vergrössern

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Sail across the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean, and you'll find out that Cuba is not alone. Over 4,000 islets and keys bear out the assumption that this is an archipelago rather than a solitary island.

Ten years ago, with the exception of the Isle of Youth and Cayo Largo del Sur –both in the southern tip of western Cuba- those thousands and thousands of cays were nothing but unexplored territories where only chirping birds and the occasional sound of one of its ground critters used to crack the reigning calmness.

But Cuba's takeoff as a tourist power in the early 1990s led man to yearn for the main island's surroundings, especially those smaller-sized keys that enclosed so many good opportunities for the leisure industry.

Then came the need to hook up the keys with the main island as some of them stand dozens of miles away from it. Interconnection among them was necessary to build an infrastructure mesh for the offshore development of the sector.

Man took on the challenge and laying slab after slab of stone, he built –in a relatively short period of time- two major works of Cuba's civil engineering known as pedraplenes (roads on the sea) that spanned Coco, Guillermo, Paredon Grande, Romano, Santa Maria, Ensenachos and Las Brujas keys, all of them spotted off the coasts of the central provinces.

Until then, Varadero used to be –for both foreigners and nationals alike- Cuba's premiere beach. There was no other foreshore capable of holding a candle to it as far as crystal-clear water, easy slopes to the sea and powder-thin sands are concerned.

But the very first visitors who made it to the new destinations –a trend that's increasingly catching on now- were literally stunned as they feasted their wide-open eyes on something they'd only seen in pictures before. The top spot among Cuban beaches no longer had a one-and-only blockbuster.

A Garden for His Highness Also pinpointed in world atlas as the Sabana-Camaguey Archipelago, the Jardines del Rey (King's Gardens) run for roughly 289 miles along the northern coastline from the province of Matanzas all the way to Camaguey.

The name that has put these keys on the map from a business and marketing standpoint stems from Spanish conquistador Diego Velazquez who once sailed around the area in 1514. As soon as he saw the islets, he made up his mind to name them after His Majesty Fernando the Catholic.

This archipelago clusters approximately 60 percent (2,517) of all Cuban keys, including two of the largest ones –Cayo Romano (482 square miles) and Cayo Coco (230 square miles)- that deserve having the ISLAND sticker glued on them.

Jardines del Rey provides a natural haven for 700 different kinds of plants (126 of them hailing exclusively from Cuba), 958 ground wildlife species and 900 fish families that usually find shelter in some 280 miles of coral reefs.

The destination got its big break in the business of tourism following the opening of the first hotel on Cayo Coco back in 1992. Now it boasts the fastest-growing numbers of the entire Cuban leisure industry over the past decade with more than 3,000 rooms. Getting there takes a 10-mile drive down a road that rests over Bahia de los Perros.

Travelers here are not only limited to bask in the sun or take a swim at the beach. There are such places as the rough watchtower of La Silla from where sunbathers can make out flocks of pink flamingos that dwell in the southern keys. They can also ride on horseback down these lands formerly lived and worked by coal makers, stay overnight in rustic cabanas, hike down several trails and taste exquisite traditional meals.

But one of the key's major attractions is no doubt the recently opened El Baga Nature Park that comprises 769 acres of well-preserved woods and ponds.

The place also features an aboriginal hamlet and is outfitted with a wharf and a buccaneer's vessel, as well as a nautical center equipped with everything it takes for boat rides down the canals or a chance to paddle aboard canoes like the ones used by Indians in the past.

The park also offers hikes or rides in horse-hauled buggies through a long tree grove, visits to the colonial plaza, the chance of swinging by a number of restaurants, cafeterias and exhibition areas full of local wildlife species, let alone the once-in-the-lifetime opportunity to get in touch with countryside and African-Cuban cultures.

Not far from Cayo Coco stand Guillermo, Paredon Grande and Verde keys. In his novel Islands in the Stream, American writer Ernest Hemingway called Cayo Guillermo “a promising and green place,” for a third of its surface is covered by breathtaking beaches like El Pilar. Flamingos, pelicans, thrushes, seagulls, hummingbirds, hawks and other bird species share this environment with visitors.

Unlike what its name could lead to believe, Paredon Grande is the smallest key of the three-pack (barely a couple of square miles), yet it features equally astonishing beaches and coral reefs. The Diego Velazquez Lighthouse, built in 1859 atop a rocky cliff, is one of its landmarks, now beaconing passing ships and boats.

Unknown Destination Not so long ago, Villa Clara was an almost unknown tourist destination merely visited by transiting groups that used to stay overnight to pay a visit to the Ernesto Che Guevara Mausoleum or just to take a look around some of the charms of this province in central Cuba. The making of the island nation's longest pedraplen (30.2 miles) –featuring a design that won the Alcantara Award in Spain- joined the small cay with the Santa Maria, Ensenachos and Las Brujas keys, also in Jardines del Rey.

Santa Maria is an 8-mile-long strip of land of less than one and a half mile wide with a huge sandy slip running along the northern shore all the way down to a soft slope bathed by crystal-clear waters.

The region provides excellent conditions for archaeology buffs. If you're the kind of person who likes hoofing it around, then a visit to Caiman Grande Lighthouse, a tad of snorkeling to gaze at gorgeous sea bottoms, boat rides through countless canals meandering their way around the keys, or a peaceful stare at the surrounding landscapes will do the trick.

