CHAPTER XXX

A PARADISE OF PALM DRIVES

To those who are fond of motoring in the tropics, the world offers no more delightful field than the Island of Cuba from the end of October until early May, with Havana as a point of departure. Some fourteen hundred kilometers or 850 miles of clean, cream colored macadamized drives stretch out to the east, south and west of Havana, each inviting the tourist or lover of nature to feast his eyes on a fascinating panorama of mountain, hill and dale; of canon, cliff and undulating plain.

Long lines of stately royal palms, of white-trunked Cuban laurel, from whose branches the glossy green leaves never fall, of cocoas, mangoes, almonds, tamarinds, and a score of others, border mile after mile of the national highways, furnishing grateful shade and softened light that otherwise would try the eyes. Every turn and curve of the driveway brings change. There is no sameness of landscape, no monotony of level. Each mile, each moment, presents something new. Expectation is seldom disappointed.

Nothing perhaps is more startlingly novel or strikingly beautiful than when, in early summer, the touring car, rounding a curve, suddenly brings to view a line of flamboyans in full bloom. Lips open in surprise, eyes fasten on what seems a forest of fire. The great banks of brilliant red and golden yellow waving in the breeze need only smoke to proclaim the roadside all ablaze. The camouflage of Nature is perfect and strangers of the tropics will bid the chauffeur pause until they can feast their eyes on this riot of color.

The most interesting excursions through Cuba radiate from the Capital. One of exceptional charm stretches east through Matanzas to Cardenas, a comparatively modern, well built little city of some thirty thousand souls, resting on the southern shore of Cardenas Bay, just a hundred miles from Havana.

One of the old colonial, solidly-built military roads leaving Havana was constructed along a comparatively straight line for 48 kilometers to the little city of Guines, located in the southeastern center of the province of Havana. The road, bridges, and culverts are built solidly of stone, while giant laurels, almonds and flamboyans on both sides of the way furnish a continuous stretch of shade beneath which the voyager travels from one end of the road to the other. This drive is over a rolling, and in places a decidedly hilly country, which relieves monotony and at the same time adds greatly to the picturesqueness of the highway. Many little villages such as San Francisco, Cotorro, Cautro Caminos, Jamaica, San Jose, Ganuza and Loma de Candela or “Hill of the Candle,” are passed between Havana and Guines. These, to the stranger are always a source of novelty and interest. From the top of the Loma de Candela, a beautiful view of the valley below spreads out towards the south. This is known as the Valley of Guines, a large part of which has the good fortune to have been brought under a rather crude but nevertheless efficient system of irrigation many years ago. The water for this irrigation comes from a large spring that, like many others in the Island, bursts from some big cavern below the surface and forms a river that eventually reaches the sea a little east of the village of Batabano, on the south coast. Some three miles from Guines the river is brought under control by a rather crude dam of cement through which it is distributed by ditches over the lands, referred to usually as the “Vegetable Garden of the Province of Havana.” Here large quantities of tomatoes, egg plants, peppers, squash and Irish potatoes are grown during the late fall and winter months. The produce of this section is shipped to the United States as long as market prices justify, after which ready sale is found in the local markets of the capital.

From Guines another drive extends some 13 kilometers towards the northeast to the town of La Catalina on the way to Matanzas. The distance from Havana to Matanzas is shortened by a connecting link 16 kilometers in length which branches off the Guines highway at Ganuza, and runs due east through La Catalina to the town of Madruga, 63 kilometers from Havana. This section of the road follows a ridge of low hills or mountains. From Madruga the drive turns sharply to the northeast, entering the Province of Matanzas, 25 kilometers east of the border line.

The drive from Havana to Matanzas is 100 kilometers or 60 miles in length, and passes through a section of country every mile of which brings to view charming bits of tropical scenery, together with an opportunity to see something of the life of the inhabitants in the interior of the Island. If one has time to stop, or cares to leave the main highway at Ceiba and cross the ridge of hills about a mile distant, a beautiful little valley lies below, on the other side of the divide. The drive from Havana to Matanzas is usually made in about three hours, and, aside from the attractions furnished by the city and its suburbs spread out along the western side of the harbor, will furnish a very pleasant diversion for an early morning or late afternoon excursion.

