Resort Report

SCUBA diving revolutionized ocean exploration for all. By Carmen Hoyt, The School for Field Studies Late one summer night, nearly 51 years ago, half a billion people watched in anticipation as Neil Armstrong was the first human to step onto the moon. An event embodied by the phrase “One small step for a man, one giant leap ...

Shore birds rebound after Hurricane Irma. By Eric F. Salamanca, Elise Elliot-Smith, Caleb Spiegel, Jen Rock, Craig Watson, Bryan N. Manco and Lormeka Williams ~ Photos By Eric F. Salamanca The Piping Plover is a rare shorebird that breeds in the United States and Canada and migrates to the southern US, Caribbean and Mexico for the winter. The International ...

Using satellite telemetry to study the lives of sea turtles. Story & Photos By Dr. Peter Richardson and Amdeep Sanghera, Marine Conservation Society Earlier this year, we finally published the results of 18 years of sea turtle research carried out with our partners at the Turks & Caicos Islands Government’s Department of Environment & Coastal Resources (DECR), ...

For Columbus, the holiday did not bring “glad tidings!” By Bill Keegan, Betsy Carlson and Michael Pateman ‘Twas the night before Christmas Christmas Eve, 1492, sailing with a light wind, the Niña and Santa María exit the Mar de Santo Thomás. At 11:00 PM, standing one league off Punta Santa, there was little wind, the sea was “as ...

2020 hurricane season was the busiest in history. By Paul Wilkerson Back in the Spring 2020 issue of Times of the Islands (what feels like a lifetime ago), warning was given of the potential for an active season. Everything pointed to prime conditions for fairly frequent tropical activity. What I did not anticipate was the busiest tropical ...

A tale of transformation. By Diane Taylor Diane “Dee” Taylor lived and worked for three years on Pine Cay with her husband Gary Hodgkins in the early 1980s. They worked with PRIDE (Protection of Reefs and Islands from Degradation and Exploitation) under the direction of Chuck Hesse. Diane’s job was culturing algae for the feeding of conch ...

Why would anyone copy this old picture postcard? By Jeffrey Dodge ~ Images Courtesy Jeffrey Dodge Why, in the early 1920s, would someone on Grand Turk island want to copy a specific 1906 picture postcard that was out of print and no longer obtainable? Was the picture on this 1906 postcard of special interest to someone? Most ...

Images of the past. By Joanna Ostapkowicz ~ Images By Merald Clark (copyright) In 2017 during a visit to the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, I came across a temporary exhibit filled with children’s paintings focusing on island history, both past and present. At the very start of the exhibition were several paintings showing Columbus laying ...

Mapping the North and Middle Caicos Cycle Trail By Jody Rathgeb Everyone views “paradise” through a different lens, and people in the Turks & Caicos Islands are no exception. Divers see the country as an underwater paradise; watersports enthusiasts see a windsurfing paradise, a paddleboard paradise, a sailing paradise; and vacationers find paradise in lazy beach days ...

How to travel gracefully during a pandemic. By Jayne Baker ~ Photo By Marta Morton As Caribbean nations start to loosen their border restrictions, the allure of near empty beaches and low hotel occupancy is calling to (masked) travelers. For some, it’s a return visit to a beloved home away from home—perhaps an island destination they have ...

The fascinating world of the echinoderm. By Melissa Heres, Waterfront Assistant, The School for Field Studies, Center for Marine Resource Studies ~ Photos By Anna Handte-Reinecker The name “echinoderm” might not bring much to your mind—perhaps unwelcomed trips to the dermatologist or a whiff of echinacea. But by taking the word apart we learn that echino- translates to ...

The scoop on these small marine snails. Story & Photos By Carmen Hoyt, Waterfront Assistant, The School for Field Studies Center for Marine Resource Studies, South Caicos Let me tell you, nothing quiets a crowd faster than saying, “I love flamingo tongues!” Such an exclamation is usually met with some sideways stares and confused looks. Flamingo tongues, ...

“Talking Taino” authors return with a new take on an old tale. By Bill Keegan, Betsy Carlson and Michael Pateman   Hopefully the announcement that we’re back won’t cause flashbacks to the Steven Spielberg film “Poltergeist” (Fox/MGM, 1982). We are back, and this time we packed a suitcase. Between 2003 and 2007, Bill and Betsy wrote 20 essays ...

Awe-inspiring sights in the sky. By Paul Wilkerson ~ Photos By Marta Morton Have you ever been outside on a late summer afternoon watching passing storms cruise by, only to see rays of sunshine raining down in mesmerizing streaks of light on the turquoise water below? How about staring at a towering cumulus cloud in the distance ...

A dream of racial reconciliation. By Diane Taylor ~ Artwork by Carol Kubie Let me tell you about my son Benjamin and Dr. Martin Luther King, and how I came to write the poem on the next page. And also why I am bringing the poem to light after it has been lying dormant with a collection ...