Go beyond the sand for another side of Cuba
Bus tour outside beach resort gives quick hit of history and culture in city of Santa Clara
CAYO SANTA MARIA, CUBA— A turquoise wave laps at the sugar-white shore where my toes wriggle into the sand, prompting my greatest exertion of the day — lifting a local Cristal cerveza to my lips and swivelling my gaze to the unbelievably blue horizon. When Christopher Columbus sailed into what is now Cuba in late October 1492, with plans nakedly more ambitious than parking himself on a seaside lounger, he proclaimed, “This is the most beautiful land that human eyes have ever seen.”
Granted, he arrived on the shores of what is now the Holguin region, just in time for the touristy dry season in Cuba, which generally runs from November to April. If he’d landed some 450 kilometres west on the islands that form a larger archipelago known as Jardines del Rey (King’s Garden), who knows, he may have chilled right out.
For a “fly and fry” vacation, where lying on a beach at an all-inclusive resort is the primary goal of a stressbusting escape, the small island of Cayo Santa Maria off Cuba’s north coast shines. Reached by a 48-kilometre causeway that links it to the mainland, it’s a more remote alternative to better-known Cuban destinations, such as Holguin and Varadero.
I was at the aptly named Sanctuary at Grand Memories Santa Maria, a great adults-only property (part of Memories Resorts & Spa) set slightly back from a pristine shoreline that stretches along the northern coast for about 13 kilometres.
Speaking to vacationers from Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Red Deer and Vancouver as I ambled along the shore past the fresh sandcastles and thatched-roofed palapas and navy blue loungers and neon-sail Hobie sailboats, it was clear the beach is a main draw.
“We’ve been to Varadero and Cayo Coco (Cuba) and Jamaica and Mexi- co, but this beach is spectacular,” said Gregory Wright of Ottawa.
“We came for the beach. I think it’s one of the best in the Caribbean,” said Samuel Roberts of Montreal, who’s been to Holguin, as well.
“The sand,” said Alex Guevara, an attentive and articulate Cuban butler at Sanctuary, “is as fine as dust.”
Yes, it is, but there’s a downside of staying only at the resort and the beach. Other than speaking to the staff, you won’t experience much Cuban culture. Sure, you’ll get it brought right to you, poolside, as Cuban musicians and dancers work it, or at the nearby Plaza La Estrella, a fake town and commercial centre for tourists who are staying at the resorts — which, admittedly, some adore.
There is an alternative way. Sure, a tour bus isn’t hard-core “alt,” but it’s an easy road trip with payoffs for anyone armed with curiosity and a camera.
Visitors to Varadero might venture into Cuba’s capital city of Havana for a double-shot vacation, mixing their daily dose of undulating waves and laid-back shoreline with a jolt of urban energy and history. Travellers who choose Cayo Santa Maria can journey into the countryside and towns and the city of Santa Clara, which is smaller and less busy than Havana.
The modern, air-conditioned bus tours that depart for a full day from the resorts in Cayo Santa Maria follow a greatest-hits list of attractions that’s likely still developing as the region becomes more popular.
There’s the colourful, colonial town of Remedios, with its stunning church (Iglesia Mayor of San Juan Bautista) and cobblestone streets — check. On to Santa Clara, home to the intriguing Che Guevara Mausoleum and Museum and several other interesting sites related to the revolution (a Guevara-led battle in the city in 1958 was a turning point) — check.
Along the way, at an old sugar mill (Museo de la Agroindustria Azucre- ra), a friendly, stocky woman eased long stalks of sugar cane through a painted steel press, exacting sweet juice that we sipped from little plastic cups. Inside a 110-year-old cigar factory, a guy with short-cropped black hair pushed a carefully snipped circle of tobacco onto the cigar tip, eyeing it for detail while smoothing it with his fingers.
You won’t get much free time to explore on your own, but this is still a worthwhile opportunity to experience another side of Cuba beyond the beaches.
Led by a capable Cuban tour guide, our bus was near packed for the eight-hour trip.
Though there’s only so much you can absorb on a tour featuring slideshow efficiency, here is a glimpse of what I saw sliding past my bus-seat window as we rolled homeward to our resort after 5 p.m.:
Areddish rooster prancing near the side of the road, men dragging bales in green fields, a brown horse tethered to a tree with its head bowed. A grass-munching goat poking its head above a small hedge, black birds wheeling above. Palm trees, a young guy in a weathered baseball cap working a water pump outside his small grey house, a line of laundry swaying in the warm breeze with one white T-shirt flapping.
The next day, I sipped Ron Mulata de Cuba rum and dreamed about a second trip.
Though I’d like to try a deeper dive into the cities and towns, hey, I love the beach, particularly when it’s just steps from the resort.
Like many Canadians, I find there’s nothing like a warm ocean breeze to scrub my winter-weary soul, especially during an ankle-deep walk into the sunset. Mike Fisher was hosted by Memories Resorts & Spa, which didn’t review or approve this story.