Mary L. Peachin with photos by David Lovitt and Mary L. Peachin
Vol. 13. No. 1
In the wee hours of the morning, underwater photographer David Lovitt and I patiently waited in a long, winding line to be checked in at Miami’s airport for our charter flight to Cienfuegos, Cuba.
The other passengers were Cubans who returning to visit their families for an allotted two weeks. Obtaining the permission and our flight from Miami to Cuba for our ten day adventure can be read in detail towards the end of this article
Once we departed the southern coast city of Cienfuegos’ Customs and Immigration, we were introduced to a beautiful country of friendly people.
Named after Camilo Cienfuegos, a revolutionary who fought with Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, the city, with its beautiful Caribbean curvature around a large bay, is considered Cuba’s “pearl of the south.” This blissful natural blue palette piece of wonder can be best viewed in many ways. One is to go biking and cruise at your own pase watching the bay waves silently make their presence felt with whispering currents. If you are new in town and would like to get a complete glimpse of this beautiful view that is encircled by the bay, take photos from your rented car. Like car rental ireland, car for hire here are of very good quality and a variety of models top select for your best and most comfortable viewing of the bay.”
Along Punta Gorda’s thin strand, restored French casa particulares (homes offering bed and breakfast) fronted the ocean. Club Cienfuegos, formerly a yacht club, is typical of the city’s 19th century Neoclassical architecture. Everywhere, unlike the more typical round Creole or Spanish tiles, rooftops were covered with flat red French tile.
Declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 2005, many of Cienfuegos’ buildings were undergoing restorations, some had been severely damaged by Hurricane Dennis.
Strolling the promenade, classic cars dating back to the 50s and Russian motorcycles with side cars, lined the curbs. Uniformed school children, some licking ice cream cones, walked in groups. Streets were being cleaned by women with brooms, workmen were busy restoring buildings. In José Martí central plaza, dancers, dressed in white, performed Cuban rumba to the upbeat music of a band.
Cienfuegos is sometimes referred to as “the city of domes.” Its city hall and plaza band shell share the same colorful domes. La Union Hotel dates back to 1869. Newly renovated, the property has both a pool and air conditioning.
Cienfuegos’ boulevard is exclusively for pedestrians. A small mercado de campesinos or farmers market includes vendors butchering pig or selling yucca, tomatoes, beans, peppers, and other vegetables.
La Reina cemetery, built in 1837, has tombs of Spanish soldiers who died during wars of independence crypted in walls. Located in a high water area, numerous mausoleums are built above the ground. Best known is Bella Durmiente or Sleeping beauty, one of many marble sculpture memorials, a stunning tribute to a woman who died during childbirth.
A small ferry transports foot passengers across the narrowest part of the bay to the small fishing village of El Castillo. In 1745, Spanish soldiers built Fortaleza Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles de Jagua to protect the city from marauding pirates. Original canons remain as does a drawbridge that rises over a moat.
Horse-pulled carts clip along the rutted two lane road between Cienfuegos and Playa Girón, better known to Americans as the Bay of Pigs. The road, where rice farmers dry their crop along the edge of the pavement, passes through a small section of Parque Nacional Ciénaga de Zapata, a Unesco Biosphere Reserve. Children with spears, always wary for the endemic and endangered Cuban crocodile, fish for catfish and carp along roadside mangroves.
Heading back to Cienfuegos, the sun was setting over sugar cane fields. Drivers in wagons lit cans of kerosene rags under their carriages to improve their road visibility.
Returning to La Jaugua hotel, we learned that getting a better “taste” of Cuban food required dining at a local palador, a government licensed private home allowed to serve up to twelve guests. While breakfast is included in most Cuba hotels, that is about as much time as you want to spend strictly with tourists. There are few city restaurants, and those that we found for lunch, usually served pizza or spaghetti.
At Paladar Aché, we enjoyed a traditional meal of pork served with beans and rice. The ambience of dining in a private home with locals under a backyard patio Ramada was definitely preferable.
The colonial city of Trinidad, located approximately three hours east of Cienfuegos in Santi Spíritus province, lies at the base of Sierra del Escambray. Lacking the same French legacy of Cienfuegos, the cobblestone Spanish city has maintained its antiquity without the same charm as Cienfuegos.
