One of the things that you get in the Bahamas is the ability to avoid civilization. Even the “resorts” are pretty basic. However, we are now visiting a little cove with a lovely resort “Fernandez Bay Village“. Even though it’s pretty much alone on this stretch of island, you can count on being pampered. There is a lovely open air dining room and cute little cottages along the beach. The main dining room has a thatched roof and a high peak that goes so well with the surroundings. Yesterday, after a short sail around the point we anchored just in front of the resort and enjoyed a late lunch. This is a shot taken of Pandora from inside the dining room. Pretty nice spot.
Here’s what the resort looks like from the deck of Pandora. Nice from both views.
Earlier yesterday, prior to heading over to Fernandez Bay we went for a hike up to the Hermitage, where Father Jerome lived out his retirement. Father Jerome was responsible for designing and building many of the Catholic churches here in the Bahamas. As both a priest and architect he was multi-talented and in spite of all that he found time to be a hermit alone after her retired here. The Hermitage can be seen from the water and looks quite imposing up on the hill. As you approach it you feel like you are headed up to a monastery somewhere in Europe as it is silhouetted against the sky. It sure looks like a long walk.
Along the way, and it’s not a very long way, we passed a few “farms” these were really just patches of rocky land where the scrub has been burned off and some plants are started in holes between the rocks. This sort of farming, typical of the Bahamas, is called “pot farming” when small holes are cut into the limestone and lined with dirt to hold moisture. The crops are pretty limited and seem to consist of cabbage, corn, tomatoes and bananas. While there is very little rain here in the winter, there are pockets where things will grow, usually in small depressions. These bananas are doing very well in an area that was sunken some ten feet below the surrounding fields. 
We could see the remains of some tomato plants intermingled with cabbages. 
This is pretty rough farming as you can see with this guy digging in a recently burned patch. He was digging holes in the ground with a pick ax. Think about this guy the next time you have to go to work. It is probably not as bad as this.
As we continued up the road and got closer to the Hermitage, we came upon a sort of welcome area. This sign proudly proclaims that this is the highest point in the Bahamas. I w0nder if they use high tide or low for this measurement. New moon tide perhaps? Global warming will wipe out much of the islands as many are only 20′ high or less. Let’s get Al Gore on the case PDQ!!! 
A nice shot of us with our friends Miles and Loreen from Ariel.
Along the rocky path to the summit are the Stations of the Cross. 
Just before you reach the summit you come upon the tomb of Christ with the stone rolled aside. 
Father Jerome’s chapel was very touching with a guest book to sign and a pew for one. Every detail, in an ascetic way, was worked out, in miniature. 
Once you arrive at the Hermitage you realize that Father Jerome was talented in another way. He managed to site and design his home to look far larger than it is. It’s actually very small and there isn’t a room that’s even 8′ wide. This guy lived a very simple life, that’s for sure. Perhaps when he sent the construction bill to the Vatican, they were pleased when it seemed to cost about 1/4 of what they might have expected. I wonder if they knew that it was only about 1/4 of the size that you’d expect? Hmm… You get a good feel for just how small the place is when we posed for pictures looking out of the windows. 
Perhaps it’s blasphemy to say this but to me but these windows reminded me of the old TV show Laugh In, with the celebrity characters in the opening doors. Strike me down Father Jerome, but that’s what I thought. It does look a lot larger than it is. 
Here’s Brenda in the arch. Wow, I didn’t know that she was that tall. 
The building is a sweet testimony to a man devoted to the Bahamas and it was very nice to have an opportunity to visit.
We were planning to spend a few days in Fernandez Bay but today, when I listened to Chris Parker, he reported that the weather would have westerly winds on Wednesday evening, not good at all for where we were. This meant that we beat a hasty retreat some 55 miles over to the Exuma chain and Little Farmer’s Cay today that offers better protection than Cat Island. That’s where we are now.
Tonight we had a nice dinner with Miles and Lorreenfrom Ariel at the Little Farmer’s Cay Yacht Club and reconnected with the proprietor Roosevelt Nixon, whom we’d seen some six weeks ago when we last passed this way.
We’ll be here for a few days. I hope to do a bit of snorkeling and shelling over the next few days.