Thursday

It’s only 9 a.m., but I think I’ve solved a national mystery. I’m sipping a chilled glass of orange juice, feet propped up on the railing outside my condo unit at the Alexandra Resort and Spa on Providenciales (Provo to those in the know) in the Turks and Caicos. Just beyond my toes is the gorgeous sweep of Grace Bay Beach, an unbroken five-mile strand of snow-white sand.

February 20, 1962. John Glenn’s Friendship 7 capsule hurtles toward Earth for a splash-down off Bermuda. Something goes wrong. He veers off and lands instead in the gorgeous Prussian blue waters off these islands just south of the Bahamas.

Mechanical malfunction? Pilot error? Nope. One look at the bright sand beaches and turquoise shallows of these tiny islands and I know what Glenn was thinking?‘Why not land here?’

I’ve done a pretty good job landing here, too, tucked into a new-and currently very affordable-resort in the heart of Provo’s poshest Grace Bay real estate. What makes the Alexandra-a new resort developed and owned by a former chief minister-so attractive right now is that it is still a work in progress. Two beachfront condos have been completed so far, and work is underway to finish three more buildings surrounding the pool. The management team plans to complete construction in early 2007 and is aiming for a five-star property. Until that dream is realized, if you’re willing to put up with a little construction and the work-in-progress vibe, you’re getting an unheard of value with the mantra ‘location, location, location.’ There currently is construction all up and down Grace Bay Beach, not just Alexandra.

Friday

My unit is pretty nice. It’s large and well furnished with all the creature comforts of home-TV, DVD player, a stacked washer and dryer combo (great if your children change clothes as much as ours) and, of course, high-speed Internet for the e-mail junkie in all of us.

There is the small Orchid Restaurant beside the pool which has worked fine for breakfasts (a five-star restaurant is in the plans), but with the condo’s full kitchen and a refrigerator/freezer perfect for a six-pack or a 15-pound mahi mahi, it would be easy enough to hire a local chef to whip up some great dishes for lunch or dinner. “Just say the word,” jokes Sandy, the friendly concierge, “and we’ll have someone cooking in no time.”

Today Sandy pointed me to a gem of a lunch spot called Boogaloo’s Conch Shack out on the Blue Hills Road that serves local fare like conch fritters and grouper fingers. For dinner last night I wound up at the Tiki Hut Restaurant and Bar at the nearby Turtle Cove Marina-a great place to swap stories with yachties over some killer rum punches.

Sunday

Time flows by like water on this island. Relaxing, it turns out, can be a busy pastime.

We spent all day Saturday exploring this pork-chop shaped island as part of Caicos Dream Tours. You can always find the owner, John Esper, in the Caicos Dream Tours office located just off the pool at the Alexandra or around the property grounds. He offers both half- and full-day tours. We opted for the works and were whisked away with three other couples on a small launch with a bikini top.

Before we knew it, we were snorkeling out near Little Water Cay, stopped on the island to photograph some land iguanas, and then went hunting for sand dollars and conch. I’d never stalked conch before, but in the land where conch is king-or more correctly, queen-it was a unique and fun experience. We found some HUGE ones. While we were looking for sand dollars, the boat captain prepared a fresh conch salad for all of us to enjoy. We enjoyed a picnic barbeque on another island before heading back to the Alexandra. What a great time we had.

Today is our last day here. We’ve been so busy that I keep forgetting this place is only half finished. But already I can tell we’ve found a developing pearl. I can’t wait to come back when it’s finished.