Description
On the spot where Columbus landed he erected a wooden cross (make of local wood), 1 December 1492. The original cross is now in the cathedral Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (built 1833). On the spot a metal replica was placed.
Nuestra Señora de la Asunción
Inscription(s)
On a sign nearby the replica:
cruz de parra
replica de la cruz
enclavada en este lugar
por cristobal colon
el 1 de diciembre de 1492
Annotation
On 27 October 1492, Christopher Columbus landed in Cuba in a place he named Porto Santo. It is generally assumed from his description that this was Baracoa, although there are also claims it was Gibara. But Columbus also described a nearby table mountain, which is almost certainly nearby el Yunque (the anvil). He wrote in his logbook "the most beautiful place in the world ...I heard the birds sing that they will never ever leave this place." According to legend, Columbus put a cross called Cruz de la Parra in the sands of what would later become Baracoa harbor.
Table mountain "El Yunque"
Baracoa, founded in 1512 by Diego Velazquez, is the first Spanish settlement in Cuba.
Sources & Information
- Photos: Vivian Droog, 24 June 2006. See her album at Trekearth.
- Wikipedia, Baracoa
Tags
Locatie (N 20°20'50" - W 74°29'47") (Satellite view: Google Maps)
Item Code: cu002;
Added: 18 December 2006
© Website: René & Peter van der Krogt
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