It is the first thing visitors see when they leave Providenciales Airport.

The Roundabout is part artistic expression, part Provo welcome mat.

It’s a warm how-do-you-do for visitors taking the first excited steps of their Caribbean vacations, rushing off gleefully to the embrace of their Caribbean resorts.

You can’t miss it.

We mean that figuratively, of course.  Unfortunately, a certain unknown driver in the past took it literally.

He (or, most unlikely, she), travelling far too fast, turned neither right nor left, but instead just barreled straight ahead, which is simply not a viable option at a roundabout.  He smashed up the pretty pink flamingos that the original artist had so beautifully rendered.

No one knows who it was.

It might have been a visitor.  People embarking on Caribbean vacations are always anxious to get started, with the glories of Caribbean resorts mere minutes away.  Particularly if they’re headed to the Gansevoort, the finest of the Turks and Caicos resorts.

Or perhaps it was one of the locals, who just took a wrong turn.  Going far too fast … in the dark, or in a haze.

Whomever it was, he made a mess of the Roundabout.  And it remained in that state of shambles for a long, long time.

But a new day has finally dawned.

The damage has been fixed, and something inspiring has emerged from the effort, something even better than before that infamous wrong turn.  Visitors will now see a new, magnificent work of art when they leave Providenciales Airport.

Bahamian-born Amiel Cartwright has unveiled his masterpiece.  Featuring a vibrant depiction of JoJo the dolphin, Turks and Caicos’ beloved national symbol, and incorporating the refurbished remnants of the pink flamingo sculptures, the Roundabout has been reborn.

Caribbean vacations at Caribbean resorts are meant to be sublime.  But you don’t usually expect that to begin in the middle of the road when you’ve just left the airport.  But visitors to the Gansevoort, the best of the Turks and Caicos resorts, are in for just such an early treat.

So, come pay us a visit, and be sure to check out this wonderful work of art by this exciting, provocative artist.

We ask only one thing – please drive carefully.

In almost all cases, we hate to see visitors leave.

But we’re making an exception for Irene.

She was loud, aggressive, and she kept trying to get into everyone’s room.  No matter how many times she was warned, Irene persisted in moving stuff around on the beach, and she wouldn’t stop overturning the furniture out by the pool.

We tried to reason with her, but she was obstinate.  She just wouldn’t listen.  She was too busy howling.

But she’s gone now.

The storm has passed, and we here at the Gansevoort are doing fine.

A little sweeping is required, and there are some chairs that need to be turned right side up.  But all in all, the place looks great.

We’ve weathered Irene.

It’s blue skies all round once more.

A dog stands on the shore.

He is restless.  He appears to be waiting.

But for what?

He pads gingerly into the gentle surf.

He barks, seemingly at the water itself, and treads a few steps deeper.

He barks again …

… and waits.

Finally, a long, threat-shaped shadow appears in the deeper water offshore.  The dog’s ears prick up as the shadow moves closer, slowly, as if stalking the poor pooch.

Suddenly, the shadow is made flesh as the turquoise surface of the water is broken by a dorsal fin.

Is that a shark?

The dog shows no fear at all … in fact he moves closer.

The beachcombers and sunbathers watching this hold their collective breath as the two draw within a few feet of each other.

A dramatic beat.  A silent, frozen sliver of time before the action ensues.  Surely violence is coming.

And then it begins.  The dog jumps into the air and lands lightly on the glistening fin.  And the water beast strikes back, rising up out of the foam with a muscular flip of its great tail in order to …

… play.

It’s a dolphin.  JoJo the dolphin.  And the dog is obviously a friend, for the two of them frolic and fake-fight and nip at each other’s heels (or, in this case, paws and fins).

The best Caribbean vacations include sightings of exotic animals.

Truly transcendent Caribbean vacations involve an actual interaction.

Very lucky visitors to certain Turks and Caicos resorts get to experience a soul-stirring interaction with JoJo.

Estimated to be about 25 years old, JoJo is a bluenose dolphin, and he is the Turks and Caicos most beloved national symbol.  He is one of only eight known dolphins in the world who regularly seek out the company of humans (and dogs).  Because of this odd interest in people, these animals are known as lone, sociable, or ambassador dolphins.

JoJo loves to frolic with swimmers, divers, boaters, and, as we have seen, family pets.  He plays and prances and prattles on in his special language of whistles, clicks, and chirps, above the surface as well as below, stationary still on the bottom of the bay or flying through the air alongside the fastest motorboat.

JoJo’s preferred swimming range is the water off Grace Bay Beach, and so those Turks and Caicos resorts that reside along this magnificent stretch of sand are well situated for a JoJo sighting.  Fortunately, the Gansevoort is one of those fortunate few Turks and Caicos resorts.

Interactions with exotic creatures can turn Caribbean vacations into one of life’s transcendent moments, and nothing will move you more than a face-to-face hello with JoJo.

We can’t promise you anything, of course, but when you visit the Gansevoort Turks + Caicos, you will be staying right in JoJo’s backyard.

It doesn’t take visitors very long to realize something during their Turks and Caicos vacations.

This is not just a beautiful place.

It’s also filled with beautiful people.

And we don’t just mean the lovely tanned folks strolling the soft white sand of Grace Bay Beach or enjoying the sunset by the edge of the infinity pool at the Gansevoort, the finest of the Turks and Caicos resorts.

Bewitching too are the permanent residents – known locally as “Belongers” – who radiate a beauty both on the surface and from deep within.

That was very apparent last Friday night when another of the Turks and Caicos resorts on Providenciales Island hosted the Miss TCI Pageant.  The contest wasn’t just about physical loveliness – though there was that in abundance – it was also a window onto the soul of the people who inhabit this island paradise.

As with all beauty contests, the young ladies were asked questions.  But these were not the trite queries one usually hears at such events.  They were tough, meaningful, and dug deep into the hearts and minds of the people who live here.  Upcoming elections, political power and its source, and health care were all directly addressed.

The winner, 19-year-old Easher Parker, elegant in shimmering gold, plans to use her year-long reign to bring greater awareness to the haunting issue of child abuse.

Not your usual beauty pageant fare.  But more beautiful by far.

Turks and Caicos vacations are all about beauty.  Inside and out.

Come and share it with us at the Gansevoort, the most beautiful of the Turks and Caicos resorts.

Romance is always in the air here at the Gansevoort Turks + Caicos, and for very good reason.  The folks who take Caribbean vacations are often couples with love on their minds, and there is no better place for two hearts to commune than at the Gansevoort, the most romantic of the Turks and Caicos resorts.

Some come to celebrate the two biggest events for lovers—destination weddings and honeymoons—and we here at the Gansevoort play host to many Turks and Caicos weddings and Turks and Caicos honeymoons.

But something new has been afoot of late when it comes to Caribbean vacations for two, so new in fact that a new word has been coined to describe it: babymoon.

A babymoon is a romantic getaway that expectant parents take before the new arrival where they can relax, perhaps reconnect, and discuss the changes that will soon be visited upon their lives.

And the Gansevoort Turks + Caicos is hosting more than its fair share of babymooners.  So much so that we were recently featured in a travel segment on Today, a morning TV show broadcast from New York City.

Couples in love have been enjoying Turks and Caicos weddings and Turks and Caicos honeymoons for a very long time.  Now, its Turks and Caicos babymoons, right here at the Gansevoort, the most romantic of the Turks and Caicos resorts.

What will they think of next?