Beauty.

Bold, breathtaking, make-your-heart-go-flutter beauty.

It’s the cornerstone of Caribbean vacations.

People flock to Caribbean resorts for the soft sandy beaches, the turquoise warm water, the technicolor coral, and those soul-stirring sunsets.  All that endless beauty.

We at La Vista Azul understand beauty.  Perched high on a hill, quite literally above all the other Turks and Caicos resorts, we offer a feast for the eyes that none of the other Turks and Caicos resorts can match.

But someone’s got us beat, though it’s not another resort.

His name is Ben Gearing, and he flies for TCI Helicopters.  And he can show you the beauty of Turks and Caicos from a completely different viewpoint – above and hovering.  Everyone knows “above,” of course, because almost everyone flies here on a jet.  But that’s “above” at 400 miles an hour.  “Above” when you’re stationary and floating is another kettle of fish altogether, and it will blow your mind.

This is beauty from a vantage point most people have never known.  It’s different, and it will leave you different afterwards.

Ben is a 36-year-old resident of Providenciales, and he has been flying for TCI Helicopters for eight years.  He turns Caribbean vacations into stories people tell for the rest of their lives.  Some people stay at Caribbean resorts on the beach and swim out to the many-colored coral reef.  Some lucky few get to hover above all that, for a few transcendent moments, looking down in wonder.

TCI Helicopters offers a range of tours.  The 20-minute excursion sticks exclusively to Providenciales Island.  Add another ten minutes and you can journey over the stunning islands of Pine Cay and Parrot Cay.  The 45-minute tour takes passengers to North Caicos and Middle Caicos.  One tour actually lands on Middle Caicos for a lunch stop at the famous Daniel’s Café.

Whether short or longer, a chopper trip will alter your perception of Turks and Caicos, and of much more as well.

La Vista Azul is above all the other Turks and Caicos resorts, quite literally, offering panoramic vistas that are endless.  You have to actually leave the earth to see more.  That’s where Ben comes in.

People take Caribbean vacations at Caribbean resorts for the sublime beauty of it all.  Ben will help you take it up a notch.

She is the Greek goddess of peace.  The Athenians revered her and her placid ways.

From her name we get the English word irenic, which means “tending to promote peace or reconciliation.”

As a hurricane, Irene is none of those things.

She is belligerent, loud, and aggressive.  But fortunately for us here at La Vista Azul, she was not very destructive (though she tried her best).

She stopped by for a visit two days ago, while we battened down the hatches and watched her rage outside our windows.

She put on quite a show, but she finally got bored and moved on.

She left our hair a little bit tousled, but we’ve run a comb through it and are once again ready for our close-up.

No one knows exactly what happened, but the driver was certainly in a hurry.

It could have been a visitor, who knows?  People on their way to Caribbean holidays at Caribbean resorts are always anxious to get there.  Fast.  Particularly if they’re on their way to La Vista Azul, the glorious hilltop hideaway that towers above the other Turks and Caicos resorts.

Or perhaps it was one of the locals, who just took a wrong turn.  Fast.

Whomever it was, they wrecked the roundabout … they smashed smack into it and destroyed the pretty pink flamingos that had been so lovingly rendered by the original artist.

The roundabout is the first thing people see when they leave Providenciales Airport.  And there it sat, mangled, for the longest time, because of that unknown reckless driver.

But not any more.

The eyesore has been transformed.  Now, visitors embarking upon their Caribbean holidays at Caribbean resorts will see a new, magnificent work of art when they drive out of Providenciales Airport.

Bahamian-born Amiel Cartwright has unveiled his masterpiece.  Featuring a vibrant depiction of JoJo the dolphin, one of the country’s most beloved national symbols, and incorporating the refurbished remnants of the pink flamingo sculptures, the roundabout has been reborn.

Caribbean holidays 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 La Vista Azul, the newest and hottest of the Turks and Caicos resorts, are in for just such an early treat.

So, please, come and pay us a visit, and check out this wonderful new work by a marvelous artist.

But, please, drive carefully.

The best Caribbean holidays feature exotic animal sightings.

The truly great Caribbean holidays involve an actual interaction.

And the truly lucky visitors to certain Turks and Caicos resorts get to leave here with the story of a lifetime.

His name is JoJo.  And he loves to play.

He’s a bluenose dolphin – the world’s most famous bluenose dolphin – and one of the Turks and Caicos most beloved national symbols.  Estimated to be about 25 years old, JoJo is one of only eight known dolphins who regularly seek out the company of humans.  Because of this singular interest in spending time with people, these animals are known as lone, sociable, or ambassador dolphins.

JoJo loves to frolic with swimmers, divers, boaters, and, in one of the strangest animal interactions you’ll ever see, a dog who comes close to the shore and barks and barks until JoJo shows up in the shallow water to nip at the dog’s heels.  It’s a mind-blowing sight to behold.

And because of JoJo’s preferred swimming range, those Turks and Caicos resorts that sit along Grace Bay are perfectly situated for a JoJo sighting.  And La Vista Azul, perched high upon a hill overlooking Grace Bay Beach, is counted among those fortunate Turks and Caicos resorts.

Animal interactions turn Caribbean holidays into transcendent experiences, and none is more soul-stirring than a frolic with JoJo.

And a stay at La Vista Azul puts you right in JoJo’s backyard.

Beauty is everywhere you look in this island paradise.

The sand and the sea, the hills and the flora, the fish on the reef … the list goes on and on.  People enjoying Turks and Caicos vacations confront beauty at every turn.

But it’s not just the place itself.

The Turks and Caicos Islands are also filled with beautiful people.

And we don’t mean only those bewitching vacationers strolling the powder white sand of Grace Bay Beach or sitting poolside enjoying yet another spectacular sunset at La Vista Azul, the newest and hottest of the Turks and Caicos resorts.

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

That was on full display last week when another of the Turks and Caicos resorts on Providenciales Island hosted the Miss TCI Pageant.  The contest wasn’t just about physical beauty – though there was plenty of that – it also offered a window onto the soul of the people who live here.

As with all such contests, the young ladies answered questions.  But these were not of the trite type usually asked at beauty pageants.  These queries were tough and searching, designed to dig deep into the hearts and minds of Belongers.  The reinstatement of elections, the source of political power, and the prickly issue of health care were all touched upon.

The big winner was 19-year-old Easher Parker, dazzling in her shimmering gold dress.  After being crowned, Ms. Parker said she plans to use her reign to bring greater awareness to the haunting issue of child abuse.

Which is not something one usually hears about at a beauty contest.  And that’s what makes it so beautiful.

Turks and Caicos vacations are all about beauty.  Both inside and out.

Come and share that beauty with us at La Vista Azul, more fetching by far than the other Turks and Caicos resorts.