The key to the gulf

Far from our frantic pace, far from our vices and far from the frenzy of life in a big city, but close to friendliness, to the joy of smiling and to a great passion for music, and especially close to a splendid and engaging nature. That's why we chose Cuba. Precisely the Club Amigo Caracol on the splendid beach of Santa Lucia in the Camagüey region. A beautiful village, clean, with large rooms, a beautiful tropical garden and so many exceptional local people for their cheerfulness, friendliness and kindness. We did three excursions: the first, called "flamingo tour", took us to visit by sea the beautiful coral reef, a huge flock of pink flamingos and some dolphins. After sailing along an 11 km channel we were on one of the islands called "cayo ballenatos", in the locality of Nuevitas, where we admired an impressive number of iguanas, small and large. We had lunch on the same island.

On the way back we watched a boat of fishermen fishing. Before returning, our excursion man, called "Leonardo di Caprio", showed us an enormous number of starfish, which he fetched by diving from the boat. Splendid weather.

The second excursion we did was to Camagüey, the largest Cuban province, all on the plain. First an old sugar mill, today abandoned, then we went to a rum factory, Seleca "Puerto Principe". Imposing is the Plaza de la Revolución with the enormous statue of Ignacio Agramonte and with sculptures that represent the history of Cuba from Columbus to Fidel. We went to the house of the "trova" where a small Cuban ensemble played music for us that stayed with us. The city is big, but the poverty is immense. Shops such as Italy saw in the 1950s. products that in our country are no longer marketable, indeed no longer exist. But it's extraordinary how Cuban people manage to smile, despite the enormous difficulties of life. Because of the oil embargo there are no adequate means of transport and people have to beg for a lift to be able to reach their workplaces.

Third excursion to "Playa Bonita". A paradise on earth; an emerald-coloured sea, a beach like flour, white and clean, a smell of serenity that accompanied us throughout the day. We were lucky enough to spot a whale that for 10-15 minutes kept us company, circling around the catamaran. The coral reef, which at Santa Lucia is 27 km long, showed us an exciting scene, with many fish and huge corals. There were very many shells resting on the bottom as well as starfish.

One particular excursion we did was by horse-drawn carriage with Eduardo, a Cuban hombre. First he took us to Coco Beach for a swim in crystal-clear waters, at lunchtime he took us to his house where his wife Jolanda cooked us a delicious lobster with prawns, fried banana, tomatoes, cucumbers, all washed down with a very cold beer and a good coffee, made with the... moka, at a cost of 16 Cuban pesos (CUC) equivalent to 12 euros per person. The house very poor, wooden roof, small rooms, but of enormous cleanliness and dignity. Lastly I'd like to talk about the animation lads. The girls are beautiful, indeed more than that. They tell me the lads are no less. In any case they entertained us every evening with Cuban dances and music. Above all I'd mention Ariett.

I'm sure she could, without fear of contradiction, dance at La Scala in Milan and I'm sure she'd give many points to our own very capable dancers. A mention for the Caracol staff; friendliness, kindness and maximum helpfulness, each of them knew and spoke as many as 4 languages: Cuban, Italian, English and French. A muy particular greeting to Noemi Sosa, beautiful and talented. I finish by saying that we spent a splendid week from every point of view, and fortune had it that splendid weather accompanied us. A place to return to and to recommend.

Far from our frantic pace, far from our vices and far from the frenzy of life in a big town yet close to friendliness, to the delight of smiling and to a great passion for music, and in a special way close to a splendid and engaging nature. For this we chose Cuba. Precisely the Club Amigo Caracol on the splendid beach of the Santa Lucia region of Camagüey. An attractive village, clean, with large rooms, with a beautiful tropical garden and with so many exceptional local people for their warmth, friendliness and courtesy. We carried out three trips: The first, before called the "flamenco visit", took us to visit by sea the beautiful coral barrier, a great whisper of pink flamingos and some dolphins. After sailing a channel of 11 km we were on one of the islands called "cayo ballenatos", Nuevitas locality, where we admired an impressive number of iguanas, small and large.

We had lunch on the same island. On our return we benefited from the fishing carried out by Our man of the trip, called "Leonardo de Caprio", who showed us enormous numbers of starfish, which he fetched by diving from the boat. Splendid weather.

The second excursion we carried out at Camagüey, the biggest Cuban province and all on the plain. First an old sugar refinery, today abandoned, then we were at a rum factory, Seleca "Puerto Principe". Imposing is the square of the revolution with the enormous statue of Ignacio Agramonte and with sculptures that represent the history of Cuba from Columbus to Fidel. We were at the house of the "findings" where a small Cuban band lets us hear music that is stayed inside us. The town is big, but the poverty is immense. Shops that in Italy were seen in the 1950s. products that at home are no longer marketable, indeed no longer exist. But it is extraordinary how Cuban people succeed in smiling, despite the great difficulty of life. They cause that, because of the oil embargo, there are no adequate means of transport and the people must beg a lift to be able to reach their places of work.

Third trip to "Playa Bonita". A paradise on earth; an emerald-coloured sea, a beach like flour, white and clean, a smell of serenity that accompanied us for the whole day. We had the luck to see a whale that for 10-15 minutes kept us company, strolling around the catamaran. The coral barrier that at Santa Lucia is 27 km long showed us an exciting landscape, with a lot of fish and big corals. Very many was the set of shells down on the bottom as well as the starfish.

A special trip we carried out in a horse-drawn carriage with Eduardo, a Cuban hombre. He first took us to Coco Beach for a swim in crystalline waters, at lunchtime he took us to his house where his wife Jolanda cooked us a pleasant lobster with prawn, fried banana, tomatoes, cucumbers, all sprinkled with a fresh beer and a good coffee, made with.. a Moka, I cost 16 Cuban pesos euro per person. The house poor, roof in wood, very small, but of a cleanliness and enormous dignity. For last I would want to speak about the little valley of the boys' the animation. The girls are attractive, or quite a few of +. He tells me that also the boys