to the TCI Government the first design/build proposal. For some time, the project vacillated between a four-lane and three-lane undertaking. Thanks to forward-thinking government ministers who envisioned Providenciales’ future traffic demands, the final proposal did provide for four lanes along the most-traveled part of the highway.

AN END IN SIGHT
Commencing on January 8, 2003 and scheduled for completion in January 2005, the 9 1/2 mile re-construction project will be completed in three different types of road cross-section and will include eight new roundabouts to improve traffic flows.

The first section, from the Blue Hills junction to Tropicana Plaza, will be a four-lane dual carriageway with a central median, turning lanes and seven of the proposed roundabouts. On the section between Blue Hills and the Market Place there will be raised footpaths on either side of the new highway. The speed limit will vary from 30 MPH (airport to Southwind Plaza) and 40 MPH beyond.

The second section from Tropicana Plaza to Heaving Down Rock at Leeward will have two paved lanes, with a four-foot hard shoulder on either side of the road. The third section will run from the Blue Hills junction through Downtown, along the right turn to Providenciales International Airport. It will include three lanes (center turn lane) from the Blue Hills junction to Airport Inn and a roundabout at the Carib West junction, with raised footpaths on both sides of the road. Two paved lanes will run from Airport Inn to the airport parking lot, with a raised footpath on the south side of the road.

Cobra-style streetlights will be installed along the majority of the highway, placed in the center median wherever possible.

According to Johnston’s Area Manager Simon Cross, there are currently no plans for traffic lights to be introduced to Providenciales under this contract. (However, provisions have been made at road junctions to allow for possible future cable requirements.) Instead, traffic control utilizes round-abouts and T-junctions which, Cross says, “tend to result in a smooth, contant flow of traffic as opposed to lots of ’stop and go.’” Round-abouts will direct flow at the following junctions:

1. Carib West
2. Blue Hills Road
3. Market Place
4. Suzie Turn
5. Venetian Road
6. IGA Supermarket
7. Beaches Resort
8. Tropicana Plaza

FROM START TO FINISH
In spite of being an impatient and easily annoyed driver, I find myself fascinated by the process of watching a new road unfold where only ruts and rubble existed before. Hoping that understanding would breed patience, I decided to ask Johnston engineers exactly what is going on out there.

I learned that the first step in creating a “modern” highway is to survey the existing roadway — every last lumpy inch. I also discovered that the 100 foot wide swath is actually called the Crown Corridor and had been initially surveyed and identified as the zone for future expansion of the highway 30 years ago.

Local surveyor Theo Durham completed the initial topographical surveys which established the contours of the land. These were entered onto a computer data base, with the new highway alignments mapped over the top of this three-dimensional model using state-of-the-art Eagle Point highway design software.

The design work was carried out by Hightechco of Providenciales, in conjunction with Chris Conway, of the local firm CSE (Civil and Structural Engineering Ltd.). It was their task to “make the road work” within the constraints of the government’s design brief, along with criteria and codes set by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the U.K. Department of Transport. Chris explains, “The new highway will be safer and more comfortable to drive because we have addressed issues such as the proper sight lines and stopping distances required for safety at posted speeds. The highway’s contours are designed to ensure a comfortable ride.”

Future traffic flows were projected based on a detailed schedule of traffic studies carried out by independent specialist consultants engaged by Johnston International Ltd. According to Chris Conway, capacity design elements took into consideration a 6% traffic growth year on year for the next 10 to 15 years.

As design is finalized along each section of the road, the designers work closely with the Government Public Works engineering team of Mack Smith, Chief Engineer, Lyndon Collison and Gordon Sutherland to check for compliance with the original brief. The next step is to create “Plan and Profile” drawings for every 50 feet of road. The purpose of these drawings is to show engineers exactly how much clearing, cutting, leveling and/or filling is required.

But before any earth moving could start, a somewhat touchy issue had to be dealt with. Over the years since the Crown Corridor had been surveyed, a number of encroachments had been made within its boundaries — most quite unintentionally. These included walls, garden plantings, power poles, water mains and even three small houses. In each case, TCI Government served owners with legal notice that they would have to be moved for the highway widening. Johnston representatives followed up with courtesy calls and visits and found most people to be helpful and understanding when it came time for the bulldozers to move in.

To accurately follow the design plan, it is imperative that the edges of the new highway are precisely set out. Highway engineers use optical instruments called Theodolight Total Stations, which to the layman look like telescopes. These essential pieces of surveying equipment very accurately measure angles and distances.

Massive D-8 bulldozers, front end loaders and dump trucks clear away bush and excavate roadsides and hills, with precious topsoil dropped in the central median for future landscaping wherever possible. Poles and utility boxes are carefully moved, in close coordination with power, telephone, water and cable television companies. The existing sand-seal pavement is scarified using special ripping teeth on the back of a bulldozer prior to the reconstruction process commencing.

