PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands — Snorkeling in sparkling, shallow water as clear as glass, my husband and I spotted schools of gemstone-bright fish in colors of sapphire, topaz and amethyst. On the white sand bed of the sea near a tiny atoll, slow-moving heavy-shelled conch sort of rolled along the bottom, skirting other marine life of starfish and sand dollars.
We were in the natural aquarium of the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean on the southeastern periphery of the Bahamas. Geographically, it’s generally considered a part of the Caribbean, which accounts for the startlingly translucent water.
The afternoon sun was fading fast as we climbed back aboard a sleek sailboat that our group had chartered for the entire day. A young mother and her son were excitedly sharing details of their aquatic adventure with the rest of us as the sloop hoisted anchor to set sail back to the dock at Providenciales, just one of the hundred or so islands in the Turks and Caicos, and then to Grace Bay Beach, where our resort was perched at the edge of the turquoise sea.
