47 



The Republic of Cuba 



west, and north to the charming Vinales Valley. 

 There are good hotels, and several days may be 

 spent with comfort. Tourists may avail them- 

 selves of the reduced round trip rates in force 

 during the winter season. 



CIENFUEGOS 



Population, 75,000 Inhabitants 



Cienfuegos was founded by Don Luis Clouet 

 in 1 519. The city is modern in character, with 

 streets forty-five feet wide, and is one of the 

 busiest and most enterprising towns in Cuba. 

 Near it are several well-equipped sugar mills. 

 Cienfuegos Bay, eleven miles long and from four 

 to five in width, forms one of the finest natural 

 harbors in the world, with room for a thousand 

 ships. The city possesses a very fine Cathedral, 

 and the Terry Theatre, close to the Plaza, 

 decorated with laurel and royal palms makes one 

 of the prettiest plazas of Cuba. 



Punta Gorda is a charming residential suburb 

 and equally delightful are the colonies at Cayo 

 Carenas. Jagua Castle, a picturesque fortifica- 

 tion bequeathed to Cuba by the artist-builders 

 of the time of Philip V of Spain, was constructed 

 to protect the harbor from pirates which infested 

 these waters in the olden days. To meet the 

 requirements of the increasing traffic between 

 Havana and Cienfuegos, the United Railways of 

 Havana recently inaugurated a new direct service 

 of trains, for which entirely new equipment, 

 including comfortable sleeping cars, were con- 

 structed. These trains southbound, leave Havana 

 at 10.30 p. m. daily and arrive in Cienfuegos 

 at 7.17 a. m. next day. And northbound, they 

 leave Cienfuegos daily at 10 p. m. and arrive in 

 Havana at 6.20 a. m. 



