Author: plusroi

Have you relaxed recently? That is, have you really relaxed in order to manage or reduce stress in your life? Summer is ideally the time when we take it easy, and spend some time on the beach recharging our batteries. And most of need to unwind in some way.

Too much continued stress can seriously affect our physical and mental well being. It can interfere with normal daily activities, diminish our self-esteem, impair our relationships, and affect how effective we are at school, at work, or in the home as a parent and as a spouse.

How to Identify When You’re Stressed

When we feel stressed, our bodies react with what is called the “fight or flight” response. Without the ability to relax, chronic stress or anxiety can lead to burnout, anger, irritability, depression and medical problems.

The problem is, believe it or not, we may not be able to tell when we feel stressed. Here are some common symptoms, some of which may not seem like symptoms of stress at all:

Physical Symptoms

• headaches
• back pain
• ringing in the ears
• easily fatigued
• shallow breathing

Behavioral Symptoms

• eating too little or too much
• critical attitude of others
• short-tempered
• procrastination
• inability to finish tasks

Emotional Symptoms

• moodiness
• crying easily
• anger
• unhappiness, depression
• feeling helpless

For more symptoms of stress (and there are many), please take a look at this stress checklist. If you have determined you are living with stress it’s important to develop some strategies for relaxing, and, ideally, removing the stress from your life completely.

The first step in effectively managing stress and anxiety: developing an ability to relax.

10 Ways to Relax in 5 Minutes or Less

So now that we’ve established stress is definitely not a good thing to have in your life, here are some tips for combating it. Read until the end, where we reveal the ultimate stress-buster (hint: it involves a vacation in Turks and Caicos).

1. Get Organized
A stack of papers, three tape dispensers, a bunch of misshapen paperclips: All this clutter could be contributing to stress. Take a few minutes to reorganize your desk (or table, or wherever you are), leaving just what you need on top.

2. Take a Quick Walk
“Now walk it out, now walk [stress] out.” When you’re feeling overwhelmed or having trouble concentrating, go for a quick strollaround the block. You’ll get the benefits of alone time, physical activity, and a few minutes to gather your thoughts!

3. Lay Your Head On Something Soft
There are days when what we really need is a nice, long nap, but we can’t. However, if you’ve got a pillow, you can do the next best thing: lay your head down for a few minutes. It’s an effective tactic for combating stress.

4. Remember to Breathe
Slow, deep breaths can help lower blood pressure and heart rate.

5. Try Progressive Relaxation
Progressive relaxation involves tensing the muscles in one body part at a time to achieve a state of calm. The method is used by actors and is a actually a great way to fall asleep.

6. Count Backward
Try slowly counting to 10 and then back again to calm down. By remembering what number comes before seven you can focus on something other than stress or worries.

7. Use Creative Visualization
A relaxation technique called “creative visualization” can involve thinking of something that makes us feel happy when we’re feeling tense.

8. Rub Your Feet Over a Golf Ball
You can get experience an immediate feeling of relaxation by rubbing your feet back and forth over a golf ball.

9. Drip Cold Water On Your Wrists
If you’re feeling stressed, splash some cold water on your wrists and behind your earlobes. Why? There are major arteries flowing just under the skin, delivering cool relaxation all over your body.

10. Get Out In the Sun
Getting out in the sun always provides some stress relief. If it’s a sunny day, just go outside and lift your spirits. Bright light is known to be an effective treatment for people who suffer from depression, and can even cheer up otherwise healthy people.

And may we suggest a sunny vacation in Turks and Caicos?

Start Planning a Vacation

The best way to relax, though? Start planning a vacation.

Crashing waves, warm sand, and gentle breezes… Take a break from work and start browsing the web for some future vacation spots. It’s said the best part of a trip is in the planning, although we can guarantee you will enjoy staying with us on beautiful Grace Bay Beach.

Renowned as a top Caribbean vacation destination, Turks and Caicos’ ivory white, powder-soft sand and crystal clear turquoise waters draw visitors from around the globe. The Islands also attract world class resorts and their entourage of critically acclaimed chefs who love working with fresh “catch of the day” seafood. While the beautiful beaches of this island chain will bring you here, it’s the delicious local cuisine that will bring you back!

The Caribbean Queen conch has become one of the islands’ most famous delicacies and is a major export; a must try for any foodie. The chewy white meat of this tiny marine mollusk has a taste like calamari that many of the islands gourmet restaurants incorporate to create a variety of exotic dishes.

Often served whole, snapper is a close second to conch and featured on every specials menu in Turks and Caicos. The snapper is typically grilled and served with a lemon caper and shallot butter sauce.

