When you arrive on Cat island, something in you switches. It doesn’t matter if you flew in from New York City, popped over from Nassau, or even another Out Island of The Bahamas. There is something about Cat Island that moves differently. Maybe the obeah, or black magic captures your attention, where stories of ill-fated curse receivers are likely to convince even those who might not believe in such hoo-doo. Maybe it’s the remanents and ruins of stone buildings and plantations dating back to the 1700’s Loyalist period, nestled within the rolling hills and rocky outcrops. You can almost sense the energy of the once bustling population of around 10,000 people on the island, actively engaged in a sisal and cotton economy. But now the island easily sidles along with a peaceful flow and is home to a quiet population of around 1,800 of the warmest islanders you’ll meet.

Whatever it is, one thing is inevitable, you will most likely fall in love with this island. There’s one wow after another waiting around every corner. The island boasts some of the most beautiful beaches in The Bahamas, and with land and water activities for hikers, history buffs, fishermen, kiteboarders and divers, you’ll never find yourself lacking something to do.

Fernandez Bay Beach

One of my many wows of Cat Island was my time spent at Fernandez Bay and meeting Tony Armbrister and his family. I’m sure you’ve all heard of the Dos Equis guy? Touted as being the “most interesting man in the world?” Well, I am here to say the Dos Equis guy has nothing on Mr. Tony Armbrister. Tall and lean with a two-day shadow, he wears an outback hat and a fishing shirt. He has a steady and reserved demeanour and is one of the most engaging storytellers I’ve ever met.

Prior to my visit I was introduced to Tony through various faucets, and upon my trip to Cat Island I had the opportunity to stay at Fernandez Bay Village, which he established in the 1970’s and is still going strong with his wife Pam, and is now onto the third generation with their daughter Tameron, her husband Jason, and their one-year-old child. Pam’s parents also live in the neighborhood, and between the extended reaches of their family and the warm and welcoming staff, you will surely feel at home.

Tony said that someone once told him he sounded like a book, which is exactly true. He is a walking storybook, and his tales will captivate you. I had the privilege of hiking with him to The Hermitage, a stone dwelling built by Father Jerome in the 1920’s upon the highest point in The Bahamas. I remained quiet as he weaved through the history of his great-grandfather, a Nassau merchant, and his grandfather, who had his father at the age of seventy-six when he married a thirty seven-year-old. His father had two sons, Tony and his brother Cyril Jr, and Tony took to Bahamas-living like it suited him.

Tony can trace his ancestry back to the first Armbrister’s that arrived in The Bahamas in the late 1700’s as British Loyalists exiled from America by the Revolution. His great-grandfather was born in Nassau and had land holdings in Cat Island (then San Salvador). Fast forward a generation to when Tony’s parents were living in California. His mother convinced his father, who had been born in Nassau, to return to The Bahamas. Tony has been here ever since, deeply entwined with his Bahamian roots.

As we hiked the steep trail to the highest point in The Bahamas, he pointed out the stations of the cross and the replica of the final tomb where Jesus resurrected. The stairs were steep and narrow, feeling nearly vertical and giving me a sense of wooziness, in an otherwise sea-level environment.

Breathtaking views from The Hermitage, the highest point in The Bahamas

He pointed to a small cave where Father Jerome was buried, with a cross on the stone above marking his whereabouts. The stone Hermitage had a “bed” on the cold concrete floor, not something I’d find comforting. A writing desk overlooks the Exuma Sound and a small kitchen is located on the lee. There’s a shower with a drain, and a rainwater collecting system with a pump handle. Down past the main site is what appeared to be a bread oven.

We worked our way down the other side of the hill and Tony showed me something else that I otherwise wouldn’t have found on my own. We bushwacked down an overgrown path and Tony pointed out a small cave where Father Jerome lived while he was constructing his Hermitage. If I thought the Hermitage was rustic, this cave would certainly test the limits of any outdoorsman. Tony said his father was fortunate enough to meet Father Jerome in person while he was still alive.

We returned to the resort and I continued to ask questions. He told me about obeah, the black magic used by locals on the island, which can be used for both healing and positive purposes, and to cast curses and spells on your enemies. He said when he was a young lad of about 18 years old and was invited to a gathering with a few locals. The topic of black magic came up and he was adamant he didn’t believe in it, until he was invited back to receive a hex the next evening, where he would surely die in two days. He politely declined the invite to dabble on this dark side, and never questioned black magic since.

