We’ve been told numerous times, “you have to rent a car when you get to Long Island.” Since we needed some medicine for Susie’s tummy, that’s exactly what we did. And since the clinic happens to be south of our centrally located anchorage, our initial direction was set.
Man does not live on bread alone, right? Holy Week is a great time to visit God’s house, and that’s not at all difficult to do on Long Island. There are many churches, and I do mean, lots of churches in all sizes and denominations. From a purely historical perspective, here are just a few of our favorites.
Our Lady of Mt Carmel Catholic Church in the community of Hamilton’s, Long Island
Next stop was Saint Paul’s Anglican Church in Clarence Town, Long Island, originally built in 1884. It was almost completely destroyed by a hurricane in 1908 and then rebuilt in 1910 by none other than John C. Hawes (later, Father Jerome), the architect and Anglican priest who converted to Catholicism in 1911. You may remember Father Jerome from our post about The Hermitage on Cat Island. He’d returned to the Bahamas planning to live as a hermit, but given his architectural skills and priestly talents, he went on to build four churches on Cat, one on Long, and one in Nassau, as well as his own Hermitage and Chapel on Como Hill, Cat Island.
The view from Saint Paul’s isn’t too shabby, either.
Then there’s Saints Peter and Paul’s Catholic Church, the Long Island landmark often seen in tourist brochures. The twin 40-foot towers atop Gun Hill help guide mariners into the Great Clarence Town Harbour. The church was completed by Father Cornelius Osendorf in 1947, but designed by – you guessed it – Father Jerome Hawes during his time living as a hermit on Cat Island.
This is the Holy Cross Anglican Church. We didn’t find information about this one, but what a picturesque little chapel.
This last one is a bit odd. We’d been told not to miss “the Shrimp Hole” in New Bight, Long Island. Well, when you turn off the main road at the small sign for the Shrimp Hole, this is what you see. I don’t know about a Shrimp Hole, Honey, but there’s a lovely church ruin. There is no signage at the church, but research (good ol’ Google) reveals it to be Saint Mary the Virgin Anglican Church, thought to be the oldest church in the Bahamas, having been founded by the Spanish in 1600 and rebuilt in 1799. I think it warrants a sign! Oh, that Shrimp Hole? We’ll get back to that…
On the way out, we noticed someone had left a small gift on the stone steps.
After a bit more exploring (we still owe you the story about the Shrimp Hole), it was back to the stirred up anchorage on Thompson Bay to have dinner and catch the sunset.
Interesting phenomenon on Thompson Bay. We’ve been here since Saturday, and every evening, a low bank of clouds forms in the west, just in time for sunset.
From both of us to all of you, we wish you God’s peace, love and mercy. Happy Easter!
Our Travels 
I’ve watched enough horror movies to know you should be careful digging around old church sites. You might bring something back with you….
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Only the Holy Spirit!
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