Another of the old Spanish colonial military roads, leaving Havana through the suburb of Marianao, sweeps away towards the southwest in a comparatively straight line until it reaches the city of Guanajay, 42 kilometers distant. Here the road divides, one branch running due south to the little city of Artemisa, located in the center of the pineapple district, which furnishes a large part of the fruit shipped to the United States. From Havana to Artemisa, 58 kilometers, Cuban laurels, royal palms and flamboyans furnish a continuous and often dense shade throughout its entire length. In some places, for miles, the road resembles a long green tunnel passing through foliage that arches up from the sides and meets in the center above. From Las Mangas, 7 kilometers south of Artemisa, the road swings sharply to the westward and so continues through a more open country with less shade and less traffic. There is no speed limit on the country roads of Cuba, and if the condition of the drive permits, one can skip along at a 40 or 50 mile clip between villages, with little danger of interference. This westerly drive swings on through Candelaria, 82 kilometers from Havana, where one gets the first glimpse of the long picturesque range of the Organ Mountains some five miles away to the north. These parallel the road to the western terminus of the Island.

From the village of Candelaria a short drive not over five miles in length reaches up to the base of the Ruby hills, which at this point form a perpendicular cliff several hundred feet in height, over which falls a stream of water whose volume during the winter is comparatively small, but the drop is perpendicular and the roar of the torrent during the rainy season can be easily heard at Candelaria. Just above the falls are a group of mineral springs, iron, sulphur, etc., that were once very popular, and during slavery days, which terminated in 1878, many families passed the warm months at these baths, the ruins of which can still be seen. About four kilometers of this road to the falls is macadamized and the remainder can be negotiated readily by an ordinary carriage. A connecting link some 20 kilometers in length has been proposed to connect Candelaria with San Diego de Nunez and Bahia Honda on the north coast, but the cost of the road through the mountains may prevent its completion for some time.

San Cristobal, 10 kilometers further west, and 92 kilometers from Habana, was the terminus of one of the old military roads at the beginning of the Cuban Republic. Since this time a beautiful automobile drive has been continued out to Guane, 246 kilometers from Havana, and will soon reach La Fe and Los Arroyos, two points on the extreme western coast about 30 kilometers further on.

Nine kilometers west of San Cristobal a connecting link with the main highway has been built to the town of Taco-Taco, about a mile and a quarter distant on the railroad, with another branch 7 kilometers in length running due north to the foot of the mountains. This road will be built straight across the Organ Range, through Rangel and Aguacate, to Bahia Honda on the north coast, passing the old time “cafetales” or coffee plantations of Pinar del Rio, and also through some of the rich mineral zones of that region. The uncompleted link is only about 20 kilometers but is over a rather difficult mountainous country.

At the 117th kilometer post a highway of six kilometers connects with the town of Palacios on the Western Railway, while at the 123rd, still another branches south to Paso Real with a northern extension that reaches San Diego de los Banos, 9 kilometers distant. This road too, will eventually cross the mountain range and connect with Consolacion del Norte, whence the road has already been completed to Rio Blanco on the north coast, 9 kilometers away.

The drive from the main line to San Diego de los Banos is through an extremely picturesque country of hill and dale, and the village itself is well worthy of a visit. Like the Candelaria Springs, the San Diego Baths have long been famous, and the latter still continue to be so. The springs of hot and cold water impregnated with sulphur, iron and other minerals are said to have valuable medicinal qualities.

From the cross roads at the 123rd kilometer the main trunk-line passes through a series of low hills, but with grades so reduced that motors have no difficulty in negotiating them. From the town of Consolacion, 151 kilometers from Havana, one enters the eastern border of the celebrated Vuelta Abaja tobacco district that lies spread out on either side of the driveway. On either side are low hills with gentle slopes and little oases or “vegas” of land that are not only rich, but contain that mysteriously potent quality which from time immemorial has produced the finest tobacco in the world.

