SaltyMare heading out at sunrise!
We had positioned off Galliot Cay, Exuma to set up for the 53 nautical mile “straight shot!” crossing of the Exuma Sound to Cat Island.
As predicted, it was a perfect day to cross, with light wind and calm seas.
As it turned out, no fish were harmed during the trip. (Chicken for dinner.)
We consulted radar and AIS, and watched that white spot grow larger and larger, until it became…
Moving along in a settled sea afforded us the rare opportunity to photograph each other…
As we approached Cat Island in the late afternoon, we could see rain in the distance. Rain would be great for Clifton & Betty’s garden! (That’s another tale.)
For that afternoon, the rain remained in the distance, and we anchored in New Bight without incident.
Then it was time to switch gears. It was, after all, Easter. Susie roasted the aforementioned chicken and made dessert. Terry and Lynn brought mashed taters and a tasty spinach casserole, and we enjoyed dinner together before sunset.
Easter Monday seemed the perfect time for us to revisit the Hermitage that sits on Mount Alvernia, at 206 feet above sea level, the highest elevation in the Bahamas. From our earlier posts, you might remember that the builder, Father Jerome, after building a bunch of churches all over the islands, came to Cat Island in his early 60’s to single-handedly HAND-build, with local stone, a little hermitage and chapel to spend his final years as a hermit. Yeah, we think it’s a very cool place and we’re excited to share it with our friends.
We took the dinghies ashore and headed to the base of Mount Alvernia.
The “billy goat” portion of the hike begins with the Stations of the Cross, from Station 1, “Jesus Christ is condemned to death” to Station 14 when the stone is rolled away to reveal an empty tomb.
At the top, you find the Hermitage is much smaller than it looks from below.
PS. Terry, we were honored to be there. Cum deo, ipsi vivent in aeternum.
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