Well-sheltered bays and gullies deep enough to accommodate future nautical centers and marinas next to the hotels are all there. The setting couldn't be any better for the practice of such water sports as sailing, windsurfing, high-sea fishing, speed racing and water skiing, just to name but a few.

To the west side of the key, the underwater landscape is marked by rocky bottoms mingled with a coral reef that provides protection against gusting winds and prevents high tides from reaching out to the beaches of Santa Maria, Ensenachos and Las Brujas. The corals also provide shelter to scores of beautiful and motley underwater creatures that certainly bring happiness to shutterbugs and gazers alike.

As many as 248 plants and shrubs make up the region's rich flora with a wildlife reserve that covers a surface of 77,844 acres.

Snipes, pink flamingos, seagulls, corals, dogfish (hailing exclusively from these waters), mollusks, shellfish, mussels, iguanas used to human presence and lots of such other endemic species as Cayo Fragoso's tree-climbing musk rat and Santa Maria's blue gecko, are things worth taking a long glimpse at.

Cayo Ensenachos, another small key, also has some of the best beaches around. Located right behind Cayo Santa Maria, raging tides never reach the shore when the sea is choppy, so there's calmness everywhere all year long.

A popular legend spins a yarn about the failed romance of a couple of heartbroken lovers that endured the anger of the girl's jealous uncle. That heart-wrenching story inspired locals to name the key Cayo Las Brujas (Witches Key), the first spot visitors get to on their way down the pedraplen.

A few minutes aboard a ship takes trekkers from there to a small floating hotel: the San Pascual vessel that ran aground a mile off Cayo Frances back in 1933.

This relic of naval engineering –built in the San Francisco (California) shipyards- that made its maiden voyage in 1919 to carry molasses from Cuba, was refurbished and turned into a lodging facility with ten comfy cabins, a bar-restaurant combo and a peerless location to gawk at the nearby nature.

The San Pascual Hotel keeps memories of American writer Ernest Hemingway and Cuban painter Leopoldo Romañach, who found in the vessel's deck the inspiration for some of his marine landscapes.

Close to Paradise Since the first waves of tourists started landing on Cayo Largo del Sur a quarter of a century ago, more and more travelers put this key up to par with an earthly Eden.

The key's total surface of 23.3 square miles makes it the second-largest islet of the Canarreos Archipelago –one of Cuba's major groups of islands made up of 350 isles and cays. Some of the archipelago's other highlights are the Isle of Youth, Cayo del Rosario and Cayo Cantiles.

Lying 100 miles south of Havana, Cayo Largo affects an 18-mile-long strip of sand shared by Lindamar, Tortuga, Blanca, Los Cocos and Sirena beaches.

The local wildlife lays bare the existence of colonies of turtles that still crawl ashore to spawn in the sand, coupled with seagulls, pelicans and other tropical species that decorate the landscapes. A similar praising goes to Cayo Largo's flora, consisting mostly of palmettos, bight berries and coconut palms.

An international marina makes scuba diving, yachting, kayaking, catamaran rides, snorkeling, fishing, marine tours and other nautical activities just a walk in the sun.

Emerald-hued waters as a result of plentiful mollusk colonies lodged in the sea bottoms, havens of iguanas that eat from any visitor's hand, lovely oceanic birds that nestle next to the crags, and black-sand beaches –caused by the eroding power of water beating against marble rocks- piece together a natural spectacle close at hand for those who embark on a stroll around Rico, Iguana, Los Pajaros and Cantiles keys, as well as a grand tour on the Isle of Youth.

The Queen has a Garden, too Following the compliment to the King, it was then Queen Elizabeth the Catholic's turn to be praised, too. That was the name picked by Diego Velazquez to call the archipelago off the southern coast of the Camaguey province: Jardines de la Reina (Queen's Gardens)

This place of wild nature and lavish vegetation is blessed with short sandy beaches hedged by numerous coral reefs. The entire location is penciled in as a scuba diver's delight, featuring areas of up to 45 miles long. Life in this neck of the woods is twice as much adventurous and easy-going compared to similar regions outfitted with great infrastructure.

A floating hotel provides lodging conveniences to anglers who travel to the archipelago searching for basses, bonefish and blue snappers, or to those eager to cut their teeth in scuba diving with the friendly help of internationally certified experts.

On Cayo Caguama, right at the southeastern edge of the so-called Cayeria de las Doce Leguas (Keys of the Twelve Leagues), turtles, iguanas and seagulls share the environment with leafy palm trees.

With a surface of barely 8 square miles and a southern shoreline that stretches out for 9 miles (five and a half of them in top-notch beaches), Caguama stands out for having long strips of powder-thin sand that range from 5 to 20 yards deep.

There are superb underwater landscapes running next to the shore, chiefly made up of black coral colonies, huge sponges and abundant marine life, among many other attractions.

Levisa Standing north of the Pinar del Rio province as part of Los Colorados Archipelago- Cayo Levisa meets the eye effortlessly. A short boat ride from the Palma Rubia wharf takes sunbathers to this wonderful key.

Those who check in at a small but snug hotel perched on the key are definitely out in a quest for a coral beach and its nearby sea bottoms with their fifteen different scuba diving sites.

Massive formations of star-shaped and brain corals, sea fans, feathery critters and countless fish species such as snappers, barbers, red snappers, pikes and an assortment of shellfish like lobsters and prawns, are out there for everyone to see.

In a word, these are by far the new Gardens of Eden. That's what these keys are all about; places where exoticism and surprises have spurred up great interest in visitors who come here moved by the human need to unearth new things and live heart-throbbing emotions