| Maisi Point, in the very eastern part of Cuba, is one of | | | | go on groups of three, alternating with a single signal |
| the most intricate and hard-to-get places in the whole | | | | every 20 seconds. Its construction was authorized by |
| archipelago. The journey is around 43 miles by road | | | | the Queen of Spain in 1856 with the objective of |
| and takes six hours from Baracoa, passing through a | | | | orientating the vessels on their crossing between Cuba |
| rough mountainous geography. There is also a regular | | | | and the Hispaniola Island. Its construction was finished in |
| flight three times a week on an AN-2 Russian plane, | | | | 1861 and was christened as The Shell. |
| which has been registered as the shortest air route in | | | | This land also treasures the Cemí, the symbol of |
| all the history of the Universal Civil Aeronautics | | | | Guantanamo province. The Cemí is an |
| because it takes only 15 minutes to complete. | | | | anthropomorphic figure of 0.92 cm made of black |
| Taking that flight is an impressive experience. From the | | | | guaiacum and presents a formal finish with nacre and |
| air, you can see very clearly the giant Marine Terraces | | | | shell encrustations. It was created by a taino (a |
| described for the first time by the Cuban geologist and | | | | member of one of the aboriginal groups settled on the |
| anthropologist Antonio Nuñez Jimenez. These rock | | | | island) that only used stones as tools for the carving. |
| formations, that once belonged to the Atlantic Ocean, | | | | The Cemí represented the Tobacco Idol and was |
| cover today a vast extension that gathers from rocky | | | | found in Chafarina de Maya by a countryman. The |
| soils to semi deserts to mountain tops covered by a | | | | cemies were the gods of all the existing aboriginal |
| lush vegetation where coffee plantations reign. | | | | communities in Cuba and the Antilles, but the Great |
| Maisi, an aboriginal name, is widely known in Cuba and | | | | Cemí of Patana is the sculptural masterpiece which |
| abroad because this point is deeply linked to the | | | | became a landmark in this aspect. |
| navigation between Cuba and Hispaniola Island. Among | | | | The whole region is full of caves with Taino cave |
| the many particularities that distinguish this region is the | | | | paintings, such as the ones present in the Dark Cave, |
| Lighthouse of Maisi Point, which is 121.9 feet high, has a | | | | La Patana Cave, Los Bichos Cave and Jaguey Cave, |
| power of 3790 light bulbs and a geographical reach of | | | | which were used by the aboriginal groups as temples. |
| 17.7 miles. It has a white light and its intermittent signals | | | | |