Cuba - Lonely Planet [275]
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GUÁIMARO
pop 35,813
Guáimaro would be just another nameless Cuban town if it wasn’t for the famous Guáimaro Assembly of April 1869, which approved the first Cuban constitution and called for emancipation of slaves. The assembly also elected Carlos Manuel de Céspedes as president. These events are commemorated by a large monument erected in 1940 on Parque Constitución in the center of town. Around the base of the monument are bronze plaques with the likenesses of José Martí, Máximo Gómez, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, Ignacio Agramonte, Calixto García and Antonio Maceo, the stars of Cuban independence. If you’re making a pit stop there’s a small museum (Constitución No 83 btwn Libertad & Máximo Gómez; admission CUC$1) with a couple of rooms given to art and history. Guáimaro is also famous for its sculpture culture.
There is a Servi-Cupet gas station on your entry into town from Camagüey with an El Rápido snack bar attached. There are also seven legal casas in town. One of the better ones is Casa de Magalis ( 8-2891; Olimpo No 5 btwn Benito Morell & Carretera Central; r CUC$20-25), a super upper-floor apartment with, quite possibly, the largest bathroom in Cuba.
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MINAS
pop 21,708
Minas, 60km northeast of Camagüey en route to Nuevitas, is notable only for the musical-instrument factory that opened here in 1976. The Fábrica de Violines (Camilo Cienfuegos; admission CUC$2; Mon-Sat), at the eastern entrance to town, carves beautiful instruments out of local hardwoods.
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NUEVITAS
pop 40,607
Nuevitas, 87km northeast of Camagüey, is a 27km jaunt north off the Camagüey–Playa Santa Lucía road. It’s an industrial town and sugar-exporting port with friendly locals and easy shore access, but not worth a major detour. In 1978 Cuban movie director Manual Octavio Gómez filmed his revolutionary classic Una Mujer, Un Hombre, Una Ciudad here, giving the city its first and – to date – only brush with fame.
Sights
The only specific sight in Nuevitas is the Museo Histórico Municipal (Máximo Gómez No 66; admission CUC$1; Tue-Sun), near Parque del Cañón in the center of town. It has the standard semi-interesting mix of stuffed animals and sepia-toned photographs; you can hike up the steps in the town center for a sweeping view of the bay and industry in ironic juxtaposition.
Below the Hotel Caonaba there’s a shaggy amusement park/playground, which you may or may not want your kids to negotiate. A bit further along the coast is Playa Cuatro Vientos, a local beach, from where you can see two of the three small islands, called Los Tres Ballenatos, in the Bahía de Nuevitas. If you snake along the coast for 2km, you’ll come to Santa Rita at the end of the road, a friendly place with a pier jutting into the bay.
Texans will be flummoxed by such a familiar-sounding name in the wilds of northern Camagüey, but this Wild West apparition is no phony. King Ranch ( 4-8115; Carretera de Santa Lucía Km 35; 10am-10pm), en route to Playa Santa Lucía, 4km beyond the crossroads where you join the main highway from Camagüey, was once an offshoot of its legendary Texas namesake (the largest ranch in the US). Expropriated after the Revolution, the Cubans have kept the name and broadened its appeal to include a restaurant, a rodeo show and horses for rent. It mostly caters for tour groups from Playa Santa Lucía, but you can turn up unannounced.
Sleeping & Eating
Hotel Caonaba (Islazul; 4-4803; cnr Martí & Albisa; s/d CUC$24/32; ) This friendly, three-story hotel is on a rise overlooking the sea. It’s at the entrance to town as you arrive from Camagüey. The rooms have fridges and some have views; but don’t expect the Ritz – or even the Rex. In summer you can eat at the restaurant, 200m along the coast from the amusement park. This is a favorite local swimming spot. The hotel also has a terrace bar (open from noon till late).
Getting There & Away
Nuevitas is the terminus of