National Colony Realty

Crab from North Caicos

The beginning of the rainy season marked the beginning of crab season in the islands. Islanders have begin catching crab on the islands of North Caicos, Middle Caicos and West Caicos. 

What is usually done to store them, is to take off all the biters and the chest part of the crab and store them in a zip lock in the freezer. The back of the crab is cracked and the brownish substance which we call the ‘fat’ is removed and stored in a container as well. This fat is fried down when cooking to give the pot more flavor.  

The crab can be prepared in dishes such as crab and rice a very popular native dish, crab soup, crab fritters, crab cakes and plain old boil crab. I just yesterday received a few crabs and cant wait to indulge into some crab and rice.

Contributed by: Vernica EM: delancy@nationalcolonyrealty.com

Well, as I wait for my favourite historian and boss to return from watching the last space shuttle launch (by invitation) to continue sharing his old stories and photos from way back when, it occured to me that I should point out these Turks and Caicos Islands had a history long before he arrived in the mid 60’s. 

And quite a rich history it was filled with Taino Indians, Lucayans, pirates (whose stones carved with dates from the 1720’s are still here to enjoy), and ruins of old plantation homes from the Carolina loyalists who tried unsuccessful to grow cotton and sisal in 1790.

You can read about the facinating history of our islands in Where When How magazine’s informative historical section featuring more in depth insights.

Karen Shaw 

• You can choose the location you want to live in and purchase a desirable piece of land; sometimes when you buy an existing home, the house may be to your liking but the location might not be your ideal spot.
• You can design your dream home like you would want it to be; you do not have to settle for what is already there and have an added cost of renovation once you purchase.
• Sometimes you get a better deal to build then to acquire a home at an over valued priced; remember If a home was purchased at $400,000 the owner will add to the price to make a profit.
• You can build at a pace that is favorable to you; you do not have to come up with all the cash within the normal 30 days that it takes to close on a property.
• There is a satisfaction in knowing that you were the only person to occupy a home. And more of an appreciation when you have the opportunity to see it built from start to finish.

Leeward is a planned and gated community in Providenciales with a potential for your every residential need. This area consists of high end homes, canal lots, and beachfront property for the potential home owner.  Most recently, the Leeward Home owners association in cooperation with Dove security center announced the opening of a security substation at the main entry to the Leeward community to increase the security level of the area by monitoring traffic in and out of the community and also by having a higher security presence. This is just one of the many things that the homeowners has chosen to do with the association fees collected other than to maintain the upkeep of the area. 

The Leeward area is a desirable location to be.

Life has a way of making you feel down and alone. No matter how strong a person you may be, or how much you may have there comes a time when we all feel all alone and hopeless.

But when there is disappointment in your life. Think positive! Sometimes a disappointment happens for your own good. And when you feel down and feel like there is no hope. Think positive!  There is a light at the end of the dark tunnel.

“A positive mind anticipates happiness, joy, health and a successful outcome of every situation and action. Whatever the mind expects, it finds.” by Remez Sasson

Vernica

Leeward Beach

“The TCI is making top travel headlines around the globe after being declared the No. 1 beach and sun destination by TripAdvisor’s2010 reader survey.” says the Freepress.

For years now, the Turks and Caicos has received credit for having some of the best beaches, hotel accommodations, coral reefs and restaurants. The Island is such a natural beauty and I welcome you to the islands to see what the best have to offer.

An open house is an excellent way of showcasing a property that is available for sale on the market. It is a good tool for forcing real estate agents who are not familiar with the property to get an inside peak at it even before they have a reason to show. They just might have a client in their prospect list who may be interested in such a property. Getting a visual feel for a property is always better than seeing a photo on the website.

Just yesterday I attended an open house that was located in Long Bay. It was a 2 bed guest house on a Ocean front property. Attending the open house I was able to visualize the property from a purchasers perspective, i.e. look for details like the granite counter tops, size of the rooms, location of the guest house and potential area of placing the main house, any defaults (I did not specifically see any as it was a newly built home) and the likes.

I came out with an appreciation for the home and a better feel of it surroundings. I can also now give a better and more knowledgable explanination to potential purchasers about this property.

The open house benefited the Listing Agent, where feedback was given about the overall property and about the listing price, the Vendor, as more agents have seen it and will promote the property to their clients and of course to me as a Selling Agent as I am more knowledgeable about the property and can speak knowledgeable about it to potential clients and hopefully sell it.

Email for more info.

Vernica Delancy

The 14 acre Grand Turk cruise center has helped tens of thousands of visitors debark to enjoy our history and heritage as well as the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean.  Carnival Cruise ships are our most frequent visitors as well as many others. 

Home to the latest Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, which inlcudes 45,000 sf of duty free shopping high end jewellry stores and locally crafted souvenirs and gifts.  And if that isn’t enough, the Flow Rider (surfing and body board simulator) bekons for all. 

If you want to stay dry, you can take a carriage ride into town and visit our museum and Conch World (we have the world’s only conch farm where ocean harvested eggs are raised onshore and then after several years of moving from tank to tank while maturing, they are returned to the shallow banks to repopulate as well as being sold here and abroad as a food source.     

Come for a day, return for a lifestyle!

Karen Shaw  

Warm wishes goes out to all the mothers on this mothers day 2010 from the employees at National Colony Realty. Mothers day is a special time for our staff as well, as our team comprise of three mothers.

Let this weekend bring you joy as the people who you have nurture show you love in return.

Some suggestions for the retired individual living in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

1. Join a charitable orginazation: There are many charitable organizations on islands that will welcome new members at any time. Organisations such as the National Cancer Society, Drug prevention group, AIDS awareness foundation, Pot Cake foundation, Prevention of Child Abuse etc. After choosing a charity of your choice you would be surprise to see how occupied your time will be.
2. Perform community work: Tutoring at schools for after school programs, Library time, food kitchens, clean up campaigns, etc. the enews is a good place to find out about community projects that you can be involved in if you do not already have something in mind.
3. Find a sport: Golfing for one is very popular at the Provo Golf and Country Club, every year they host a number of tournaments and members events, that will keep any retired individual occupied. Or there is tennis and the likes.
4. Enjoy the island life:

• Take advantage of our natural island beauty, by exploring the not so developed islands of Middle & North, our Cays like Iguana island and Fort George cay. And over a period of time get to travel to all of the islands in the chain as they are all unique. If you have seen one you have not seen all!
• Enjoy the local restaurants like the conch shack and Bugaloos who have made an international name for themselves, and rate our fine dining restaurants like Coyaba and Coco Bistro.
• Visit the local churches as there are many to choose from. This goes for local retirees as well.

Obviously, these are just a few activities, we welcome to hear about what you have been doing as a retiree even if you are not in the Turks and Caicos Islands.  Send us an email by clicking here with your comments/experiences.

Vernica