Cuba - Lonely Planet [62]
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ALTERNATIVE ADVENTURES
Las Terrazas has Cuba’s first and (to date) only canopy tour, a series of three zip lines that shoot adrenalin-junkies through 800m of thin air above Pinar del Río’s famous eco-village. If you want to get even higher, try tandem skydiving in Varadero and Guardalavaca, or ultralight flights over the famous beaches. Various boat adventures are available in Cuba plying the mangrove-filled channels that crisscross the northern keys in small motorboats. Good options exist in Varadero and Cayo Guillermo. Aqua bikes are available in most of the resort areas and you can take them in guided trips along the coastline.
Canyoning is still in its infancy in Cuba, but Topes de Collantes is the place to go to see how plans are progressing. Currently it is the preserve of preorganized trips only.
In a country that churns out boxers like it produces musicians, you might wish to don a pair of gloves and undertake a bit of ‘friendly’ boxing training. Gyms in Havana Click here and Holguín are usually happy to welcome foreigners for a light workout. If you’ve still got any energy left, enroll in the Marabana Havana marathon that takes place every November in the capital.
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CAVING
Cuba is riddled with caves – more than 20,000 and counting – and cave exploration is available to both casual tourists and professional speleologists. The Gran Caverna de Santo Tomás Click here, near Viñales, is Cuba’s largest cavern with over 46km of galleries; the Cueva de los Peces (see boxed text,), near Playa Girón, is a flooded cenote with colorful snorkeling; and the Cueva de Ambrosio and Cuevas de Bellamar, both in Matanzas, have tours daily.
Caving specialists have virtually unlimited caves from which to choose. With advance arrangements, you can explore deep into the Gran Caverna de Santo Tomás or visit the Cueva Martín Infierno, which has the world’s largest stalagmite. Also ask about San Catalina near Varadero, which has unique mushroom formations. Speleo-diving is also possible, but only for those already highly trained. Interested experts should contact Angel Graña, secretary of the Sociedad Espeleológica de Cuba ( 7-209-2885; angel@fanj.cult.cu) in Havana. The Escuela Nacional de Espeleología ( 48-77-10-14) in Moncada, just at the entrance to the Caverna de Santo Tomás, is another good resource for professionals.
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Havana
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HISTORY
ORIENTATION
DOWNTOWN HAVANA
INFORMATION
DANGERS & ANNOYANCES
SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES
HABANA VIEJA WALKING TOUR
CENTRO HABANA ARCHITECTURAL TOUR
COURSES
HAVANA FOR CHILDREN
TOURS
SLEEPING
EATING
DRINKING
ENTERTAINMENT
SHOPPING
GETTING THERE & AWAY
GETTING AROUND
OUTER HAVANA
PLAYA & MARIANAO
PARQUE LENIN AREA
SANTIAGO DE LAS VEGAS AREA
REGLA
GUANABACOA
SAN FRANCISCO DE PAULA
SANTA MARÍA DEL ROSARIO
PARQUE HISTÓRICO MILITAR MORRO-CABAÑA
CASABLANCA
COJÍMAR AREA
PLAYAS DEL ESTE
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‘Anything is possible in Havana,’ wrote British novelist Graham Greene of Cuba’s rhapsodic capital, echoing the thoughts and dreams of millions. Prophetically, he wasn’t far wrong. Truly one of the world’s great urban centers, this tough-minded yet ebullient Caribbean metropolis is a riotous mélange of noble monuments and hip-gyrating music that has few cultural equals.
Yet, scarred by its past and flummoxed by one of the worst economic fallouts of modern times, Havana is no Paris. Here, at the proverbial heart of Cuba’s great paradox, seductive beauty sidles up to spectacular decay, as life carries on precariously and capriciously, but always passionately.
For most visitors, the jewel in Havana’s ruptured crown is Habana Vieja, a fascinating work-in-progress that has taken one of Spain’s most beguiling colonial centers and rehabilitated it after years of poverty and neglect. Winking on the sidelines, a statuesque cluster of historical movers and shakers look down in granite and bronze: heroes and villains, colonizers and independence fighters, sugar merchants and mambo kings,