Exploring Bimini

Friday, January 20, 2017

Our friends from Oleta River Park Marilyn & Vic on s/v Whisper, and Jim and Louise on s/v Salacia, had arrived arrived at Blue Water Marina late on the previous day, but they had reservations.

s/v Whisper

s/v Salacia

It turned out that a lot of boats were pulling in to Blue Water for the next few days to wait out the Monday passage of the next cold front, which was shaping up to be a major one.  Almost all of the slips were full.

We took several hikes up and down "The King's Road" (also known as "The Low Road"), North to Bailey Town and all the way back South to the inlet.

Creative Bahamians Use Whatever they Have at Hand, Like Conch Shells!

Inlet Between North and South Bimini

A Rusted Out Wreck on the SouthWest Tip of North Bimini

A short trip across the width of the narrow island brought us to 'The Queen's Road" (Also known as "The High Road") and CJ's Conch Shack for a delicious lunch.

CJ's Conch Shack

Ths shack itself isn't much, but the beach out back is to die for.

Gorgeous Beach on the West shore of North Bimini

And the food is great. Joanie ordered the Conch Fritters, but I paid homage to Jimmy Buffet and ordered a cheesburger!

Cheeseburger In Paradise!

Yum!

Joan, Louise, and Marilyn went in swimming.  The men refrained.  Of course, Joan was the first one in.

"Come on in! The water's fine!"

An enterprising young man was selling coconut rum drinks made from and in an actual coconut before your eyes.

The crystal clear blue waters really are amazing.  Back at our boat, when the surface is calm,  you can see everything right down to the 8 foot deep bottom.  It provided endless entertainment, watching small rays, conchs, crabs, squid, and countless tiny fish.  Because of the nearby fish cleaning station, a number of large predators made regular daily appearances, looking for a free meal.

A large Barricuda

A 6 foot Bull Shark, Directly Under Us

That evening Marilyn, social whirlwind that she is, organized a meet-and-greet of all the boat owners for sundowners and snacks under the picnic area.  Because we ended up staying here for 6 days to avoid the cold front, we got to know some of these folks pretty well.  One couple, in the boat next to us,  is even from Annapolis!  Small world.

After the the party, we were too tired to prepare a dinner, so we hiked up to the Bimini Big Game Club and had another wonderful meal on their deck overlooking the harbor.  I had the cracked conch, Joan had a seafood medly over linguini, and Bill had mussels.  We're really getting spoiled by all the fresh seafood.  Life is good.

Dinner at Bimini Big Game Club