No schedule, no worries!

Saturday morning in Bimini!

We were looking forward to the day because Frank made arrangements with a local guide, Strata, for a traditional Bahamian fishing adventure.  Strata travels light because there are no rods/tackle/gear involved with his kind of fishing:  It's called hand lining.

We made sure to have a hearty breakfast because we were going to be on the boat for half a day, "reeling in our catch" by hand.  After filling our bellies, we stopped by the office as we had a few questions about some places we wanted to visit on North Bimini after fishing.  Doyle answered all our questions and even informed us, oh by the way, that our fishing trip had been cancelled!  It was too windy and Strata's boat wouldn't have been comfortable in such conditions!  Needless to say we were bummed about not fishing but better to be safe than sorry. 

We wasted little time changing from our fishing clothes to our beach clothes, packing a bag and heading out to explore the area around the resort. 

Amazing color changes!

So pretty....so quiet!

 

The beach was so quiet and peaceful and we were pretty certain we were the only ones.  Lo and behold we walked a little further and there was a family of 3 hanging out on the beach.  As we got to where they could hear us, Frank said, "I think this is a good spot to set up camp."  Of course, that broke the ice with the mother and daughter that were sitting there.  Turns out they have a condo in Bimini Sands, live in Amelia Island and the husband played for FSU.  What a small world!!  The daughter with them works at the fitness center on Amelia and their other daughter and her fiance run the recently renovated and reopened Florida House Inn.   They gave us the scoop on Bimini Sands, the Beach Club (which was NOT within walking distance which we had been led to believe), etc.  After learning we could not walk to the pool at the Beach Club, we retraced our steps and decided to hang out by the pool at the condos for a little while before taking the water taxi back to North Bimini.  We had a hankering for conch salad!

From mid-morning until we were leaving for lunch, we kept hearing drums, trumpets and general band noises.  Turns out one of the bands in town for the Battle of the Bands was staying at Bimini Sands.  Keep in mind that the competition wasn't going to take place until later in the afternoon.  But as one of our driver's said, "It's a big part of our culture and a big deal for them to come for the weekend."

This group practiced for a few hours.

The Legends Marching Band (Freeport, Grand Bahama) were pretty darn good!  Brief video.

During our morning visit to the office, we were talking with Doyle, our new best friend, about our desire for conch salad.  He said we HAD to go to Stuarts Conch Stand which was between the Big Game Club and Bimini Bay (which we wanted to check out anyway for a future visit).   Lunch at Stuarts was our mission!  On the map, it looked like it would be a reasonable walk.  And since we had such a big breakfast, we were ok with that.  We got to what we thought was "not too much further" when we stopped one of the locals to confirm.  She said we should probably take a cab as we would stay on this road, go past Joe's Conch Stand and then it would be just past Joe's.  Well, we opted not to do the cab which turned out ok.  It really wasn't that much further.  But we were very excited to see the sign.  It was everything Doyle promised!

Turns out Fabian Stuart is Doyle's uncle.  Lots of room to "just sit, relax and watch the water, watch Fabian prepare the salad and enjoy a cold beer or two."  Just as Doyle promised.

Fabian in the back chopping up the conch.

Fabian at work.

Empty conch shells.

Inside Stuarts Conch Stand.

"The Conch Wrangler"

Aaahhhhh!

Conch salad and a cold Bahamian beer....Doesn't get much better!
Salad:  conch, green pepper, tomato, onion, seasoning, lime juice.  (That's it!)

From sea to table.

It's been well over ten years since either of us has been to Bimini.  My fondest recollection of visiting the island was by way of a dive trip and being introduced to the End of The World Saloon.  It was a bar that had been around for a very long time, frequented by Ernest Hemingway, known for the writing on the walls, the sand floor and the undergarments hanging from the ceiling.  The back of the place opened right to the ocean where piles of empty conch shells rested.  It was also home to Sara who made the best conch salad, ever!  (The crew from the dive boat would send money with those going ashore in return for a "red cup" full of the delicious concoction.)  Needless to say, I was very excited to be able to go back. 

In doing a little research before our trip, I found that the EOTWS had been renovated and had reopened just a few weeks ago!  I knew they had saved as much of the walls with writing as they could and incorporated it into the renovated building.  (Thankfully they were starting a new collection of undergarments.)

It was very different inside.  Much bigger, more places to sit.  But still had the ring toss game.  There was even a deck/patio outside! 

A cold beer and cold concoction at the End of the World Sandbar (as it is now known).

Sadly, the charm and history of the old watering hole is gone as it is now a lively bar/club where many of the locals hang out.

After returning to South Bimini, I opted for a walk down the other side of the beach while Frank was interested in finishing a book. 

Many boats returning after the end of a beautiful day.

The channel leading into Bimini Sands.

Don't want to be late for happy hour!

Someone else's collection of shells.

Rather than going back to North Bimini and getting into all the craziness of their Homecoming festivities, we opted to have dinner at the Beach Club. 

Grouper with broccolli and fancy mashed potatoes.  Lobster pasta.

Sunset in the Bahamas!

Frank's choice for dessert:  Key Lime pie

Inspite of not being able to fish, it turned out to be a pretty good day and it gave us an opportunity to explore Bimini in a way we probably wouldn't have been able to.