Overlooking the Caribbean, Trinidad and nearby Valle de los Ingenious, historic for its ancient sugar mills and mansions owned by the wealthy, are both Unesco heritage sites. The valley, farmed for two centuries without fertilization, has lost much of its fertility.
Tower Iznaga, located six miles from the city, spires one hundred and forty feet. It was used to observe more than 11,000 slaves who toiled the surrounding sugar cane fields. A large bell, which clanged at the beginning and end of each day, lies near corroded boiling pots.
In Trinidad, the Brunet family Mansion, built in 1740, is now known as the Romantic Museum. It houses a collection of fine furniture and china dating from the 18th century into the first half of the 19th century. Adjacent to it is Iglesia Parroquial de la Santísimo Trinidad, built in 1892. Lacking bell towers, the church is not considered a cathedral.
During the first half of the 19th century, wealthy landowners, facing slave rebellions, fled the geographically isolated city. Dependent on slave labor and without roads to import equipment, they avoided financial loss by quickly fleeing.
After the turn of the 20th century, Trinidad saw an opportunity for tourism. Its ocean views provided a great setting for casinos. Trinidad’s period as a gaming Mecca lasted until Fidel Castro’s 1959 Revolution.
The focal part of the old city or casco histórica is Plaza Mayor. We stayed at the charming 36 room Iberostar Grand Hotel. Built in the 19th century, it is located on Parque Céspedes. This time we chose to dine at Paladares Milagros, where dinner, served by the proprietor on a small upstairs balcony, was limited to two guests.
Our journey would next take us three and a half hours north through Ciego de Ávila Province to Cayo Coco. Cuba’s fourth largest island, located in Archipelago de Sabana-Camagüey, was uninhabited jungle until 1992. Access, which has about a half dozen luxury all-inclusive resorts, is by crossing a 17-mile causeway over Bahía de Perros or Bay of Dogs.
Located on Cuba’s northern Atlantic shore, Cayo Coco and the resort destination of Varadero are two of the more popular beach destinations for non-American tourists. Cubans are not permitted to visit Cayo Coco. During our scheduled three day stay at Melia Cayo Coco, strong northerly winds closed the beach and dive operation.
Leaving the following day to return to the mainland, we headed back to the region of Santi Spíritus.
Located on the Río Yayabo, the historic city of Santa Clara was founded in 1514 by Spanish conquistador Diego Veláquez. Centrally located in the country, the city was frequently targeted by pirates, colonizers, and revolutionaries. In 1958, Che Guevara successfully defeated the gruesome dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista’s in the famous battle of Santa Clara.
Guevara and his eighteen men derailed and captured a 22-car armored train carrying 350 of Batista’s troops. The battle is memorialized at the Monumento a la Toma Del Tren Blindado. There is a detailed statue of Che with a larger mausoleum and museum of this Cuban hero located on the city’s outskirts.
Nearby, the small historic settlement of Remedios dates back to 1524. It is noted for its celebratory Las Parrandas, a Christmas Eve event where teams compete with fireworks, floats, and dancing.
The Museo de la Agroindustria Azucarera and Locomotoro De Vapor is located in the village of Caibarién, five miles east of Remedios. Parroquial de San Juan Bautista de Remedios is one of Cuba’s more famous churches. Built in 1545, a bell tower was added in 1848.
Eutimio Falla Bonet donated more than a million dollars to restore the mahogany ceiling and gild the altar with gold leaf. Unique to the church is a six month pregnant Inmaculada Concepción and one of Cuba’s three statutes of a reclining Christ. Remedios is also noted for the existence of a second church located on Parque Martí, the 18th-century Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Buen Viaje.
Arriving in Havana from southern Cuba, a dramatic hilltop landscape welcomed us. Two Parque Histórica Militar Morro-Cabaña fortresses, the Castillo de los Tres Santos Reyes Magnos del Morro and Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña includes several missiles (reminders of the Cuban missile crisis), a towering status of Christ, and a museum dedicated to Che Guevara.
