Robinson, Albert Gardner / 2008-09-14 00:00:00

The colors are snow-white, pink, and shades of yellow, and
many of the forms are wonderfully beautiful. There are many other caves in
the island, like Cotilla, in the Guines region not far from Havana, others
in the Cubitas Mountains in Camaguey Province, and still others in Oriente,
but in comparison with Bellamar they are little else than holes in the
ground. The trip through these remarkable aisles and chambers occupies some
three or four hours.
Cuba is not big enough for rivers of size. There are innumerable streams,
for the island generally is well-watered. The only river of real importance
is the Cauto, in Oriente Province. This is the longest and the largest
river in the island. It rises in the hills north of Santiago, and winds a
devious way westward for about a hundred and fifty miles, emptying at last
into the Gulf of Buena Esperanza, north of the city of Manzanillo. It
is navigable for small boats, according to the stage of the water, from
seventy-five to a hundred miles from its mouth. Numerous smaller streams
flow to the coast on both north and south. Some, that are really estuaries,
are called rivers. Very few of them serve any commercial purposes. There
are a few water areas called lakes, but they are really little other than
ponds. On the south coast, directly opposite Matanzas, lies a vast swamp
known as the Cienega de Zapata. It occupies an area of about seventy-five
miles in length and about thirty miles in width, almost a dead flat, and
practically at sea-level.
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