If you’re like me, nothing is more exciting than planning a trip to a brand-new destination. The research. The anticipation. The buildup.
Then about 24 hours from takeoff comes the anxiety of heading into the unknown! Being a ducks-in-a-row, control-freak kind of girl, that last minute fear is an annoying and irrational ailment.
Dr. Love is a private driver and so much more. He was waiting at the curb with a big welcoming smile when we exited the baggage claim area at Providenciales International Airport.
Dr. Love shared the story of Turks & Caicos as we drove along the opposite side of the road and through round-abouts, which we were happy not to navigate ourselves. (Turks & Caicos is a part of the British Overseas Territory, thus the UK influence on the road system.)
It was less than 20 minutes to Villa 306, the luxury beachfront property we’d call home for the next week. But Dr. Love packed a lot of helpful and interesting information into that ride, including his own fascinating island history with ancestral roots dating back to the 1600s.*
Another bonus Dr. Love brings?
He’s one of the top karaoke singers of Turks & Caicos! (Karaok is thing here, with several bars like Danny Bouy’s in Grace Bay hosting open mic nights that draw locals and guests alike eager to show off their skills.)
That meant in addition to quick and easy transportation upon arrival and throughout the week, we were entertained by Dr. Love’s rich renditions of some favorite artists. (Like a childhood favorite, Neil Diamond’s “I am, I said.” A surprise blast from my past that set a nostalgic tone for our journey to the Thursday Night Fish Fry.)
Dr. Love also has his own Top 5 lists for everything from restaurants to ice cream shops and bakeries. Plus, some gently warnings of places not worth the visit. And when we came across things like herds of grown and baby goats chomping grass alongside the road, he knew their story, too.
By the time Dr. Love returned us to the airport a week later, we felt like we had a life-long friend who truly was a highlight of an amazing visit to Turks & Caicos.
We can’t wait to see him again.
*Fun Fact:
The first known inhabitants of the Turks and Caicos were the Lucayans, (also referred to as Tainos, or Lucayan Indians). It’s thought that the Lucayans migrated to the islands through the southern Caribbean from South America, as early as the year 700 AD. Long before Christopher Columbus first set foot on the capital island of Grand Turk during his discovery voyage of the new world in 1492.
Dr Love gave us an amazing personal tour of the island, including this stop for a refreshing frozen mango cocktail at Bugaloo’s Conch Crawl.
Just one of the beautiful estate homes on the Caribbean side of the island we saw on our tour with Dr. Love.
Heading to the Thursday night Fish Fry with Dr. Love.
THE VILLA AT GRACE BAY BEACH
