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Published: February 16th 2007
Beach at Bimini
With gin colored water and white sand beach, so good to be back in the Bahamas!After leaving Key West we went up to Marathon and anchored out in Boot Key Harbor, waiting for a weather window to cross to the Bahamas. We were there for about a week when the perfect conditions formed, a solid 2-3 days of south winds which would whisk us away to the islands. We left around sunset, hoped in the Gulf Stream and sailed thru the night. By the first light of day we could see Bimini in the distance. Oh yeah!!!
I can not express how excited we are to be back in the Bahamas, with its gin colored water (Bombay Sapphire gin to be exact), white sand beaches, and wonderful people and culture. There are over 700 islands in the Bahamas and we can’t wait to explore new places and visit some of our favorites from last year. All the different islands are unique and rich in natural beauty making the Bahamas truly cruising paradise.
We checked in at Bimini, cleared customs and immigration, and spent a week exploring this wonderful island. The first night we went to eat at the Red Lion Pub, and enjoyed local Bahamian fare of cracked conch and smuddered grouper- yum! As
Palm
A pile of conch shells at the base of a palm tree on the beach. we walked down the streets we couldn’t help notice the brightly colored houses, unique architecture, and many murals of underwater seascapes all thru town. The local people are smiling and happy, greeting you on the street. And the beach, which just a short 2 block jaunt over the hill to the other side, is spectacular. We would walk over to the beach for many sunsets and even got a chance to explore the ruins of an old Haitian fishing boat which had crashed on the coral reef and washed up on the shore. Very cool.
One of our favorite things to do during the day was to go over to The Bimini Big Game Club, the marina next door. They have a great restaurant and bar which overlooks the turquoise colored water of Bimini Harbor, which is speckled with many little islands. We spent many afternoons enjoying the pool and ping-pong table there after lunch. But our favorite aspect of the place is that the walls are filled with hundreds of photographs, showing the history of the island and all of the amazing fish caught in these bountiful waters. It is no wonder that Hemmingway lived here and wrote
Wreck
The remains of a Haitian fishing boat, washed up at the beach. about the fishing in Islands in the Stream and Old Man and the Sea.
We have actually become big Hemmingway fans, reading many of his books and enjoying the places where he lived and wrote about. There is actually a cute little museum on the island, filled with pictures of Hemmingway when he lived here in Bimini and all the amazing fish that he caught in these waters. The biggest tuna caught off of Bimini was over 1,000 pounds and the picture of it is amazing. What fun! Jay and I are definitely getting more into sport fishing, even though we will probably never see a tuna or mahi-mahi that big in our lives.
And speaking of Hemmingway, across the way from our marina are the remains of The Complete Angler, the hotel and bar that Hemmingway and his friends frequently visited. Unfortunately it burned down in a fire in January 2006. But the original archway and sign is still there, as well as the remains of the fireplace and bar.
One of our last night’s in Bimini we decided to go listen to live music at Big John’s, a waterfront bar. A very good local band,
God Rays
One of the beautiful sunsets at Bimini. Stevie S, was playing that weekend and we went to dance the night away with everyone else from the island. The band was so good that we bought one of his cds, and love listening to it time and again. It was the perfect end to our visit of this quaint Bahamian Island.
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