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“...CUBA
359
feature Matanzas (population 36,000), the second
dtv and seaport of Cuba, is situated on the south and
east side of?a spacious harbour. Its streets are well
laid out and it has several handsome plazas with decora-
tive trees and flowers. A feature of the town is a leafy
boulevard known as the Paseo. The valley of the
Suri wSHas praised by Humboldt, is best seen
from the Hermitage of Monserrate and from the summi
of the opposite hill, which is reached thj^h ajwsn
dential quarter known as Versailles. The Yumur
Valley is a vast natural amphitheatre five or six^mfies
in diameter with precipitous sides except towards the
i sea where the river finds an outlet through the vertical
walls of a canon. It was the scene of a massacre of
the Arawaks in 1511- Hence the names Matanzas
(slaughtering) and Yumun, said to be a corruption o
I “ Io Mori,” I die, the cry of the victims.
Far down below our very feet lay the lovely valley of the
I Yumuri with its grounds now broken into sharp peaks now...”
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“...importuned by small boys eager j
to act as his guide, the visitor is recommended to proceed
immediately to Hotel Americano, where he can obtain
advice as to how best to fill in the time at his disposal.
A feature of interest is the quaint memorial of the 1?
centenary of the liberation of the country, which consists P
of a tall shaft at the base of which are numerous cannons f
peeping from circular orifices in the concrete base.
The Cable Office is in the Plaza Cristobal Colon. The j
Market in the Paseo de la Independenza is open from
4 a.m. to 5 p.m. Among the churches which can be I
visited are the Cathedral and San Pedro Claver. Both
are in a sad state of disrepair ; but it is possible to gauge | •
from the fabric how handsome these churches must have 1
been.
The House of Inquisition near the principal square is 1
now the residence of a merchant who courteously permits i
visitors to inspect it. Cartagena was one of the head- ; !'
quarters of the Inquisition in the New World, the others
being...”
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