The Islands Cayo Coco, Cayo
Guillermo and Cayo Paredon Grande are also belonging to Ciego
de Avila Province, very touristic but beautiful islands…if
you want to have the local experience of Cuba, skip this Island,
if you want to sea the most beautiful beaches and relax in
the uban sun....go there. An exceptional scenario for all
nautical sports
Las Coloradas, Playa Larga
and El Paso are outstanding beaches. In Flamencos Beach (Flamingo
beach) they also offer horse rides. Pilar beach, located in
the most privileged sector of Key Guillermo, is an example
of the supreme of the tropic. It is at the foot of one of
the highest sand dunes in the insular Caribbean (15 meters
above the sea level).
Very special to see is the
largest lake of Cuba "Laguna de la Leche" (the lake of milk)
the name is because of the clay bottom creates the color of
the water, it is a favorite spotfor
water sports.
| Cayo
Coco & Cayo Guillermo |
These
cayos have scenery of amazing tropical beauty, where the lush
natural vegetation and man-made comforts combine to create
a unique setting that is perfect both for those who love adventure
and for those who seak peace and quiet.
Cayo
Coco
(143
square miles, 370 km in size) has over 13 and a half miles
(22 km) of fine white sandy beaches bathed by turquoise water
protected by coral reefs. Ninety percent of its territory
is covered with vegetation (mainly forest), and over 200 of
spcies of birds-including a colony of more than 30.000 Roseate
Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber ruber)- live here. Few other
places in the Caribbean can compete with the beauty of the
seabed and number of fish in this area. There are four scuba
diving centers and 20 diving sites along 20 miles (32 km)
of coastline. In its warm, clear water, that is between 16.5
and 131 feet (between 5 and 40 m) deep, you can see Parrotfish
(Sparisoma spp.), Grunts (Haemulon spp.), Yellowtail Snappers
(Ocyurus chrysurus), Queen Angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris).
other Angelfish (Pomacanthu spp.), Anemones (Lebrunia danae),
Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus) and a great variety of underwater
plants.
Cayo
Guillermo
(5
square miles, or 13.2 square km, in size) is much smaller
but just as fascinating. It has two miles (three and a half
km) of beaches and the tallest sand dunes in the Caribbean
Islands (they reach over 52.5 feet, or 16 m, above the sea
level).
Cayo
Paredon Grande
(Just
over 2 square miles, or six square km, in size) is another
jewel in terms of beaches and natural invironment. It has
a beautiful wrought iron lighthouse (built in 1857) that is
over 157 feet (48 m) tall.
Because
of their rich biodiversity and beautiful scenery, Cayo Coco
and the islets near it are part of the Buenavista preserve
of the biosphere. Cayo Romano-300 square miles, or 777square
km, in size, making it almost an island-is very close by.
Location
and How to Get There
These
Cayos are in the Jardines del Rey Archipelago, off the nothern
shore of Ciego de Avila Province, in east-central Cuba, 268
miles (432 km) from Havana. Direct flights from Europe and
other parts of the Americas put in at Ciego de Avila's Maximo
Gomez International Airport, which is linked to Cayo Coco
by a highway 60 miles (97 km) long, the last ten and a half
miles (17 km) of which are on a spectacular stone causeway
bordered by the sea. Cayo Coco also has a modern international
airport whith several flights each week. Moreover, a stone
causeway links this island to Guillermo and Paredon Grande.
Or you can arrive by boat, putting in at the Puerto Cayo Guillermo
Marina or at Casana Port.
What to Do
Activities
include lazing in the sun; swimming; going for rides on Kayaks,
pedal boats, pedal boats, yachts, catamarans, motorboats,
sailboats and glass-bottomed boats; windsurfing, waterskiing
and other water sports.
There
is a Gymnasium, tennis courts, a miniature golf course, volleyball
courts, table games, horseback riding, rental cars and motor
cycles, buses and horse drawn carriages. Go snorkling, scuba-diving
or sports fishing. Or go for an excursion (living on board).
