A Baracoa, The first city raised in Cuba, back in 1511, It can be reached by land, sea ??or air, although, curiously, It was not until the sixties of the last century when a road was opened through the mountains to access the city, which was reached by boat. Until then, There was a small path where you could travel only in mule. But, today, The viaduct The lamppost It is the window to the world - a road of unparalleled beauty, but quite devious- from Baracoa. And it is the most authentic way to reach the "primada city" from Santiago de Cuba.
Landscape change in just a few kilometers, between Guantanamo And the place at hand, It is extreme: From an unbearable aridity and monotony, it goes to a real mountainous vergel, irregular and coasting where Baracoa is embedded, A population whose width, Between the hills and the sea, It is limited to seven streets in which there are some of the oldest stories in the country and colonization, From vigilant castles to the most primitive customs, like cultivation or fishing.
In its seven street, Between the hills and the sea, There are some of the oldest stories in the country
Forks, precisely, This last activity that faithfully defines the spirit of a fishing and sea place. Eating shark with coconut sauce or knowing one of the 29 Cruces that Christopher Columbus nailed on his first trip to America, in 1492, They are things that the visitor does not avoid. In fact, call Cruz de la Parra It is protected in the parish Our Lady of the Assumption, And it is the only one that is preserved from the almost thirty that someday sank into the new "discovered" lands.
Baracoa's charm, unanimous in the opinion of travelers beyond rational logic, I think it has to do with that isolation to which it has been submitted for centuries due to its location and that, turn, He has made him preserve much of the authenticity among his wooden houses, The Paseo Marítimo where the horses of the horses and the stories that the inhabitants are heard.
Its charm lies in that isolation to which it has been submitted for centuries, that has made you preserve a lot of authenticity
THE VILLA, which celebrated its high 500 Anniversary a couple of years ago, Maintain an elegant aesthetic, restored on many occasions and promoted as many, either by the government or for external aid, such as Spain In the Casa del Cocoa. But his fame and tourist magnet extends to the surroundings, what do this site operations center to extend the stay three, four or five days without having the option of getting bored.
Starting with the closest, At the end of the long beach in the urban nucleus itself you reach Young men, a kind of neighborhood on the other side of the mouth of the Honey river. A small bridge connected the 200 meters between both parties, But a river flood took it ahead, So a boat service now joins both sides. Once there, You can walk around the park - previous payment- and reach two attractions: The Indian cave, A cavity where one can relieve heat, in the dark, A handful of meters deep; And a viewpoint that brings the best views of the city.
A 25 miles away, And at the mouth of another river, Yumurí's mouth is found, that can be traveled in boat
To few 25 miles away, And at the mouth of another river, is the Yumurí mouth, A great cannon in which hiring a small boat allows you to enter river inside and even make excursions between almond trees and cocoa plantations, although to know the elaboration of this product, it is convenient to approach the Finca Duaba, on the outskirts of Baracoa and that groups, in the same place, the different plants and trees that occur in the area, With special emphasis on cocoa, its history and elaboration processes.
Very close to there is the exit point to ascend to The anvil, symbolic mountain whose denomination honors its form. Due to September rains, We could not ascend, since the streams with whom one normally to play on the way were grown up. Everyone agrees that it is a demanding excursion, with almost climbing sections, but that comforts the beauty of the environment and the satisfaction of reaching the esplanade that crowns its upper end and that, from afar, It is confused with the clouds that wraps it.
In the city
The population, only 80.000 inhabitants, It is turned to the sea and history, and has a museum installed in an old fort that houses collections that review, from time immemorial, The history of the city. It is no accident that a large statue of Columbus is right in front of the walls of this old building that, along with two other constructions - one of them converted into a hotel- They formed the defensive system of a city bitten by two bays.
In addition to consensus when assessing this end of the island and in a rather hopeless gastronomic panorama, Baracoa has its own identity in this field ... whenever you do not enter the wrong place. The coconut milk in which any fish is soaked has strength in a country where the basic and omnipresent diet costs him to get away from rice and beans.
On the way to Moa, We went through a chocolate factory that opened Che Guevara and the famous Maguana beach
The return to Havana -around 900 Kilometers separate them- We did it on the second road that unites Baracoa with the outside, In addition to the aforementioned "La Bola", And it is the one that unites it with Moa. What will the road be like, We thought, to tell us that 78 kilometers between both places they would require three hours. Innocently, We decided to choose that route- we more understood that this could not be called a road-, So taking the detour, passing the chocolate factory than the Che Guevara inaugurated in his time as Minister, The famous Maguana Beach and Alejandro Humboldt National Park, one of the great natural jewels of Cuba, and on dirt roads, when not with sharp stones or broken asphalt, We flow into MOA, A sperm city upholstered due to the nickel industry that moves the local economy.
But that is also part of the trip in a country of contrasts, singularities, resistant like nobody and that fills us with opinions. A trip east of Cuba, With Baracoa as a goal, well contributes to feed the fantasies that, In the case of this old Spanish colony, Sometimes they mix confusingly with reality.