Across the Bay, locals stroll or jog along a five mile malecon. Built by the United States in 1901, the oceanfront boardwalk reaches from Castillo de la Punta in Habana Vieja to Castillo de Santa Dorotea de Luna de Chorrera, a castle at the mouth of the Río Almendares. Many a pedestrian has been sprayed by waves pounding over the wall.
Two one-way tunnels cross under the river merging into the wide boulevard of Miramar’s 5th Avenue’s. Edged by mansions and embassies, a landscaped median is lined with groomed privet trees.
Havana appears “frozen in time”, simply a time warp. Its colonial history is preserved, the area of Vedado with 50s-era hotels and casinos linked to Mafia figures, and vintage cars of the 50s are well preserved.
A quick look at the bustle of the city does not make the impact of the United States Embargo readily noticeable. It is only when, one observes the lack of gridlock traffic (because there are no new cars), talks to locals who are overqualified in their employment, or learn how Cubans are lacking electronics, drug, and food items that the impact of the embargo is better understood.
Most visitors spend their time exploring Habana Vieja, a beautifully restored collection of colonial buildings complete with winding cobblestone streets merging into central plazas. Locals, outrageously dressed with many toting cigars, pose eagerly for camera-ladened tourists. Of course, after a click, they eagerly reach their hand for a peso.
La Habana Vieja is one of the world’s more interesting colonial old towns. Designate a Unesco site, the area includes more than 900 historical buildings, its architecture varying from baroque to art deco. Buildings that have not been restored are undergoing construction.
Plaza San Francisco de Asis and Plaza Vieja date back to the 16th century. Other sights included the Gran Teatro de La Habana, a statute of José Martí in Parque Central, and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes.
Roberto, a licensed vendor, has costumed dachshunds in two bicycle baskets who perform to his commands. Old women, wearing colorful head wraps, and men pose with large Cuban cigars, another man attempts to disguise himself as Fidel Castro. Days could be spent wandering the cobblestone streets and plazas in the old city.
Heavily guarded Pavillón Granma displays the 60 foot boat, encased in glass, which transported Fidel Castro and his 81 men from Tuxpán, Mexico to Cuba in 1956. After their arrival, Castro fought with Che Guevara in the southeast Sierra Maestra mountains for more than two years.
In 1957, there was an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Fulgencencio Batista in the Palacio Presidencial, which is now the Museo de la Revolución. Adjacent to the Museo is the Iglesia Del Santo Angel Custodio, an 1871 neo-Gothic church where Father Felix Varela and José Martí were baptized.
While a visit to Cuba may be highlighted by the city of Havana, the less visited southern coast was of equal interest. The landscape of the country is beautiful, its people are friendly, and its culture, so well preserved and timeless.
Mixed reviews told stories of Cuba’s pristine waters with incredible sightings of underwater critters and fish life. Others said “no big deal”, there is nothing to see.
The reality was that both messages were true. On the south coast of Cuba, in Cienfuegos, Trinidad and Playa Girón, there were small, but healthy coral bommies and steep reef walls, fabulous visibility in sapphire blue water, but no marine life. For their own sustenance, Cubans have netted almost every species or fish and critters. There is little marine life.
After arriving in the city of Cienfuegos, we drove to Hotel Rancho Luna, about six miles outside the city. That afternoon, we quickly realized that northerly trade winds stirred currents over chalk-like bottom which blur visibility. We would limit our future diving to mornings.
La Carone was a more interesting site because it offered the variety of a tunnel and the wreck of an old fishing boat. We were happy to see a single spotted drum and one small parrot fish. It was difficult to believe the absence of marine life in such gorgeous 80-degree water.
After several boat dives with Whale Shark Dive Center at Hotel Rancho Luna in Cienfuegos, which ironically has not seen a shark in years, we invited dive master Israel Gonzalez to join us for several dives in the Bay of Pigs, a two hour drive along the south coast.
Perched like a traffic sign, the international red and white dive sign marked three scuba sites along the shoreline of Playa Girón or Bay of Pigs. Competing roadside thatch-roofed dive shops offer divemasters to lead dives and rent gear. We were fortunate to have Israel as our guide.
