MATANZAS CITY

SUNIL DELFINARIO
Cayo Piedra Underwater ParkThis park to the northeast features several shipwrecks where schools of colourful, tropical fish and crustaceans gather.Varadero Golf ClubIs a magnificent 18-hole championship course on the peninsula, marked by an intricate system of lagoons in the British “links” tradition.Centre Plaza AméricaThis well appointed international convention centre incorporates shopping malls, restaurants and amusement centres.Josone's oasisNear the beach has typical tropical vegetation in its gardens and groves, as well as lagoons. Several old mansions have been converted into restaurants.Ambrosio Cavean archeological site first used as a ceremonial spot by the area's primitive inhabitants and later by runaway slaves, has well preserved pictographs.Punta FrancesA 600-year-old-cactus as tall as a tree grows at the end of the Hicacos peninsula, near a natural salt pit where leathers and meats were prepared over the centuries.CárdenasIs noted for three unusual monuments: replicas of a bicycle, a horse-drawn carriage and a crab cast in concrete that represents the abundant crustaceans in the area.Matanzas CityCanímar woods on the outskirts of Matanzas are best seen from the river. At the mouth of the river is a small colonial castle (El Morrillo) where a the bodies of two revolutionaries rest in a mausoleum. The castle also has an archaeological museum with ecological displays.Vigía Square, site of the original town, has the Junco Palace Historical Museum, the 19th century Sauto Theatre and an exhibition of ancient fire-fighting equipment in the former military headquarters.Le Triolet French pharmacy, built in 1882, is still stocked with ancient drugs, utensils and porcelain medicine flasks, all preserved under glass on the store’s original shelves of hand-finished Cuban wood.Bellamar Cave, on the outskirts of Matanzas, is one of the Caribbean’s largest and most beautiful underground formations. Two kilometres of underground passages are covered in peculiar stalagmites, stalactites and calcite