Visitors drive from Camaguey through Minas and at the highway junction they have to choose : ahead to the town, left towards Cayo Sabinal (protected area, with agriculture (yucca, corn, platanos, melons, etc), fauna refuge where the sabina trees grow : pink wood variety, distinct aroma, insect resistant) or right to Playa Santa Lucia (all-inclusives, 1,200-rooms aimed mostly at family vacations).
They say that when a domino player places two 9's on the table, he shouts : "Nuevitas !". Anecdotal ? Nothing nueve from us.
This Camaguey Province port town (sugar and commercial fishing) is the site of some large industries (cement factory, fertilizers, thermoelectric plant). So its bay may be a no-no for swimming but it's got a nice central park and remarkable wooden houses along main street.
Some of its oldest neighbourhoods — Canta Rana, La Loma, El Reparto, El Comercio, Pastelillo, La Gloria, Número Uno and Tarafa — still show buildings with stained glass, imported from Bohemia, Venice and Mexico or mosaic floors and walls, made locally until 1930.
Few know that a most famous visitor, Ernest Hemingway moored his Pilar and was a regular here during the 30's and through the second world war. He hung around La Colombiana, the Comercio Hotel, the cafetería El Chorrito, the Niza moviehouse and the billiard room of El Faro, most of which have disappeared or changed vocation.
DISTANCES (km)
Bayamo, 283
Camaguey, 72
Cayo Sabinal, 32
Ciego de Avila, 183
Holguin, 280
Guáimaro, 137
La Habana, 615
Las Tunas, 196
Minas, 40
Playa Santa Lucia, 70
Santa Clara, 340
Santa Cruz del Sur, 12
Santiago, 400
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POPULATION 45,000
SEE
The town from three great lookouts : the Parque Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, the Escuela Urbana Ignacio Agramonte or the Edificio de 12 Plantas • Galeria de arte Guernica • Fabrica de Instrumentos Musicales in Minas (Mon-Fri 7-11hrs+13-17hrs; Sat 7-11h) : make and sell violins, guitars, including the unique laudes 12-chord guitars • Ingenio Santa Isabel, an abandoned sugar mill on Rio Saramaguacan • El Teatro Compoamor inaugurated in 1920, today the Nuevitas moviehouse • Edificio de los Combatientes de la Revolución Cubana, corner of Camilo Cienfuegos and Oscar Primelles
PALADARES • RESTAURANTS
Restaurante El Puente. Hotel Caonaba : nothing to write home about.
PLAYAS
La Boca (Los Cocos), quiet place at the entrance of the Nuevitas canal. Excursions from Camaguey at 8h30, returns at 1700 hrs. 12cuc return. The many beaches of Santa Lucia. See Excursion - Cayo Sabinal below.
SCUBA DIVING
Hotel Cuatro Vientos, Playa Santa Lucía : 37 sites of which the 5 best vary in depth between 20 and 30 meters. ACUC certification.
SERVICES
EcoTur (32) 22-58-44 offers safaris by jeep to Cayo Sabinal (7h30-16h, 75CUC per adult). Cubanacan & Cubatur Avenida Tararaco in Santa Lucía (32) 33-6449
Aeropuerto Camaguey (32) 28-7067, BFI Bank, Independencia 221, Camagüey (32) 29-4846, Cubana Airlines (32) 29-1338, International Medical Clinic (32) 33-6203, Taxis in Santa Lucia (32) 33-6464 or in Camaguey (32) 27-1015, Radio Cadena Agramonte 910 AM, 93,5 FM
EVENINGS
Hotel Caonaba, Casa de la Cultura La Avellaneda, corner Máximo Gómez and Joaquín de Agüero, Ciné Nuevitas, calle Agramonte, corner Calixto García (Tue - Sun), Banda Municipal de Concierto local orchestra founded in 1918.
TRANSPORTATION
Bus for Playa Santa Lucia, Astro Guagua from Camaguey Bayamo (Daily - D) 9cuc), Ciego de Avila (3xday 5cuc), Cienfuegos (2xday 16cuc), La Habana (2xday 27cuc), Matanzas (D 22cuc), Santa Clara (D 12cuc), Santiago (D 15cuc) Viazul Bus from Camaguey (2xweek) Ciego 6cuc, Holguin 11cuc, La Habana 33cuc, Sancti Spiritus 15cuc, Santiago 18cuc Trains from Camaguey (see sked link above).
