Located at the end of the road, some 82 km southwest of Camaguey (passing through Santa Rosa and La Daseada), here is Santa Cruz del Sur on the Caribbean coast. The town was almost wiped off the map in 1932 by a savage hurricane (ciclon) with winds gusting to 250 km/h and rains dropping some 10 meters of water on the ciudad causing 3,000 casualties. Today, many lovely old wooden buildings still remain, albeit in dire straits and condition. The place is hyper-calm like a cowboy movie town before the gunfight and lives rather well (relatively as in all of Cuba...) with regular revenues and jobs from fishing, sugar, produce and cattle. The ever-present langosta is a symbol of the town as it is caught offshore (as is shrimp — camarones) and is thus distributed in all hotels of the povince and elsewhere. Of course, it is illegal to serve these in any casa particular in the country ... ; ) Fishermen (pescadores) navigate to and around (and travellers may discover with luck and a buck), some of the 36 cayos off the shores of southern Camaguey province. The cayos (keys) nearest to the coast are : Carnero, Muerto, Pinipiniche, Mate Adentro, Bergantines, Pasa Honda or Güincho; the furthest : Rabihocardo and Loma). They're waiting to be seen : a ver. In town, anyone who's not a pupil of the Escuela de Economia or the Academia de Kayak or not involved in either culture or the arts prolly works in one of the following sectors : The sugar industry : Empresa Azucarera Cándido González Morales, Empresa y Granja Agropecuaria Jesús Suárez Gayol, Granja Agropecuaria Ojo de Agua, Granja Agropecuaria Haití. In fisheries : Empresa Pesquera Industrial, Argelico Lara Correa, Empresa Cultivo del Camarón (EPISUR), Fábrica de Pienso. Or in agriculture, for Empresa Pecuaria Cándido González Morales. Rumor has it many would-be exiles use (or used to) this southern, mostly unpatrolled coast to ride the sea towards Central America and a new life. DISTANCES Amancio, 60 Bayamo, 255 Camaguey, 73 Cayo Romano, 200 Cayo Sabinal, 186 Ciego de Avila, 193 Contramaestre, 52 Guayabal, 78 Holguin, 243 Guáimaro, 115 La Habana, 625 La Jagua, 20 Las Tunas, 163 Marti, 100 Moron, 233 Najasa, 60 Nuevitas, 154 Santa Clara, 351 Santa Lucia, 192 Santiago de Cuba, 365 Vertientes, 85 Feb-March 2010 : Local Exhibition in homage to Celia Sanchez MAPS & LINKS Map - South Coast from Camaguey to Guayabal Map - South Coast from Camaguey to Las Tunas Culturel Web Portal of the town Santa Cruz del Sur Web site of Radio Santa Cruz Photos by Robin Thom 5-day weather forescast (Wunderground) Daily currency exchange All the Web particuba.net POPULATION 49,904 in the regional township (municipio) in 2007 census including 16,600 in the town proper SEE.KNOW.DO Monumento La Caobita dedicated to victims of 1932 • Museo Municipal de Santa Cruz on Calle D No. 22 e/ Central y Línea Tel. (32) 2225 — closed for renovations • Awaiting that reopening, one can visit Museo Alternativo on calle Central # 129 corner of E • Banda Municipal de Conciertos, orchestra established in 1908 • The Biblioteca Mártires de Pino 3 was founded in 1982 • The Casa de la Cultura Olga Alonso sees productions of choirs, stage plays, dance troupes, literary salons, popular art and the annual Miguel Socarrás Aleaga song contest • The Najasa movie theater has been used since 1969 for galas, exhibitions and contests • The Mausoleo de Pino Tres (located on road to the village of Haiti) dedicated to the victims of an ambush on "Columna No.11 Cándido González Morales" by Batista's assasins. Some photos here. SWIMMING Travellers will find a couple of beaches like Bonita at 2,5 km and Las Playuelas 8 k's away. From the point (punta) of Playa Bonita with chance, fresh air and a good telephoto lens, one can see Pico Turquino, highest point in the land topping the Sierra Maestra.

Monument to the 3,000 victims of the hurricane which swept the village in November 1932 © Robin Thom, flickr

Sign says "Birthday pictures, quick service", one of few commercial two-storey buildings in town © sogestour

"The Road into Town" is straight, lined with palm trees and newly-paved © Robin Thom

The nature is untouched around here, as this bucolesque, Huckleberry-Finn like scenery shows © sogestour

Before the ciclon of 1932, the whole town was built in wood dwellings. When the reconstruction process began, some 81 casas were built as examples of things to do by perpetuating the tradition of the wood workers in its main building elements : columns, cartelas, grills, balconies, railings, doors and windows and adding features used elsewhere such as attics and ramps. Source : Blog of local Journalist Maria Elena Javier

Another one of the lovely casas en madera still standing © sogestour

In this NatGeo video, what photog David Doubilet means by Gardens of the Queen is actually Jardines de la Reina, an as-yet relatively unexplored underwater natural reserve.

EXCURSIONS
Curious voyageurs will look for and maybe discover — with the help of kind fishermen and blind authorities — some of the 36 cayos "out there". Closest to the coast : Carnero, Muerto, Pinipiniche, Mate Adentro, Bergantines, Pasa Honda and Güincho; furthest : Rabihocardo and Loma.

Sierra de Najasa is a protected area 60 km northeast (30 mins. southeast of Camaguey) of here consisting of a large Hacienda with open pasture land, forest patches, palm groves and ponds. Target birds here are Plain Pigeon, Cuban Parakeet, Giant Kingbird and Cuban Palm-Crow.

One rendez-vous point is Hacienda La Belen or ask around for eminent ornithologist Pedro Regalado who can greet you in his own casa in El Pilar or check with Ecotur here. Notes by a BritCanadian here.

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