Pinar del Rio, the capital of the province, is located at the 172nd kilometer and forms a center from which five different automobile drives radiate. The western line, which may be considered as an extension of the main highway, will eventually connect San Antonio, the western terminus of the Island, with Cape Maisi in the east, 800 miles away. This road to the northwest soon enters the mountains, through which it passes many rises, falls and unexpected turns, bringing into view a picturesque country, rugged but not forbidding. At kilometer 200, a point known as Cabezas or “the Head,” the drive turns at a right angle and sweeps down towards the plain below, terminating at Guane, 246 kilometers from Havana, on the western edge of the celebrated Vuelta Abajo. A shorter line between Pinar del Rio and Guanes, passing through San Juan y Martinez, is under process of construction. The latter city is located in the western center of the Vuelta Abajo district.

From this city, a modern little place of some 12,000 or 15,000 inhabitants, another branch of the trunk line, 25 kilometers in length, passes through a level country until it reaches La Paloma, a landing place for coasting vessels and light draft steamers of the Caribbean Sea.

From the capital of the Province due north a line 52 kilometers in length has been built straight across to La Esperanza on the north coast, a little fishing village located on the bay formed by the outlying islands some six miles from the mainland. The road ascends by comparatively easy grades to a height of some 1800 feet, where the top of the ascent is reached. Here the line takes a sharp curve to the east, bringing suddenly into view, as Rex Beach exclaimed: “The most picturesquely, dramatically beautiful valley in the world!” This strangely hidden mountain recess or park is known as the Valley of Vinales, and forms part of a strange basin, that has been carved out of the heart of the Organ range by erosion, leaving a quiet grass covered, flat bottomed basin 2,000 feet below the top of the ridge from whose level surface strange, round topped limestone hills are lifted perpendicularly to an altitude of 2000 feet. A small stream courses through the rich grass that carpets the floor, and one lone picturesque little village, with houses of stone and roofs of tile, nestles in its center. The inhabitants of the place seem absolutely content with its quiet charm and seldom see anything of the outside world, except as represented by the occasional tourist, who sweeps through with his car, stopping for a moment perhaps for some simple refreshment, and then on, through the narrow gap between the towering “magotes” that form the northern wall of the valley. Here the road suddenly swings to the west, following the foot of the mountain which towers above for a few kilometers, whence it again turns north, and passes out into the comparatively barren pine covered hills that continue on through San Cayetano until the gulf coast is reached at La Esperanza.

In returning after a rather primitive fish breakfast which can be had at La Esperanza, it is worth one’s while to pause for a moment in front of the little country school, on the west side of the road, just before the Valley is entered from the north, and there to secure a child guide, whom the courteous professor will indicate, and with the services of this little pilot you may find the reappearing river, a stream that slips under the base of the mountain within the valley, and reappears from a picturesque, cave-like opening on the other side. The stream is only a few yards in width, with the water clear as crystal and very pleasant to drink.

Standing on the rocks in the shade of the cliffs above, one can hear the roar of the water some place back in the depths of the range, where it evidently falls to a lower level. A visit to this spot gives one an opportunity to note and observe at close hand the peculiar formations of the rocks, full of pockets and openings, from every one of which protrudes some strange growth of tropical vegetation. To explore the Valley of Vinales and its various turns, narrowing up between steep walls in some places, opening out into beautiful parks at others, would require a week at least, but would afford a rare diversion never to be regretted.

The little city of Guanajay, at which the long western automobile drive divides, is located on an elevated plateau, some thousand feet above the level of the sea. From the little central plaza of the town a beautiful road leaves in a northerly direction, passing through cane fields and grazing lands for some five or six kilometers, until it reaches the crest from which the road descends to the harbor of Mariel. It is worth while to pause at this point and note the beautiful panorama of hills on all sides and the tall peaks of the Organ range of Pinar del Rio to the westward. From this point down, for two kilometers, the descent is rather steep, winding, and picturesque.

Thirteen kilometers from Guanajay the little fishing village of Mariel is found at the head of one of the deep protected harbors of the north coast. The view from the head of the bay is very interesting, with high flat promontories on the east, perched on the crest of one of which is the Naval Academy of the Republic, the Annapolis of Cuba. A little further on may be seen a large cement plant erected in 1917, beyond which, on the point, is the quaint old light-house that has done duty for many years. The western shore line is broken into tongue-like projections, with deep recesses between, all covered with fields of waving sugar cane.

