Splashdown!

It was quite a day. I don't know what you can say about a day when you see four beautiful sunsets… . This is a little unusual, I think.

—   John Glenn, American Chronicle, 1962

Our first port of call was Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos. We shared the port with two monster cruise ships. Given that I’ve been here before, and the crowds from the two behemoths seemed daunting, I decided that, rather than go ashore, I’d stay on the ship and take advantage of its amenities while most of my fellow travelers were away.

So instead of physically exploring, it was time to mentally explore.  From a U.S.-centric view, two historic events are of note here. One was Columbus’ landing on what is now Turks and Caicos in 1492.  So I scoured the view of the island, imagining that encounter with the island’s residents, and their encounter with him and his crew.

But the event that was most in mind happened in February 1964, when John Glenn splashed down in his space capsule off the coast of Turks and Caicos, after completing the first orbit of the earth by an American.  My father’s early career involved technical writing for space program contractors, so that program was a frequent topic of interest in my home while growing up.  I sat on the ship wondering if perhaps we were anchored in the spot where he came down, and how he must have felt to accomplish such a seemingly impossible task. 

Next up: Santa Marta, Colombia