As construction proceeds, dump trucks will be seen steadily hauling quarry fill material from the project- designated quarry at the south of the Providenciales International Airport to areas of the highway where embankments are being constructed.

The bulk fill and leveling operations bring the highway embankment up to an approximate level prior to the curb construction. The earthworks operation utilizes a bulldozer, several compaction rollers and a water truck. The fill material is a limestone based substance and is pushed out into layers by the bulldozer then compacted — first with a sheep’s foot roller and then with a smooth cylinder roller. At all times during the process, water is sprayed onto the fill surface. Water helps achieve the high density levels that are required for a firm foundation and has the added benefit of reducing the dust levels. Throughout the process, engineers carefully measure density levels and bearing strengths to ensure that the target parameters are being achieved prior to placing the next layers.

The bulk earthworks are followed by the construction of the curbs using a continuous slip forming process.

Prior to the asphalt operations, the road is finally graded using a road grader and the smooth wheel roller. Once at the final level, the surface is sealed with a bitumen emulsion coating called EPRS. This black primer coat helps ensure good adhesion of the asphalt and protects the top surface from rain prior to asphalt surfacing operations.

The asphalt surfacing is produced in Johnston’s plant next to the Sky King hanger. A precise mixture of 1/2 inch gravel, sand and AC-30 bitumen is fed into the mixer drum, heated to 250 to 300 degrees F and mixed into hot asphalt for road surfacing. This is transported by truck to the project site, where it is emptied into the hopper of the paving machine and slowly fed through onto the road surface. The paving machine uses laser guided sensors to precisely govern the level of the finished asphalt. The asphalt is laid approximately 3 inches thick (compared to 1/2 inch for the original Leeward Highway!), in two layers in some places, and elsewhere 2 inches thick. Cooling and compaction using both steel-wheeled and pneumatic tired finishing rollers ensures a strong, smooth surface. The project will require at least 41,000 metric tons of asphalt to cover the 9 1/2 miles of reconstructed highway, utilizing about one ton per foot of surfacing along the length of the four lane highway!

The white dividing lines are like icing on a cake. These days, they’re not paint but a thermoplastic substance, which is melted in a boiler and poured into the lining machine. Glass beads are then dropped on top of the lines to create a reflective surface. Installing road lights and signage will mark the highway’s completion.

CHALLENGES ON THE ROAD
Although the process itself sounds complicated enough, project engineers and highway workers face additional challenges. First and foremost are the difficulties of working on a busy “live road” on which traffic must be kept steadily flowing and access to roadside businesses remain clear. Simon Cross explains that Johnston is committed to keeping two lanes open at all times, with minimal disruption to businesses and appropriate signage where necessary. “In the event that we can only open a single lane or are building something like a round-about or tie-in, we’ve tried to work in the very early morning or on Sundays to reduce impact to motorists, and we have a flagman directing traffic.” He adds that they work closely with the local police to help ensure safety for both drivers and the work crews.

A second challenge is procuring quality materials. To keep to schedule, a shipload of aggregate (which comes from a quarry in Cuba) must arrive every 10 days. Johnston maintains a full laboratory to make sure materials are up to specification, as well as for testing of concrete and asphalt mixtures.

Amazingly, the entire undertaking only involves about 30 workers, including a handful of experienced highway construction specialists specifically recruited for the Leeward Highway project by Johnston.
It’s probably an understatement to say that Providenciales drivers will notice a big difference when the road is completed. (In fact, the tradition of driving “up the road” on weekends just for fun could make a come-back!) However, a final (and major) challenge will be educating drivers on rules of the road to ensure that the new Leeward Highway is a safe Leeward Highway.

Special thanks to Johnston’s Area Manager Simon Cross and Business Development Manager Simon Odoni for their help in compiling, reviewing and taking photographs for this article.

By Jeanne McClellan, Norwani Services Ltd.

The Turks & Caicos Islands are changing at an astonishing speed. Ten years ago, driving from Leeward to Blue Hills was an easy trip. Today, that trip is not so easy — the number of cars and trucks on a road that is undergoing major construction creates regular traffic slowdowns. Saturday at the airport is a lesson in patience as commercial flight after commercial flight brings increasing numbers of visitors to the Islands. Look at the building construction along Grace Bay and in the Leeward communities. The tourism industry that supports these Islands is developing at a phenomenal rate. Our businesses must provide products and services to a rapidly growing population. The Turks & Caicos Islands are morphing before our eyes.

When you look up the word “morph” in a dictionary you will find it listed as a verb that means “to transform from one thing, by degrees, into something different.” The definition does not explain either the process or the speed at which morphing occurs. It does not explain the energy surrounding the morphing action or its outcome. It does not describe the effect that morphing has on its surroundings. And it does not apply the action of morphing to business development. But make no mistake — businesses do morph. If they didn’t, they would not survive.

