Cayo Coco

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Cayo Coco
Resort island and village
White sand beach in Cayo Coco
White sand beach in Cayo Coco
Cayo Coco is located in Cuba
Cayo Coco
Location of Cayo Coco in Cuba
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country  Cuba
Province Ciego de Ávila
Municipality Morón
Elevation 4 m (13 ft)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
Area code(s) +53-43

Cayo Coco (Coco Key) is an island in central Cuba, known for its all inclusive resorts. It lies within the Ciego de Ávila Province and is part of a chain of islands called Jardines del Rey ("King's Gardens"). The cay is administered by the Morón municipality. It has a surface area of 370 km2[1] and is named after the white ibis, locally called coco (coconut) birds.[2] The island is known for its long beaches and many resort hotels.

History

Used as a hideout by buccaneers in the early colonial period, the island was home to a small settlement of fishermen and charcoal producers until 1955 when the freshwater supply was exhausted and the market for charcoal ended with the spread of electrification after the Cuban Revolution. A causeway connecting the island to the Cuban mainland was built in 1988, beginning the era of resort construction. The first resort, Guitart Cayo Coco (now the Hotel Colonial Cayo Coco), opened in 1993.[3] The Cuban exile group Alpha 66 attacked the resort with machine guns in 1994 and 1995, but there were no injuries.[4]

Cayo Coco and the neighboring Cayo Guillermo provided settings for Ernest Hemingway's Islands In The Stream[5] and The Old Man and the Sea.[citation needed]

Tourism

The causeway linking Cayo Coco to the mainland is 27 km (17 mi) long and runs across Perros Bay (Bahia de Perros). It was built in 16 months and 3 million cubic meters of stone were needed to build it. The construction caused concern among environmentalists as the causeway disturbed the tidal flow and thus the life-cycle of waterlife. Despite fears, wild flamingos still live in the shallow waters and can often be seen from the causeway although not as often as before the construction. A number of gaps were subsequently created in the causeway to restore water flow. Cayo Coco is linked by short causeways to Cayo Guillermo to the west and to Cayo Romano to the east.

Still largely wild with swamps and scrubland populated by wild cattle, the islands boast about a dozen large international hotels currently offering approximately 5000 rooms: the Jardines del Rey project plans to eventually offer 32000 rooms.. Beaches are attractive for tourists and the massive coral reef off the north coast attracts divers from around the world.

As of 2015, resorts in the area include the:

  • Hotel Colonial Cayo Coco (formerly the Guitart Cayo Coco, then Blau Colonial)
  • Hotel Playa Cayo Coco (formerly the Sirenis Cayo Coco)
  • Hotel Villa Cayo Coco (formerly the Be Live Villa Coco)
  • Iberostar Cayo Coco (formerly the Emperador section of the NH Krystal)
  • Hotel Olé Mojito (Iberostar group), (formerly the El Senador, NH Krystal La Laguna Villas & Resort,Iberostar Mojito)
  • Melia Cayo Coco (Melia group)
  • Melia Jardines del Rey (Melia group; 1,176 rooms) - East of the Pestana Cayo Coco
  • Memories Caribe Beach Resort (formerly the Blue Bay Cayo Coco)
  • Memories Flamenco Beach Resort
  • Pestana Cayo Coco Beach Resort
  • Sol Cayo Coco (Melia group)
  • Tryp Cayo Coco (Melia group)

Hotels already under construction or in the planning stages (to open late 2015/early 2016) include:

  • Pullman Cayo Coco (Accor group) (566 rooms) - immediately East of the Melia Cayo Coco
  • Iberostar Playa Pilar (482 rooms) West area of Playa Pilar (Cayo Guillermo)[6]

The island has its own international airport, the Jardines del Rey Airport (Aeropuerto Jardines del Rey; airport codes IATA: CCC, ICAO: MUCC). Since 2005 tourists can fly directly in to the airport on Cayo Coco. An earlier airport, the Cayo Coco Airport has been reclaimed as a small natural park called Parque Natural El Baga. Prior to the construction of the Jardines del Rey Airport, tourist flights for area resorts landed at the Máximo Gómez Airport (Aeropuerto Máximo Gómez; airport codes IATA: AVI, ICAO: MUCA) near Morón on the Cuban mainland.

References

  1. ↑ Jardines del Rey on turismodecuba.com.ar
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Sainsburg, Brendan, Cuba Lonely Planet Guide 2009, p. 327
  4. ↑ United Nations General Assembly Security Council, Fifty-Sixth Session, Agenda Item 166, p. 4-5
  5. ↑ Hemingway, Ernest, Islands in the Stream (1970) Charles Scriber & Sons, New York, pp.405-466
  6. ↑ Infos at cayocococuba.net

External links

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