Bimini

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Bimini Island from space, June 1998

Map of the Bahamas with the Biminis positioned center left (click to enlarge).

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. 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, in 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

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 tunnels that stretch byzantine-like 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

• During the period of Prohibition in the United States, Bimini was a favorite haven and supply point for the rum-running trade.

• A 500 lb. Blue Marlin caught off the coast of Bimini inspired Ernest Hemingway to write The Old Man and the Sea.

• The last scene of the film The Silence of the Lambs (1991) takes place at the airport of South Bimini.

• Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 was enroute to Bimini when it crashed on December 19, 2005; at least eleven of the passengers were Bimini residents.

• The 1921 Ted Lewis Song "Bimini Bay" is about the island of Bimini and its 1920s night life.

• On January 13th, 2006 one of the most famous bars in Bimini, The Compleat Angler burned to the ground in a raging fire. The bar is best remembered for the photographs of Ernest Hemingway that once lined its walls; these photos were lost in the fire.

References

• Cayce, Edgar Evans. Edgar Cayce on Atlantis, Warner Books, 1988. ISBN 0446351024

• Menzies, Gavin. 1421: The Year China Discovered America, Harper Perennial; 1st Perenn Edition, 2004. ISBN 006054094X

• Zink, Dr. David. The Stones of Atlantis, Prentice Hall Trade, 1978. ISBN 0138469237

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