Bimini
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 composed 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 62 miles (100 km) further south, which is geographically not a part of the Bimini Islands but a separate unit.[1]. 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, South Bimini Airport, and offers a quiet alternative to the slow bustle of North Bimini. South Bimini is also home to the world famous Bimini Biological Field Station, known locally as the SharkLab. The Sharklab is famous for its research on marine ecosystems, in particular those supporting various species of sharks. There is a small community of homes on South Bimini known as Port Royale. Among Port Royale's notable residents was Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.. The popular singer Jimmy Buffett also spent some time on South Bimini while writing one of his books. South Bimini was also home to Colonel Joseph Mackey, the founder of Mackey Airlines which was later bought by Eastern Airlines. He built a home on the very southern tip of South Bimini. This structure would become the Sunshine Inn and is currently a bar and restaurant, though the hotel is gone. For many years, South Bimini had few tourists because there were few accommodations other than private homes. This changed when a new marina and resort, Bimini Sands Resort, was built overlooking the western beach.
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 ocean surrounding the islands, best known for fishing, 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 in the United States 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 about 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.[2][3][4] 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.[5] 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. Today there is a small freshwater well with a plaque commemorating the Fountain of Youth. The location is on the road leading to the South Bimini Airport.
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
- 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 and Islands in The Stream.
- The last scene of the film The Silence of the Lambs (1991) takes place at the Chalk's airline seaplane ramp on North Bimini.
- Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 was en route 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 13 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.
- In May of 1987 Colorado Senator Gary Hart's presidential bid was derailed after media reports exposed an affair with model Donna Rice. Photos taken of the Senator on an overnight trip to Bimini on the yacht "Monkey Business" fed the media frenzy. An intimate photo of Rice sitting on the lap of Hart on one of Bimini's docks was the nail in the coffin for Hart's campaign for the presidency.
- In the Billy Squier holiday song Christmas Is the Time to Say "I Love You" Bimini is referenced in the line that sings "Santa guides his reindeer through the dark / from rooftop to chimney, from Harlem to Bimini."
- The wreck of the SS Sapona is a popular area for scuba diving and snorkeling. The Sapona ran aground in 1926 during a hurricane. The top of the ship is exposed to the air while the bottom half is submerged.[6] Parts of the wreck were stripped over the years and some of the wood was used in the construction of the Compleat Angler Hotel and bar on North Bimini.
- The term "the Real McCoy" dates from a famous Rumrunner, William S. McCoy, who used Bimini to transport Whiskey to America during prohibition.
References
- ^ Bahamas Districts
- ^ Crystalinks
- ^ Alternate Perceptions Magazine, Issue #100, April 2006
- ^ The Stones of Atlantis aka "The Bimini Road"
- ^ Bimini Expeditions
- ^ The Sapona
Further reading
- Cayce, Edgar Evans. Edgar Cayce on Atlantis, Warner Books, 1988. ISBN 0-446-35102-4
- Menzies, Gavin. 1421: The Year China Discovered America, Harper Perennial; 1st Perenn Edition, 2004. ISBN 0-06-054094-X
- Zink, Dr. David. The Stones of Atlantis, Prentice Hall Trade, 1978. ISBN 0-13-846923-7
- Kresge, Dave. VantagePoint Guide to Bimini, VantagePoint Guides, 2005. ISBN 0-9729589-1-6
- Saunders, Ashley. History of Bimini, Volume I, New World Press 2000. ISBN 0-80-829-219 (S)
External links
- Out Islands of the Bahamas Bimini Official Site
- A Bimini travel story
- Bimini Police Royal Bahamas Police
- Bimini Museum
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