New Bight, Cat Island

We love Cat Island and we love the settlement of New Bight. It is beautiful, unique, and has a friendly, laid back vibe. We had hoped to be able stay in the area for about a week, moving between here, Old Bight, and Fernandez Bay. The forecast for early next week keeps changing and, at times, shows wind directions which would not be good for this area. If we do leave we hope we can return later in the winter. 

Yesterday we hiked up Mt. Alvernia—the highest point in the Bahamas—to the Hermitage with Dee and Ron for a stunning view of the harbor. It is a steep and challenging walk but well worth it. Afterwards we walked around the “Fish Fry” cultural area and then down a newly cleared road. In the afternoon we returned to shore for some of Duke’s delicious tropical conch salad. 

Today we did laundry at Gilly’s Laundry Depot, our favorite laundromat in the Bahamas or the US. Although our new clothes spinner makes doing laundry on board more efficient, when we are in New Bight we would much rather do our laundry at Gilly’s. After finishing laundry and returning to the boat, George ran the watermaker, then we returned to shore to dump our trash and fill up the 5 gallon gas can (used for the dinghy motor and the watermaker.) The trash cans are next to the police station. As we were walking toward them, a friendly police inspector made a point of walking over to us and welcoming us to Cat Island. She asked—as have several others—if this was our first time on the island. We told her no, we had been here many times and love it here. 

View from the Hermitage on the top of Mt. Alvernia.

Sundial at the Hermitage. Note the date is 1634 (the Hermitage was built in 1939.) The sundial is actually accurate. I did not include any photos of the Hermitage building in this post but it was designed by Father Jerome, a priest and architect, and built by Bahamians. It is a 3/4 scale medieval monastery intended to be a retreat for Father Jerome. He is buried nearby. 





Goats we encountered on our return. The mother goat kept her eye on us as we passed. 





George and Ron next to the huge piece of equipment clearing the road. 





I couldn’t pass up taking a photo of the view as we returned to our dinghy after doing laundry. Ursa Minor in the distance on the right and Breeze On on the left.