Sun-baked
Salt Cay, 9 miles (15km) south of Grand Turk, a speck of land steeped in
character. It's a museum of 19th-century industry, with its windmills
relics, salt sheds and salinas. The modern history of the country begins
in the mid-1600s, when Bermudian salt traders settled. They created
ponds linked to the sea by canals and sluice gates, with windmills
controlling water flow. At one time, the cay was the world's largest
producer of salt. In its heyday, over 100 vessels a year left the island
for the US with their cargo of `white gold'. Today things are less
hectic and the island is asphalt free- though it has barely half a dozen
cars. Donkeys, wild cattle and iguanas far outnumber the 125 human
inhabitants. Historic Balfour Town boasts several old two-story homes with wide verandas and jalousied windows. The most noteworthy attraction in town is the splendidly preserved White House, a stately salt-merchant's manor built in 1835 with ballast stone. Next door is the old wooden Treasury Building, where salt-workers once collected their pay; and, nearby, St John's Anglican Church and the District Commissioner's Office, housing the old jail. If this sounds too modest, the local beaches are superb.
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