2011 - 7/15 - BIMINI

Thursday, 7/14 OMG !!! We really did it! We crossed. Let the real adventure begin! Left Key Biscayne @ 6:00am, gorgeous morning, light breeze, calm seas with beautiful sunrise at 7:00 but really hot, even at that hour. I trolled the whole way but got skunked...not one fish...no fresh fish for dinner tonight. That’s cuz I didn’t take anything out of the freezer for dinner. “Fins to the left, Fins to the right“ (As Jimmy’s song goes) At one point Flipper was all around us & hung out at our bow so they could rub their

Looks like I'm swimming with him, doesn't it? water's so clear

bodies against the bulbous bow. The girls went bonkers! Bimini now has a new entrance channel with red & green markers an all (it's gettin way too civilized) but much easier than 10 yrs ago. We tied up @ Bimini Blue Water marina @ 1:00 - JR, the dock hand, was fabulous & incredibly helpful. We filled out the immigration paperwork. The Bahamas require that a vet attest to the dog’s good health within 48 hrs of arrival & Rabies vaccine given not less than 30 days prior to arrival. I had to alter the vets papers when he signed them in May to July 12th (just a teeny white lie). We were only going to stay overnight, but told Junkanoo was on Friday & Saturday - signed up till Sunday. If you read my blog from our Bahamas trip in 2001, you might remember the guys I met at this marina especially Billy who owned CONCH PEARL, a 49’ Grand Banks. We were docked across from a boat with the same name but different boat. The owner emerged & sure enough, it was Billy. After hugs, we reminisced & caught up with our lives since that time so long ago. After lounging around a bit we took a short walk down the King’s Highway. Much has changed; it's cleaner; the Complete Angler (bar/restaurant) burned down several years ago leaving the stone walls & fireplace - real shame as it contained hundreds of old photos & memorabilia of the great one, Ernest Hemmingway; CJ’s, small snack shop, also burned to the ground leaving nothing but a concrete slab but they rebuilt on the high road. We wandered down to The End of the World bar/restaurant. Their 'crack concher' guy

arrived - think his name was Dig. There's a box in the water at

 their dock which holds live conch. He retrieves a few, 

Dinner - YUM!

opens them, cleans them & voila! dinner. After a few Kalicks,  a vodka/tonic & lively conversation with a couple on a Sea Ray, we returned to the boat for leftovers. (I wanted cracked conch)Friday, 7/15 Gorgeous day-blistering sun & hot. We went exploring in the dinghy with the girls. We checked out the north end of the island that was decimated in 2001 in preparation to build Bimini Bay. They dredged a 14’ channel from Alice Town 5 miles north to the resort. What a shocker! Very well built floating docks, nice homes, condo & hotel room - we didn’t go ashore though. Went thru S. Bimini where the air port is located, traveleda few canals but not much to see. Molly had the best seat-snuggled in my beach bag. Returned the girls to the boat then went trolling using a straw for a lure -something I learned about in 2001. I got several hits, a small Jack & something bigger but something got half of it before I could get it into the dinghy. Shame, we wanted fresh fish for dinner. Stopped at an incredibly pristine beach on South Bimini with white, soft sand. Now this is what I’m talkin’ about! The water is crystalclear.Passed Octypussy - the boat used in the Bond movie of the same name (at least that’s what we were told) Jumped into the fresh water pool the minute we got back. Off to the Angler for dinner. Great old building up on the high road, overlooking the Ocean with a full moon that night - doesn’t get much better than this - but I guess we’ll see won’t we…