Deep in the mangroves not far off the island of Bimini there is the strangest place, known as The Healing Hole. One morning six of us set off in our tender across the bay to the mangroves and after nearly an hour and having almost decided that this place no longer existed, we spotted a gap in the dense jungle of mangroves.
Mooring the tender to a bush we set off swimming with snorkels and fins through a narrow channel, keeping our movements to a minimum to avoid stirring up the silt on the sea-bed. In single file we swam for some time through what became a tunnel of mangrove bushes all around and above us, deep into the heart of the mangroves. Suddenly we came to a clearing and found ourselves in a large deep pool open to the sky – the Healing Hole. Treading water we raised our heads out of the water to find a strong smell of sulphur and millions of mosquitoes ! We very quickly decided that whatever healing we had found would have to be enough and set off back to the open ocean and away from the mosquitoes. The mangroves are one of the most important elements of the marine eco-system and I was thrilled to have had the opportunity to experience swimming amongst them and to learn more about these amazing plants.
