A Love Story ... Daughter, Mother & Mermaid

A Mother's Tail of her Daughters love for a Mermaid ...

My 3 year old daughter loves Bella the Mermaid. In fact she loves Bella the Mermaid so much that I love Bella the Mermaid. Her joy and excitement is SO strong that when I see Bella's alter ego, Josie, out of the water my heart races because looking at her reminds me of the moments where we've seen or talked about Bella. 
My daughter is fortunate enough to have gotten to see Bella 4 times in the last year. Three times on the Undersea Explorer and once at a private pool encounter. And every time has been a magical moment that has created a memory that will last a life time. I try to share the experience with every family member that comes on island and everyone has said the same thing. "Magical."

Bella, Juliette & their friends

The first time we saw Bella was in a magazine when we moved to Turks and Caicos. The picture was so beautiful and Bella looked so ethereal my daughter and I were both immediately drawn to her. I let my husband's visiting family take Juliet on the Undersea Explorers 'Mermaid Adventure'. When they came home the reviews were all the same. "Magical." "Best thing we've done." "Amazing." 

Because I hadn't gone on the trip myself I didn't really believe them and thought they might be exaggerating. The following week my family was on island and we all went on the same trip. This time my daughter required a full mermaid costume complete with pearls to ride the boat. After seeing all the sealife and turtles we saw Bella. "Magical." "Best thing we've done." "Amazing." Seeing my daughters face light up as Bella touched her window and blew her a kiss filled my heart with so much joy and is literally something I will never be able forget (and the time she drew a J on my daughters window who quickly proclaimed "she knows me!" with a flurry of excitement).

Juliette in her Mermaid Dress and Pearls, pictured with her Aunt <3

Josie does such an amazing job of making a personal connection with every individual on the semi-submersible that you can't help but be touched by her love and passion for her job. The following day we had to purchase a conch shell horn (which my 3 year old can blow...amazing) so that we could call Bella by ourselves. And has since been brought with us on our subsequent trips on the mermaid adventure.

Mermaid Bella & Juliette <3

Even with all Captain Jack Swift's "bad jokes" all I know is that this mermaid has affected me so much that to this day when I see Josie teaching yoga or walking around I see her through the eyes of my daughter and to me she will always be filled with magic and fairy dust. I am so grateful to Josie for her mermaid dedication so that Juliet has this magic and fairy dust in her life. We're truly lucky.

Bev's Snorkel Lesson - a first hand review Feb '15

Learning to Snorkel......

I'm definitely not a water baby, without much persuasion I can be very scared in the water. So when Josie suggested she would be able teach me to snorkel I was a bit sceptical to say the least...me put my head under water voluntarily...probably not!

However, I really wanted to give it a go...so down to the water we go...snorkel masks and flippers oh and the flotation jacket (a definite requirement) and a whole load of fear.

First step put on the mask and put face in water, not easy against the motion of the waves and the frantically increased breathing rate. However, with a bit of practice, gentle guidance and patience from Josie.....she was always going to need a lot of patience...I did it. Head under water and breath.

What a feeling of achievement. I can't say its my natural environment and the floatation jacket, whilst essential to keep me afloat, was a bit of hindrance but I managed to do something I didn't think I could.

After some practice with the breathing and the flippers we headed out to the artificial reef in the bay and what a revelation. Seeing fish underwater just going about their business is AMAZING. With Josie's watchful help we went out well beyond what I could have imagined I was capable of. The colours of the fish are truly magnificent and with Josie as a guide to point out the various species and things of interest this was a truly memorable and remarkable experience.

Having someone to guide you through your fear with patience and compassion is extraordinary.

Thanks Josie.X


Dearest Bev

So very proud of you!  You achieved what you clearly believed you would not, and that's an awesome accomplishment.  

What Bev doesn't tell you is that we then went over to Grand Turk and took a boat trip out to a snorkel site ... Bev plopped herself over the side of the boat and, if only for a brief while, snorkeled in 30ft of water and along the edge of what we call 'The Wall'.  

What's 'The Wall' we hear you ask?  It's the 7000ft sheer(ish) drop that lines edges of the TCI.  It's where the Whales play and the Eagle Rays glide and it's the richest deepest darkest blue.  It's an awesome sight that non-divers don't often get to see, and Bev got to experience it.

Josie
xxxx



We also have a Flukes & Flippers website as well as a dedicated Freediving website.  There's also a Facebook page set up, and we're currently thinking of what silliness can be got up to with the power of the Instagram and that little bird.