On the extreme western point, at the entrance of the harbor, is located the Quarantine Station where passengers and crews from foreign vessels in which some infectious disease has appeared are cared for in cleanly commodious quarters until the sanitary restriction is removed. The National Quarantine Station has been chosen by President Menocal as a favorite anchorage for his private yacht during the warm months of summer. Fishing in this bay, too, attracts many tourists.

Near kilometer 10, on the Mariel Drive, the road divides, the western branch sweeping away at right angles through rich cane fields as far as the eye can see and gradually ascending towards the little village of Quiebra Hacha, near which are several magnificent sugar estates whose mills grind day and night through six or eight months every year. At the 18th kilometer, the road turns due west and follows the crest of a range of low hills which sweep along the southern shore of the harbor of Cabanas.

The view of this bay from the drive is one of the finest in Cuba. Every turn of the road shows some part of the bright blue waters, dotted with palm crested islets a thousand feet below. The entrance of the harbor, with a small island just inside the mouth, its quaint old 17th century fortress recalling the days of the pirates and buccaneers of the Spanish Main, can be seen in the distance.

For eight or ten miles the drive follows the general trend of the shoreline, leaving it finally with a graceful turn and many changes of level, as hill after hill is either climbed or circled. The driveway sweeps on westward through a country devoted to cane growing and stock raising, until another beautiful deep water harbor known as Bahia Honda is sighted off to the northwest Eventually the drive passes through and terminates abruptly about a kilometer and a half beyond the little village of Bahia Honda or Deep Bay, that was built over two kilometers back from the head of the harbor over a century ago, when the inhabitants still feared the incursion of enemies from the sea. The town lies just at the foot of forest covered hills that come gradually down from the Organ Range some six miles back. The town itself, aside from a certain quaintness, common to all interior cities of Cuba, has but little interest. A short driveway leads to the head of the bay and the inshore lighthouse.

The harbor is some five or six miles in length by three or four in width, and furnishes splendid anchorage even for deep draft vessels. This bay was originally chosen as the north shore coaling station for the United States Government in Cuba, but afterwards was abandoned as unnecessary. Two range lights render entrance at night easy, while just west of the mouth on the long line of barrier reefs known as the Colorados, stands the new Gobernadora lighthouse, erected a few years ago for the benefit of ships plying between Havana and Mexico.

The drive from Havana to Bahia Honda, with the little digression towards Mariel, is sixty miles in length. The rather heavy grades in places, and the beauty of the scenery throughout its entire length, discourage fast motoring, but the jaunt can easily be made between “desayuno” at seven and the Cuban “almuerzo” or breakfast at eleven. No trip of equal length in the Republic furnishes greater charm to the lover of picturesque Nature than does this north shore drive to Bahia Honda. When connected as planned, with Vinales, some 50 kilometers further west, it will rank with, if not excel, any other drive known in the tropical world.

From Matanzas several short lines radiate, all of which are interesting, especially those which wander through the valley of the Yumuri, and another seven kilometers in length which follows the shore line and sweeps up over the ridge, affording a beautiful view of the Yumuri, stretching out to the westward. Another short line, only a few kilometers in length, has been built to the caves of Bellamar, a favorite resort for winter tourists.

Another drive reaching south to La Cidra, 16 miles distant, on the railroad to Sabanilla, enables one to form some conception of the country to the southward of the capital. Only a few kilometers from Matanzas one of the main trunk lines has been completed as far east as Contreras, 60 kilometers. From this line, just beyond Ponce, a branch runs 8-1/2 kilometers to the charming little city of Cardenas, resting on the southern edge of the bay.

Extending from Cardenas due west is another line, terminating at the little town of Camarioca, 18 kilometers distant. Some five kilometers along this road a branch sweeps north 10 kilometers to the Playa of Varadero, the finest beach in the Island of Cuba, where many of the wealthier families assemble for the summer to enjoy surf bathing on the outer shore, and where the annual regatta is held during the season.

From Contreras the northern trunk line has been projected eastward, through Corralillo, across the border into the Province of Santa Clara. Short stretches of this line have been completed from the towns of Marti and Itabo, but up to January 1, 1919, no trunk line extended further west than Cardenas.

