Cockburn Town

"Day Trip: Provo to Grand Turk Always wondering where the next puddle jumper might take us, my family and I decided to venture a few islands over from our home base on Providenciales and head for Grand Turk one sunny day last January. Cockburn Town, the island territory's capitol, is where most official Turks and Caicos business takes place. We had heard there were also some nice beaches on Grand Turk. As soon as our Air T&C flight landed, we spied a mammoth cruise ship docked nearby, regurgitating passengers onto the shore. Wondering if we had made a poor decision to visit the island, we quickly hopped into a taxi and sped away from the touristy scene. My pulse slowed down a bit as we put some distance between ourselves and the crowds, and my family received an abbreviated history of the island complements of our driver, Rita. Turns out, Grand Turk's main claim to fame is that John Glenn's Friendship 7 Mercury spacecraft landed just off shore in 1962. There's even a statue at the airport commemorating the event. Our island tour took us down a straight, flat, 2-mile road and ended at a quaint little beach shack called The Sand Bar. It's owned by a couple of Australian sisters, and the atmosphere is lovely. We found time to laze the afternoon away on a pristine (and deserted) nearby beach, and marveled at the fact that the Premiere of Turks and Caicos had been on our flight that morning. All-in-all, we found our little corner of Grand Turk to be quiet, pleasant, and simple, just like island life should be. By Kimberly Bercaw"