A Mermaid Encounter at Malcolms Beach - 5 year old gets a treat!!

An email request to visit the beautiful Malcolms Beach at the North West side of the island (next stop Bahamas!) to surprise a 5 year old?  Can't say no to that!

A phone call and a couple of emails and we were set to go!

We had asked Dad to tell her through the day that a magical mythical sea creature lived in the ocean outside of the Amanyara Resort where the family where staying ... so she was already feeling the magic!

A walk along the beach later that afternoon led to buried treasure!

Buried Treasure ... a Magical Conch Horn !!  Blow it 3 times and legend has it a Mermaid will appear!

Now these things aren't always the easiest thing to blow, so when 3 loud 'whooooo's' were heard being pretty much yelled through the horn Bella giggled and flipped up her golden tail so she could be seen!

You can imagine the little lady's reaction !!  To see her running along the beach to meet Bella was a beautiful sight, she had a LOT of hair, down to her waist, thick dark curls and they were streaming along behind her as she ran ... very Mermaid like!

Both Mum & Dad had come along to share the Encounter and they all sat and chatted in the shallow safe waters of this rustic and rural area of Providenciales.

Recently there were Reef Balls installed up in this area, so it's gaining more and more popularity with visitors, but even with the beach being gently occupied no-one knew a Mermaid was there, so the encounter was kept entirely private and magical!

Photo by David Gallardo of 

World of Oceans

An Encounter at Samara Villa

It's been a long time since we posted, but the passed year has been a fun one for Bella :)

Not only has the 'Mermaid Adventure' on the Semi-Sub gone from strength to strength, with literally hundreds of boys and girls getting to see a Real Life Mermaid (from hereon known as a RLM!) but our Private Encounters are proving popular.

Take for example Weds just gone ... Bella was contacted by a lovely lady who we'll call Mrs B.  Mrs B wanted her Grandchildren to meet a RLM and contacted Flukes & Flippers to see if it could be arranged.  Mrs B was hoping that Bella could come to their vacation Villa, the beautiful Samsara on International Drive in Providenciales.

Now whilst pretty much any location can be used, this particular Villa has it's own beach that runs nearly the whole length of the property, and is just a short swim from Coral Reef, so it's the perfect location for an Encounter as the scene was already set!

The siblings were 5, 6 & 9 and needed a few moments to take in what they were seeing ... this is actually very common and Bella knows how to gently encourage the little ones and make them comfortable ... after the initial shock wore off the 4 of them hung out and chatted about pretty much anything and everything!

3 young souls, so alike in so many ways but so so different.  Little Miss P; voracious, giggly, mischievious and CUTE as a button.  Little Mr C; curious, sweet and handsome and the slightly older Miss S; introspective, creative and calm, a young lady with interests in animals and art.

So yes there's a lot of playtime and fun, but time with a Mermaid can be meaningful, heart opening and honest ... it can truly be a beautiful thing xxxx

Mariana & Rafaella from Peru meet Mermaid Bella !

A sweet account by Mum Mariana, a family vacation all the way from Lima, Peru and a surprise encounter arranged for them whilst in the TCI ...


A few months ago I went on a family vacation to turks and Caicos. I was thriller with the island and its wonderfull landscape. We had an amazing time and did a lot of fun activities. One day before leaving the island my uncle told me and my daughter he had a surprise for us ...

... I couldn't imagine what it was . We went to a place near the beach and we star walking to the shore and it was there were we saw this wonderful mermaid. It was a dream come true , we were so happy to see a real mermaid. We walked towards her and we start talking. She told us about how mermaids live , what do they do and we had a blast with her !!!

We really enjoyed spending some time with Bella and my daughter , Rafaella , still think a lot of bella . She made a drawing and went to the beach to throw it into the sea for bella and we will always remember this magical experience. I really recommend it to everyone.

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.

