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.

To keep our many friends updated on what’s going on at the resort and on Turks and Caicos, La Vista Azul Turks and Caicos Resort is now on Facebook! We invite everyone who likes the beach life to follow us on online and learn to love it.

To celebrate, La Vista Azul Turks and Caicos Resort is announcing a Caribbean Resort Getaway Contest for Facebook Friends. The first 500 people to visit our Facebook Page and “Like” us will be entered in a draw for a free three-night stay for two. (Airfare is not included.)

There is no more pleasurable way to spend a weekend than to lounge around La Vista Azul Turks and Caicos Resort and walk along the beaches of this wonderful Caribbean island. When you don’t have to pay for the pleasure, it’s one of the best Caribbean vacations you’ll ever find!

Greetings from paradise.  Welcome to our new blog.

The view from La Vista Azul this afternoon is, as always, spectacular.  The resort sits perched on a hilltop overlooking Turtle Cove on Providenciales Island, with the fine white sand of Grace Bay Beach stretching away to the west and the turquoise sea extending to the north as far as the eye can see.  It takes your breath away.  No Turks and Caicos hotel has a better view than La Vista Azul.  It’s like looking down upon heaven.

The weather this afternoon is, as always, perfect.  It is eternally summer in Turks and Caicos.  The temperature today is 85 degrees and there is not a cloud in the sky.  The cool breeze of the trade winds wafts in off the ocean and over Turtle Cove, soothing and serene.  It’s like living in a postcard.

We will be using this new blog space to tell the exciting story of Provo (the name we locals use for Providenciales Island) and La Vista Azul’s special place within it.  We encourage you to return to this space often to learn more about all that is happening, both on the island and at the resort.  There is so much to do here: swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, hiking, walking, horseback riding, and many other activities.

Or you can do nothing at all.  Just lie back on your chaise lounge and let the pure serenity of the place wash over you, while the only sounds you hear are the lapping of the waves on the seashore and the tinkling of the ice in your drink.

As we said, welcome to paradise.