The History of Cuba, vol. 5

by Willis Fletcher Johnson

On the small island that almost obscures the mouth of the harbor from the sea, a little old Spanish fort, with its obsolete guns, up to the present unmolested, bears mute evidence to those times when visits of pirates, with the equally troublesome corsairs of France and England, were common, and provision for defense was absolutely necessary. The village of Cabanas, in order to secure better protection from the danger mentioned, is located two or three miles back from the eastern end of the harbor.

Great fields of sugar cane surround the Bay on all sides. These, of course, have been greatly extended since the European War and the increased demand for sugar. A beautiful automobile drive that branches from the main line or Pinar del Rio road, at Guanajay, passes along the crest of the ridge of hills back of the Bay of Cabanas, for over ten miles, giving at almost every turn a new view to this beautiful sheet of water. Once known to the outside world, this magnificent Bay of Cabanas would soon become a popular resort for private yachts that spend the winter season in tropical waters.

Fifteen miles further west, this same winding, hill-climbing, macadamized Government driveway, reaches another splendid harbor known as Bahia Honda, or Deep Bay. Like most of the bays of Cuba, the entrance to this, although comparatively narrow, is deep, and with two range lights maintained for the purposes of easy access day and night. This harbor extends back from the Gulf of Mexico some seven or eight miles, with an average width of three or four, furnishing good anchorage for ships of any draught.

Bahia Honda was selected by the United States Government in 1902, as a coaling station, a large body of land on the western shore being reserved for that purpose. Owing, however, to the completion of the Panama Canal later, and to the consequent advantages of having a naval station closer to the line of maritime travel, between Panama and the Atlantic Coast, Bahia Honda was surrendered to the Government of Cuba and Guantanamo became the principal United States Naval Station for the West Indies.

The harbor of Bahia Honda, dotted with islands, and with comparatively high lands extending all along its western and southern shores, offers the same advantages, not alone for an extensive commerce, but as a rendezvous for foreign yachts and pleasure craft, during the closed season or winter months of the north. The little village bearing the same name, two miles back from the Bay, is reached by a branch from the main driveway connecting Bahia Honda with Havana and intermediate cities.

The Bay of La Esperanza, one hundred miles west of Havana, is inclosed by the long chain of islands and coral reefs known as the “Colorados,” that lie some eight or ten miles off the mainland, and protect three-fourths of the shore of Pinar del Rio from the heavy waves of the Gulf of Mexico. The entrance to this and adjacent bays is through narrow breaks in the barrier reef. Its waters have an average depth of only two or three fathoms; nevertheless considerable amounts of copper ore are shipped from the mines some fifteen miles back in the mountains during all seasons of the year.

Along the western shore of the main body of this Province, we have the harbors of Dimas and Mantua. Like the Esperanza, they are comparatively shallow bays, entered through breaks in the Colorado Reefs, but still available for moderate draft vessels in all seasons of the year.

In the angle of the ankle, formed by the shoe-like extension of the Province of Pinar del Rio, we have a beautiful wide indentation of the coast known as Guardiana Bay. On the shores, some ten years ago, was located a Canadian colony, but, owing to its isolation, and lack of transportation of all kinds, it has since been practically abandoned. This settlement, like the Isle of Pines, had little to recommend it except its beautiful climate and its perfect immunity from the cares and troubles of the outside world.

Aside from wide, deep indentations from the sea, and shallow landing places at the mouths of rivers, the south coast of Pinar del Rio has nothing to offer in the shape of harbors. Nevertheless, owing to the presence of long lines of outlying keys, and to the fact that northerly winds produce only smooth water off these shores, there is considerable local traffic carried on between various places on the south coast and Batabano, whence connection with Havana is secured by rail. A large part of the charcoal used in the capital is cut from the low lying forests that cover almost the entire length of Pinar del Rio’s south coast.

Across the ankle-like connection between the mainland and the peninsula forming the western extremity of the Island a depression runs from Guardiana Bay on the west to the Bay of Cortez on the east. Numerous fresh water lagoons or inland lakes lie so close that a small amount of dredging would cut a canal from one shore to the other, and save thus over a hundred miles of travel for local coasting vessels. At the present time these lakes, with their rich growth of aquatic plants, furnish a retreat during the winter season for many varieties of wild ducks, which the game laws of Cuba are endeavoring to protect. Wild deer are also very plentiful throughout the greater part of the Province, especially in the mountainous districts and in the jungles of the south coast.