happy to be home

30 January 2013

so you may have seen, on facebook or instagram, that i have been away for the past couple of weeks. i went to back to portugal for my mum’s birthday and we made a trip to florence to celebrate! it was an amazing couple of weeks. but it’s always nice to be back on island.

this morning i went for a beach walk with a friend and her dog, and it felt like the first time i was on this beach. i mean, i enjoyed it so much as if i didn’t take it for granted. and i felt so grateful.

go check out a few more pictures of the beach today HERE.

turks and caicos beaches // the bight

14 January 2013

2 Comments

we go to the bight A LOT, and when i say a lot, i mean almost every weekend. it’s our go to next door beach. we like it because it’s a one minute drive from home, it’s easy to access and park, and it’s always almost empty. i call it luxury.

last weekend, it was particularly busy, maybe three other families spread out through the beach. but, because of the gansevoort and the beach house very near, there were a lot of people walking by the beach, and it felt nice, to see the parasailing, someone horseback riding, and a little more action than the usual.

the one thing i don’t like about this beach is, because there are no hotels in it, i don’t think anyone cleans it, so at certain times of the year, there are more algae on the sand than i would like.

ps – a post i did on the bight…too long ago!

bugaloo’s / providenciales

9 January 2013

4 Comments

i love how they have rearranged this place, where most people didn’t even know there was such a beautiful site. we come to five cays once in a while, for the banana bread at liz bakery or the lobsters at provo seafood, and we like it because it is so un-touristic.

we’ve been to bugaloo’s a couple of times, first when it opened last year, and then again last week. they keep turtles and bunnies, so kids always have a good time looking around.

conch is their speciality, but last time we tried the cracked lobster and i tell you, it is so, so good. i think the restaurant has been busier than they thought it would, so service can be slow, just make sure you are not in a hurry when coming here. i like it that you meet locals, residents and tourists all in one place too.

for more information, check bugaloo’s facebook page.

a few new food spots in provo

5 January 2013

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it’s the first weekend in january and we’re excited to try out a few new places on island, like 1) LE BOUCHON DU VILLAGE, open for lunch and dinner, the new french bistro opened last week, it has an amazing atmosphere and i hear the steak au poivre is amazing. 2) BUGALOO’S CONCH CRAWL, the new local food restaurant by the beach in five cays, the setting is beautiful, opened late last year. 3) LUPO, the new italian i can’t wait to try for their pizza, due to open next week. 4) STIX, the new grace bay club’s pop up bar by the beach.

i was talking to a friend and telling her how lucky i am that since we moved on island so many new places have opened. since i love food and eating out so much, having restaurant choices is really important for me – what can i say!

happy weekend!!

ps. i took this picture of a turtle “popping-up” at the turtle cove marina, on this day.

his dive story / 41

3 January 2013

1 Comment

Happy new year and hope you are off to a great start! Right before xmas, Joana and I booked a long weekend in Miami to quench our culinary cravings and to do some badly needed shopping. We also ordered loads of things online including my new underwater strobe package, lens adaptor, wet lens and filter. These guys (www.divervision.com) have everything and the prices are much less than in the US. They ship immediately with a choice of EMS or DHL.We shipped everything to our hotel and those guys were amazing in handling all those packages for us! All our packages were delivered to our room before we even checked in!

Anyway, enough of that. As with all new equipment, all my settings had to change and I had to do a lot of tests underwater as the INON S-2000 has a guide number of 20 which is more than double what I had before. I googled for tips and then tried them out underwater. I need to dive more now than ever! The strobe without a doubt is amazing and so compact for travel that I am amazed when my camera is next to others on the boat and it seems more like a toy! But hey, it is all about streamlining for me. Every gear I have is hooked on to my bcd. Check out some of the pics and hopefully in the near future, you can see how I am making progress. Maybe I will pick up an INON wide angle with a dome next! My 28mm Leica wide angle loses so much underwater and the wide angle wet lens would restore most if not more back.

– James

for more diving posts – CLICK HERE