tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:44:43 +00002 Gringos in the CaribbeanA personal journal of life as American expats in<br>the Turks and Caicos Islands, British West Indieshttp://2gringos.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (La Gringa)Blogger21012521.9-72.02GringosInTheCaribbeanhttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-1445886531906575429Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:14:00 +00002009-11-09T18:01:34.715-05:00Randall RosenthalPine CayWeathered inI feel like I owe some of you an explanation. Which is meant to be slightly different from an excuse. Even though I do have both. I had said that we were going to take the boat to Pine Cay this weekend and that we anticipated some nice blue water/tropicalish (is that a word?) type photos. Well....this is what actually happened....The weather was looking pretty good Thursday when I wrote about ourhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/vE9R69Z7W0o/weathered-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)5<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/vE9R69Z7W0o" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/11/weathered-in.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-4525117211507025718Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:33:00 +00002009-11-06T05:36:26.759-05:00Scratching for a postI know, I know... I haven't posted anything new since mid October. And it's already well into November. A number of people have been kind enough to point this out to me. I plead guilty as charged. I am hearing that people up north would like to see something warm and tropical. Would a sunrise do, for now?November is typically the rainiest month here in the TCI. While we have not had a lot of rainhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/YEthEysnxuQ/scratching-for-post.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)7<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/YEthEysnxuQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/11/scratching-for-post.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-1201053892885927108Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:05:00 +00002009-10-12T13:25:48.524-04:00ProvidencialesLand RoversGrace BayChecking out Grace BayThe summer of 2009 is over. The warmer temperatures of September are behind us along with historically the busiest month for hurricanes. Oh we are not 'out of the woods' for this season just yet. Storms come in October, and even November. But with every day between us and September we get a little closer to the finish line for this hurricane season. I would like to be able to relax and stop http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/eImS9jDzP8E/checking-out-grace-bay.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)11<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/eImS9jDzP8E" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/10/checking-out-grace-bay.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-6791658693619625376Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:22:00 +00002009-10-02T17:19:17.341-04:00Pine CayDIYLeewardWater CayKayakOxidation is an insomniacA late September sunrise:As I explained in the previous post, this one will be largely about some of the seemingly endless DIY stuff that takes up a chunk of just about every single day here. At one time I think I had it in my head that if I just knuckled down and spent more hours on maintenance, repair and corrosion prevention, eventually I would be 'caught up'. Now I realize that this will http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/yqwUdb5VbFA/oxidation-is-insomniac.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)6<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/yqwUdb5VbFA" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/10/oxidation-is-insomniac.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-3534575795820093680Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:19:00 +00002009-09-24T11:10:22.043-04:00CanalsBoatsKayakCatching up..I was originally going to call this post "Rust never sleeps" but that phrase is so overused. I figured I should at least change the wording even if I didn't change the meaning. I'm sure you have also heard the cliche: "Cliches become cliche because they are so often true". And it's true about rust never sleeping.And living in the tropics will teach one a few things about how serious corrosion canhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/t61QPI1k20g/catching-up.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)17<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/t61QPI1k20g" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/09/catching-up.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-106582552144378263Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:40:00 +00002009-09-02T12:36:03.912-04:00WeatherLeewardIguanasKayakSeptember Already???Once again we find ourselves stupidly surprised to suddenly see that September sunrises have surreptitiously surrounded us once again.Or maybe that photo just an example of the 'silver lining' cliche.September is typically the warmest month of the summer here as the sun passes back overhead on its way to its winter stomping grounds down in the Tropic of Capricorn. We see the 'back-to-school' http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/Aku5l9kKQF8/september-already.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)9<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/Aku5l9kKQF8" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/09/september-already.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-2090495438411488269Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:55:00 +00002009-08-30T19:04:07.446-04:00HurricanesOff CayMomentary PanicsSummer weather has been upon us big time like it has been for the rest of the northern hemisphere. The weather has been all over the place, as usual for this time of year. We get plenty of clear summer days. Some mornings lately, the ocean has started the day flat and calm.We knew it was hurricane season. Everybody who lives in the tropics is intensely aware of when it is hurricane season. We http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/SMDnA1ln6xw/momentary-panics.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)7<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/SMDnA1ln6xw" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/08/momentary-panics.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-1333162817505254592Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:42:00 +00002009-08-30T11:26:34.811-04:00ProvidencialesOff RoadOff CayKayakBackroads and boat rampsI usually try to start these posts with a sunrise. But I didn't want you to get the idea that every morning is perfect. Just for a change, here is a shot of one of those mornings when the sun just didn't quite make the pretty tropical photo because of squalls. We love squalls. Squalls mean rainwater in the cisterns. And rain also means the dust stays on the ground for a while.At the end of the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/o1I4pRrzKO0/backroads-and-boat-ramps.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)12<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/o1I4pRrzKO0" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/08/backroads-and-boat-ramps.