Cat Island

Mount Alvernia, at sixty-three metres, is the highest ground in the entire Bahamas, and on top of it sits the Hermitage: a stone monastery in miniature, built single-handed in the 1930s by Father Jerome, an English-born priest and trained architect who designed churches across the islands and then made himself a retreat at a scale where the chapel, the cloister and the cells are barely bigger than a person. He carved a stone stairway up the hill with the stations of the cross. He is buried beneath it. Cat Island is otherwise very quiet: long empty beaches, a rake and scrape music tradition, and few visitors.

History

The Lucayans called the island Guanima, middle waters land, and the first white settlers were Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution, who came in 1783; the name may honour a pirate, Arthur Catt, or the island's once numerous feral cats. Cotton plantations brought it wealth, and cascarilla bark is still gathered and shipped to Italy for medicines, scents and Campari. Until written accounts were found it was thought to be Guanahani, Columbus' first landfall, and in 1926 an Act of Parliament fixed its name as Cat Island and renamed Watling Island San Salvador (Wikipedia, Cat Island, Bahamas).

The landscape

• The Hermitage - a hand-built miniature monastery on the highest point.
• The stone stairway - carved stations of the cross up the hill.
• The beaches - long empty stretches on both coasts.
• Rake and scrape - the saw and goatskin drum music the island is known for.

When to go

December to May is the dry season. The Rake and Scrape Festival is held in June. Flights from Nassau are limited and a car is essential. Climb Mount Alvernia early or late; it is short but fully exposed.

What to expect

There is almost nothing here in the way of visitor infrastructure, with a few small hotels and very limited dining. Flights are infrequent. The Hermitage is small and takes twenty minutes, though the setting justifies the trip. Roads are rough in the south. This island suits people who want emptiness and nothing else.

Nearby

Eleuthera and Long Island are short flights away; Nassau is 45 minutes.

Key facts