Two of Girón’s most popular sites are Punta Perdiz and Cueva de las Pesces. The latter is a cenote or underground freshwater cave located a hundred yards into the temperate forest. Having previously dived cenotes in the Yucatan, we chose to head offshore.
Entering the water from a coral and limestone beach, we snorkeled about 100 feet before descending into deeper water. A rare sighting might be a barracuda or cubera snapper. Several yellowheaded jawfish peered shyly from their holes, a Pedersen cleaning shrimp scampered under a rock.
After three days of diving around Cienfuegos, we headed northeast to Trinidad, a historical, colonial city.
The dive shop at the Ancón Hotel is about five miles from the city. In 2005, its simple marina was severely damaged by Hurricane Dennis. Beachfront, the small operation opens at nine in the morning, more or less. Their dive boat and pier, destroyed by the hurricane, has not been replaced. An old double decked fishing boat, spewing diesel fumes, was loaded with our gear which was transported by a row boat, a small speed boat carried the divers. The boat was slow and cramped.
Two of Trinidad’s more popular dive sites are Las Tuneles de Punta Gordo. They vary in depth from 105 to 120 feet, the latter tunnel being eighty feet long. As we did in Cienfuegos, we asked divemaster Igor Jimenez to take us to the deeper tunnel, more quickly accessed from shore.
Entering from another jagged limestone and coral beach, we swam about fifty yards before descending with our steel (rather than aluminum tanks) into a beautiful passage that exited at 120 feet. It was mind boggling to look into the deep blue water and not see a single fish. Instead, on the surface, we saw fishermen with nets catching anything that swam.
Our trip would include some north coast diving, but when we arrived in Cayo Coco, the beaches, subject to high winds, were closed. Varadero, another popular destination west of Coco, is subjected to the same weather patterns. These conditions can cancel diving opportunities, especially during the winter months.
Isla de Juventad, formerly known as the Isle of Pines, is located about sixty miles off the southern coast. It is one of Cuba’s most noted dive destinations. Recommended for dedicated divers only, the reviews included an hour long boat ride to dive sites, plenty of mosquitoes and no-see-ums, and a very mediocre hotel. We passed on that option to combine our diving with Cuba’s fascinating culture and its warm, interesting people.
Cubans are educated and industrious. Transportation is a major problem. Cars dating back to the 50s may note the country’s time warp, but the majority of the population cannot afford this type of luxury. Those not packed into trucks hitchhike along the road. They are curious when they learn that we are Americans, and that we have entered the country legally. The United States Embargo has separated families and severely limited Cubans from receiving goods. Any foreign ship importing in Cuba is denied access to any U.S. ports for a period of six months.
If and when Cuba becomes accessible to Americans, catch the first flight. It won’t be long before it loses that fabulous “time warp” charm.
Just beyond the horizon, ninety miles southeast of Florida’s Keys, the island of Cuba lies forbidden and unknown, restricted by the United States Embargo for American travel. Its two thousand miles of coastline, punctuated with sandy beaches carved by deep bays and offshore coral reefs lie at the confluence of the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean.
The temptation for Americans to visit Cuba is titillated by stories of Canadian and European tourists, or friends and family who visited during Cuba’s glory days of the mid-1900s, the days before Fidel and his Revolution. Those who do succumb to the temptation must travel indirectly through The Bahamas, Mexico or other countries.
As author of the book, Scuba Caribbean (University Press Florida, late 2009), I was granted a license by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to visit the country to view its coral reefs. The process of applying, making travel arrangements and getting there is its own story.
After submitting a request to the United States Department of Treasury, who overseas the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), six months would pass before a letter of approval arrived. The license stated that it would expire in six months. I had included in my request the names of three professional underwater photographers, two, unfortunately, had schedule conflicts
OFAC approves the use of several United States Cuban travel agencies for booking. All itineraries must be arranged by these agencies, and all travel plans must be prepaid by cash or check. I was recommended to Cuban Travel Services in Los Angeles.
