By JIMMY IM
True story: A rather ambitious explorer by the name of Ponce De Leon set off to locate the Fountain of Youth with his entourage in 1513. He found the well in Bimini, Bahamas and, some 500 years later, I took a hearty swig of what supposedly keeps me forever young. Maybe it’s the thrill that made me feel like the sprightly Peter Pan. A giddy rush of youthfulness hijacked my worn body, and I went to discover more of the island—on foot, thank you very much.
Needless to say, this was just the beginning.
Bimini is something like the mystical island from the TV show Lost: It’s chockfull of mysteries, strange legends and magic. For instance, there’s the Healing Hole, discovered approximately 20 years back, a mineral- rich pool hidden
deep in the mangroves. Locals swear by this water that contains significant amounts of sulfur, said to have healing properties. On the other side of the island, there’s Bimini Road, predicted to be discovered in the late sixties by late psychic Edgar Cayce and coincidentally encountered during that time. The underwater assemblage of large granite
stones is believed to lead to the lost city of Atlantis, destroyed in a natural disaster several thousand years ago. As directed, I submerged myself twenty feet to get a closer look at this phenomenon, which is undoubtedly manmade. There are even deliberate grooves in the rocks (similar to the Incan’s building method).
Magic also comes to the island in what visitors like to consider as favorable lack of mass tourism. Though rich in history with interesting attractions (not to mention the coast of sublime beaches so deserted they are basically your personal playground), Bimini caters primarily to wealthy fisherman and their wives due to the large stock of game
fishing. Throw in the handful of curious visitors on a spiritual quest, and you’ve got yourself an unusual market. Nevertheless, no matter what lures visitors to these islands, there’s practically no other tourists here. In fact, it’s so small there’s no room for more.
Lately, Bimini Bay has been the talk of the town, new material to pass time while fish gutting since the Compleat Angler hotel burned down five years ago. (It was the social center of Bimini, and homed Ernest Hemingway, who put Bimini on the map with his frequent visits for sport fishing and writing the novel “Island in the Stream.”) Even if
the development of Bimini Bay (a new luxury resort complex by the Conrad Group) may have changed the dynamic of the denizen’s little oasis (the bad news), there’s always the good news: more work for the unemployed and more money for the island. The locals— who just kinda go with the flow—are hardly phased. Perhaps the most concerned group is
the researchers at the shark lab. These nine twenty-something international students who actually live in the lab in a reality- show-ish way (coincidentally, a reality show was filmed on them but never received the green light) went
numb when the mangroves were destroyed. The sharks depend on the mangroves for fish. If there are no mangroves,
there are no sharks.
Even with the little resistance acted upon, the Conrad needs to dangle a pretty big carrot. The island’s most charming and authentic hotel, Big John’s Hotel, has more game, e s t a b l i s h e d already with loyal, satisfying visitors who have been returning for generations.
The cast of characters that you find on the island is infectious, and you’ll more than likely be awed by local historian
Ashley Saunders. His vivid memories of Hemingway boxing his relatives in a makeshift ring brings the island to life, a story more engaging than the tabloidy fact Melanie Griffith met Antonio Banderas here. Magic in the air, indeed.
The award for best story, however, goes to Ashley’s brother, Ansil, who took Martin Luther King Out for a bonefishing trip in 1968. “He was writing part of his eulogy on my boat,” recalls Ansil. “He told me he had a feeling he was going to die. Three days later, he was assassinated.”
If his story doesn’t move you, the island most likely will. Having faith in its legends? Well, that’s a whole other story.
JIMMY IM is a freelance travel writer based in New York City. He is one of the hosts of “Confessions of a Travel Writer” on the Travel Channel and writes regularly for top publications around the world.
