Where foam is whiter than ever
This exclusive place, dotted with 160 keys and islets that stretch out for 127 miles, has a total surface of 1,061 square miles. From the first stop on La Leña keys all the way to Gorda Cape, in Cabañas Bay, there's an interesting and passionate maritime environment tangled up with mangrove thickets that shelters the nestling macabi (Albula vulpes) and the ever-flipping shad (Tarpon atlanticus). Coral reefs act as biological shields that protect the terra firma and offshore keys that sport lovely beaches like Jutia, Ines de Soto, Levisa and Megano de Casiguas, just to name but a few.
In all these ecosystems, beyond the beach profile, the sea bottom plummets abruptly to unfathomable depths of more than 6,560 feet, featuring walls than range between 27 and 131 feet deep with abundance of world-class diving sites. There's no better place around to watch corals, underwater caves, sand cascades, shipwrecks from the 15th century to date. The coral-paved sea bottom harbors abundant marine life: fish, shellfish, mollusks and the Caribbean Queen, lobster (Panulirus argus). As boats roar by, it's easy for visitors to spot schools of dolphins jumping in and out of the water, as if they were greeting them.
The most recreation-laden islets are Jutia Key, hooked up with the mainland by a 9-mile-long stone road and 36 miles away from the Viñales Valley. The interesting drive, through mountain roads and huge valleys, includes several layovers at a number of picture-perfect colonial towns.
Located in a fishing area, the key is enclosed by lavish vegetation and breathtaking nature: 2.7 miles of unexplored beach and unusual scenery that guarantee the practice of water sports and other activities, such as scuba diving and birdwatching.
The shoals that protect these coastlines stand at a stone's throw of the baths. Animal species of different sizes, types and colors live in perfect harmony with human beings, from the dogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus), surgeons (Acanthurus coeruleus), black cachamas (Pomacanthus caru), parrot fish, (Sparisoma viride), blue snappers (Thalassoma bifasciatum) and other pelagic species. The most abundant coral species are the big ears (Acropora palmata), the fire coral (Millapora complanata), the digital coral (Porites porites) and the brain-shaped coral (Colpophyllia natans).
Like in any other key in the vicinity, its south portion is covered by thickets of mangrove, especially as a result of sedimentary deposits stemming from rivers that run through solid ground.
In the north side, its shores are blessed with gorgeous beaches of powder-thin whitish sands, the result of abrasive processes that have grated sediments off the coral reefs. Right in the middle, a thatch-roofed ranch that seats up to 45 patrons serves the very best lobster, shrimps and seafood money can buy. All foodstuffs are of natural origin, making sure the taste of the environment and its many mysteries are preserved every step of the way. In the easternmost tip, like the former Alexandria lighthouse, a 60-foot-tall metal tower juts out and beams its light.
In this tour down the keys, visitors can make out the peaks of the Guaniguanico mountain range sticking out from above the sea, the hills resembling a herd of wild elephants that trot over the “most beautiful land human eyes have ever beheld,” as Christopher Columbus put it. Farther to the east, the peaks of Viñales also protrude in the distance, looking like a huge dish. And the Cajalbana Heights stand tall, with the majestic and sublime Pan de Guajaibon putting a show of its own in the background.
Levisa Key can be reached by sea, lying just a mile off the north shore of Palma Rubia, just 27 miles away from Viñales, 44 miles away from Las Terrazas and at a three-hour drive from the city of Havana.
It has a 1.8-mile-long beach –right before the slope- plus three extra miles under the sea, in the insular platform, with depths ranging from 9 to 18 feet where, above all, there are great weather conditions all year round. The invitation to dive into these waters allows travelers to take diving lessons for beginners and scour the warm waters of the surroundings in over 23 diving sites stretching between Arenas Key and Megano de Casiguas. There are great-looking seaweed and coral cloisters, including such species as star corals (Montastrea anularis), cacho and deer (Acropora cervicornis), cavernous (Montastrea cavernosa), sea stick (Prexaura flexuosa), warbler (Kiligorgia Schrammi), sea fans (Gorgonia ventalina), almond-shaped seaweed (Halimeda discoidea), starfish (Oreaster reticulatus), stone crabs (Carpilius corallinus) and other striking marine life like the isabelita (Chaetodon ocellatus), the yellow-tail snapper (Ocyurus chrysurus), the red mullet (Mulloidichthys martinicus), the horse mackerel (Caranx lugubris) and the menacing green morel eels (Gymnothorax funebris).
If you prefer not to dive into this puzzling and enigmatic sea, then snorkeling around the coral reefs will do the trick. Maybe the practice of other nautical sports will make your get a kick out of your stay.
If you're looking for a good rest, there are air-conditioned thatch-roofed shacks, made of both cement and wood, and outfitted with private bathrooms, cable-TV, radio sets, phones and all the comfort you might need. The lodging also has a restaurant, a bar, stores, a medical outpost, massage facilities and a beachfront grill.
Megano de Casiguas Key is a small islet that struck the attention of American novelist Ernest Hemingway, who nicknamed it Paradise Key. Used to sailing to the key aboard his El Pilar boat, Hemingway picked the location for many of his marine adventures in the first half of the 20th century. According to his skipper Gregorio Fuentes, “his visits to the key helped him a lot to add realism to the stories he wrote, especially the lives of fishermen like those he portrayed in The Old Man And The Sea.”
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