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Isla de la Juventud

! C3 Isla de la Juventud ~ Rafael Cabrera Mustelier, Carretera La Fé, Km 5, (46) 322 300 g Daily catamaran from Batabanó, lasting 2–3 hours; call (46) 324 415 for information n Ecotur; (46) 327 101

The naturalist Alexander von Humboldt described this island as an abandoned place, Batista wanted to turn it into a paradise for rich Americans, while Fidel Castro repopulated it with young people, built universities and changed its name to the Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth). The result is an unspoiled isle of wonders.

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t The palm-tree fronted shore of the Isla de la Juventud

Experience Western Cuba

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n Double-tap image to read the labels

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Nueva Gerona

Surrounded by hills that yield multicoloured marble, the small, peaceful town of Nueva Gerona was founded in 1830 on the banks of Las Casas river by Spanish settlers. These colonists came from American countries that had won their independence.

The town is built on a characteristic grid plan. A good starting point for a visit to Nueva Gerona is Calle 39, the graceful main street flanked by coloured arcades. Here, you’ll find the local cinema, theatre, pharmacy, post office, hospital, bank, and numerous bars and restaurants. This street ends at the Parque Central, Nueva Gerona’s main square, where the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores stands. First built in Neo-Classical style in 1853, this church was totally destroyed by a cyclone in 1926 and rebuilt three years later in colonial style.

South of the Parque Central, the former City Hall building is now the home of the Museo Municipal de Nueva Gerona. It displays many objects and documents concerning pirates and buccaneers – the main protagonists in the island’s history – as well as mementos of the revolution. Another museum, the Casa Natal Jesús Montané, is dedicated solely to the struggle against Batista’s dictatorship.

The Museo de Historia Natural Antonio Núñez Jiménez covers the natural history of the island, and there is a fine planetarium here as well, the only one in the world where the North Star can be seen together with the Southern Cross.

Museo Municipal de Nueva Gerona

" ' Calle 30, e/37 y Martí § (46) 323 791 # 9am–4:30pm Tue–Sat, 8am–noon Sun

Museo de Historia Natural Antonio Núñez Jiménez

" ' Calle 41, esq 54, 4625 § (46) 323 143 # 9am–5pm Tue–Sat, 8am–noon Sun

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Presidio Modelo

4 km (2.5 miles) SE of Nueva Gerona, Reparto Delio Chacón § (46) 325 112 # 8am–4pm Tue–Sat, 8am–noon Sun

On the road that connects the capital with Playa Bibijagua, a popular beach of black sand frequented by the inhabitants of Nueva Gerona, is Cuba’s most famous penitentiary, which was converted into a museum in 1967. Originally built by Gerardo Machado, it was modelled on the famous panopticon (a prison laid out so inmates can be observed by a single guard) in Joliet in the US. The prison consists of tiny cells in the interior of four enormous multistorey round cement blocks. In the middle of each stood a sentry-box from which guards could keep a close watch on all the prisoners. Guards circulated in underground galleries, never coming into contact with the prisoners above.

It was in the Presidio Modelo that the organizers of the attack on the Moncada army barracks in Santiago, led by Fidel Castro, were imprisoned in October 1953. They were liberated in an amnesty in May 1955.

At the entrance to the first pavilion is cell 3859, where Castro, despite his isolation, managed to reorganize the revolutionary movement, starting with the defence plea he made in court, “History Will Absolve Me”.

Did You Know?

Robert Louis Stevenson allegedly based Treasure Island on the Isla de la Juventud.

Experience Western Cuba

“History will Absolve Me”

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At his “History Will Absolve Me” trial following the failed Moncada Barracks attack in 1953, Castro named José Martí as the attack’s “intellectual author.” Martí’s vision of a fully literate, non-discriminatory, post-independence society informed Castro’s revolution.

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Casa Museo Finca El Abra

Carretera Siguanea Km 1.5 (5 km/3 miles SW of Nueva Gerona) § 5219 3054 # 9am–5pm Tue– Sat, 9am–noon Sun

On the edge of the Sierra de las Casas is an elegant villa where, in 1870, the 17-year-old José Martí was held for nine weeks before being deported to Spain for his separatist views. A museum here displays photographs and documents relating to the national hero’s presence on the island, but the rest of the villa is occupied by the descendants of the original owner, a rich Catalan.

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Picture Perfect

Underwater World

Owners of underwater cameras will find that the dive sites off Punta Francés are the perfect photography haunts. Keep your flash on, get close to your subject and set your camera to the highest resolution.

