Ciego de Avila
Ciego de Avila (pop: 86,100) was founded in 1849, and consequently is short of fine historical buildings and monuments. It is an agricultural market town with a large thermal electricity plant.
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The main road from Havana to Camagüey passes straight through the middle of town; most people just keep going. The main square is the Parque Martí, with a church and the former town hall, Ayuntamiento, built in 1911, and now the provincial government headquarters.
Cayo Coco:
Cayo Coco is a large island, 374 sq km, of mostly mangrove and bush, which shelter many migratory birds as well as permanent residents. The island is connected to the mainland just north of Morón by a 27 km causeway across the Bahía de Perros. There is an airstrip for an air taxi service from Havana, but international flights and other large aircraft come in to the airport north of Ciego de Avila.
The Atlantic side of the island has excellent beaches, particularly Playa Los Flamencos, with some 5 km of white sand and shallow, crystalline water. At certain times of the year you will see flamingos, after whom the beach is named. Cayo Coco is very isolated and nearly all foreigners are here on a package of a week or so and do not go far. Marina Puertosol offers deep sea fishing and there is good diving.There are large, luxury resorts and plans to build an average of 1,000 hotel rooms a year, all four- or five-star, until Cayo Coco has 16,000 and the other cays have a further 6,000.
Cayo Guillermo:
A 13 sq km cay with 5 km of beach, is connected to Cayo Coco by a causeway and there are plans to build a 35-km causeway to link it with Cayo Santa María to the west. Cayo Guillermo is protected by a long coral reef which is good for diving with plentiful fish and crustaceans, while on land there are lots of birds. Sand dunes, covered in palms and other vegetation, are believed to be in the highest in the Caribbean.
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