CAIBARIÉN Y CAYO SANTA MARIA: OUR PARADISE IN CUBA

When traveling with our parents and not having too much time to explore the island, we decided to leave southern Cuba for another occasion and discard (ains) a few places that we would have loved to know. So we prefer to focus on the north and center of Cuba and our gaze fell on a point on the map: Cayo Santa María.

It was quite accessible, not too far from Trinidad (our previous stop) and Varadero (the next one), so we just had to look for some info… bingo! We would go there. But on the way we take the opportunity to visit one of the most important places in the history of the Cuban Revolution: Santa Clara. It was here that the Che Guevara and his militia gave the final blow to the Batista regime, with the capture of the city in December 1958. In honor of the courageous Argentine guerrilla, in this town an impressive mausoleum was built where rest his remains, which today can be visited (and must be visited if you travel to Cuba).

Well, there or for your nearest town: Caibarién since it turns out that in Cayo Santa María there are only very expensive accommodations and resorts. We didn't have them all with us: Caibarién didn't seem anything special, there was almost no information on the network, but it finally turned out to be one of the most special stops on our trip. And the reason is they:

Carmen rosa Y The Chinese, our hosts, two super nice people who made us feel at home (and who prepared us some delicious dinners and little trinkets, with lobster included!). They also introduced us to one of the characters of the trip: Rene, a former professor / philosopher who now makes a living driving a Russian car and being the most bureaucratic taxi driver in Cuba. Calculate that from Caibarién to Cayo Santa María there are about 50 minutes of road, so imagine the amount of things he could tell us about the history, culture and curiosities of Cuba: it was a gift (although it was best to see how my father, Italian who does not speak Spanish, communicated with him, Cuban who does not speak Italian).

In Caibarién There is not much to do: walk around the center, have occasional pizza, run into humorists who prepare the show on Friday nights in the town square and tour the boardwalk. But the 3 days we spent there were very short: when you are well, time flies!

Although obviously the goal of staying in Caibarién was to know the beaches of Cayo Santa María, without a doubt one of the most beautiful in all of Cuba. It consists of a road about 50 km long at the ends of which there are some postcard beaches, and of course where they have built several resorts (and eye, do not miss the flamingos that are next to the road!). The first day we stayed at the Las Terrazas beach, pretty cool and not too crowded, with a restaurant, a bar and even a bowling alley! Below in the useful info section we tell you more.

Although the place we liked the most was the Las Gaviotas beach, a protected Marine Reserve, beautiful and wild, with private cabins that are a real luxury and a sea that is so beautiful that it seems false. It is a deserted beach but which is reached after crossing a path between a 700-meter forest. If you come here do not take too long, there are about 20 or 25 cabins with two sunbeds each freely available, for the first to arrive!

The day we left (often suffocated by saying goodbye to our Cuban "family") we decided to stop by Remedies, the city of René, who accompanied us. He showed us the center, very careful and charming: Remedios is another of the best preserved colonial cities in Cuba. We go up to the roof of a hotel to enjoy the views and enter its beautiful church. You know, if you pass through the area you have to come to Remedios, it is very, very beautiful!

After a hug to our favorite Cuban taxi driver-philosopher, we changed taxi and set sail for a destination that had never caught our attention: Varadero. And there another meeting was waiting for us ... with the rober's parents! Yes, finally, after 10 years of relationship, the consuegros would meet… it was time!!