M AT AN Z AS. 
103 
PLAZA DE LA LIBERTAD—HOTEL LOUVRE IN BACKGROUND. 
word pan meaning bread). The nearer marks at the mouth of the harbor 
are the Maya Point light on the east (a fixed white light visible thirteen 
miles), and Sabanillo Point on the west; further in on the same side 
is Gordo Point, and beyond that is the pilot station; opposite is the mouth 
of the Canimar River, with Morillo Castle; then on the eastern shore is 
seen San Severino Castle, and complementing this across the bay is Penas 
Altas Fort. The usual anchorage is off the section of the city called 
Versalles. The harbor is a bay five miles in length and one and one-half 
miles wide at the anchorage; while not landlocked, it is protected by a 
coral reef which lies in front of the entrance. 
Matanzas is built on a slope which rises with gradual ascent from the 
water’s edge to a height of 100 feet. Still higher beyond the town rises 
the verdant hill called the Cumbre, with the Church of Montserrate near 
the summit. The city comprises three parts, the old town in the center 
lying between the Yumuri and San Juan rivers; Versalles on the north 
across the Yumuri; and Pueblo Nuevo (new town) beyond the San Juan 
River on the south. 
The Plaza de la Libertad—called also the Central Park—is very pretty 
with its flowers, palms and a fountain. Facing the park on the south is 
