It's said that if you hear the Isabelica's bell tolls it will be impossible not to visit the place. It's a 19th century building that shows how the French, who fled Haiti following the slave revolt and brought to Cuba their culture and habits.

“Travel in time on top of a snake”.

If you leave Santiago de Cuba and go southeast, you'll come to Las Guasimas. Then, you'll start climbing along a winding road, which during 15 kilometers will astonish you. And when you reach the end of the road, you come to one of nature's won­der, La Gran Piedra (The Great Rock). You have to escalate more than 400 steps before you reach the summit of the rock. Then, you'll discover two kilometers to the east a building that seems to be standing in the wrong time : La Isabelica.

An Enchanting Museum It's said that if you hear the Isabelica's bell tolls, it will be impossible not to visit the place. It's a 19th century building that shows how the French, who fled Haiti following the slave revolt and brought to Cu­ba their culture and habits, lived. Victor Constantin was Isabelica's owner. He had 32 slaves who basically worked on coffee plantations. Tools, machinery and warehouses used in processing the grains, which was sent to Europe, are well preserved in the museum. In the upper floor of the old house you can feel the atmosphere of how life was in it. The "Monsieur's" weapons are also on display. You can feel, too, the perfume of flowers coming from a well taken care of garden and chew a few coffee grains of plants more than a century old.

The Runaway Slaves Slaves from La Isabelica were also struck by the desire of freedom. The bell was often tolled with rage to announce that one or some slaves had run away, and immediately hunters and their dogs started the manhunt. If they were caught, they received harsh punishment. But, watch out, that woman slave is pregnant, and the future slave cannot be hurt. But she, too, had to be punished with the “face down­ward”. The "palenque" was the site where the runaway slaves took shelter. One of the most famous was El Frijol (the bean). It was near La Gran Piedra. Farms like Mount Olympus and the very large Gran Sofia, more than 4,290 acres big and with hundreds of slaves, came under the attack of the runaways.

Isabelica

Isabel Luisa was Victor Constantin's favorite slave. She had come with him from Haiti. In time she became the farm house "Madame" and as such she behaved and was respected by both white and black. Isabel Luisa, however, died as slave.

The great rock

Altura/Heigth: 1.125 m. Peso/Weight: 70.000 tm. Temperatura/Temperature: 130 C Desde/From Santiago de Cuba: 22 km. Facilidades/Facilities: 32 cabañas con/32 bungalows Restaurant and cafeteria