Cat Island and Little San Salvadore

We have been lax in sharing our adventures over the last month but will try to bring you up to speed.  We had a great sail from Conception Island to New Bight on Cat Island only to find our friends Chrisy and Roger on Sanderling anchored in the harbour.  Finding people you know when you are travelling is such a delight  and with Chrisy and Roger you know you are in for a good time. This was our first visit to Cat Island. It is one of the larger islands in The Bahamas at 48 miles long and 4 miles across and still has a very traditional culture (you don’t sense any North American lifestyle here).  The  people were so welcoming and very proud of their island.  Many of the native residents believe that when the last person of a generation dies their house is left for the spirit to reside in.  The remaining family members will leave and build a new home to live in.  As a result there are abandoned homes all over the island.  To the casual visitor like us they may appear derelict, but for them it is a reminder of their ancestors.

Current family members live next door to this abandoned house

Our first night at Cat we met a cruiser who had caught two Mahi-Mahi on the sail from Conception.  He very kindly offered to provide fish for all of us, so we paid one of the local ‘Take Away’ places on the beach (take out- but NOT commercial)  to cook it for us and provide the sides. It made for a great evening of company for eight of us.  The next day we rented a car (from the brother in law of some one we met over sundowners – everyone is related here) with Chrisy and Roger and toured the island.  Along the way we met two conch divers on the Atlantic side of the island who had brought up 130 conch in two hours (an amazing feat).

Conch fritters anyone !

In the 1700 and 1800's Cat Island was home to many cotton plantations and more recently was a big agricultural center. We couldn’t see any large farming operations but there are many stone walls from the plantation days, and a few ruins of the loyalist homes.

This century old wall is all that is left of a plantation

One place of note was Arthur’s Town, childhood home of Harry Belafonte.  The town seemed to be more well off than other places along the way – hopefully due to Harry’s support. The town also has a beautiful little Anglican church and as with most of the island, blue holes and caves.

The Anglican church in Arthur's Town

The main attraction on Cat is the Hermitage on Mt. Albernia, which is the highest elevation in The Bahamas at 206 feet! It was a good thing it wasn’t higher because it felt as though we were walking in 100 degree F temperatures as we climbed to the top to tour the Hermitage! The Hermitage was built starting in 1939 by Father Jerome, a priest/architect who built many churches in The Bahamas. Upon retirement Father Jerome built the Hermitage by himself out of native stone, hauling the stones up the steep incline. On the way up the steep slope he carved the stations of the cross out of the rock.   The buildings are a miniature replica of a Franciscan monastery and were built to 1/3 scale.  When you see it from the water it appears huge, but as you get closer to the top of the climb you realise that the doorways are only five feet tall and all the furniture  is also small.  It was here that he would spend his last years in seclusion and contemplation – truly a testament to his faith.

Looking up the steep trail where the building stones were dragged to the top

The Hermitage.  It may look normal size but it is built to about 1/3 scale.

Crissy and Roger from Sanderling

The 13th station of the cross

A weather cold front was working its way to Cat so while we had the car we scoped out two anchorages at the north end of the island where we took shelter for a few days. Shanna’s Cove restaurant was a welcome sight as we reached the north end of the island.

Kim and Roger chatting at Shanna's Cove

After a long day of driving we were beckoned back to shore for an evening of Rake and Scrape on the beach.  Pompey Johnson is a well known musician on the island and has performed on the Today Show and in Paris. His band was playing for cruisers that night and as one of the girls in the band of three also owned the snack shack, she disappeared every so often to keep the kitchen going.  When this happened the music stopped and this was when Cathy stepped in to do some drumming on the goombay drum to keep the music going. It was good fun and Cathy was honoured to play with a musical legend.  Unfortunately, we left the camera on the boat so we have no photos of the evening.
Sailing regattas are a matter of island pride in The Bahamas and whole settlements will build, race, and support their sloop.  The regattas are a time of celebration and attract entrants from all over The Bahamas with spectators coming from the US to enjoy the festivities.  A new sloop was being built by hand. across the street from our favourite ‘take away’. These sloops have no ballast so crew need hike out on boards to keep the over-canvased vessel from going over.

A new Bahamian Class C sloop under construction.

As always, we spent many hours walking the beautiful beaches, some of them pink sand.  We found a few water creatures as we strolled along.

Starfish are abundant in The Bahamas

A sand crab out of its hole.  Left alone it will quickly bury itself in the sand.

An under water shot of the same crab

As soon as the cold front had run its course we left Cat and sailed west to Little San Salvador (or Half Moon Cay as Holland America Cruise Lines calls it). This island was purchased by the cruise line as a daytime playground for their passengers. It is an odd sight to see a ‘deserted’ cay on one side and as you head toward the anchorage you see Disneyland on the beach. The cruise ships come in around 7 am and ferry 3000 passengers to shore in a very short time. The passengers can stroll the beach, ride horseback along the shore, enjoy water sports, loud music, boat rides, snorkelling and the ultimate waste (in our opinion) sit on an open air – air conditioned, multi-level cabana! At 4 pm 3000 people are sucked back inside the ship and it departs, leaving the beach to people like us – ahhh! Fortunately only 45 of the 2,500 acres have been developed, the rest is kept as a nature preserve. The experience of seeing this daily cycle (except for Sundays) is surreal.

The bar.  Too bad it was closed when we were there.

The small open air cabana, on the right, actually had an air conditioner on the back wall.

The daily cruise ship