He also told me about the mysterious box in the lobby, in which they have no idea of the contents. Locked and sealed, the box is impossible to open without being destroyed. Tony says he will never know whats in the box, as he refuses to have it opened. It could be pirate’s treasure, we may never know.

I asked how Fernandez Bay got its name, the bay in which Fernandez Bay Village is settled on. The Fernandez Bay Village logo is of an old sailing ship, and brings to mind images of an explorer stumbling upon this tranquil bay in the new world. I immediately thought of the great Spanish explorer Juan Fernandez, perhaps he had passed through the neighborhood, staking his namesake claim as many explorers do. Tony went on to tell me two stories, one about the bay, and one about their logo, both which were well beyond my scope of imagination.

Firstly, Fernandez is not a common name in The Bahamas, but Fernander is. His guess was that the bay was perhaps named after a Bahamian Fernander and in the old scripts the calligraphic “r” was misread as a “z” at one point, ever-calling this bay Fernandez.

The story of the logo came from elsewhere. While Tony was establishing his new resort venture in the 1970s, he was set to fly a group from Florida to Bimini in his airplane (yes, he was also a pilot in his day, add that to the list of being the most interesting man in the world). One of the women on the plane was doing her final project for her Marketing degree in which she had to pick a business and propose a logo. She asked Tony if he might be interested in having her design the logo for his new resort, and he agreed. She said he was at no liberty to use the logo, but it was just part of her project. Several months later, she presented Tony with the logo she designed, the sailing ship with a pineapple (the pineapple being both the international symbol of hospitality and an agricultural heritage of the island) with the words Cat Island written in the waves below the hull. The logo stuck, and is the same to this day.

I asked Tony about the Columbus controversy. It is common knowledge that Columbus’s very first stop in the new world was not Plymouth Rock, or anywhere in the mainland America, but on an island in The Bahamas. I’ve read several articles over the years that delve into this, debating which island Columbus actually landed on. Tony explained that Columbus’s journals were lost, and the re-written ones described Columbus landing on San Salvador. As of the 1930’s Cat Island was simultaneously named Catt’s Island, after pirate Arthur Catt who utilized the island to hide his buried treasure, and San Salvador, by the Spanish. What we today know as the island of San Salvador was known as Watling’s Island. The term San Salvador bounced interchangeably from Catt’s Island and Watling’s Island until the British government assigned the official name of San Salvador to the little island just to the east of Cat Island, immediately giving that island claim to being the initial landing of Columbus. To this day, it remains a mystery due to lack of information, but you’ll find Columbus Point in Cat Island, a Columbus monument and cove in Long Island, and a Columbus monument in San Salvador.

I was shown my room, Shane Shack, and it was anything but a shack; a stone cottage with a covered verandah and neatly aligned Adirondack chairs, literally steps from the peaceful shore break. The powder soft sand stretches along the length of the protected bay, an utterly inviting place for an afternoon swim. Inside, low hung, solid wood beams and stone walls give the feeling that this cottage was built in the 1700’s. Glass sea floats embedded into the stone walls act as windows of the cottages, the best part was the private outdoor bathroom and shower.

Shane Shack and the Fernandez Bay Clubhouse

Tony told me that he had wished his mother had written a book about her and her husband’s life and times on Cat Island, but she never did. I believe, it’s now up to Tony to write this book. The world deserves to hear the stories from the real most interesting man in the world.

That evening, I watched the sun sink over Fernandez Bay and melt into the ocean. In the instant that the sun slipped out of sight, I saw for the first time ever, the green flash. Vivid and bright, a stark contrast from the glowing orange I had just been witnessing.

I made my way up to the stone clubhouse with thatched roof, the social center of the village. I poured myself an honor bar glass of wine, and even as a solo traveler, I found myself easily chatting with the family and other guests. As I made my way back to my room after dinner, sailboat anchor lights led the way, casting their beams outward in an otherwise un-light-polluted night sky.

My experience at Fernandez Bay and the tales woven by Mr. Tony Armbrister will be forever etched in my memory. Words can’t begin to describe the magic of this place. Here’s hoping one day, you too will have the opportunity to visit Cat Island and immerse yourself in its wonder.