Grand Turk is one of the Turks and Caicos Islands some 30 miles south of the Bahamas and a 100 miles north east of the Dominican Republic
We docked at the Grand Turk Cruise Centre - which is owned by P&O's parent company.
The earliest inhabitants of the Turks and Caicos Islands - some 800 years before Columbus arrived - were the Lucyans (Indians who fled from South America to escape the war-like Caribs)
Grand Turk was first colonised in 1681 by Bermudians, who set up the salt industry in the islands. The name comes from a species of cactus on the island, the Turk's Cap Cactus (Melocactus intortus), which has a distinctive cap, reminiscent of an Ottoman fez
Disaster struck Grand Turk on 30 September 1866 when the island was devastated by a severe hurricane. More than 60 people died and the salt industry was badly affected.
The ship docked only a few metres from the main beach at the Cruise Centre
We decided against spending the day on the beach ...
... instead we hired bikes and toured the island
We visited Cockburn - the capital of the island
The local Post Office - also known as the Philatelic Bureau
The island's prison
The salt industry finally ended in 1970 but there are still some salt lakes - salinas
Grand Turk gained international attention in 1962 when John Glenn's Friendship 7 Mercury spacecraft landed in the vicinity of Grand Turk Island off the south east shoreline.
A replica of the Friendship 7 is on display in Grand Turk at the entrance to the Grand Turk Island airport
For more photos of our time on Grand Turk click Grand Turk
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