New Bight to Old Bight

This afternoon we weighed the anchorage and sailed four miles S to Old Bight. The wind is forecast to shift to the SE early tomorrow morning and the protection from that direction is better in Old Bight. Also, we were ready for a change of scenery. Our sail to Old Bight was delightful, if short. We have plans to eat an early dinner at Rollezz Villas Beach Resort with Dawn and Ray later today. The resort is very friendly to cruisers, which isn’t always the case. 

Earlier today George and I went ashore in New Bight to hike to the Hermitage on Mt. Alvernia, the highest point in the Bahamas at 206 feet. It was built in 1939 by Monsignor John Hawes—known locally as Father Jerome—-out of local stone. It is reached by climbing steep stones steps with hand-carved depictions of the Stations of the Cross. I didn’t stop to take pictures of these because I was focused on maintaining my footing. 

Yesterday morning we walked with several friends to the New Bight Market. It is a great store with an excellent selection of foods. It was staffed by Alberto, the nice man who opened the laundry early for us the other day. Alberto’s parents own the market. 

After playing a few games of Mexican Train and Skip-Bo on Azzurra 2.0 in the early afternoon we went ashore for a drink at Tingus, a beautiful new bar on the beach. While there we chatted with friends and also met some new folks. 

Sunset view from Tingus. When we were getting into our dinghy to return to Breeze On we were attacked by a thick swarm of mosquitoes. Fortunately, they didn’t follow us back to Breeze On. 

The Hermitage. Father Jerome built it as a refuge. It resembles a 3/4 scale medieval monastery. 

The view from The Hermitage on Mount Alvernia. Breeze On and the other boats at anchor look tiny from here.