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS
Below, we have found this only casa. Should you discover more with photos, let us know. Children 16 and under may share parents' bedroom at no charge only if there is an additional bed available. Mention the age of your children when making the reservation.
Comments and suggestions
webmaster @cubacasas.net
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Click to enlarge.
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Rare two-steepled church © Juan Carlos from Toronto
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Fishermen get their catches away from the bay. © radionuevitas
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Playa Los Pinos on Cayo Sabinal •|• Sea star © Maurizio
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Parque Salvador Cisneros Betancourt, one of three main lookouts over the city. © radionuevitas.co.cu •|• Galeria de Arte Guernica. © radionuevitas.co.cu
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Church and view of the bay •|• Catamaran on Sabinal © Lukasz Adamczyk
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Faro Colon (Lighthouse) at the eastern tip of Cayo Sabinal |
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EXCURSION - CAYO SABINAL
From the Nuevitas shore, one can see Cayo Sabinal (our heretofore well-kept secret) 22km away. Sabinal, the Isla de Los Corsarios (Isle of Pirates) boasts some 35 km of beach. Is this the mythical isle treasure hunters have been dreaming of for so long ? Bring your metal detector !
Getting there is not much fun as the "road" is like a dirt-track, albeit for only 7km and sometimes — in summer after rain —, requires a 4x4 and patient, teeth-clenching driving. The fork to Sabinal is about 6km southwest of town.
After passing a checkpoint (the Guarda Frontera are weary of drug-smugglers) where only foreigners are let through, you reach the centre (or middle) of the island on its north shore at Estero La Palma. Entrance fee is at the bridge to the causeway (pedraplen) : 5cuc.
Driving east you encounter Playa Brava, white-sanded with nice snorkelling on its reef offshore. Then lies the "most popular spot" Playa Los Pinos, almost deserted like others, except for a cabana with drinking water run by Cubatur. It used to be called Club Sabinal Los Pinos (5 cabins, diving centre and a restaurant) but the cabinas were torn down as they were weather-beaten. You may still see deer and wild horses in the area.
As this is just about the best beach, you may also see a catamaran dumping bathers and sun-seekers from Santa Lucia resorts, 25km east : 70cuc per person including lunch. A German scuba divers group enjoys feeding sharks offshore. See the video here.
Should you drive to the very eastern end, you may see Punta Maternillos hooking north into the sea and then Playa Bonita. This is where the Cuban Marlin group runs a scuba diving post with a restaurant for lunches and dinners but no lodging. Next, Playa Chuchu, then the lighthouse and fort — Faro Colon and Torreon San Hilario — built in the 1830's to protect Nuevitas Bay. Other than that, there are nesting areas for flamingos : the largest in the Caribbean; the hill, as you come on Sabinal is called Loma La Alegria. Information : EcoTur (32) 22-5844 in Camaguey. email ecotur_at_caonao.cu |
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BOOK BY PHONE
• From Canada and the USA : 011 53 (add phone # preceded by the town's area code, 32).
• From Europe, Great Britain, Scandinavia and Mexico : 00 53 (add phone # preceded by the town's area code, 32).
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BOOK BY EMAIL : Click on logo to open a message addressed to that casa in your email application; or right-click to copy address showing at bottom of browser window. Spanish vocabulary here.
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CASA DAISY JIMENEZ IEJEDA V
Calle Augusto Arango No. 39, e/Camilo Cienfuegos y Calixto Garcia Tel. (32) 41-4601
Two nice and clean air-conditioned bedrooms, shared bathroom, nice cooking.
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HOTEL CAONABA
Calle Alaisa, corner (esquina) Marti. Tel. (32) 24-48-03 or 24-42-65 (Islazul Chain) 48 rooms. Rates 26-32CUC per room. MasterCard, Visa
One cannot miss it, driving from Camaguey, near the Servi-Cupet and a Transtur rentacar agency, its three storeys — something to pleasantly hide in, if you don't find casas and are, as they say, up a river without a paddle...
There is an infant park right by and the local beach is 200 meters away. |
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Photos & contents © sogestour
Updated 02.01.2009
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