CubaPLUS Magazine

Magical keys in Cienfuegos bay

By: Amanda Bedia, photos: David Estrada y Online Tour
Oct 16, 2023
Magical keys in Cienfuegos bay

The southern bay of Cienfuegos or Jagua peacefully extends its blue water mirror at the foot of the beautiful city of Cienfuegos, in the province of the same name located in the center of Cuba.

Multiple myths and legends with the indisputable seal of aboriginal culture and Hispanic roots empowered during the colonial period, have left their mark on the toponymy and life of the place, although Cienfuegos was a city founded exceptionally in Cuba by French settlers in the 19th century.

cayo-cienfuegos-2.jpgReturning to the bay we will say that it has always been a great anchorage or sea port close to the industrial development of the town where residents strive to stay healthy. Shaped like a bag, it has the vicinity of 50 points of land, 20 inlets or coves and 14 keys or small islets, where there is great biodiversity of surrounding marine and terrestrial flora and fauna.

Today we will briefly talk to you about this rosary of keys, about four of them as a symbol of the prodigious gifts that Mother Nature gave to that place.

Let's start with Cayo Loco, which according to a legend was formed from the largest turtle contained in a fruit broken when falling from the hands of a desperate mother who was looking for her little son, punished by the jealousy of a heartless and all-powerful father. The myth of the origin of Cayo Loco told so many times gives charm to that area that in the 19th century was first called Cayo Güije, then Cayo Nuevo.

The people of Cienfuegos ended up calling him “Crazy,” because tides allowed it to be seen when they rose or fell whimsically. It barely measures 0.2 square kilometers, and today it is joined to firm earth artificially. Being used for military posts in times of Spain and since 1980, as the headquarters of the Historical Museum Naval, unique in the country.

Stories that speak of apparitions of souls of those who in life were adventurers or shipwrecked sailors, add notes of color to a very interesting folklore tradition. Among these stands out the advice of The Black Venus, full of mystery and seduction.

The Naval Historical Museum is very important, as it houses collections of documents and pieces with high symbolic value linked to the revolutionary action carried out by the children of Cienfuegos on September 5,1957.

We continue with Cayo Carenas, 700 meters long and 250 meters at its widest part. Six people currently live there, residents in typical wooden houses and dedicated to fishing as main source of food and life. They say that in the 16th century, Jacques de Sores, Francis Drake and other renowned pirates and privateers, visited it and took shelter there after his adventures through those Caribbean seas. There is in this secluded place a Church dedicated to the Virgin of the Carmen, whose party they celebrate every July 16 and the place is an area where archaeological remains of Indian taino settlements have been found.

Cayo Ocampo is the third proposal, since it is a kind of paradise where flocks of pink flamingos spend the night that live the Cuban coastlines interacting with other species of birds of magnificent bearing. They say that colonizer Don Sebastián Ocampo, Galician soldier and sailor is the reason for the name of the 0.34 square kilometer islet. With a rough and rugged coast, it also offers the gift of small beaches, sandy and covered with mangroves. There are multiple legends of burials of valuable pirate treasures, never found.

Declared a Protected Area, travelers must ultimately understand that the real treasure is the splendid nature that lives in those places, rich in nests and presence of species of herons, ducks, mollusks, and the unique and majestic flamingos. We end with Cayo Alcatraz, elongated in shape, although it is small and unpopulated, but equally rich in populations of precious wood trees. Its deep and amazing vegetation in a marine environment, exhibits large mahoganies, caobillas, cedar, black and white guayacanes, real ebony and charcoal, cúrbana, cerrillo and wild orange.

Dolphins and seabirds sail and play near its coasts, while its coastal sands are jewels where harmless iguanas live, despite their somewhat fierce appearance, when they get scared. Ideal place to practice underwater sports, a spectacular coral barrier lies on that platform, made by the hand of the gods.

In the surroundings of Cayo Alcatraz you can dedicate yourself to snorkeling, in very clear waters and excellent temperatures.

The people of Cienfuegos ended up calling him “Crazy,” because tides allowed it to be seen when they rose or fell whimsically. It barely measures 0.2 square kilometers, and today it is joined to firm earth artificially. Being used for military posts in times of Spain and since 1980, as the headquarters of the Historical Museum Naval, unique in the country.

Stories that speak of apparitions of souls of those who in life were adventurers or shipwrecked sailors, add notes of color to a very interesting folklore tradition. Among these stands out the advice of The Black Venus, full of mystery and seduction.

The Naval Historical Museum is very important, as it houses collections of documents and pieces with high symbolic value linked to the revolutionary action carried out by the children of Cienfuegos on September 5,1957.

cayo-cienfuegos-4.jpgWe continue with Cayo Carenas, 700 meters long and 250 meters at its widest part. Six people currently live there, residents in typical wooden houses and dedicated to fishing as main source of food and life. They say that in the 16th century, Jacques de Sores, Francis Drake and other renowned pirates and privateers, visited it and took shelter there after his adventures through those Caribbean seas. There is in this secluded place a Church dedicated to the Virgin of the Carmen, whose party they celebrate every July 16 and the place is an area where archaeological remains of Indian taino settlements have been found.

Cayo Ocampo is the third proposal, since it is a kind of paradise where flocks of pink flamingos spend the night that live the Cuban coastlines interacting with other species of birds of magnificent bearing. They say that colonizer Don Sebastián Ocampo, Galician soldier and sailor is the reason for the name of the 0.34 square kilometer islet. With a rough and rugged coast, it also offers the gift of small beaches, sandy and covered with mangroves. There are multiple legends of burials of valuable pirate treasures, never found.

Declared a Protected Area, travelers must ultimately understand that the real treasure is the splendid nature that lives in those places, rich in nests and presence of species of herons, ducks, mollusks, and the unique and majestic flamingos. We end with Cayo Alcatraz, elongated in shape, although it is small and unpopulated, but equally rich in populations of precious wood trees. Its deep and amazing vegetation in a marine environment, exhibits large mahoganies, caobillas, cedar, black and white guayacanes, real ebony and charcoal, cúrbana, cerrillo and wild orange.

Dolphins and seabirds sail and play near its coasts, while its coastal sands are jewels where harmless iguanas live, despite their somewhat fierce appearance, when they get scared. Ideal place to practice underwater sports, a spectacular coral barrier lies on that platform, made by the hand of the gods.

In the surroundings of Cayo Alcatraz you can dedicate yourself to snorkeling, in very clear waters and excellent temperatures.

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