Salt Cay Boat Trip

Today we took a boat trip to Salt Cay, the second largest island in the Turks island group. From 1673 to 1964 Salt Cay produced sea salt. In the middle of the island there is a huge Salina. Along the edges of this there are houses of the salt rakers and salt merchants. In the heyday of the salt industry there were 600 people living on Salt Cay. Today there are 60.

The Rotary Club of Grand Turk sponsored this trip. The cost was $15 per ticket. Normally the cost of getting to Salt Cay is $60 per person. So this was a bargain. We had a fun day. There is not a whole lot to do but walk around. But everyone I have talked to says this is enough.

We toured the White House, 1830, the best preserved salt merchant house in the TCI. Members of the original family to build the house are in from the states to do some work. Last week they stopped in at the museum to see me. We will go back in April to spend a weekend at the house to document it.

I also stopped and toured a wonderful small house under restoration by a Canadian craftsman. He was doing the best restoration work I have seen here so far.

We went snorkeling off an area called the cliffs. Getting in was tough because it was over very sharp rocks. No one made it in and out without scratches and punctures on our hands or feet. The snorkeling was worth it though. In a small alcove within the cliff we saw many fish and wonderfully large coral.











Coming home, the boat ran out of fuel. I could make this a very engaging story, but will suffice to say that the engines, sputtering for a few miles, died as we drifted into the shore in front of the Sand Bar. All 60 of us made a beach landing and walked the two miles or so back to our cars at the downtown dock.