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The National Geographic Magazine 



exposed rocks or dangerous reefs within 

 the bay itself, except immediately ad- 

 jacent to the shore, and ships can safely 

 enter this bay on the darkest nights, hug- 

 ging the east shore within ioo yards if 

 necessary, in perfect security. 



A simpler way of getting an idea of 

 the depth of water in Cochinos Bay 

 would be to imagine the water level to 

 fall 25 feet. This would hardly change 

 the position or form of the east coast. 

 The west shore, however, would advance 

 about a quarter of a mile at the upper 

 end of the bay and gradually increase to 

 two miles at Punta del Padre, and then 

 run ten miles seaward in a southeasterly 

 direction to Cayo Piedra, making the west 

 coast about twenty-five miles in length. 

 The bay would then appear a very long 

 and narrow, almost land-locked, body of 

 very deep water. The tide averages less 

 than eighteen inches. West of the south 

 end of the bay there are vast lagoons, 

 with innumerable small islands entirely 

 covered with mangrove trees. The water 

 varies from eighteen inches to several 

 feet in depth, and my launch being of 

 light draft, it was found practicable to ex- 

 plore these island seas without difficulty. 

 Charts do not correctly show the great 

 extent nor true form of this interesting 

 region. 



WONDERS OF TROPICAL MARINE LIFE 



Among the beautiful shells of the west- 

 coast sand beaches were pieces of spongy 

 volcanic rock, purple and green in color, 

 which may have had their origin in the 

 eruptions in Martinique. 



As may be imagined, the water in this 

 deep bay is of the utmost purity and 

 clearness. The color is blue, rivaling 

 that of the Mediterranean, and the bot- 

 tom may be clearly seen in forty or fifty 

 feet of water. The wonders of tropical 

 marine life afford a never-ending source 

 of delightful study. On bright, calm 

 mornings one can look down through 

 fathoms of crystal water and see the sun- 

 light sparkling on snow-white beds of 

 coral sand. Among branching corals, 

 Neptune's cups, sponges, and purple sea- 

 fans, fish of many strange forms and 

 colors may be seen gliding to and fro. 



apparently within grasp of the hand — 

 the blue llora, the red and green parrot- 

 fish, the red-snapper, and the spotted 

 cherna. On moonlight nights, moving 

 rapidly through the water in a launch, 

 one feels as though sailing over an en- 

 chanted sea of crystal, where every rip- 

 ple is faintly outlined with phosphores- 

 cent fire. 



The bay is a fisherman's paradise. 

 The rapacious and dangerous picua is 

 caught by trolling from rapidly moving 

 sailing craft, but still fishing in deep 

 water gives better results. Sharks often 

 bite fish off the hooks before they can be 

 landed, unless the line is taken in rapidly. 

 Sea turtles of several varieties and the 

 shell-bearing tortoise abound, the Cuban 

 tortoise-shell being the most beautifully 

 variegated and high-priced in the world. 

 Sometimes the water surface for an' acre 

 in extent may be seen disturbed by a vio- 

 lent commotion of terrified and strug- 

 gling fish when pursued by some larger 

 enemies. Hundreds of sea-gulls add to 

 the confusion, darting down on the water 

 and catching the fish in midair. 



A DELIGHTFUL CLIMATE 



The climate is similar to other parts of 

 Cuba, which is supposedly the most de- 

 lightful of any within the tropics. The 

 maximum and minimum temperatures at 

 Cochinos Bay for nearly two years were 

 q6° and 48 °, the nights never being over 

 80 °. The dry season lasts from Novem- 

 ber to May, and is characterized by nearly 

 continuous sunshiny clays. There is a 

 popular misconception of the tropical 

 rainy season as it obtains in Cuba. Rain 

 may fall at any time of the year, even in 

 the dry season, but, on the contrary, the 

 rainy season is often interrupted by long 

 periods of dry weather. The wind comes 

 off the land at night, changing in the 

 forenoon to the "virazon," or sea breeze 

 which increases with the sun's heat, and 

 is succeeded by calm at sunset. Thunder- 

 storms are short and violent and often 

 accompanied by heavy squalls. In June. 

 1906, more than seven inches of rain fell 

 in a single night ; but such excessive pre- 

 cipitation is rare. 



