Main Attractions near Villa Cabo de San Antonio
Lighthouse Roncali
The Roncali Lighthouse is located at 21° 52' 02.36"N 84° 57' 04.57"W, in the westernmost region of the Cuban archipelago. In 1585, mastheads were placed here to communicate the course of ships in the area.
According to a legend, sailors that used this marine path were guided by a gigantic tree that existed in the area. In stormy days and dark nights there was not any point of reference, so accidents in the most western passage of Cuba were a real nightmare. In 1849, it was built the Roncali Lighthouse with twenty-three meters of height, the top of the lighthouse reaches thirty one meters above the sea level.
On the tower door there is an inscription that reads: "1849, reigning Elizabeth II. The 5th Joint of Fomento, presided over by the General Liutenat of the island, Federico Roncali, the work was instructed by the body of Engineers of the Army".
The material used for the construction of the lighthouse was the calcareous rock of the headland, there are still vestiges of the hole where the quarry was, from which the calcareous blocks were carefully cut and extracted.
The Roncali Lighthouse has a circular glass plant. Beneath the access point of the lighthouse reflector, the tower has a round balcony, a magnificent lookout of the western region of Guanahacabibes; from here, it is perfectly appreciated the two emerged bars with an impassable marsh, in one of them is located La Sorda cave. Paulino's cave is located in the other bar.
Cave La Sorda
La Sorda cave is located at a kilometer away of the Roncali Lighthouse in the north-western direction. It is labyrinthine like, not for the extension of the galleries but for the overlapping levels, this is an old niche of tide created by the sea abrasion, there are three uneven levels that collapsed toward the center, creating a sinking point in the cavern´s floor.
La Sorda cave has turned into a mythological place, full of legends and stories. According to the tradition, two young girls inhabited the cavern: one was transformed into a snake, and the other one into a cayman. They were haunted by their father to keep a treasure in the cave´s galleries. It is said that the person able to disenchant them will find a fabulous tresure of golden coins.
Numerous fragments of Strombus gigas and lithic devices belonging to mesolithic cultures have appeared in the cavities of the cave. After hurricane Ivan it was sighted an endemic frog that inhabits the place, the Eleutherodactylus guanahacabibes of 20 mm long.
Beach Las Tumbas
Las Tumbas beach is located in the border of the coast plain, in the northwest section of Cabo de San Antonio. It is classified as a beach of complete profile, where it is easy to spot the coast dunes, the slopes of the high beach with a berm continued by the marine-terrestrial bank that extends among the levels that reach the tides and the beach coast. It borders the north section of Punta Cajon, where beautiful white sand banks are developed in a two kilometers arch in the coastline.
The vegetation curtain of the dune is an area of bushes of grape creek (Coccoloba ubifera, Jacq.) and other well conserved species; the sea floor is of white sand and the veril border is located two kilometers away, with a longitude of 4,5 km and a width of 400 m. It is to 3.5 km of the Roncali Lighthouse toward the north. This is the finest beach in Cabo de San Antonio.
Morros de Piedra
Las Tumbas beach is two kilometers long from west to east that allows to cross La Caridad marsh. It is constituted by calcareous rocks of the geologic formation of Cayo Stone which make up sharp cliffs that borders the swamp next to the coastal heath.
On this marine bar is situated the Marina Cabo de San Antonio, belonging to Gaviota S.A.. This corporation has a whole infrastructure to supply the ships in traffic and to provide entertaining activities in the Marina Cabo de San Antonio where Las Tumbas beach is situated. Here is usual the fishing of the macabi, diving in sunken ships and snorkeling in coral reefs, as well as the recreational sailing.
Amid Morros de Piedra and Las Tumbas beach there is an interesting crossing of migratory birds species. From here you can visit very interesting fauna refuges such as Cayos de la Leña.
Cayos de la Leña
Located at 21° 55' 34.74"N 84° 50' 38.03"W. In some occasions, nests of fishing eagles (Pandion haliaetus ridwayi), a rapacious strange bird have been spotted.
In 1513, Panfilo Narvaez wrote to Diego Velazquez confirming him the end of the Conquest. He was beached on his ship in these cayoss, although he does not mention the exact place, it is pointed out to have beached "near some firewood cayos”, that is to say, it was not mainland. As we know today, those cayos are known as Cayos of Firewood (Cayos de la Leña), yet it is assumed that the name could have been officialized later on by the Corsicans and Pirates, which were supplied of firewood in that place.
