These Remote Underground Caves in Turks and Caicos Reveal a Side of the Caribbean Few Ever See

"It was Easter week on Providenciales, the archipelago's most populous island, and spring break was in full swing. "It's been a revolution," said my driver, who went by the name Roots. It seemed like it was only yesterday that there were hardly any cars on "Provo," as the island is called. Indeed, Roots could remember when there were no roads."

"I met Parrish at the Leeward Beach marina, where he was juggling the weekend's bookings. His watersports and boat-charter company, Big Blue Collective, was heading into a busy week. There was diving equipment to check and boat decks to clean. On Blue Moon, Big Blue's new 53-foot catamaran, the hold was stuffed with bottles of Moët. Parrish had to get on top of things, because we were about to go off-grid."

A splintered crate of gunpowder lay in a cave in East Caicos, a relic from the age of empire. Providenciales bustled with Easter-week tourists and spring-break crowds, reflecting rapid development and a proliferation of resorts and luxury villas along Grace Bay. Big Blue Collective, a watersports and boat-charter company, prepared boats and equipment for busy bookings on the new 53-foot catamaran Blue Moon. An expedition set out by Zodiac among cays and the barrier reef aimed to visit North, Middle, and East Caicos, islands described as timeless idylls with empty interiors, endless beaches, and casuarina fringes. Artifact research for a national museum was underway.

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