Page 157 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

WESTERN CUBA  155

T Cuevas de Punta del Este
59 km (37 miles) southeast of Nueva
Gerona. n Ecotur, (46) 327 101,
where permits must be obtained in
advance (ecotur@iju.mintur.tur.cu).
Punta del Este, on the
southeastern tip of the island,
has a stunning white sand
beach. It is, however, most
famous for its seven caves,
White sand and crystal-clear sea at Punta del Este beach which were discovered in 1910
by a French castaway who took
Cocodrilo site. Initially, the inten tion had refuge here. On the walls of the
86 km (53 miles) southeast of Nueva been to release the croco diles caves are 235 drawings made
Gerona. n Ecotur, (46) 327 101. back into the wild, but as the by Siboney Indians in an age
Formerly called Jacksonville, this hybrid American­Cuban crocodile long before the arrival of
fishing village was founded in threatens the Cuban crocodile’s Christopher Columbus.
the early 20th century by a small distinctiveness as a species, The drawings in the largest
community from the British col­ a liberation may never occur. cave – a series of red and black
ony of the Cayman Islands. Even concentric circles crossed
now, a few of the villagers speak by arrows pointing
English as their first language. The eastward – probably
settlers introduced the Round represent a solar calendar.
Dance, a typical Jamaican dance, The complexity of these
which blended with Cuban music drawings led the Cuban
to create Sucu Sucu, a dance ethnologist Fernando
very popular among locals. Ortíz, who studied them
in 1925, to call them
O Criadero Crocodrilo “the Sistine Chapel of
n Ecotur, (46) 327 101. the Caribbean”. Protect
This breeding centre is working to yourself against
protect the endan gered Cuban Pre-Columbian drawings which may represent a mosquitoes – the
crocodile, and has 46 reptiles on calendar, in the Cuevas del Este caves are full of them.

History of the Island
The Taíno and Siboney his plans failed. On New Year’s night in 1958,
peoples knew of the Isla as Castro’s barbudos were entering Havana,
de la Juventud long a group of soldiers in the rebels’ army took
before Columbus over the island during the opening ceremony
“discovered” it in 1494 of the Hotel Colony, and arrested the mafiosi
on his second journey in the hotel.
(see p43). The Spanish In 1966, after a devastating cyclone, the
crown licensed the island Cuban government decided to plant new
to cattle breeders, but in citrus groves on the island which would be
The corsair practice handed it over worked by students from Cuba and around
Sir Francis Drake to pirates. Because of the world. The idea was such a success that
the shallow waters, in 10 years the island’s population grew from
heavy Spanish galleons 10,000 to 80,000.
were unable to approach the island, while the
buccaneers’ light vessels could land there. This
meant that figures such as Francis Drake, Henry
Morgan, Oliver Esquemeling and Jacques de
Sores were able to exploit it as a hiding place
for booty captured from Spanish ships.
After Nueva Gerona was founded in 1830,
the island was used as a place of detention for
Cuban nationalists, including José Martí. Its use
as a prison island continued for 50 years in the
20th century; construction of the Presidio
Modelo began in 1926. In 1953 Batista turned
the island into a free zone where money could
be laundered. The dictator also wanted to turn An old map of Isla de la Juventud from the Museo Municipal of
it into a holiday paradise for rich Americans, but Nueva Gerona

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