Las
Brujas and Santa Maria Cayos-together with Fragoso, Cobos, Ensenachos
and Frances Cayos-just off the northern coast of Villa Clara Province,
constitute an island paradise with over ten and a half miles (17
km) of beaches and virgin nature that are gradually being opened
to tourism.
Called
"the white rose of the jardines del Rey Archipelago" ,
Santa maria is the last and largest of the cayos. Together with
Las Brujas and Ensenachos Cayos, it is linked to terra firma by
an impressive stone causeway. Santa Maria is 5 square miles (13
square km) in size. It has over six and a half miles (11 km) of
beaches of excellent quality, plus a wealth of flora and fauna which
can be seen during excursions inlands There is a scuba-diving center
with 24 well-chosen diving sites, so you can outfit yourself and
see agreat variety of coral and fish in its clear water and virgin
seabed.
Las
Brujas is a tiny islet whose fine white sand, dazzling sea and untouched
nature make its visitors feel like Robinson Crusoe. It has over
a mile of virgin beaches. Its singlestory cabanas built of a cliff
are linked with one another and with the social areas by wooden
bridges, so the local animals-which are entirely harmless-can be
move around freely. On both Cayos are large numbers of endemic plants
and animals.
| Location
and How to Get There |
The
Cayos are just off the northern coast of Villa Clara Province, in
Central Cuba. Santa Clara, the capital of the province, which is
around 62 miles (255 km) east of Havana. They are linked to terra
firma by one of the main engineering works in Cuba of the 20th century:
an ecological stone causeway built 30 miles (48 km) into the sea,
with 45 bridges so as not to adversely affect the ecosystems and
sea currents in the area. In addition to this means of access, both
Las Brujas Cayo and Santa Clara have airports that can handle small
and medium-sized planes.
Activities
include sunbathing; swimming, scuba diving and other water sports;
hikes along the shore and on the inland portions of the Cayos; and
excursions to other tourist resorts in Cuba and to points of interest
in Villa Clara Province.
| Accomodations
and Facilities |
On
Las Brujas Cayo-which has the airport-there is a villa of 24 frame
cabanas that blend with their surroundings. Near the Cayo is a ship,
the San Pascual, which may well be the only one of its kind in the
world. It was built in Califronia, but its line was discotinued
because of its excessive weight. The San Pascual ran aground near
Las Brujas in 1933 and has been there ever since, at one time serving
as a storehouse for sugarcane molasses. Now a unique hotel
where Ernest Hemingway and other VIP's have stayed, it has ten rooms,
a lobby bar and a seafood restaurant.
Cayo
Santa maria has facilities for scuba diving and the Tryp Santa Maria
Hotel, an All Inclusive installation with 300 rooms, buffet and
speciality restaurants, a beach shack, a patio bar, a pool bar,
two club houses with jacuzzis, swimming pools for children and adults,
a party room, an amphitheater, a baby club, a games room, sports
areas, a gym, a scuba diving school and a water-sports equipment
rental center.
| Nearby
Places of Interest |
Villa
Clara has great historic, architectural, cultural and natural attractions.
Its capital, Santa Clara, is an industrial and educational center
with a solid artistic and cultural movement. It contains the memorial
which contains the remains of Ernesto Che Guevara and his comrades
in the guerilla struggle in Bolivia; the La Caridad Theater (built
in 1885); several museums, including one of decorative arts; two
hotels (the
Santa Clara Libre and Los Caneyes, this last with honeymoon facilities);
several restaurants; and other service installations.
Other
places of interest in the province include the town of Remedios,
which was founded nearly 500 years ago and has some very well-preserved
colonial architecture, including the Great Parish church (built
in the 16th century); traditional annual festivities, such as the
Remedios revels (one of the most colorful and oldest popular festivities
in the country); and a large service instructure.
The
Elgua Spa, with its medical mineral water, is a popular destination
in health tourism and quality-of-life tourism programs. It, too,
is in Villa Clara Province-as is Lake Hanabanilla (the only mountain
lake in the archipelago), up in the Escambray Mountains, which has
a hotel and ideal conditions for fishing for such freshwater fish
as Largemouth Bass (tag and release). Activities include excursions
around the lake, hiking, bird watching and nature walks.
We
recommend driving through the Escambray Mountains area, both to
see its beautiful scenery and to and to learn about the farmers
traditional way of life. To get there from the Cayos, start from
the port of the Caibarien.
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