In 2006, when the invasive species lionfish entered the waters, local authorities encouraged chefs to incorporate the marine predator into their menus. The venom coated exterior spines need to be removed to ensure that the meat poses no risks to diners, but when properly cooked, lionfish is tender and moist.

If you really want to explore the diversity of the local cuisine, visit the islands during the Caribbean Food and Wine Festival held annually in November. Celebrating all good things from the sea, this festival features the hottest food scenes in the Caribbean. World class chefs inspire Turks and Caicos’ reputation as a culinary destination with award-winning food and a rich variety of dining establishments.

Don’t despair if you can’t visit the islands during the Caribbean Food and Wine Festival because every Thursday, locally owned pop-ups occupy the weekly fish fry in the Blue Hills area of Providenciales. Enjoy festive ambience with local music while you savour amazing food including conch fritters, traditional corn grits and Johnny cakes, and grilled snapper paired with the island’s own Bambarra rum.

The islands’ chefs are so good, they can’t be kept at home. They showcase their skills globally. The Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI) Culinary Team created some much talked about dishes and cocktails at the 2017 Taste of the Caribbean competition in New York this past June. They walked away with gold.

Whether you are in the mood for an intimate fine dining experience or crave a festive ambience, culinary choices abound. A favourite among locals and tourists alike is Hemingway’s, the beachfront eatery at The Sands at Grace Bay resort in Providenciales. This restaurant features delicious local cuisine to be savoured while overlooking the beautiful Grace Bay. Regularly appearing on the “top,” “ultimate” and “best” on beach lists of the world, Grace Bay beach is unquestionably one of the grandest settings in which to enjoy a meal. Patrons of Hemingway’s are encouraged to try the “Conch Served The Way You Like It” menu option. Conch fritters are a favourite. Described in a recent review by Carib Journal as “perfectly battered, golden brown, the right median between soft and crunchy, terrific, fritters that just might be the best in Providenciales.”

If you want to bring a bit of the Caribbean home, pick up a bottle or two of PeppaJoy hot sauce. Hand made locally by founder Delano Handfield of Blue Hills Providenciales, PeppaJoy uses indigenous herbs, fruits and vegetables grown right on Providenciales and North Caicos. The hot sauce can be picked up at retailers throughout the islands.

After treating yourself to the culinary adventures of the Turks and Caicos, your palate will never be the same. You may very well end up extending your trip to stay a little longer in this foodie heaven.

Located 575 miles southeast of Miami, Florida, just below the Bahamas chain and to the east of Cuba and the island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti), the Turks and Caicos Islands consist of 40 islands and cays. Our island beaches are among the most popular and highest-ranking vacation spots in the world, all just under an hour by air from the American mainland.

We’re quite close by, yet still undiscovered. How many of these trivia tidbits do you know?

1. We Get Our Name from a Cactus

Words such as “canoe”, Caribbean and “caicos” are derived from the Arawak language. Even the name of the country comes from these earliest inhabitants. Turks is a reference to the indigenous Turk’s head cactus and Caicos is from the Lucayan term “caya hico” meaning string of islands.

2. We’re Not Exactly In the Caribbean…

With its beautiful turquoise waters, white sand beaches and tropical climate it would seem that the Turks and Caicos are located in the Caribbean. But we’re not! We’re actually located in the Atlantic Ocean—the Caribbean Sea is a long way away.

However, the Turks and Caicos is part of Caribbean culture. You can enjoy the great food, culture and hospitality of the region when you come and visit us.

3. We Were Once a Salt Superpower

The flag of the Turks & Caicos Islands once depicted an igloo. This was caused by a map maker confusing piles of salt with these ice and snow structures. But in reality it was salt, which was very important to the development of our country.

At the height of production at the beginnings of the 1900s, total exports from the country reached nearly 2 million bushels. About 800 acres (324 hectares) of salina was being utilized across the three islands and over 80 miles (129 kilometres) of dividing walls stood.

4. We’re Home to One of the Longest Barrier Reefs in the World

Providenciales is world-renowned for its scuba diving. The healthy barrier reef surrounding the island, the third largest of its kind in the world, is home to millions of corals, tropical fish and other underwater companions – dolphins, hawksbill turtles, manta rays, nurse sharks, and many more. Scuba diving excursions can be arranged by our Tour Desk, located next to Hemingway’s restaurant alongside the hotel’s main swimming pool.

5.  We Also Have One of the Largest Caves In the Caribbean

The Conch Bar Caves, located on Middle Caicos, is the largest above-ground cavesystem in the Bahamas-Turks and Caicos Islands archipelago.

