A week ago today

A week ago today we were pulling our mock-titanic into Grand Turk.  From the dock, Grand Turk is beautiful...very close to paradise but we learned more about this area than the average Margaritaville dweller.

Before we went on our trip Sean and I made a list of a few excursions that we thought we would like to do.  I figured that we may never be in these area's again and we should try to actually "do" something.  At Grand Turk we had decided to go on a clear bottom kayak and eco walk tour.  It wasn't too expensive and really wanted to do something that required movement...especially when you have felt like you were eating 24/7 on the boat.

The actual tour was AWESOME.  The tour guide was a rather large native man who you wouldn't typically see in a kayak...but he was funny and had great knowledge of the plant life, fish and other things that he happened upon during out trip.  Because the kayak was clear on the bottom we could watch the fish and vegetation which added a nice aspect to the ride(I say ride...because Sean did all the paddling)  The weather was beautiful and we got to see all kinds of things and wild flamingos, which as it turns out...do exist outside of the zoos :)

The thing is...Grand Turk is a really poor area.  Most of the people who live there live in huts and the damage of hurricanes is ever present.  There is garbage in the streets, wild horses and donkeys and women who sit in their teeny tiny shops selling handmade trinkets for little money.  But you never once saw someone who didn't seem content.  It is unreal.  In fact as we were driving and I was watching out the window, I remember that I just kept saying "unreal", and thinking that our girls wouldn't believe the houses and land.  Unreal. 

And the part that got to me the most was that 99% of the people who came ashore that day did not see what we saw.  We would ask people what they did and the majority stayed close to shore on the beach or in the shops and restaurants that are just a few feet from the beach.  If you were to ask them what they thought of Grand Turk, they would probably tell you that it was paradise, but in reality...the people who live there live in a different type of reality.  One that doesn't revolve around tourism, but one that they have grown accustomed to.  That is something to be respected and admired.  The live with so little and yet they live.  What a lesson in the middle of what seemed like paradise from the shore.