| Cat Island... |
Located over 300 miles from Miami, Cat Island should not be confused
with its very very small nephew Cat Cay--which is part of the
Biminis. A popular tourist attraction in Cat Island is Comer Hill,
the highest point in The Bahamas at 206 ft. above sea level. Climb
to the top of Mt. Alvernia where you'll get a bird's eye view of a
scaled replica of a 12th century monastery called the Hermitage
built by Monsignor John C. Hawes.
While the Deveaux Mansion and nearby ruins dominate the coastline.
Cat Island may have derived its name from Arthur Catt, the famous
British sea captain.
Cat Island was once home to one of the more prosperous Loyalist
colonies of the Out Islands. The island gained its wealth from the
numerous cotton plantations established during the 1700s.
This boot-shaped, untamed island is one of the most beautiful and
fertile of The Bahamas. A lush sanctuary, it provides tranquility
for those seeking an escape from the pressures of modern
civilization. Others thought so too, like Father Jerome, a penitent
hermit who built a medieval monastery hewn from the limestone cliffs
atop 206-foot Mt. Alvernia, a place for meditation. From these high
cliffs, there is a marvelous view down to densely-forested foothills
and 60 miles of deserted pink-and-white-sand beach.
But perhaps the most spectacular view on all of Cat Island is the
near incredible ten-mile stretch of perfectly pink sand at a place
most aptly named, Fine Beach. At Arthur's Town, historic building
can be found. It is also the boyhood home of Academy Award winning
actor Sidney Poitier.
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