THE STANDARD GUIDE. 
1 77 
On the Caribbean Sea. 
Batabano, on the south coast, is reached from Havana by the united 
Railways. The town is the habitation of a race of sponge fishermen, 
hundreds of whose vessels are seen in adjacent waters. Many of the 
streets are canals. A characteristic feature of the place is the basket- 
trap for fish. The Batabano fisherman weaves it from cane, and uses it 
to-day as the Indian did before him. Southeast stretches the vast Zapata 
Swamp, so called from its shape of a shoe (zapata, shoe). Southwest 
lies the Isle of Pines, to which a steamer sails from Batabano. 
Steamers of the South Coast line (Odriozola Line) sail from Havana 
every five days for Los Indios, Isle of Pines, Cienfuegos, Casilda, 
Tunas, Jucaro, Santa Cruz del Sur, Manzanillo, Ensenada de Mora and 
Santiago de Cuba. The ships are large and commodious; everything 
is clean, fresh and open; there is no stuffiness nor any of the odors, 
characteristic of steamships; the cooking is in the Spanish style, and 
the food abundant, varied and good. 
The voyage is one of the most delightful sea trips imaginable. The 
ship’s course so far as Cabo de Cruz is through waters sheltered by out¬ 
lying keys and as calm and smooth as a lake in a city park. There is not 
even any ground swell to disturb the equanimity of a voyager subject to 
seasickness. Hour after hour the ship glides through a tranquil sea, 
whose glassy plane is unbroken save by the flying fish which scuds from 
the bow and goes skimming like a swallow over the water. The Carib¬ 
bean sea water is sapphire; the coloring is intense; and against this deep 
background the silver crest of the wave from the ship shows in dazzling 
contrast. The richness of color effects pervades the entire picture of sea 
and land and sky; at certain hours of the day the very air itself is 
tinted. For long stretches the coast is rugged; hills and mountains rise 
abruptly from the shore, their verdant slopes reflected in the water; and 
distant ranges lie like cloud banks on the horizon. The scenery is superb; 
travelers liken it to that of the Mediterranean. 
Cienfuegos is the first port after leaving the Isle of Pines. The harbor 
entrance is by a sharp turn completely shut off from view. On the ap¬ 
proach from sea there is apparently no break in the shore; once we 
are within, there appears to be no way out. Passing through the narrow 
and winding entrance channel three miles long, the ship enters the mag¬ 
nificent bay, eleven miles long and three to five miles wide, dotted here 
and there with palm-adorned islands, and surrounded by hills and moun¬ 
tains. The town lies on a slight elevation, six miles from the sea- 
South from Cienfuegos the ship is constantly in sight of the San Juan 
range of mountains, extending along the coast for fifty miles and more, 
and presenting a panorama of much grandeur and constantly shifting as 
