Honolulu Star-Bulletin from Honolulu, Hawaii • 34

C- Hoiwlulu. January 1,197, The Sunday Star Bulletin Advrtlsr Bimini and the Fountain of Youth By John Plafere, Associated Press Flo ficla Miif obLamt lWp BIMINI ISLANDS A ALICE TOWN. Bimini A lot of people know that Ponce de Leon never found the Fountain of Youth, but what they know, or seldom remember, is that it's supposed to be hidden somewhere on one of Bimini's two small islands. Bimini. 50 miles off the South Florida coast, may not be as primitive as it was 464 years ago when the Spanish explorer was here, but the tinsel-town atmosphere that has ruined many other island retreats hasn't reached Bimini.

It remains much as it was in the 1930s when Ernest Hemingway called this corner of the Bahamas home. For many anglers it's the epitome of big game fishing. The big ones are here the martin, sailfish, shark, tuna and swordfish. But other visitors are on the increase: Honeymooners, senior citizens, students and those who seek tranquility, the unadulterated While you're sipping a Goom-bay Smash or a Bahama Mama on Bimini, ask if 'Picolo Pete' is around. He'll enlighten you with many tales.

He swears that he's found the Fountain of Youth, but he won't say where it is. But Ernest Hemingway's older brother is there. And he says, 'This is a happy island, and my favorite place in the a -ii -I 1 i I "i i I 1 I -J A S. I round-trip and takes 10 minutes. If you want to drive your motor bike or car aboard, there's no extra charge.

SOUTH BIMINI. though wider than its sister island, is smaller in area. It has a small airport, 75 residents and no telephones. But it has the fresh water that is supplied to North Bimini via an underwater pipe. Seclusion is the byword for South Bimini, and some Americans who visit or own houses here would rather not be identified.

Although visitors pay no heed, most Btmians won't spend the night on the south island because of the chiccarnie a centuries-old African myth. The chiccarnie, which has orange eyes and lives in the trees, hasn't found its ay to North Bimini, local residents say. The main topic of conversations on Bimini in the marinas, the hotels, the small bars and eateries is fishing. And it's rare to find a photograph hanging in any of these places that doesn't have a fish in it. Ossie Brown, Harcourt's son, manages one of the family hotels a wooden two-story structure cooled by ceiling fans.

Its rustic walls are adorned with photos, shark jaws and mementoes of record catches. "Fishing that's what put Bimini on the map. And fishermen are friendly people," Ossie says OSSIE FINDS MORE young people are coming to his islands. They cause no problem and he says they spend more money than the rich big game fishermen who arrive in well-stocked yachts. There are no American restaurants or hotel chains and no fancy housing.

"If they ever start building condominiums here it'll be the end of Bimini," says Bill Garcia, manager of the Bimini Big Game Fishing Club. The names of the bars and eating places are distinct: The Funk Machine No. 1. The Wreck, The Door, Roaring 9th, Bloody Mary Lounge, End Of The World Bar. and the Old English Store.

Bimians are friendly. Anyone walking towards the seaplane ramp with suitcase in hand is likely to be stopped and asked, "Can't you stay a little longer?" And they're known by their nicknames The dockmaster at Brown's Marina is "Copperhead." No one would know who you wanted if you asked for Wilford Rolle. If he's not around, ask for his brother, "Shoestring" not Harold. And when you sail over to South Bimini, it'll probably be "Cornbread" who will tie up your boat He rarely answers to his given name, Felix Ellis. While you're sipping a Goombay Smash or a Bahama Mama, ask if "Piccolo Pete" is around.

He'll enlighten you with many tales about Bimini. He swears he's found the Fountain of Youth, but he won't say where it is. Be on the lookout for the big man everyone calls, "Les." He looks just like his older brother, Ernest Hemingway, who used Bimini as the setting for "Islands in the Stream." "This is a happy island," says Hemingway, "and my favorite place in in the world." beauty of a sub-tropical island and instant friendship "You can have all the fish in the world, but if the people weren't right, they wouldn't come," says Harcourt Brown, Bimini's unofficial mayor. NORTH BIMINI IS where life flourishes, while a couple hundred yards away is South Bimini silent, removed and, as one American says, "the one place where they can't bug your telephone." Alice Town, population 1,800, is on North Bimini and is the capital of the Bimini Islands, part of the British Commonwealth. It has two streets, 18 telephones, one gas station and a few small hotels.

The main street is Queens Highway Kings Highway when the British monarch is male. It meanders up the center of the block-wide island. What is now Queens Highway, at least so long as Elizabeth II reigns, runs parallel to the main street along the soft, sandy beaches on the western shore. It's so narrow that only strollers, bicycles, motor bikes and the city's garbage truck use it. The other two settlements along the 7Wmile stretch of North Bimini are Porgee Bay and Bailey Town.

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