Business in the Turks & Caicos Islands, and Providenciales in particular, is an adventure in morphing . . . unlimited. The world was introduced formally to the Turks & Caicos Islands when Conde Nast magazine named Grace Bay among the top ten beaches in the world. Now we already knew how beautiful all of our beaches were and we could manage our tourism and businesses on that level.

But then, visitors began to arrive in increasing numbers and the real estate market boomed. Now from an economic standpoint, those are good things. However, an increase in tourism and real estate sales also means an increased need for housing, food, electricity, transportation, building supplies, entertainment and communications, which also means an increased need for architects, decorators, waiters and waitresses, housekeepers, maintenance workers, cooks, heavy equipment operators, technicians, taxi drivers, security guards . . . the list goes on. The morphing of business on TCI has begun.

Morphing a business is not a random action but a systematic process that incorporates every aspect of life. As an example, let’s consider opening a restaurant on Providenciales. Assuming that all government requirements have been met and a suitable location has been secured, we now have to create our business. We will have to arrange for financing through one of the on- island financial institutions. We will have to choose a theme for the restaurant that will require special decorating touches. We will have to design and build the restaurant itself. We will have to purchase special restaurant equipment. We will have to arrange for daily food and beverage deliveries. We will have to interview, hire, and train staff for the kitchen and service areas. We will have to work through the Immigration and Labour Departments for the proper documents for each employee. Finally, we will open our doors and serve our customers, who will be so impressed that they will tell everyone how wonderful our restaurant is and recommend to everyone they know that they must travel to the Turks & Caicos Islands just to come to our restaurant. (And if that doesn’t work, we will have to design and place an advertisement in one of the many on-island publications, such as the one you are reading right now.)

Sounds simple enough doesn’t it? The good news is that in opening this restaurant, we have connected with just about every other business on the island, including government agencies. We have imported goods via air and sea freight shippers, we have borrowed monies from local financial institutions, we have purchased services from utility providers, retail and wholesale shops, we have used office supply stores, marketing agencies and advertising venues and we have employed TCI residents in a variety of jobs. We did not open this restaurant by ourselves. We used a large amount of products and services from other businesses that, in turn, had to adjust their businesses to meet our needs. In opening our restaurant we brought more business to our fellow business owners and have had a positive effect on the TCI economy.

Multiply this venture by the number of new and expanding businesses on TCI within, say, the past five years and you can see that there has been a phenomenal increase in business in general. The question now: Is business development in Turks & Caicos too much/too fast or not enough/too slow? The answer will be found not in the quantity of our businesses, but in the quality of our businesses.

The growth of a business is obvious from the outside — larger offices, more employees, higher profit levels. But a business’ real growth takes place on the inside, in the form of business plans, quality measurements and staff development. A business morphs from the inside out or it does not survive.

So how do you know if your business is morphing at the right speed and in the right direction? Ask yourself the following questions:

* Do you know where you want your business to be next week, next month, next year, in the next five years?

* Are you measuring your product and service quality? Are you getting accurate, usable feedback from your customers, your stakeholders and your employees?

* What are you doing right now that is helping you to reach the goals you have set?

* What are your current resource levels? Consider all of your resources — your location, your marketing, your people, your finances.

* What will you have to do to make your goals reality? Are you preparing to plan for the future and to redesign your current processes? Are you preparing to flex with the changes on-island and in the world community?

And the final, most important question:

* What is happening globally over which you have no control, that will affect your business?

When we answer this final question we invariably look for the negatives . . . economic downturns, weather influences, worldwide instability that affects travel. There is a positive side to consider as well — economic upturns, “perfect” weather, an increase in worldwide travel — how will your business handle a major influx of visitors who will demand higher quantity and quality of our services?

As we work through the answers to each of these questions, we take control of the morphing process. We transform the energy of our business and we contribute to the quality development of the Turks & Caicos Islands.

The morphing of TCI is just beginning. Now we have to ask ourselves: Are we morphing too quickly or too slowly? Are we morphing too much or too little? The answers are not easy to find.

When we understand that morphing is a process, we understand that, with proper organization, the morphing process will result in strong, competitive businesses that will provide quality products and services to the customers they serve. In turn, as businesses manage their individual morphing process, the Turks & Caicos Islands will morph at a rate consistent with their rising presence in the Caribbean community and the world. I believe that the morphing of TCI can be managed at a pace that will enhance our existing business community and encourage future business development.

Welcome to the Turks & Caicos Islands, where our commitment to business development and service excellence is exceeded only by the country’s natural beauty.

Jeanne McClellan is Director of Education and Development for Norwani Services Ltd., located in Southwinds Plaza on Providenciales. Jeanne is an Organizational Effectiveness specialist with 17 years of experience in the fields of organizational design, people development, motivation and team building. She is a registered organizational effectiveness professional and a trained facilitator for experience-based learning. Jeanne is the Executive Director of The Taylor Consulting Group, an organizational development firm based in West Grove, Pennsylvania. She can be reached at Jeanne@tcgroup1.com.