Nov 20, 2001 10:11 AM
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(Updated Nov 20, 2001 10:11 AM)
Santa Lucia was supposed to have been one the largest vacation resort areas in all of Cuba, rivaling even Varadero. There were plans to put over 7,000 hotel rooms in the area to take advantage of this remote but beautiful peninsula on Cuba's north coast.
Economic necessity shelved these plans and at present less than 700 rooms in five hotels grace the area. Despite this all the necessary infra structure to support a much larger tourist population is in place. This makes Santa Lucia a great destination with all the amenities and with out the crowds.
Naturally the main attraction of Santa Lucia is the beach. The beach is the third longest in Cuba. It is pure white sand and stretches along the entire northern side of the peninsula. From the town of Santa Lucia at the base of the peninsula over twenty kilometers to the fishing village of La Boca at the tip. this ensures that there is plenty of space for everyone to ''get away from it all.''
Playa Santa Lucia is a water lovers dream come true. Just about everything is available here, from deep sea fishing, through wind surfing and sailing, to snorkeling and scuba diving on the reef off shore. Most of the hotels have aquatic centres and/or dive shops for their guests to avail themselves of.
Just west of the ''hotel zone'' is a rather ugly Government housing complex. Most of the people who live here are employed either in the resorts or the nearby small salt works. The buildings are of a standard East European design seen all over Cuba.
Hastily and poorly built, they are rundown and overcrowded. But as the sogans painted on the sides of the buildings demonstrates, the Revolution for some is still alive here more than forty years after the fact. Ironically these buildings are also the main source for Jinteras and other black market activities including cigars who make their living off of the nearby tourists.
Santa Lucia lies on Cuba's north coast in the province of Camaguey. It is about an hour's drive from the capital of that province the city of Camaguay where the nearest international airport is located.
