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CAT ISLAND
Ninety-five miles southeast of Nassau, Cat Island is
the least inhabited island in the Bahamas. It caters for those who are
looking for total seclusion; miles of beautiful pink and white sand beaches,
world class diving, snorkeling and fishing sites and the beauty of its rolling
hills and rocky cliffs.
No one is quite sure how Cat Island acquired its
name, however, a pirate and contemporary of Edward "Black Beard"
Teach, Aurthur Catt, was a frequent visitor here. But others say it is
because the island resembles a cat sitting on its haunches when looking at it
from above.
For more than four centuries Cat Island was actually
called San Salvador and many believed this was where Christopher Columbus first
landed in the new world. However, in 1926 a nearby island was redesignated
San Salvador (as it is known today) and the name Cat Island was revived.
British Loyalists who were fleeing the newly formed
United States settled the island in 1783. They established cotton
plantations but when the cotton industry failed and the slaves were freed the
people of Cat Island turned to farming peas, corn, potatoes and later to growing
pineapples.
A single road runs the length of the island making
it difficult to get lost while exploring. Appropriately named the Main
Road, it begins at Arthur's Town in the north and ends at Port Howe in the
south. Along the way you can see local crafts like straw plaiting
(weaving) hats and bags, or visit one of the island's many beautiful churches.
At Port Howe are the ruins of the Deveaux mansion, a two story whitewashed
cotton plantation house, now dilapidated and overgrown. It was once the
home of Col. Andrew Deveaux of the U.S. Navy and was given to him as a reward
for recapturing Nassau from the Spaniards in 1783.
The highest point in The islands of the Bahamas is
found on Cat Island. Mt. Alvernia rises up 206 feet through a thick
forest. However this is not the mountain's only point of interest.
The Hermitage, a small monastery at the summit of this mountain, is to this day,
still shrouded in mystique. Father Jerome built the Hermitage and the rock
staircase leading to it as a final act of religious dedication. An
Anglican seminarian turned Catholic priest, Father Jerome was well know for
building cathedrals and convents throughout the islands.
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