There are many places for hiking through evergreen forests
and mangrove thickets to lakes for seeing colonies of Roseate
Flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber ruber), many other species
of birds and land animals-for example, in the El Baga Natural
Park. Go to a farm party or visit nearby Ciego de Avila Province
and other tourist resorts in Cuba, it's all possible thanks
to the many flights that connect almost everywhere in the
Cuban archipelago. For evening entertainment, choose amnog
several discotheques, shows, hotel entertainment and other
options.
Accommodations
and facilities
This
tropical paradise has more than 2600 rooms and infrastructure
that easily meets a wide range of tastes and needs. The 4-
and 5-star hotels blend with their surroundings. All are near
the beach and have All-Inclusive plans.
Their
facilities include airconditioned rooms, each with satelite
TV and mini-bar, in both the hotels and bungalows. Rooms for
visitors with disableties. Grills, speciality and buffet restaurants,
swimming pools, bars, evening entertainment, baby club, taxis,
rental cars, doctor on call 24 hours a day, gymnasium and
sauna, beauty parlor, massages, shops, water sports equipement
rentals, discoteques, sports and recreation areas, and multipurpose
rooms.
Nearby,
you will find service centers, banks, traveler's aid offices,
an international clinic, an international counceling bureau,
travel agencies, an airport, restaurants, cafetarias, bars,
cabarets- such as the Cueva del Jabali (Wild Boar's Cave),
in a natural setting, four international scuba diving centers
(two on Cayo Guillermo and two on Cayo Coco) and the Cayo
Coco-Guillermo Marina (6 moorings, drinking water, 110- and
220- volt current, a commisary and protection 24 hours a day).
The marina will fit you out with everything you need for some
really good sports fishing.
Nearby
Places of Interest
The
closest point to the Cayos on the mainland is pitoresque Moron,
with its rooster monument (a local symbol) and the architecture
reflecting European styles from the 19th century.
On
the way to the Cayos, you'll pass a what looks like a little
Dutch town. Built as a cattle-raising community in the 60's,
it is in Turiguano Island. The capital of the province, the
city of Ciego de Avila (founded in 1840), has an architecture
with a free interpretation of classicsm from the elected period
and Andalusian and art-deco influences. Be sure to see Marti
Park, the center of the city's social life; the Principal
Theater; the San Eugenio de la Palma Church, the Provincial
Museum; and the former Colonia Espanola (Spanish Colony),
now the community center. Ciego de Avila also has several
night spots that offer evening entertainment, with an active
artistic and cultural movement.
Other
attractions in the province include Cunagua Hill, a wildlife
refuge 2742 hectares in size that is ideal for horseback riding
and hiking; Florencia, a small farm community in the foothills
of the Jatibonico.
Mountains,
where you can go horseback riding, learn about the lives of
farmers, explore the valley, and see tabacco nad other traditional
crops; a man-made lake; and the swallow of the Jabonico River,
up in the mountains. Leche (Milky) Lake, a little under two
miles (three km) in size, is the largest natural lake in Cuba
and a natural refuge for Roseate Flamingos (Phoenicopterus
ruber ruber) and other water birds. Regattas are held here,
as in an annual water carnival. At Oasis Farm, near the capital
of the province, you can learn about Cuban farm life.
For
fishing, La Redonda Lake, toward Cayo Coco, has 1.7
square miles (4.5 square km) of natural channels, with a large
concentration of Largemouth Bass, and an international fishing
center.
For
hunting, the seven lakes surrounded by thick vegetation
at the Aguachales de Falla Hunting Preserve attract large
numbers of endemic and migratory ducks.
The
Moron Hunting Preserve has large flocks of Mourning Doves
(Zenaidura macroura) and White-winged Doves (Zenaida asiatica).
To
the south there is an international scuba-diving center in
the Jardines de la Reina Archipelago.
Both
Ciego de Avila and Moron have several hotels,
restaurants
with a wide range of options, discoteques and cabarets. The
area is rich in traditions and folk festivals.
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