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The King’s Gardens or Sabana - Camaguey

Further on, there is a section of the coast very similar to the one we already described in Pinar del Rio, but with its own features. In each section, even when there are common physical and ecological characteristics, there are aspects that defer because of local specificities. It is good to point out that Cuba, being a small country, has an enormous variety of coastal formations. There is a total of 5,749 km of coasts. Out of them, 3,208.9 km correspond to the North coast and 2,537 km to the South coast.

Our coasts are very irregular, with many inlets and outlets. That is why their length surpasses those of larger countries. Among them, as an example, we could mention Venezuela and France. The former is nine times bigger than Cuba, with a coast length of 3,726 km, about half of the Cuban’s. While the latter, which is five times larger than Cuba, has a coastal length of 3,120 km, that is to say, even smaller than Venezuela. Insular countries like The United Kingdom of Great Britain and the North of Ireland, which length is twice than the one of Cuba, has a coastal length of only 3,050 km, a figure smaller to that one of Cuba’ s Northern coast.

Taking the road further on from Varadero, one arrives at the tip of the Hicacos Peninsula, where there is an ecological reserve named Varahicacos, which we have mentioned before. It has suffered a reduction in its original extension, which is a pity, because it has other values.

By watching the sea towards the Northeast, you can see some keys. Between them and the coast there is an enormous extension of water. That is Cardenas Bay, one of the largest in Cuba, that occupies the whole West section of the archipelago, and which, about 50 years ago, was known in Cuban teaching books as Sabana- Camaguey, a fact that was not correct because the Spanish, the first navigators to observe it between 1513 and 1514, had already christened it as Jardines del Rey ( the King’s Gardens), in honor of Fernando VII of Castille, the husband of Isabel II of Aragon, the Spanish Catholic Monarch who made Cristopher Colombus’ trips to America possible. Nowadays both names are used: Sabana – Camaguey or Jardines del Rey .

Let us offer you interesting general information about this area, starting by the physical-geographical aspects of the archipelago. It goes from the West of the Hicacos Peninsula up to the Practicos tip, at the entrance of the Nuevitas Bay.  The whole area is made up with reefs, abundant keys and islands and the inner sea that separates them from the main island. Those keys do not form isolated groups but extend steadily for over than 400 km. You can see on maps that their extension increases eastwards.

During colonial times and before the triumph of the Revolution, they were not part of the country’s economy, they were not even explored and their fauna, flora and landscape values were not known. From the 80’s on, studies of the place were made for tourist exploitation; today it is one of the regions more related to this market.

According to Dr. Manuel Acevedo, this archipelago is divided into three different types of landscapes: the reef, the archipelago itself and the insular platform between the already mentioned archipelago and the main island, Cuba. We will describe each of them briefly.

The reef covers an extension of almost 500 km, the second in the world after the Great Australian Reef. Narrow channels allow the way into the inner seas, the reason why it is dangerous to go through the reefs without an expert’s supervision. The lighthouses, some of them built since the colonial times, make navigation through them easier.

The archipelago itself has more than 400 keys and islands. They form sub-groups, some of them align in latitudinal sense and some others next to the coast. Traditionally, they have been divided into two groups: the Sabana to the West and the Camaguey to the East.

Those of the Sabana group are small and mostly covered by mangrove. Narrow channels separate them and during low tides, some of them almost come together. Many do not have names. Towards the West there are the largest and most important keys of this group, such as the Fragoso key ( the biggest). Some of them have beaches, particularly in the North, all of which will be described in detail in further articles

The Camaguey group is located to the West and includes the largest islands after the main one, Cuba, and the Island of Youth: Cayo Romano ( the Roman Key ) the third largest island in the country with 926 km, Cayo Coco (Coconut Key, 370 km ); the forth one, Besides those of Guajaba and Sabinal, this last one separated from Cuba by a narrow and swampy isthmus. Turiguano, which appears as an island in numerous maps, is actually part of the main island because it is separated only by a swampy area towards the East and The Channel to the West.

The Insular Platform is located between the keys and the main island. It is part of the Cuban territory that stayed underwater after the last glaciation more than 10 million years ago. It makes up several formations known as bays, recorded on the maps, among others: the Santa Clara, the Buenavista, Los Perros, Jigue and La Gloria.

In next articles we will discuss the different choices of tourist visits and general information. We will refer to the protection given to nature through the implementation of different measures which include National Parks and other legal forms of protection. This is not an obstacle to visit these spots but strictly supervised and supported by Handling Projects and Operations, which make possible a sustainable use of the areas including the public use with the objective of preserving the existing high natural values.

Traveling by car in the archipelagos is something different from driving to the rest of the country, because they are separated from the main island by the sea. That is why it is necessary to build roads that cross the sea. In Cuba this kind of roads are known as “ pedraplenes” ( stone roads ). They cross not very deep inner bays until they get to the mentioned islands, using piles or filling or a bridge system that allows the sea local circulation and the normal development of the flora and fauna.

A very interesting area of which you will receive information in next articles.

About the Author

Martin Luis López is a Cuba hotels specialist working with Umbrella Travel.

King Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon?

Okay, I have two questions. First, why didn't Henry just execute his first wife Catherine instead of going through the whole breaking with the Catholic Church?

Second, if Catherine was a Spanish princess, why didn't she return to Spain after the divorce?

Catherine of Aragon (unlike any of his other brides) was Royalty to begin with. She was also a very popular Queen and most loved by the people. If Henry executed Catherine he would surely have a war with Spain on his hands, as well as losing popularity with his people.

Catherine was the most devoted of his wives, also the longest raining Queen at his side. She did not return to Spain after the divorce because she wanted to be close to her daughter Princess Mary, also she did not want to leave her people in England. She was very popular as I've stated and she could not bare to leave the people who loved her in England. She also loved the King till the day she died and did not wish to leave him. She had allies also in England and did not wish war between Spain and England.

James I 'The Conqueror', King of Aragon

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