Baracoa travel guide

History

Christopher Columbus arrived in Baracoa on 27 November 1492. He planted a cross, now housed in the church, and described a mountain in the shape of an anvil (yunque), which was thereafter used as a point of reference for sailors. The first maps of Cuba drawn by an Englishman showed the Yunque de Baracoa mountain, copies of which can be seen in the museum. Baracoa was the first town founded by Diego Velázquez. On 15 August 1511, he bestowed the settlement with the name Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Baracoa and, for four years, it was the capital of Cuba. Between 1739 and 1742, Baracoa’s three forts were built. The oldest, El Castillo, also known as Seboruco, or Sanguily, is now the Hotel Castillo. The others were Fuerte de la Punta, now restaurant La Punta, and Fuerte Matachín, now the municipal museum. Baracoa became a refuge for French exiles after the revolution in Haiti and they brought with them coffee and cacao farming techniques, as well as their own style of architecture, which contributed greatly to the buildings we can see now; as in Guantánamo, they have much less of a Spanish colonial style than in other towns in Cuba. The French also created the first drinking-water plant. In 1852, Carlos Manuel de Céspedes spent five months in isolation in Baracoa as a punishment. The war of independence of 1895 saw many revolutionaries disembarking at Baracoa. Up until the 1960s, it was really only accessible by sea until the viaduct, La Farola, was built. This is one of the most spectacular roads in Cuba, 30 km long, joined to the mountain on one side and supported by columns on the other.

Getting around

The best way to get around Baracoa is on foot or by bicitaxi. Most of them wait around the Parque Central close to the Cathedral, outside the Manuel Fuentes Borges tobacco factory and outside the Banco de Crédito y Comercio, with fares depending on how far you want to go. Getting from the Hotel Porto Santo into town is difficult as there are no bicitaxis or taxis outside the hotel. Unless you get reception to call you a cab, walk down to the barrio at the bottom of the hill and wait around on the bridge for a bicitaxi.

Getting there

There is an airport with Cubana flights twice a week. In high season they can be notoriously difficult to book, even in Havana. It is usually easier to book a tour with an agency as they have greater access to seats, or you could fly to Moa, north of Baracoa, and hire a car to drive from there. There is no railway. It is best to travel by road from Santiago, with buses from there via Guantánamo. Víazul runs a daily bus service from Santiago. The bus station is within walking distance of the town centre. There is a road from Holguín round the coast through Moa, which is interesting if you are driving yourself and you can do a circular route via Guantánamo and Santiago back to Holguín, or vice versa.

Air

Airport 100 m from Hotel Porto Santo. There are 2 scheduled Cubana flights a week from Havana, on Thu and Sun, at 1100, 2 hrs, arrives 1300, departs again 1400 back to Havana, CUC$135. In high season there is also a Gaviota flight on Fri from Havana with a stop in Holguín, arriving in Baracoa at 1300. Cubana, José Martí 181, T21-645374, open for ticket sales Mon-Wed, Fri 0800-1200, 1400-1700.

Bus

Main bus terminal at the end of Martí near Av de los Mártires, T21-643880/641550, for buses to Havana, Santiago, Camagüey, Guantánamo. Make sure you reserve in advance at busy times and that your name is down on the list, plano, otherwise your reservation will not be valid. It has been known for travellers to get stranded in Baracoa due to high ticket demand. Víazul has a service to Santiago at 1415, arriving 1900, CUC$15, departing Santiago 0700, arriving Baracoa 1230, via Guantánamo.

Car hire

Vía Car is the only car rental office in town, at Hotel Porto Santo, T21-641665, so if you are planning to end your self-drive journey here and fly back to Havana, make sure you hire a car with this company (Gaviota). Scooters (Motos) can be hired at El Piropo on the Parque Independencia, T21-641671, 0800-1200, 1400-1700, CUC$24 for 24 hrs. There is a Servi Cupet station near the museum on Martí, closed Sun.

Playa Maguana

A battered Víazul minibus leaves Parque Independencia daily at 1000, returning 1700, CUC$2 1-way. A normal taxi charges CUC$17-20. Alternatively, hire a private car for about CUC$12-13, 1 hr on a terrible, unpaved road.

Banks

For currency exchange and credit card advances: Banco de Crédito y Comercio, Maceo 99 entre 10 de Octubre y 24 de Febrero, T21-642218, Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 0800-1500, Wed 0800-1800, Sat 0800-1100; Banco Popular de Ahorro, Martí 166 entre Ciro Frías y Céspedes, T21-642286, Mon, Wed-Fri 0800-1500, Tue 1200-1900, Sat 0800-1100; Cadeca, Martí 241 entre Reyes y L Sánchez, T21-645345.

Internet

Etecsa, Maceo, opposite Parque Independencia, T21-643182, 0900-1900. Internet service with terminals using prepaid cards, CUC$6 per hour, valid only in Baracoa.

Medical services

Hospital Octavio de la Concepción y de la Pedraja, on Carretera Guantánamo at the entrance to the town. Clínica Internacional Baracoa, Martí 237 esq Roberto Reyes, T21-641038, open 24 hrs, medical services, laboratory and clinic. Policlínica, in the small barrio next to Hotel Porto Santo, there is also a dentist here. Clínica Estomatológica, Maceo, in Barrio de la Punta, near the fort. There is a 24-hr

pharmacy

on Maceo 132, T21-642271.

Post

Maceo 136, T21-642415, open 0800-2100.

Telephone

Etecsa Centro de Llamadas, Maceo, opposite Parque Independencia. Phone boxes for domestic and international calls using prepaid phone cards.