The Delightful Deserted Queens Gardens of Cuba

The Queens Gardens is a marine reserve located in the Caribbean Sea, off the south coast of Cuba.

The reserve was created by Fidel Castro in 1984 to protect the environment and natural resources of this area, but Christopher Columbus, the explorer and navigator, first named it in honour of the Queen of Spain, Isabella I of Castile when he discovered it in 1492.

It is one of the most important tourist destinations in Cuba, although we saw no tourists when we sailed through in January 2018 — just one boat with three local fishermen in a whole week amongst the islands.

It is the most ecologically diverse coral reef system in the Caribbean and one of the most pristine. This archipelago covers about 684,000 hectares in the Gulf of Ana Maria off the southern coast of Cuba and hosts over 120 species of coral, 300 species of fish, and many other invertebrates.

The wildlife includes sea turtles, dolphins, manatees, humpback whales and many other species, and an important nesting site for green and hawksbill turtles.

Our Voyage

We’d arrived in Cayo Largo to the west of the archipelago in time for Christmas 2017 after sailing the 400 miles from Bonaire and a week's stop in Port Antonio, Jamaica.

Then straight after arrival in Cuba we flew to Havana for a few days and did the tourist bit — Buena Vista Social Club and all that.

When we got back to the boat we set off from Cayo Largo and sailed the 100 miles or so overnight to the Queens’s Gardens. We entered the area through the narrow, shallow Canal de Tunas nervously watching the coral reef pass beneath our keel.

The next week was spent meandering slowly south eastwards through the area, anchoring overnight. The water was as clear as gin which helped with the navigation as there were few markers and many were damaged. Sailing at night is not an option in this reef-strewn area, an old pirate haunt.

The weather was warm and winds variable, with occasional showers.

There were plenty of pelicans but as we’re not snorkellers we didn’t see much of the underwater life, except Caimans (alligator family) in the mangroves. But there is certainly plenty to see and it’s one of the top dive areas in the world. Just avoid the mangroves…

We had desert islands all to ourselves, the most memorable being Media Luna — Half Moon — Island. It was the time of the new moon and so the night skies were ideal for stargazing.

At the end of the week we visited Manzanillo on the way out of the Queens Gardens, where the buses are horse and carts. Once again we had to queue for food…

And sit outside in the rain to use the public wifi (we were not allowed to access it in the cafes — a public ordinance).

We gave away some old oilskins and yacht gear to some fishermen who were delighted to receive them.

We had a great time. The people were very welcoming and hospitable, the music was great and the beer good. They need all the tourists they can get and I hope that the politics is resolved very soon.

Getting provisions for the boat was a bit more challenging…

You want onions? They’ll be coming in on the plane on Tuesday. Eggs could be a problem — shop in the marina, Cayo Largo.

But to be fair, we did get a magnificent piece of beef from the freezer. Tourist prices, US dollars of course.

Then it was on Santiago and another adventure off Haiti with the US Coastguard.

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