Cienfuegos, one of the principal seaports of the south coast of Santa Clara, is the center from which two automobile drives radiate. One runs 26 kilometers to the westward, terminating at Rodas and passing through a number of rich sugar estates. The other runs northeast, through Caunao, Las Guaos, Cumaneyagua, and Barajagua, terminating at Manicaragua, 38 kilometers distant. It penetrates the valley of the Arimao where a good quality of tobacco, known as the Manicaragua, is grown. The scenery is delightfully picturesque and interesting. Manicaragua is on the western edge of one of Santa Clara’s most important mining districts.

From Casilda, another seaport on the south coast, a short line has been built to the quaint, old-time city of Trinidad, perched on the side of a mountain and founded by the companions of Christopher Columbus in 1514. This road has been extended further north ten kilometers and will eventually reach the important railroad junction and road center of Placetas, on the Cuba Company’s line, connecting the western with the eastern end of the Island.

From Santa Clara, the capital of the Province, several short lines radiate in different directions. The longest sweeps through a rich cane and cattle country, connecting the villages of La Cruz, Camajuani, Taguaybon and Remedios, and terminating at Caibarien, the principal seaport on the northeast coast of the Province. None of the trunk lines proposed, up to January, 1919, had crossed the line into Camaguey.

Camaguey, owing perhaps to the fact that the province is less thickly settled than any other in Cuba, has but few auto drives; the only ones worthy of mention radiating from the capital, Camaguey. One runs west some 10 kilometers, parallel with the Cuba Company’s railroad lines, while the other extends east 34 kilometers passing through the charming agricultural experimental station of Camaguey. This splendid provincial institution, under the direction of Mr. Roberto Luaces, is located five miles from the city. Since the greater part of the province is comparatively level, road building in Camaguey is not expensive and will probably be rapidly extended in the near future.

Oriente, owing to its mountainous character, presents more serious engineering and financial problems than any other of the Island. The wealth of its natural resources, however, especially in cane lands and mineral deposits, will undoubtedly furnish an impetus for further building.

At present several short lines radiate from Santiago de Cuba, its capital, located on the beautiful harbor of that name. One of these runs due north to Dos Caminos, and then west to Palma Soriana, passing through San Luis. The length of this line is approximately 40 kilometers. Still another, fifteen kilometers long, reaches Alto Songo, northeast of Santiago, passing through Boniato, Dos Bocas, and El Cristo.

During General Wood’s administration of Santiago Province surveys were made at his instigation and roads were completed to nearly all those points of historical interest where engagements took place between Americans and Spanish troops in the summer of 1898. One of these lines, six kilometers in length, carries the visitor to the village of El Caney, where the brave Spanish General Vara del Rey lost his life in its defense. The fortifications were shelled and captured by General William A. Ludlow of the U. S. Engineering Corps.

Another, reaching out towards the northeast some five kilometers, terminates at the top of San Juan hill, where Theodore Roosevelt got his first experience of mauser rifle fire. On the crest of this loma a little pagoda has been erected, from the second story of which splendid views of the surrounding country may be enjoyed and of all places where engagements occurred. Brass tablets form the window sills of this picturesque outlook, each one carrying an arrow stamped in the brass, indicating the various points of interest, followed by a brief description of the places, with dates of battles, etc. On the same road may be seen the famous ceiba tree under which the armistice was signed terminating the war between Spain and the United States.

Another short line ascends to the crest of a hill in the Sierra Maestra from which may be enjoyed a charming view of the Bay, city and surrounding country for many miles. The longest automobile drive in Oriente extends from the harbor of Manzanillo on the west coast almost due east to the village of Juguani, 58 kilometers away, passing through Yara, Veguitas and Bayamo. This line is being rapidly extended to Baire, and thence on to Palma Soriana, thus completing the connection between Manzanillo and Santiago de Cuba.

A short line from Baracoa on the extreme northeastern coast of the Island, has been built in a southerly direction to Sabanilla, 12 kilometers. Local machines can be found at all of these points that will carry the tourist the length of the line, enabling him to form some conception of a section that otherwise could be penetrated only by mountain ponies or on mule back.