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Punta Francés

n Centro Internacional de Buceo; (48) 771 306

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t Scuba divers surveying a vibrant coral reef in a dive site near Punta Francés

The 56 dive sites between Punta Francés and Punta Pedernales lie at the end of a shelf which gently slopes down from the coast to a depth of 20–25 m (65–82 ft), and then abruptly drops for hundreds of metres. This vertical wall is a favourite with passing fish, which literally rub shoulders with divers. While dives on the platform can be made by beginners, those along the shelf are more difficult and suited to divers with more experience.

Numerous great dive sights are peppered along this stretch of coast, but the following are among the most fascinating: La Pared de Coral Negro, which has an abundance of black coral as well as sponges as much as 35 m (115 ft) in diameter; El Reino del Sahara, one of the most beautiful shallow dives; El Mirador, a wall dive among sponges and large madrepores; El Arco de los Sábalos, the domain of tarpons; and Cayo Los Indios, where shipwrecks can be explored on the seabed at a depth of 10–12 m (33–40 ft).

All kinds of diving equipment can be rented from the Centro Internacional de Buceo (but it is advisable to take a 3-mm wet suit with you). From here boats take visitors to the dive sites. At noon, lunch is served at the jetty next to the stunning beach at Punta Francés.

The boat trip from the centre to Punta Francés, also known as Costa de los Piratas (the pirate coast), is a wonderful excursion for all diving abilities. Participants don snorkels, masks and fins to accompany professional divers exploring a French pirate’s cave. Once back on dry land, you then trek to see nesting American crocodiles.

To the east of the Centro Internacional de Buceo is an area known as La Cañada, where Ecotur can arrange a guided walk through pine, palm and mango forests. The walk passes the “Jacuzzi of the Gods”, a freshwater stream where walkers can bathe. The trail ends at the park ranger’s house where home-roasted lamb and coffee is served to hikers.

Experience Western Cuba

History of the Island

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The Taíno and Siboney peoples knew of the Isla de la Juventud long before Columbus “discovered” it in 1494. The Spanish crown licensed the island to cattle breeders, but in practice handed it over to pirates, who used it as a hiding place for booty taken from Spanish ships.

After Nueva Gerona was founded in 1830, the island was used as a place of detention for Cuban nationalists, including José Martí. In 1953 Batista turned the island into a free zone where money could be laundered. The dictator also wanted to turn it into a holiday paradise for the rich. On New Year’s night in 1958, a group of soldiers in the rebels’ army took over the island during the opening ceremony of the Hotel Colony, and arrested the mafiosi in the hotel.

In 1966, after a devastating cyclone, the government planted new citrus groves on the island, creating work. In 10 years the island’s population grew from 10,000 to 80,000.

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Cocodrilo

86 km (53 miles) SE of Nueva Gerona n Ecotur; (46) 327 101

Formerly called Jacksonville, this fishing village was founded in the early 20th century by a small community from the British colony of the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean. Even now, a few of the villagers speak English as their first language. The British settlers introduced the Round Dance, a typical Jamaican dance, which blended with Cuban music to create Sucu Sucu. This danceform is still very popular among locals.

Did You Know?

Pirates hid their booty on the island because the waters were too shallow for Spanish ships.

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Cuevas de Punta del Este

59 km (37 miles) SE of Nueva Gerona n Ecotur; (46) 327 101; www.ecoturcuba.tur.cu

Punta del Este, located on the southeastern tip of the island, has a stunning white-sand beach. It is, however, most famous for its seven caves, which were discovered in 1910 by a French castaway who took refuge here. On the walls of the caves are 235 drawings made by Siboneys in an age long before the arrival of Christopher Columbus.

The drawings in the largest cave – a series of red and black concentric circles crossed by arrows pointing eastward – probably represent a solar calendar. The complexity of these drawings led the Cuban ethnologist Fernando Ortíz, who studied them in 1925, to call them “the Sistine Chapel of the Caribbean”.

Permits must be obtained in advance to explore the caves; wear insect repellant.

Experience Western Cuba

STAY

Tu Isla

This is the best private hotel in Nueva Gerona, with eight rooms (five with their own private bathrooms) and a superb garden restaurant. The rooftop bar hosts brilliant live music acts.

Calle 24 4510, Neuva Gerona § (46) 509 128

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Casa de la Alegría

Operated by attentive owners, this pleasant two-bedroom casa particular is a lovely place to stay on the island. One room is a secluded apartment.

Calle 43 3602, Nueva Gerona § (46) 323 664

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