CAMAGÜEY.- The Botanical Park celebrates its fifth anniversary this September. Committed to promoting itself more by the natural attractions than the gastronomic offerings, a different approach from what has prevailed to this day.
In the recently concluded summer, which among many other hygienic measures required so much physical distancing, more attractive and related options with the initial purpose of the spaced and fresh place would have made it an ideal destination for the enjoyment of nature.
Its director, Andrés Morales Leal, and his collective are convinced of this matter; so they now organize tours, schedules and finalize details to extend the program they developed on July and August Fridays throughout the coordination with the City Historian's Office on its Routes.
Bird-watching, approaching the different species of flora, sharing with nature, the possibility of acquiring ornamental plants... will undoubtedly be very well accompanied by the gastronomic facilities that long ago "steal the show" in that place.
La Cueva, a very peculiar and attractive restaurant for its architectural structure, offers services from midday until approximately 6:00 p.m. According to its management, despite the loss of marketing of the place and its economic prices, they fulfill their income plans - which are high - thanks to the variety of pork-based dishes, from which they do not waste anything and serve it in all variants.
El Cafetal, in a more rural environment, offers different types of beer, including one dispensed, to accompany the roast - which is their specialty - and other Creole dishes such as ajiaco and corn.
Preferred by some parents for the safety it offers by being exclusive to children, and the little public that goes there in the isolated area, is the Cocoloba pool.
Soon the little ones could refresh and have fun there after appreciating and learning about the richness of indigenous, introduced and exotic plants that the Camagüey Botanical Park hosts, a space where the gastronomy had to complement the enjoyment and not "main dish" surrounded by plants and birds.
EMBLEM OF CAMAGÜEY IN CELEBRATION FOR THE ANNIVERSARY
The posture of a carob tree , emblem of the Camagüey city scene — a saint and a sign of the cowboys for resistance and utility — was planted as a living memory of the fifth anniversary of the Julián Acuña Galé Botanical Park, with the presence of founders and workers of this open space on the east of our city.
Engineer Andrés Morales Leal, head of the institution, in presenting the simple ceremony, highlighted the efforts to maintain and develop the Garden, as well as the works that still need to be executed to expand the collections and studies of the botany gathered in this place.
The program included a tour of the main facilities and conferences offered by the engineer Wilfredo Rodríguez Ramos and Roberto Adán Pérez, founding specialists of the Garden.
In 2015, the creation of the Camagüey’s Botanical Garden was a political and governmental initiative, with the objective of conservation and preservation of the province's vegetation, environmental education and healthy recreation for population.
It was also established as a scientific center for the study and research of students, workers and the general population, as well as a consulting center and provider of environmental education.
This park has an important potential in the area that it is located, since it has accessibility to the national travel routes. Moreover, it is located within the urban perimeter and is inserted into the public transport system, which facilitates the rate of visits by the public, agencies and institutions.
The park is divided into three areas and twelve spaces: these first ones are bambusetun, smells and coffee; and among the areas are pasture and fodder, ornamental, nursery, semi-deciduous forest and always green, palmetun and cuabal.
Translated by Mariam Heredia Acosta (Student)
Reviewed by Linet Acuña Quilez