Turks and Caicos: By Horseback

Another relaxing beach day lead to an exciting late-afternoon horseback ride through the clear, warm waters of the Blue Hills area of Providenciales.

While it isn’t always easy leaving the beach “early,” the picture of riding horses in my mind made it a tad easier. We drove to Unique Tour’s horseback riding “area,” and missed it the first time. Only a small sign at the end of the road that stopped at a beach with a makeshift table with helmets on it indicated we arrived. The horses were hidden from immediate sight, as they were grouped under a canopy made up by a bunch of trees that apparently produce a cherry-like fruit, as the guide told us.

I couldn’t stop smiling once I saw the sweet, beautiful horses and chatted with the tour guide, who was very talkative and friendly. Luckily, the tour group was small, and once a mother and her two daughters arrived, we were on our way.

I rode a brown and white horse named Angel (the same name as my guinea pig I had when I was 5) who did not like staying in line and always had to be in front. We went right into the water riding horseback and paralleled the beach heading east. We passed a jetty with some crabs who popped out from the nooks of the rock and ended up at an area that sea turtles call home. It was a fun surprise to see turtles pop out of the water and swim near us as we were riding the horses. Warm water, sunshine, turtles and horses—I wasn’t complaining!

After the guides kindly took some pictures, we turned around and followed the guide in the other direction, which lead us to Da Conch Shack and island kids playing in the water, who excitedly waved to us. Da Conch Shack is a tourist-frequented beachside restaurant I hoped to check out out.

We took another round of pictures and then trotted through deeper waters, passing a small tin fishing boat that really just looked like an oversized bathtub, and what the guide joked was the Titanic.

We finished the tour in high spirits and tipped our guide as we said, “Goodbye.” When we left for Turks and Caicos, I did not at all expect to ride horses, which is something I will always love to do. In fact, my mom and I reminisced about the one time we rode horses over land and through water in Jamaica when I was a kid. I had no idea I’d get to do it again, but I am sure glad I did!