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Punta Frances, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba

    This idyllic island was called the Isle of Pines until 1978, when Fidel Castro transformed it into a college. That’s gone now, and Cuban vacationers snorkel and dive on coral reefs and shipwrecks in the National Marine Park. A hidden gem off the coast of Cuba, the island was once a pirate hideout. Now it supports farms dedicated to breeding sea turtles and crocodiles. A cave at Punta del Este is the “Sistine Chapel” of prehistoric Taino petroglyphs.