2 – 6 February 2013

When I packed my bags in the evening I missed my fleece and the only place I could have lost it was in a small shop where I bought some beverages 2 days before after returning from the Citadelle. I got up early and walked the 20 minutes to the shop but it was closed.... however when I passed on a moto-taxi on the way to the airport an hour later the shop was open and my fleece was still there – another good example of the Haitian friendliness and honesty. I was early at the airport but time passed quickly due to difficulties finding a money changer with decent rates and a security guy wanting to meticulously look through my big bag after it had passed the X-ray (nothing but curiosity of the bag content). Suddenly an airline guy informed that if I didn't check-in instantly I would miss the plane that would leave in 15 minutes – 45 minutes before scheduled. In accordance with the ticket and their homepage, I checked in 1 hour before the plane – of course – left on time. I never understood what all the fuss was about – maybe he wanted to exercise his power towards a “blanc”?

Turks and Caicos (TC) immigration took a while – apparently they don't trust people who come to stay privately despite it only being for a few days. On the question: “Are you going to work here?” I replied: “I hope not since I only have 4 days”. That kind of cocky remark seldom promotes progress with black immigration officers (who also like to exercise their power), so it took additional 15 minutes charming my way to the passport stamp.

In TC I stayed with Lynn - an amazing woman who like me have made radical changes in her life. It was really inspiring talking to her about getting most out of life, living in the moment and being happy every day. I also had many interesting conversations with Canadian Kevin staying at Lynn's place the same time. Lynn was nice to pick me up at the airport and on the way back to her house we did a bit of sightseeing. TC is mainly beaches and relaxing (diving should be good but it's much too expensive), so it was to be a fairly short stay. I spent a lot of time catching up on my homepage especially because it – for the first time on this trip – rained a whole day. One morning Lynn and I went “garbage-hunting” on the beach while walking her many dogs and one afternoon I walked +20k on the beaches on the Northern shore – the residential areas where peaceful and nice while the resort areas were busy and noisy.

Brief TC history – the islands were practically uninhabited until 1678 when Bermudian salt rakers settled at started producing sea salt. Not much happened until the 1950s where the American's built an airstrip and a submarine base and in 1962 the islands became a British Crown Colony. The establishment of Club Med in 1984 entailed huge progress in tourism and thereby development of other amenities e.g. electricity and satellite tv. But despite increased tourism TC still need British aid. In 2009 corruption scandals made the governor take over the rule and discharge the government, but during the next elections the same party got the majority – though other people....