Jon & Mike - AIDA 1 Star Review

Awesome Intro to Freediving

My name is Jon, and I am writing-in (blogging?) because Josie ran such a great course for freediving that I wanted to share my experience.  If you think even for a minute that you may want to freedive, you have to check out one of her courses.

This was my second time to TCI, and this year, I wanted to get into scuba diving.  So I did all the PADI prep work before the trip, and while I did, I started reading about freediving and became more and more interested.

I’m kind of a traditionalist in a lot of things that I do, so there was an immediate appeal to the idea of diving comfortably, on a single breath, and without being strapped to a ton of equipment.  I Googled “Freediving Turks and Caicos” and found that Josie has the url (freediveturksandcaicos.com)! Providenciales is not the biggest island, so what luck that I could try my hand at freediving too.

Got in touch with Josie and she was super-helpful in getting me set up for a course, and very accommodating for a family-on-vacation schedule.  I did the Aida 1 course with my friend Mike, as our families were staying together. 

Josie is both a truly professional instructor and awesome personality which made the whole experience a lot of fun.  Josie met us at our place in Sapodilla Bay which was really convenient.  We learned how to breathe properly to prepare for an apnea, and following that did a static apnea (breath hold in water without moving).  I surpassed my expectations of how long I could hold my breath and this was definitely was a confidence boost for the open water session to come. Josie also taught us the correct way to practice this with a buddy and necessary safety techniques.  

We did the open water part of the course at Coral Gardens which had a cool reef on the way out. This part of the course allowed us to practice descending an apnea line (rope that goes straight down from the surface), first without finning and then with.  Josie did a great job demonstrating the not-so-intuitive techniques, never hesitating to show us one more time - I needed more than a few demonstrations of the old “duck dive”.  She always made sure that we were executing proper safe recovery, which I am grateful will be part of my diving habits.

We had a lot of fun getting started in this very cool sport.  If this interests you at all, you really need to check it out and sign up for a course.

Josie - Thanks again, and can’t wait to take it to the next level when we come back!



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.

Mermaid Treasure Hunt with Turtle Voyager

Meet John & Stephanie Ward, the Husband & Wife team behind the Mermaid Treasure Hunt ...

Together they run 'Turtle Voyager' a Yacht Charter company here in Providenciales, TCI.

They heard that there was a Mermaid in town and thought to themselves how fabulous it would be to create the most wonderful family fun day EVER ... so the Mermaid Treasure Hunt was born!

The day begins with the search for Bella, who is somewhere to be found around the North Coast of Providenciales ... you MUST find her as she holds the Clue that will lead you on your hunt for Treasure, however, these things aren't just given away, so first be prepared to accept the Mermaids Challenge ... you have to earn that magical Clue!

If you rise to the challenge and impress Bella with your team efforts, then the Clue will be given and you're off on your TREASURE HUNT!  With Captain John at your side you can't go wrong, he's been a TCI resident since 1969 so he knows every nook and cranny of these islands and he'll help you to decipher her riddle.

Your journey will take you along pristine coastline ...

To secluded Beaches for swimming, snorkeling and simply being together.

You'll hang out together on the beautiful MV West ... and maybe take a turn at the wheel?

If Treasure Maps lead to Treasure ...

Then Treasure leads to Memories ...

... and sometimes it's the Memories that are the biggest Treasure of all.

This day charter is a full but relaxed excursion with magic at its heart.  There'll be food and drinks, sightseeing, investigation, stories, laughter, exploration and mystery as well as swimming, snorkeling, fishing and more.

The Mermaid Treasure Hunt is available through Turtle Voyager as a Full Day Charter.  All logistical requirements are arranged directly with Stephanie, who is quite simply a very very lovely lady who will do her utmost to ensure you and your family have the most wonderful day.

Captain, John H. Ward & Stephanie Ward, Esq

USA: 706.255.6239

TCI:  649.441.3497

www.turtlevoyager.com

All photos used on this entry are by the most talented team at Paradise Photography.  Capturing those real moments, the truth within the scene, is what they do best.