Thursday 18th March

We have had a lovely day here in Bimini. We had heard mixed reports about this island, with some people really not liking it at all. We always like to reserve judgement and see for ourselves. The Seacrest Marina is good, helpful staff, clean bathrooms, very convenient for town and $1 a foot - what more could a cruiser want? Oh..... And free WiFi! Bimini itself is a bit "gritty" and is perhaps not the most picturesque or affluent of Bahamian towns. However, it has been a good stop over for us. We have been able to sort ourselves out with a new SIM card for the cell phone, configure the WiFi antenna ( which has really helped as we can connect from Osprey vs. sitting by the bath house like everyone else), plot our routes for the next few days etc. etc. It has been a beautiful sunny day and we had a lovely walk along the beach.

We also had a private tour of the Dolphin House. This is a house built by Ashley Saunders, started in 1993 and is still continuing. Basically it is a poured concrete house with steel girders to provide structural support. Mr Saunders has spent all these years building and decorating the house. Virtually all the decoration is material scavenged locally, a lot of it came from the beach. The walls are lined with coral rock and there are conch shells cemented into the corners of the rooms. Sea glass mosiacs, antique mirrors and dolphins made of marbles (donated by the local school children) are all part of the décor. Most of the tiles that line the walls and floor were salvaged from local buildings or were left over from various building projects. Dad - I hardly dare put up the photos as I'm afraid you will try to emulate it - similar to the Venetian Tea Room!


Tomorrow, all being well, we will head East across the Great Bahama bank. We are not sure where we will end up - it will depend on the wind and the weather!