Conch for Lunch. Lobster for Dinner. And that wasn't at the Willis Wedding!

First off – we didn’t get our invite in time for the Bruce Willis Wedding here in the Turks and Caicos. It must be lost in transit. We’ve heard the event was on Parrot Cay – in North Caicos – a tiny cay surrounded by reefs.

But even without that star studded event – we’ve been living the high life when it comes to dining. We really feel like we are in the islands with today’s (Tuesday’s) menu.

Southside Marina

Astarte at the Dock.

Michael liked this marina.

Entrance range to the Marina

There was another adventure with the folks who run South Side Marina where Astarte has been for a few days. Today we piled in the truck (six in the pick-up bed and two upfront) and negotiated the pothole-filled, dusty streets, scary round-abouts(rotarys) and Simon’s wild driving to get to “Da Conch Shack.” This is a very local restaurant specializing in – you guessed it – conch. They also have a tasty rum punch. So plates of cracked conch and some conch fritters were devoured by the crew. Our guests Dave and Lorna seemed to enjoy the feast and Lorna learned how to clean conch. That’ll come in handy hopefully. She also scored a beautiful large conch shell for her coy pond back in Ohio. Poor Dave will be schlepping a bag filled with shells (at least they have room after offloading all the treats and parts they brought us!).

Lorna's new best friend.

Dave's new best friend.

Arrival at Da Conch Shack, not our ride!

Simon and Charlyn, our hosts and John Wayne our Waiter!

What a great beach!

It was a fun trip and the location was absolutely beautiful. It was mighty windy on that side of the island. After our return from lunch, we needed to leave the marina and head back to Sapodilla Bay. It was a pretty low tide when we headed out and we bumped the bottom about four times. Luckily on the sandy parts – missing the coral heads. We had a lovely hour sail back to the Bay where we are safely anchored for at least one night. There’s a bit of a rock – but the comfortable “lullabye” style rock that is so pleasant at anchor.

For dinner we enjoyed the last of the lobster tail we grilled on Sunday night. The tail was enough to make a nice lobster salad for four with some fresh French bread – it was a nice meal after our hearty conch lunch.

Exploring around the marina.

Everyone is tuckered out and calling it an early night. … Sleep well.