Flotsam & Jetsam

Day 10 – Another hard day at the office. (blog late due to internet blackout)

Today I went to the South Island, which has a different feel to the North where I’ve been staying. It’s much more exposed, and many houses are damaged from the last hurricane, but the beaches are deserted, and the views are spectacular.

I met up with Grant & Katie from Bimini Sands, a quiet resort of empty apartments (off season apparently), and was kindly given a jeep ride around the island to take in the sights. We drove past a number of secluded and exclusive properties (American second homes), and eventually reached the Shark Lab – a remote outpost where a number of volunteers work from around the world to research into Shark related matters. I arranged with Grant to go out for the day on Friday to circle the islands on a boat, and look forward to seeing the last remaining parts which had been unreachable by foot or buggy. As Grant & Katie are marine experts, I’m hoping to get to some interesting waters to see some marine life, and maybe even swim with a shark or two… apparently it’s very safe… !?

Over my ten days on the island, I’ve become an avid beachcomber, and have been surprised by the weird and wonderful things that turn up on the Gulf Stream coast. Doll’s legs, ping-pong balls, foreign food cartons, but most shocking of all is the sheer number of shoes – they’re everywhere! Who keeps losing a shoe? Every item has a mysterious story… maybe someone fell off a cruise liner, or maybe there was a shoe flinging contest nearby. Maybe they were eaten by a shark? *Note to self for friday… leave shoes at home for luck.

Speaking of stuff on the beach, Ashley Saunders and his Dolphin House is made up of entirely recycled materials, much of which was found on the beach just a stones throw away. I should point out that he doesn’t use doll’s legs, or shoes for that matter, but conch shells, tiles and lumps of coral that washes up, and over the years he’s slowly built himself a magical house made from all the things that he has found, and I’ve had the pleasure of staying inside it. Stone by stone, tile by tile, Ashley has made the house almost entirely by himself, and it has become a popular attraction for Bimini tourists.

In the afternoon I filmed with Ashley as he added more flotsam and jetsam to the exterior walls, and then recorded some beachside poetry to the most beautiful perfect sunset I have ever seen – the sea swallowed the sun without a single cloud interfering with it’s journey. Whilst we were there,  I managed to rope Norbert H. Kox to play Hemingway for me one last time, but no boxing this time… a simple shot of him writing was all that I needed… and if the video images are anything like the stills, I’ll be very happy indeed.