Guardalavaca, a safe haven of pure, crystalline waters

Por: María Karla Lam González

Photos: Juan Pablo Carreras

More than a paradise of white sand and turquoise waters, Guardalavaca, located on the northern coast of Holguín, is a hidden gem of the Atlantic that stands out amidst promises of love, unique sunsets, and the constant murmur of the sea as one of the most authentic beaches on the Cuban coast.

While the world faces natural disasters and constant sargassum plagues, Guardalavaca’s sea remains clean. The blue of its waves reveals the combination of a privileged geography, the fierce will of those who care for it, and the persistence of visionary scientific projects committed to its preservation.

Ridel Rodríguez Paneque, head of Coastal Management at the Holguín Center for Environmental and Technological Services Research, comments that one of the reasons Guardalavaca is a sargassum-free beach is its natural defenses. Thanks to its position, sargassum doesn’t reach the northern shores, where the beach is located.

Although visitors may briefly mistake the green leaves and natural vegetation of Guardalavaca for sargassum, upon closer inspection, they encounter a marvelous phenomenon: native Cuban species, such as the Malasia fectilino and the Uva caleta (seagrape), which have their own reproductive cycle on our beaches and are an important component of their preservation.

These local plants store a significant amount of sand, which, through daily cleanups supported by local hotels, is collected and preserved for the environmental restoration project that has been carried out in the province since 2000.

The vision of this project by the Holguín Environmental and Technological Services Research Center, under the Cuban Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, seeks to restore Cuban beaches, taking into account their characteristics as ecosystems. As Rodríguez Paneque explains, “This is possible because Guardalavaca is a beach of authentic species.”Through these active collections, not only is vital sand recovered, but also nutrients provided by endemic species through their decomposition, which the beaches need to survive the wind.

This task is a vital aspect of the routine of the team at the Hotel Gran Muthu Almirante Beach. Its Director General, José Ramón Santana Rivero, explains that environmental protection is a commitment fulfilled through coastal cleanups, an initiative often born from the team itself, with the occasional participation of locals and visitors who are interested in the work.Likewise, they prioritize the use of biodegradable products in their food and cocktail services, and follow trends that recycle edible waste as natural fertilizer for the hotel’s gardens.

The director asserts that it is necessary to constantly research and study emerging technologies and methods to consciously protect the ecosystem.The team at the Almirante seeks to conserve this immense natural treasure, where visitors themselves advocate for the recycling of plastic, glass, and metal waste, choosing to collect it in specialized containers to preserve the purity of the sand.

These actions, among others, earned the Hotel Gran Muthu Almirante Beach the BREEAM International Award. This environmental recognition was awarded for the rational use of natural resources, from the interior design of the hotel building and its exteriors—which rigorously respect the natural environment and ecosystem of the coast—to its cutting-edge technology, which aims to save water and energy, and is true to the environmental message it conveys.

This is also a task for the Hotel Starfish Guardalavaca team, where the primary commitment is to defend the cleanliness of this coastal paradise and follow recycling trends; a goal to preserve the history and treasure as envisioned by Admiral Christopher Columbus on describing nearby Bariay as “the most beautiful land that human eyes have ever seen.

“It is there, in that perfect balance between Cuba’s authenticity and scientific future, found in the shade under the grape vines on its shore and in its blanket of sand, where Guardalavaca delivers its promise of love. Those who visit it always seek to return, like a pact with nature in the midst of a rapidly advancing world that is gradually forgetting its true essence. Given this, Guardalavaca offers itself as a safe haven of pure, crystalline waters.