Regions
Cities
Get in
If you land at the airport you take a "taxi" to the ferry which take five minutes to North Bimini and costs $20 for both. The best way to Bimini is not the airport, but via Grumman seaplane from Ft. Lauderdale or Miami run by Chalks Ocean Airways. A true feeling of adventure as you land in the harbor and taxi to shore getting out where the final scene from "Silence of the Lambs" was filmed.
Get around
North Bimini is crossed by two small paved roads which run the length of the 7-mile long island. A bicycle or golf cart is all you need to get around if you really need to go any where. The main road is the Kings Highway where most shops, hotels and restaurants are located. The smaller Queen's Highway follows the east coast and is where the beaches are located.
See
Bimini's fame comes from Hemingway and fishing. Hemingway spent a few seasons in Bimini fishing and writing 'To Have and To Have Not' and later based his novel 'Islands in the Stream' here. A small Hemingway museum and sign marking his time on the island can be found at the Compleat Angler Hotel where he once stayed.
Do
The economic fuel of Bimini comes from deep sea fishing and the island is known as the "Deep Sea Fishing Capital of the World." The storied past can be seen in the many black and white photos of record catches around the island, but commercial overfishing has greatly reduced the big game. The seasons in Bimini are opposite the normal Bahamas with tourists flocking from April - July to take advantage of the calm seas for fishing and diving. Wealthy Floridian's make the short trip to the island in their yachts creating a fairly lively party scene. Bars out number restaurants in Bimini two to one and a large liquer store occupies a choice location in the harbor. The weather is hot in the summer with afternoon thundershowers and warm and windy in the winter months. If you are not there to fish other activities include bone fishing, scuba diving, boating and relaxing. Bimini has several small beaches, but it is not a 'beach island'
Eat
Sleep
Bimini (Bi-mini), meaning, Mother of Many Waters, Bibi (Mother) and Mini (Waters), is a term and name in the Taino Native American Indian language of the Caribbean islands and is the original Pre-Columbian Taino Arawak name for the present day U.S. state of Florida.
Bimini (bĭm·ə·nē) is a district of the Bahamas comprised of a chain of islands, the largest islands are: North Bimini and South Bimini. The District of Bimini also includes Cay Sal Bank more than 100 km further south, which is geographically not a part of the Bimini Islands, but a separate unit . North Bimini is about seven miles (11 km) long and 700 feet (210 m) wide; its main settlement is Alice Town, a collection of shops, restaurants, and bars surrounding a single road known as "The King's Highway." South Bimini houses an airstrip and two hotels, and offers a quiet alternative to the slow bustle of North Bimini.
Bimini is located about 50 miles (80 km) east of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and is the closest point in the Bahamas to the mainland United States.
The island is best known for fishing, and the surrounding ocean is considered by many to be one of the world's top fishing spots. Because Bimini is only about 50 miles (80 km) east of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, many American anglers go to the island by boat to fish, or to enjoy the local nightlife. Scuba diving and snorkeling are also popular activities, as there are many shipwrecks in the area.
Bimini became better known to more Americans when Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. spent much of the time during which he was expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives (January 1967 to April 1969) in self-imposed exile on Bimini.
Mysteries of Bimini
Bimini is home to several landmarks said to contain mystical properties of abstruse origins. Much of the historical data known of these places is speculative in nature, and experts in various fields have opined across the full spectrum of explanation. The most contentious of these sites is The Bimini Road.
The Bimini Road
Between 1930 and 1940, American clairvoyant Edgar Cayce stated in a well documented prediction that remnants of the Lost City of Atlantis would be found off the coast of Bimini in 1968 or 1969. . In September of 1968, the half-mile of precisely aligned limestone blocks that compose what is now called the "Bimini Road" were discovered offshore of Paradise Point on North Bimini. After ten underwater archeological expeditions beginning in 1974, historian Dr. David Zink is convinced that the stones are megalithic in nature and were placed by humans. Gavin Menzies, author of 1421: The Year China Discovered America, believes they might be the creations of shipwrecked Chinese voyagers. Others say that they are the result of dredging, tidal fluctuations or sea deposits called beach rock. Whether these stones are in fact proof of a lost civilization, the work of stranded sailors or merely a natural geological formation has yet to be determined.
The Fountain of Youth
Facts about Juan Ponce de León and his search for the Fountain of Youth are as elusive as the mythical regenerative spring itself. Whether it was the Arawak or their relatives the Taino Indians who relayed the story to de León is unclear, but both versions of the story claim that the natives spoke of a land called "Beemeenee" where the fountain could be found. Though de León's expedition brought him to Florida, the fountain was rumored to exist within the shallow pools of South Bimini.
The Healing Hole
Found within the salt water mangrove forest that covers four miles of North Bimini is The Healing Hole, a pool that lies at the end of a network of winding tunnels that stretch underground. During outgoing tides, these channels pump cool, mineral-laden fresh water into the pool. Natural lithium and sulfur are two of the minerals said to be contained in these waters, which seem to exhibit curative properties, as people express a sense of mental and physical rejuvenation after their visit.
Bimini Facts
References
External links
Notes
