Bimini
Bimini – An Island of Mysteries
All the secrets of all the oceans are found in one drop of water, according to philospher Kahlil Gibran. This may be especially true of the waters of Bimini, where the lost city of Atlantis is believed to lie amongst granite blocks stranded only 3 miles from Bimini’s shore. The Fountain of Youth so sought after by European sailors in the 1500s still flows in the wetlands of South Bimini.
It certainly is true that literary greats such as Earnest Hemmingway made their home in Bimini. The island has a history of inspiring writers, artists and visionaries, blessed to gaze upon the most spectacular sunset colors –coral rose, lavender and honey gold– that light up the skies like surreal mountainscapes. It is also true that some of the greatest thinkers and revolutionaries of our time found tranquility and sanctuary here, including Martin Luther King Jr. who wrote his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech after sailing these waters.
What makes Bimini one of the favored spots for fishing is its location within the current of the Gulf Stream and its perch above a thousand foot plunge into the blue depths of the Tongue of the Ocean. Marlon, barracuda, tuna, and many other big game fish populate these abundant waters, making Bimini a prime spot for major fishing tournaments such as the Bimini Big Game Wahoo Smackdown Tournament.
In Bimini, those called by the perennial search for the lost city of Atlantis, may dive into our waters and see firsthand if the underwater blocks of limestone locally known as the Bimini Road, dating back 3,500 years, could well be the remains of the ancient civilization. Soak in the lithium and sulphur rich waters of the Healing Pond, found in the mangroves east of Easter Bay in the north, and experience for yourself the restorative power in Bimini' waters. For such a small place, Bimini is a world of curiosities.
Perhaps it is this legacy of the mystical and innovative that inspires local visionaries like Ashley Saunders, the creator of Dolphin House, whose walls were built using recycled stained glass, marbles, sea glass and other salvaged materials, along with natural limestone rock –a building unlike any other in the world.
For the divers, shipwrecks like the S. S. Sapona that went down in a hurricane in 1926 provide unimaginable underwater vistas. For on land vistas, the Bimini Nature Trail is yet another way to intimately connect with the wilds of Bimini, including getting up close and personal with the Bimini Boa.