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-5194356596201486333Sat, 01 Aug 2009 11:21:00 +00002009-08-01T11:45:35.641-04:00Island LifeSloopsLand RoversCanalsKayakCatching UpOnce again I find myself sitting here on a miserable late afternoon writing about another kayak trip. Here, doesn't this look miserable?I had really, really, really hoped to be writing about more fishing and diving trips by now. Honestly, I would. But problems with the outboard motor continue to plague us, and once again we find our boating excursions limited to those powered soley by "shank's http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/bFdT8poMpso/catching-up.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)11<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/bFdT8poMpso" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/08/catching-up.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-6487695441863779561Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:00:00 +00002009-07-20T15:45:29.512-04:00SharksProvidencialesKayakPlaying with sharksSummer continues. Even in the tropics, we have summer. Our summer days are shorter than those up in New England for example. The sun is still pretty far north of us. Even at dawn.We've had at least two days so far in July when the temperature hit 90 degrees. It doesn't feel like it's that warm with the almost constant wind, but it does happen a few times a year.The weather in general has been http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/9B1_WMVT-3s/playing-with-sharks.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)9<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/9B1_WMVT-3s" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/07/playing-with-sharks.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-2574231225419117335Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:51:00 +00002009-07-10T09:14:54.978-04:00ProvidencialesSloopsFishingLand RoversCaicos BanksD.I.Y....Yi....Yi!!Man oh man, this week it seems like stuff is breaking, rusting, corroding, or just quitting faster than I can fix it. (I'm starting the post with this complaint because it also happens to be my main excuse for letting a week and a half go by without a new post.)But it's true! I have been up to my elbows in all kinds of things. More on that later.I wish I could paste in one of our http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/Fjn5en7eAUA/diyyiyi.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)5<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/Fjn5en7eAUA" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/07/diyyiyi.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-2587282730446921306Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:02:00 +00002009-06-27T08:17:56.317-04:00FishingConchCaicos BanksBack on the BlueI realize I've been taking a lot of kayak type photos lately. There are some reasons for that. It's part physical therapy, it's partly due to the weather, it's partly because it's cheap to run it (a few thousand calories!) , and it's just downright fun. But we are past due for a post that talks more about the ocean than about the boat. Maybe even another sunrise photo?:The kayaking is definitely http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/Zql0DE7HeAY/back-on-blue.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)11<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/Zql0DE7HeAY" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/06/back-on-blue.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-1911398821078164237Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:25:00 +00002009-06-24T07:28:24.263-04:00Turtle CoveBoatsKayak"Low Cay" in Turtle CoveWe decided to take the little kayak (which we have now named "Low Cay") over to the Turtle Cove area. Plan A was to start in Turtle Cove, boat out toward the reef, go into Thompson Cove, and then return. This was the planned route, over and back:We figured that if we pedalled around sightseeing in both Coves, and added in the return trip, this would work out to be about six miles of pedalling, http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/wsoXKyZua_g/low-cay-in-turtle-cove.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)6<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/wsoXKyZua_g" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/06/low-cay-in-turtle-cove.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-924890297902828922Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:21:00 +00002009-06-24T18:40:35.786-04:00LeewardBoatsKayakMessing round with "Low Cay" againWe finally got a good day to try the sail on the new kayak. We launched it at Leeward Going Through, and sailed around the various little cays for several hours. We found out that with the wind less than about 10 kts, the sail becomes manageable. We learned to put it up and take it down without getting out of the boat. This ought to come in real handy when there's no beach nearby.Without the sailhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/3w9qdlbbIEI/messing-round-with-low-cay-again.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)4<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/3w9qdlbbIEI" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/06/messing-round-with-low-cay-again.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-2844213318130342545Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:03:00 +00002009-06-14T13:23:51.611-04:00Turtle CoveSloopsDIYLand RoversCoral ReefBoatsShipwrecksSloop sliding awaySeveral people have written with some interests in the sloop that we talked about in the last post. We have a little more information on that, and a short photographic update. So even though we have not been undergoing anything especially 'newsworthy' this past week I am going to upload a brief post with what little content that we do have.First, a photo of the Marine Patrol headed out on a http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/cqXI19Bqig8/sloop-sliding-away.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)4<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/cqXI19Bqig8" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/06/sloop-sliding-away.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-5609822977581532551Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:10:00 +00002009-08-30T11:26:34.811-04:00Pine CayDIYLand RoversBoatyardOff CayBoatsShipwrecksBack on the Boat!This weekend we took our 25 foot Contender center-console boat out for the first time in almost six weeks. We had been getting rain off and on, mostly on, for the entire week. We were getting accustomed to looking out the window and seeing things like this approaching from the North:Some of the storms included thunder and lightning, and while we enjoy a good thunder-boomer we do have one family http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/9-2smdNp7NM/back-on-boat.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)8<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/9-2smdNp7NM" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/06/back-on-boat.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-5513987319015251014Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:35:00 +00002009-06-03T12:22:11.729-04:00Turtle CoveWeatherFiddleBoatsWaiting out the rainWe have started spending time outside again. This is a really good thing for us, one of the reasons we like living where we have chosen to live. We have been pretty busy since the last post here.When we first got back from our trip to Texas it was raining. It rained and rained. I think we had two decent days out of nine, if you count sunny as decent.The view from the front porch at the horizon http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/paCc1gT3iZ8/waiting-out-rain.