At Mount Alvernia, near Fernandez Bay, Donna and I climbed to the rocky peak, which, at 206 feet, is the highest point in all the Bahamas. Here, in the 1940s, an ascetic hermit named Father Jerome built himself a chapel and home called The Hermitage. Walking through the miniature stone buildings where he lived and died, we admired the view: Over the hill lies the Atlantic, below us calm Exuma Sound. From this perch, it's easy to imagine the islands as they were when Columbus landed, wherever he landed. Father Jerome found his ideal piece of the Bahamas, and like anyone—hermit, hotel builder, or first-time tourist—he wanted to stay.