6. We Sit On Big Bubbles of Freshwater

The islands’ most distinctive natural feature, aside from our very beautiful white sand beaches, are underground fresh water “lense.”  The structure and porosity of the limestone that make up Providenciales and other islands here means rainfall is absorbed and held as if by a sponge.

The freshwater lens itself is formed when lighter rainwater floats on top of the heavier, denser salty seawater, creating an underground lens-shaped layer of pure fresh water, varying in depth from a few inches to over 40 feet.

7. Our White-Sand Beaches Are Basically Just Seashells

There is over 230 miles of beach, most of it softest white sands on Earth. The sand is the remains of massive limestone deposits that rise thousands of feet above the sea floor.

8. Visitors Outnumber Locals… But By How Much?

The Turks and Caicos islands host an average of 350,000 travelers each year. That’s 10 times the amount of people who call the islands home year round.

9. The Turks and Caicos Was Part of the Space Race

NASA’s Friendship 7 mission ended when John Glenn splashed down in his capsule in the Atlantic, off the Turks and Caicos Islands. An American aircraft carrier picked up Glenn and the Friendship 7 space capsule, which can be seen to this day on Grand Turk island.

https://www.instagram.com/p/3EggdNtaWC/

10. We’re Home to the Oldest Shipwreck in the Americas

The Molasses Reef Shipwreck is the site of a ship which wrecked in the Turks and Caicos Islands early in the 16th century. It is the oldest wreck of a European ship in the Americas to have been discovered so far. The surviving parts of the hull showed construction techniques typical of 15th- and 16th-century Portuguese and Spanish ships, indicating this ship was a caravel. The age of the wreck indicates that the ship was built in Spain or Portugal and sailed across the Atlantic.

The Big South Regatta is a highlight of the year in this corner of the Turks and Caicos. There are classic yachts on display, music, dancing and plenty of opportunities to experience a quiet corner of the Caribbean.

The “Big South”

Of the eight inhabited islands of the Turks and Caicos, South Caicos – or the “Big South,” as it’s called by locals – is the second smallest. While Big South used to be the primary port of the islands, thanks to fishing and the salt industry, these days it’s a quiet corner of the Caribbean suited for explorers and adventurers.

If you want to experience a bit of island life here, there is no better way to do it than by attending the South Caicos Regatta, held every May.

A Window Into the History of the Caribbean

The Big South is located just south of East Caicos at the eastern end of Caicos Bight.

One hundred years ago, South Caicos was a major exporter of salt around the Atlantic seaboard. The island thrived off salt, but all that remains today are abandoned salt pans that now provide a home to native birds. now wade. Long-forgotten buildings dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries can still be seen around Cockburn town, the main settlement of the island.

Big South Caicos Regatta turns 50 https://t.co/teeHoPRcS3 pic.twitter.com/gPpDAEo4eQ

— Magnetic Media (@MagneticMedia1) April 8, 2017

At mid-century, with salt still a major commodity, South Caicos played host to Queen Elizabeth II in 1966. In honor of her visit that year, South Caicos plays host to an annual regatta.

This year, 2017, marks the 50th anniversary of the regatta. It’s a fun time when locals gather to show off their boats and enjoy a small festival.

Our culture, Our heritage, Our country celebrating 50 years of South Caicos Regatta 2017 #TheBigSouth pic.twitter.com/N126SqALYm

— Walking LLC (@carpedreamLTD) February 27, 2017

In May each year “Big South’ comes alive as islanders and tourists come together on South Caicos for the party of the year. As part of the regatta tradition, festivities include boat races, beauty pageants, basketball games, domino tournaments, junkanoo, and gospel music.

Throwback: South Caicos Regatta 1973
Taken from the archives of Bill Clare in our May/June 2013 issue#turksandcaicos pic.twitter.com/odzVOgG3Q4

— Where When How (@WhereWhenHowTCI) September 29, 2016

When the Queen visited the island in 1966, she arrived aboard the royal yacht Brittania. When she was departing, approximately 30 local sloops hoisted their sails and sailed past the yacht. Ever since then, the regatta commemorates the visit of the Queen.

The 50th South Caicos Regatta is on this weekend. Lots of events for all. #TurksAndCaicos pic.twitter.com/VlVkjR4Vca

— TCI News (@TCI_News) May 27, 2017

If you’re interested in attending the regatta, keep up to date on the official Turks and Caicos tourism page here.

In the meantime, here’s a video from the 2016 regatta.