Cuba - Lonely Planet [276]
A Servi-Cupet gas station is at the entrance to town, a block from Hotel Caonaba. There’s a Transtur taxi office nearby.
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CAYO SABINAL
Cayo Sabinal, 22km to the north of Nuevitas, is virgin territory, a 30km-long coral key with marshes favored by flamingos and iguanas. The land cover is mainly flat and characterized by marshland and lagoons. The fauna consists of tree rats, wild boar and a large variety of butterflies. It’s astoundingly beautiful.
Cayo Sabinal has quite some history for a wilderness area. Due to repeated pirate attacks in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Spanish built the San Hilario fort here in 1831 to restore order and keep the marauding corsairs at bay. Some years later the fort became a prison and in 1875 it was witness to the only Carlist uprising (a counterrevolutionary movement in Spain that opposed the reigning monarchy) in Cuba. There is also a lighthouse, Faro Colón (Punta Maternillo), erected in 1848 and one of the oldest still in operation on the Cuban archipelago. As a result of various naval battles fought in the area during the colonial era, a couple of Spanish shipwrecks – Nuestra Señora de Alta Gracia and the Pizarro – rest in shallow waters nearby, providing great fodder for divers.
Of Cayo Sabinal’s 30km of beaches, Playa Los Pinos is undoubtedly the best. There’s no accommodation at present (five basic cabins were recently closed), though a small snack bar can rustle up something resembling a meal. Any other activities are strictly of the do-it-yourself variety. Try hiking, strolling, swimming, stretching, writing, thinking, philosophizing or meditating. Everything seems to be more accentuated here.
Getting There & Away
There are three options: private car, taxi or boat. The dirt road to Cayo Sabinal begins 6km south of Nuevitas, off the road to Camagüey. You must show your passport at the bridge to the key and pay CUC$5. The 2km causeway linking the key to the mainland was the first of its kind constructed in Cuba and the most environmentally destructive. The Playa Santa Lucía tour agencies all offer day trips to Cayo Sabinal: by boat from around CUC$69 including transfers and lunch, or by jeep for CUC$75. Book through the hotels.
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PLAYA SANTA LUCÍA
Playa Santa Lucía is an isolated resort 112km northeast of Camagüey situated on an unbroken 20km-long stretch of white-sand beach that competes with Varadero as Cuba’s longest. The bulk of travelers come here to scuba dive on one of the island’s best and most accessible coral reefs that lies just a few kilometers offshore. Another highlight is the beach itself, a tropical gem, still deserted in places, and on a par with Varadero in terms of size and quality.
The area around Playa Santa Lucía is flat and featureless, the preserve of flamingos, scrubby bushes and the odd grazing cow. Aside from a small micro-village that serves as lodging for itinerant hotel workers, there are no Cuban settlements of note. History seekers will be disappointed – Trinidad this is not! The swimming, snorkeling and diving are a different story, however, and the large hotels lay on plenty of activities for those with the time and inclination to explore. Packages to Playa Santa Lucía are usually cheaper than those to Cayo Coco and the resorts themselves have a more laid-back and relaxed feel. You’re also within easy reach of Camagüey here, which is infinitely more interesting than Morón, Cayo Coco’s gateway city.
Information
The Bandec bank where you can change money is in the Cuban residential area between the Servi-Cupet gas station at the southeastern entrance to Playa Santa Lucía and the hotel strip. Nearby is Clínica Internacional