We made it. Finally. Our last couple weeks in Calgary were a bit of a mess and we sure appreciate everyone who helped us get out of and clean up our house. We couldn't have done it without some pretty key help especially from Darla and Kristine.
The flights down weren't that bad. The kids were reasonably well behaved. Definitely better than expected. The two layovers weren't bad. We checked 10 peices of luggage and they were all dangerously close to the 50lb. limit, but didn't go over! We were pretty proud of that one. We all had our max allowable carryon too, so we checked 10 and carried 8. Luckily when we went to board our second plane they told us that there was no overhead space left and we had to check some of the luggage. So we ended up getting four peices checked for free. This meant that we only had to carry around 4 pieces. The miracle was that all this luggage plus people fit into my new bosses vehicle when we met at the airport.
Immigration was a breeze even though the guy thought that something was wrong with my paperwork. It would have gone alot quicker except that we had a little potty break that delayed us getting through. I think it was the guys end of his shift or something because he was pretty brief.
Our place is pretty nice. Its a two bedroom two story place. A townhouse in a row of I think four houses. Both rooms have ensuite bathrooms. The main floor has kitchen, dining, and family rooms as well as a sitting porch out the back that is covered with screens. Pictures of the house may come later. We had to go through the kitchen as it was pretty gross when we got here. I think we did four loads of dishes before we really ate here. Literally four steps from our back door and you are standing at the pool. The other side of the pool is the tee for I think the 18th hole at the golf course. It is amazing not to have about a hundred houses surrounding us. The view out the front is into some jungle. Beyond the jungle is the beach (though we can't see it even from upstairs). No, we can't just walk through the jungle to the beach. There is alot of jungle and a road and it is too thick to walk through. If you go to google maps and search "the enclave, turks and caicos" you will see the group of houses. We are a little south of in in the enclave II, but it is too new and isn't on the map. You'll see we aren't a great walk to the beach.
On Friday we went out for lunch with a couple of the guys from work and they took us to a place called Mango Reef which was on the beach. It was amazing. The area closest to the beach is declared a national treasure or is a national park or something like that so there is no development within 20-30 feet of the sand, so it was as close as possible to the beach anyway. I think it is a restaurant we would like to go to more often. Prices were pretty comparable to Calgary. Lunch items were anywhere from 12-16. The kids menu was 10 each though. For a grilled cheese sandwich and noodles with no sauce. Oh well.
So onto today then. Zoe has made a few friends as a result of her trying to get information on the island and get prepared. One of them is a girl from the US named Joelle. She has been here with her family for about two years and she invited us to the beach by her house. Yes, she lives on the beach (as close as she is allowed to anyway). The beach was easily the most beautiful nature-type thing I have ever seen. Not quite as majestic as the mountains, but definitely more inviting. Here are the pictures.
Keep in mind that these were taken by me with our camera. Don't be fooled. That awesomeness is not fake or off some website for super amazing beaches. It is emerald point and it is where we live.
The flights down weren't that bad. The kids were reasonably well behaved. Definitely better than expected. The two layovers weren't bad. We checked 10 peices of luggage and they were all dangerously close to the 50lb. limit, but didn't go over! We were pretty proud of that one. We all had our max allowable carryon too, so we checked 10 and carried 8. Luckily when we went to board our second plane they told us that there was no overhead space left and we had to check some of the luggage. So we ended up getting four peices checked for free. This meant that we only had to carry around 4 pieces. The miracle was that all this luggage plus people fit into my new bosses vehicle when we met at the airport.
Immigration was a breeze even though the guy thought that something was wrong with my paperwork. It would have gone alot quicker except that we had a little potty break that delayed us getting through. I think it was the guys end of his shift or something because he was pretty brief.
Our place is pretty nice. Its a two bedroom two story place. A townhouse in a row of I think four houses. Both rooms have ensuite bathrooms. The main floor has kitchen, dining, and family rooms as well as a sitting porch out the back that is covered with screens. Pictures of the house may come later. We had to go through the kitchen as it was pretty gross when we got here. I think we did four loads of dishes before we really ate here. Literally four steps from our back door and you are standing at the pool. The other side of the pool is the tee for I think the 18th hole at the golf course. It is amazing not to have about a hundred houses surrounding us. The view out the front is into some jungle. Beyond the jungle is the beach (though we can't see it even from upstairs). No, we can't just walk through the jungle to the beach. There is alot of jungle and a road and it is too thick to walk through. If you go to google maps and search "the enclave, turks and caicos" you will see the group of houses. We are a little south of in in the enclave II, but it is too new and isn't on the map. You'll see we aren't a great walk to the beach.
On Friday we went out for lunch with a couple of the guys from work and they took us to a place called Mango Reef which was on the beach. It was amazing. The area closest to the beach is declared a national treasure or is a national park or something like that so there is no development within 20-30 feet of the sand, so it was as close as possible to the beach anyway. I think it is a restaurant we would like to go to more often. Prices were pretty comparable to Calgary. Lunch items were anywhere from 12-16. The kids menu was 10 each though. For a grilled cheese sandwich and noodles with no sauce. Oh well.
So onto today then. Zoe has made a few friends as a result of her trying to get information on the island and get prepared. One of them is a girl from the US named Joelle. She has been here with her family for about two years and she invited us to the beach by her house. Yes, she lives on the beach (as close as she is allowed to anyway). The beach was easily the most beautiful nature-type thing I have ever seen. Not quite as majestic as the mountains, but definitely more inviting. Here are the pictures.
Keep in mind that these were taken by me with our camera. Don't be fooled. That awesomeness is not fake or off some website for super amazing beaches. It is emerald point and it is where we live.
No editing! It is this pretty!
You can see how clear the water is
Zoe has yet to get her tan, but we promise you it will come.
No one else within sight either side of the beach.
So soft and squishy.
We will keep the pictures coming as we continue our adventure. One of the guys from work said that he will take us to see the house that the artist formerly known as Prince bought after coming to the island last year. Stay tuned . . .
