In
harmony with its insularity, life in many of Cuban cities
has been impressed by the sea. From the times of Cuban earliest
inhabitants, right through the time of Spanish settlers, and
up to present days, the presence of sea has marked Cuban character.
Of the seven first townships, three remained on the seashore:
Baracoa, Santiago de Cuba and Havana. Other cities and towns
were born later on the coastline, but not to become less important
for not being so ancient.
Matanzas,
Cienfuegos, Caibarien, Gibara, Manzanillo, Nueva Gerona are
worth a visit. They differ from each other, but they all have
that same marine charm that shapes up a different way of life,
either calm or full of spirit, depending on the rhythmic cadence
of the sea.
Matanzas,
rich in tradition and a cradle of poets and musicians, is simply
enchanting. Cienfuegos, the South Pearl, with a perfect outline,
once adopted a numerous French colony and today is one of most
beautiful cities in Cuba. It is one of Cuban most important
port cities, an architectural jewel of the XIX century.
Caibarien,
a typical fishing village, is today’s departure gate to
visit the virgin cays to the North of Villa Clara where you
can visit Cayo Las Brujas, Cayo Santa Maria and Los Ensenachos,
among others. They have a promising touristic present and future
because of the unmatched beauty of their beaches and nature.
Gibara, just beside the bay that the Great Admiral Cristofolo
Colombo named Rio de Mares (River of Seas), with its fortifications,
is the most outstanding architectural complex of the Holguin
region.
Manzanillo,
disputed by pirates and corsairs –and also present in
Cuba’s first literary monument, Espejo de Paciencia, by
Camaguey-born Silvestre de Balboa-, opens up to Gulf of Guacanayabo
wwith the simple nature of its residents and the spell of its
green landscape in the background. Nueva Gerona, the main city
in the Island of Youth (formely Isle of Pines), throbs with
the comings and goings between its port and the Island of Cuba.
What
to visit here, in Cuban marine cities?
Havana:
Old Havana, National Capitol, Paseo del Prado, Revolution Museum,
Fine Arts Museum, Revolution Square and Jose Marti Memorial,
Malecon Drive, Colon Cemetery, Botanical Garden and Maqueta
de La Habana.
Matanzas:
Sauto Theatre, Triolet Pharmacy Museum, Municipal Museum, Bellamar
Cave, bay area and Monserrate Hermitage.
Cienfuegos:
Parque Jose Marti, Paseo del Prado, Malecon, Palacio del Valle,
Tomas Acea Cemetery, La Reina Cemetery, Punta Gorda area, Castillo
de Jagua fortress, Terry Theatre and Botanical Garden.
Nueva
Gerona and Isle of Youth: El Abra farmhouse, Old Model Prision
Museum, Punta del Este Beach
Gibara: Bateria de Fernando VII gun emplacements, bay area
Manzanillo:
Parque de la Glorieta
Santiago
de Cuba: El Morro Castle, Diego Velazquez’s house, Catedral
Metropolitana Church, Parque Cespedes, Padre Rico street, Heredia
street, Bacardi Museum, Carnival Museum, Marte Square, city.
|
