We’re showing you a few of our favorite things around #Bimini #Bahamas – Conch, Bimini Bread, and the Great Hammerheads (along with a surprise appearance from a couple of Tiger Sharks 😳).
Some of our gear malfunctions in this episode 😡 (a microphone dies and our underwater camera sim card goes kaput)… apologies… we’ll get better at this!.
In this episode we spent some time with some local conch fisherman and learned plenty about how conch are found and cleaned (and a few other life lessons that unfortunately would put our “G” rating at risk). Then we moved on down the road to the Famous and Friendly Joe’s Conch Shack for a lesson on how to prepare one of Bimini’s staples: Conch Salad. There are quite a few varieties of conch salad on the island – we tend to favor those with apple and mango included – but wouldn’t pass the opportunity to enjoy any combination of onions, tomatoes, peppers and seasoning that make this dish so popular.
And speaking of food – no trip to Bimini would be complete without sampling the world famous Bimini Bread – a deliciously sweet twist on traditional loaves bread that now has us looking for workout routines. No joke – this stuff is really, really good. We tried several bakeries and managed to take home a few different varieties, but our favorite was Big Al’s and Taylor Made Bakery (which also makes incredible cinnamon buns, donuts, and rum cake… just sayin’).
The last type of feeding is one unique to the Bahamas – and luckily had us playing next to no role as it centered around feeding the Great Hammerhead Sharks that are found seasonally here. We learned a little about the Bimini Biological Field Station Foundation (aka “Shark Lab”), the ban on long-line fishing, and the 2011 fisheries resource amendment banning all shark related fishing and products.
I (Herb) dive with the famous Neal Watson’s Bimini Dive Center for their Hammerhead Shark feeding and gets to check a big item off the bucket list: diving with Hammerheads. I’m initially a bit reluctant to participate in shark feeding but I’m hopeful that telling the story of dwindling shark population and endangered species makes it all worthwhile. Maybe the universe was trying to tell me something but the sim card on my underwater camera malfunctioned soon after hitting the water. 😖 Luckily, one of the other divers provided some great footage. (Thank you so much, Jeffrey!!)
We’re waiting out our weather window on Bimini – enjoyably – but will soon be leaving to explore more of this great country. Stay tuned for more exciting adventures….
Links in this episode:
Big Al’s and Taylor Made Bakery = www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100054199493732
Bimini Biological Field Station Foundation = https://www.biminisharklab.com/
Famous & Friendly Joe’s Conch Shack = www.instagram.com/friendlyjoesconch/
Neal Watson’s Bimini Dive Center = https://www.biminiscubacenter.com/
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