Villa Horizontes Guamá

The place is a natural wonder, and the service was good. They don't offer accommodation there anymore, though.

The island's unreliable water and electricity are the downside, with interruptions happening often. Still, the setting is spectacular, and the boat trip over is part of that experience. The walk across the islands to the open-air museum, showing Native American life, really sticks with you. So do the sunrises and sunsets, whether you're watching from your room or out in a rowboat. Breakfast wasn't especially memorable. After eating, it's best to take the first boat out. Later boats usually only run when tourist boats arrive.

The lagoon scenery includes old dwellings arranged to show the everyday life of the indigenous people, and you can see them while traveling around the water. There's also Batey Aborigen, a group of 25 sculptures, plus sculptures in the Taíno Village by Rita Longa, created in 1999. Guamá recreates the style of pre-Columbian villages, with wooden walls and guano palm-leaf roofs, while keeping the interiors comfortable. The village is on an islet in Laguna del Tesoro (Treasure Lagoon), 8 km from the pier, and has 47 separate cabins made from wood and palm thatch. Shops with handicrafts, a bar, a restaurant, and a nearby nature park with land and water animals are there too, along with a crocodile farm. You can try dishes made with crocodile if you want. There are shows and traditional rituals during the day and at night, as well as boat and launch rentals, birdwatching, hiking, and water sports. The unusual architecture is a faithful take on the dwellings built by the indigenous people. The location is about 90 km from Varadero and 142 km from Havana, and history and ancestral traditions come together here. A life-size Taíno village replica is one of the main features, showing how the area's indigenous people once lived.

The huts were well equipped, and the sunset was spectacular. Getting there meant a special ride through a canal to the lagoon, and the early morning boat trip was quite an adventure for a landlubber like me.