A stone staircase climbs the hillside, lined with hand-carved reliefs: the Stations of the Cross, cut into the rock by a priest-architect who lived here as a hermit. That's the image Cat Island leaves with its rare visitors. Long and narrow, off the well-travelled sea routes, it receives few ships — and those that do stop, anchoring off New Bight, offer their passengers one of the most singular ports of call in the Bahamas.

New Bight, a Village by the Water

Tenders drop passengers near the hamlet of New Bight, whose main street runs alongside a lagoon-coloured bay. A few stone churches, a gas station, low houses among the coconut palms: the place feels more like a fishing village than a tourist stop. Along the road, the Fish Fry shacks serve grilled fish, fried conch, and peas and rice in an infectiously good mood — it's the island's social gathering spot, and the best place to take the pulse of local life.

The Hermitage on Mount Alvernia

Above the village stands the highest point in the entire archipelago: Mount Alvernia, all of 63 metres. The number draws a smile, until you actually make the climb. At the summit awaits the Hermitage, a miniature monastery that Father Jerome — born John Hawes, a British architect turned missionary — built with his own hands in 1939, to spend his final years there in poverty. Chapel, cell, and bell tower all seem built for a giant turned humble: the ceilings force you to duck your head. From the parapet, the view takes in both shores of the island, the Atlantic on one side, turquoise shallows on the other. The climb takes about twenty minutes from the road and remains one of the highlights of any cruise through the Out Islands.

Shorelines All to Yourself

Cat Island lines up kilometres of sand where you won't cross paths with anyone, save perhaps a heron or a ghost crab. Near the landing point, New Bight Bay invites swimming with no fuss required. Excursions sometimes head to Fernandez Bay, a crescent-shaped cove lined with casuarina trees, or to the Port Howe coast, where the sand takes on pink hues. No vendors, no loudspeakers: the lapping of waves serves as the soundtrack, and that's exactly what the ships stopping here come looking for.

A Culture Very Much Alive

The island has given the Bahamas part of its music and its legends. Rake and scrape — a musical saw, a goatskin drum, and an accordion — was born at its village celebrations, and elders still play it today. It's also the childhood home of Sidney Poitier: the actor, the first Black man to win an Oscar for Best Actor, grew up on a tomato farm near Arthur's Town, to the north. Locals speak readily of obeah, those mysterious beliefs inherited from Africa, with a mix of smile and respect. Listening to these stories, tamarind juice in hand, is worth more than any staged folkloric show.

Tips for This Off-the-Grid Stop

• Cash is essential: ATMs and card machines are scarce.
• Bring closed-toe shoes and water for the climb up Mount Alvernia.
• Taxis are few; booking the ship's excursion simplifies getting around.
• Cell service remains spotty — a good excuse to put the phone away.

Coming back down from the Hermitage, you might pass a local heading up to pray, or simply to look at the sea, just as Father Jerome once did. Cat Island doesn't try to hold onto its visitors; instead, it entrusts them with something: a summit both tiny and immense, silent shorelines, a culture passed down from porch to porch. Passengers head back aboard calmer than when they left — and that's no small gift.