Cuba Guide
Isla de la Juventud
About 100km south of the mainland, the little-visited Isla de la Juventud (Island of Youth) is the largest of over three hundred scattered emerald islets that make up the Archipiélago de los Canarreos. The comma-shaped islands is bisected by a military checkpoint designed to limit access to ecologically vulnerable areas.
The northern region comprises mostly farmland, characterized by citrus orchards and mango groves, while the restricted southern swampland is rich in wildlife. Although it has an air of timeless somnolence, the island was actually once a pirate haunt, ruled over for three centuries by French and English buccaneers and adventurers. Development here has been unhurried, and even today there are as many horse-drawn coaches on the roads as there are cars or trucks.
The island's single real town, Nueva Gerona Nueva Gerona, see p.555, has few of the architectural crowd-pullers that exist in colonial towns, and so is a refreshingly low-key and relaxing place to visit, easily explored over a weekend. For those keen to explore further, there's the museum at the abandoned Presidio Modelo Presidio Modelo, see p.564, a prison whose most famous inmate was Fidel Castro.
Highlights
1 Museo Provincial The oldest building in Nueva Gerona houses the island's heirlooms, with an emphasis on the maritime exploits that have shaped local history.
2 Museo de Presidio Modelo A walk around the huge ruined cell blocks of this "Model Prison", with its forbidding atmosphere and grim history, is unforgettable.
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