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/paCc1gT3iZ8" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/06/waiting-out-rain.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-7755158010872736790Fri, 22 May 2009 13:25:00 +00002009-05-31T18:15:55.316-04:00Island LifeLand RoversFishBeachHome Again...We've been home from our US trip for a week now, and our lives are slowly moving back toward what we think is normal. Normal for us, I guess I should say. We were curious about how we would feel about returning to these little islands after spending weeks in a big US city. Would we become spoiled by all the smooth concrete pavement, fast food restaurants, shopping malls and consumer goods outletshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/H1I4np2ReVc/home-again.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)10<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/H1I4np2ReVc" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/05/home-again.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-882451782197533246Fri, 15 May 2009 13:50:00 +00002009-07-21T16:24:27.996-04:00SharksProvidencialesUnderwater PhotographyFishingLand RoversCaicos BanksSpring Cleaning post.I realize that the posts here have probably seemed a bit lame lately. And now I can tell you why. I was stretching out the photos we took in April to get as much mileage out of them as we could. This was because we just spent three weeks in Texas while I underwent a total knee replacement. The post prior to this was actually sent from a hotel room in Houston with my knee elevated and iced. Man dohttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/gm-B5u0gtCM/spring-cleaning-post.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)13<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/gm-B5u0gtCM" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/05/spring-cleaning-post.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-1984705636923046802Sat, 02 May 2009 14:15:00 +00002009-05-02T19:19:00.045-04:00FishingUninhabited CaysMiddle CaicosCavesMore Middle CaicosThe sun has finally moved far enough North to get it and the old freighter wreck into the same photo again.I remember taking pictures of the sun rising right through the old wreck last summer. That must be when it is about at it's peak in the Northern Hemisphere.This photo was taken from our patio, but really has nothing to do with the rest of this post. I'm going to put up some pictures we took http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/QChjaX4cPxc/more-middle-caicos.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)9<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/QChjaX4cPxc" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/05/more-middle-caicos.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-7345094145686773955Sat, 11 Apr 2009 23:25:00 +00002009-05-02T10:06:22.608-04:00SloopsFishingMiddle CaicosIs winter finally over?We are finally getting out of the windy days of winter, we hope. The islands have been getting "stretches' of two to three days in a row without the high winds and high waves. The sunrises are creeping a little closer to the old wrecked freighter each morning.The calmer weather means that we have been able to get away for some brief fishing trips from time to time. We have not caught anything http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/N8nWk1DwE4c/is-winter-finally-over.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)6<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/N8nWk1DwE4c" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/04/is-winter-finally-over.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-2679823880959833584Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:45:00 +00002009-04-06T19:29:41.320-04:00Randall RosenthalDIYKayakGoodbye March...It is finally feeling like springtime again down here. We know that it might not seem like there is much of a difference just judging from the photos, but there really is a difference to the people who live here year round. Really, there is. We get cold when the temperature drops below 75 F.I thought I would squeeze one more small blog post in here this last day of March '09. Mainly because we http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/wHOAkgcShw0/goodbye-march.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)6<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/wHOAkgcShw0" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/03/goodbye-march.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-3468711104486844045Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:40:00 +00002009-03-18T21:27:59.881-04:00ProvidencialesDIYCanalsKayakCanals of ProvoWe are still in the windy part of the winter here. Day after day of eight to ten foot seas offshore, and when the wind direction is right (or wrong, as the case seems to be) that also translates into an ugly little two to four foot chop on the Caicos Banks. It's usually pretty calm around dawn:But it picks up pretty early. We don't let it stop us from necessary boat trips, but it does tend to http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/Yo7l9A6eUUQ/canals-of-provo.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)8<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/Yo7l9A6eUUQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/03/canals-of-provo.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-7269850553429701115Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:02:00 +00002009-05-23T14:36:17.290-04:00Island LifeUninhabited CaysLand RoversBoatsKayakDooleyA new toy.The previous blog post here ended with this photo of the arrival at the house of our new toy.No, not the Land Rover...the toy is in the box. We waited two weeks for a kayak we ordered from a Hobie dealer in Florida. It finally arrived late Monday on an ocean freighter. I was able to get it cleared through Customs in only about three hours total effort, involving two trips into Providenciales. Thehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/6YlkLublFxA/new-toy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)13<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/6YlkLublFxA" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/02/new-toy.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7025068942489566045.post-6498662922140215730Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:40:00 +00002009-02-27T05:27:35.197-05:00Island LifeFishingUninhabited CaysBoatsBeachKayakInto every life...A little rain must fall. We know that. And we know we are not immune, but it would be okay with us if it picked days when we were not out fishing, but hey, you gotta take the bad with the good. And this post has both. The winter weather continues, with days of eye-watering wind and some seriously lumpy ocean interrupted from time to time by a day or so of relative calm while Mother Nature inhaleshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~3/20RZSJWeEPo/into-every-life.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Gringo)5<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/2GringosInTheCaribbean/~4/20RZSJWeEPo" height="1" width="1"/>http://2gringos.blogspot.com/2009/02/into-every-life.html