Authorizing Americans to scuba dive in Cuba was new to travel agent Todd Work. His previous experience included arranging trips for politicians, missionaries and educators. We struggled over a diving itinerary for several months. One of his best suggestions was to hire a car and driver, a very worthwhile decision since there are virtually no directional signs in the country.
As the weeks drew closer, David Lovitt and I had not received our visa or tickets. They arrived only a few days before we left. We had no idea that officially authorized charter flights from Miami are scheduled only one month in advance, and Cuban hotels can be slow to re-confirm reservations.
The OFAC instructional document stated, “arrive at the Miami airport four hours prior to departure.” Yikes! That meant 4:30 in the morning. For a fifty minute flight to Cuba, it seemed like an incredible amount of security time, especially at that early hour.
Asking a skycap for directions to our charter flight, operated by American Eagle, he asked my destination. “Cuba,” I replied. “Look for luggage covered in blue shrink wrap. That’s your ticket counter.”
Standing in a long line, Cubans watched suitcases swirling on a spindle. For nine dollars, the plastic wrapping provides additional security. Some Cubans pack in refuse bags. That allows them to deduct the weight of a suitcase from the strict 44 pound baggage allowance. to It allows them to bring more necessities to their families.
The snaking line moved slowly at the ticket counter. Everyone’s documents: including passport, Cuba visa, US license permit, and airline ticket were checked. Every bag and carry-on was weighed and excess weight, permitted only for Americans, was charged at $2.00 a pound. Underwater camera gear for our reef research cost more than $200.00. Before an agent provided boarding passes, a $60.00 exit tax was collected.
Miami airport’s security line looked like another good hour’s wait, but Cuba passengers were diverted into a separate security line. While personal items secured in a plastic bag and shoes went through the conveyor belt, passengers entered an air puffing security machine. Each hand-carried bag was opened to check for illegal goods.
An hour and a half later, a bus took us from the gate to the tarmac to board Cuba Travel Services American Eagle short charter flight to Cienfuegos, Cuba.
Arriving in Cienfuegos, as the only Americans only the plane, we were questioned and detained for approximately an hour. Our “reef research” OFAC permission was new to Cuban officials. Until I produced a Spanish written version of a University Press of Florida assignment letter, they questioned me about being a missionary. In the meantime, David had been escorted by officials into a private room. He was interrogated, his suitcases were emptied, and his camera gear photographed. He was asked if he had a GPS, and then told he could not take certain photographs during his visit to Cuba.
When we finally exited Customs and Immigration, we were warmly greeted by Havanatur’s guide Hector Avilés Moreno and driver Carlos Julio Trujillo. Unfamiliar with scuba diving, they successfully explored and took us to available dive operations along the south coast including Cienfuegos, Trinidad, and Playa Girón or Bay of Pigs.
A former University English teacher, Hector was familiar with the sights, culture, and history. During winter months, the northern Atlantic coast is subject to rough conditions. As luck would have it, when we did arrive in northern Cuba, the beaches were closed and we were unable to dive in Cayo Coco. Hector capably changed our itinerary so we could enjoy an extra day in Havana.
After our interrogation arriving in Cuba, we had no idea of what to expect on our return to the United States. Departing Cuba was uneventful, and U.S. Customs and Immigration graciously welcomed us home to America.
If you can go:
Where to Stay
Hotel Nacional, a neo-colonial hotel built in 1930 is architecturally beautiful, but worn, crowded, and lacking in service. When dictator Batista seized power, three hundred revolutionary army officers sought refuge there. Many of them died there.
Hotel los Frailes, Hostal Condes de Villanueva, and Hostal San Miquel in Havana Vieja appear to be smaller and more charming. (Havana hotels are not directly available to Americans on the Internet.)
Where to Eat
Cuba is not noted for its cuisine or service. Two Havana exceptions are La Casa in Nuevo Vedada and Casa Particular La Guarida at Concordia 418 in Habana Central. Don’t be intimated by La Guarida’s neighborhood and dining on the third floor of tenement housing. These two restaurants rank as Cuba’s finest.
Night Life
Flamenco dancing at Meson de la Floata in Habana Vieja and the Paradaiso, a Las Vegas-type floorshow at the Hotel Nacional.
For further information: contact mary@peachin.com