Cat Island: Things to Do.

Visiting the Hermitage on Mount Alverina is a must do.

When we booked our trip to Cat Island, I envisioned doing little beyond beach walks, making a dent in my reading list, and plenty of sleeping and napping.  After all, the island is sparsely populated and the point was a peaceful trip, full of limited human contact.  Beach trips, at least for us, tend to be low key.  

So we were surprised to find ourselves on the go the whole time.  Sure we got plenty of naps in and books conquered, but we also found ourselves breathlessly peddling up a sandy hill trying to reach the Atlantic Ocean or another time,  paddling furiously against the current of Pigeon Creek as sea turtles darted by.   The trip was unexpectedly active and we joked about about all the activities we crammed in...here's a sampling for those planning trips to Cat:

1.  The Hermitage on Mount Alverina.  The tallest point in the Bahamas at just 206 feet, Como Hill is worth the easy trek.  A Catholic missionary named Father Jerome--known for constructing many churches on Cat--built the lovely structure and lived there until the 1950s.  The hike takes you past memorials of the stations of the cross.  The views are pretty spectacular.

The old church found during a rain storm that sustained
damages from Hurricane Irene in 2011.

2.  Canoeing.  Our rental included a canoe and access to one of the interior waterways filled with mangroves, but also deep channels that lead out to the Exuma Sound.  We waited for the tide to roll in and dragged the canoe out to the deeper channel.  Although fighting the current and the brisk wind made canoeing tough for rookies, we were rewarded with sea turtle sightings!

3.  Biking.  Our rental also came with two bikes and we took advantage of them, exploring Bennett's Harbor, Alligator Point and biking the Atlantic side of the island near The Bluff settlement.  During our ride to the Atlantic, a sudden rain shower forced us to turn into a churchyard and seek shelter.  As we waited out the storm, we discovered a book detailing attendance.  The last entry was the week before Hurricane Irene, which did terrible damage to the island.  The island is still recovering from that storm.  As we stood there, under the new roof, I felt hopeful a new entry would not be too far off.

Alligator Point is one of the beaches we hiked to and found
ourselves completely alone to enjoy the beauty of Cat.

4.  Resort lunches.  We made most of our meals at the beach rental, but it was nice to have a few meals out and we drove up to Shana's Cove one day as well as lunching at Fernandez Bay Village Resort.  We also had an amazing lunch of conch ceviche and fried fish at Yardee's--a conch shack in Bennett's Harbor.  It's a must-do on Cat.  The open-air communal tables filled with friendly people chatting and waiting for their food or just shooting the breeze was an absolute delight.

5.  Hiking.  We did some serious hikes from walking out to the beaches near Man-o-War Pointe at the north end of island to our 3-mile trek to the deserted beaches near Alligator Point, you can easily find yourself alone with nature.  The chance to be so isolated, surrounded by perfect beauty was a special experience and one you can't find in many places anymore.

Just Back: Cat Island, Bahamas

Biking out to Alligator Point, Cat Island

The waving at first is a little unnerving.  Everyone waves to us or honks their horn.  Why? Do we have our brights on?  Are we not driving on the proper side of the road (it is the Bahamas where they do drive on the left hand side, after all)?  It's all very perplexing to a DC couple thinking every action has a secret agenda.  Um, maybe people are just this nice?  Maybe it's part of their culture to wave and greet everyone friend or stranger?

The friendly people is just one of the many discoveries you will find on Cat Island.  Strings of endless, sugary pink beaches, empty of people, is another. The island is 50 miles long and at times, 4 miles wide and is home to less than 2,000 people.  It's a peaceful place--full of old churches and nature surrounding you from all sides.  People do not lock their doors on Cat Island (our rental didn't even have a lock to lock!).  Some days, we saw more sea turtles and fish than actual people.  As I marveled at one point, I can't believe a place like this still exists on this crowded planet.  And it's so easy to reach: several flights from Nassau are offered every day and service two different airports on the island.  I'll write more in coming posts (and here are some photos of our trip to tide you over) about things to do and the wonder of visiting a Bahamian Out Island.  But let me leave you with a friendly wave, urging you to go discover the wonders of Cat Island.