I visited Cuba earlier this year, and one of my main targets was an unfinished nuclear power station that lies on the island’s Caribbean coast.
The project was funded by the Soviet Union, much to the horror of the US. Especially following the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, American wasn’t too pleased with the idea of another Soviet nuclear reactor being built just 180 miles off the coast of Florida.
As it turned out though, the fall of the Soviet Union left the project without funds and construction ground to a halt.
Getting inside this site took a bit of work, as we dodged guards and battled against intense swarms of mosquitos to sneak in along the canal built for cooling water. It was well worth the effort though!
After exploring the industrial ruins of the turbine hall, we made for the reactor itself.
There were plans to build two of these reactor towers, but while one was built up to 16 floors before being abandoned the other barely made it higher than a few storeys.
We got inside the main building, again by waiting and sneaking past guards, after which we began to climb through a series of chambers and curved corridors that run around the interior of the reactor.
We reached the top just in time for sunset. The roof had collapsed in places, and holes opened in the floor to reveal sheer falls down into the base of the building. Carefully stepping across the rubble and strewn equipment though, we made it to a porthole window on the coast side of the power station, and got to watch the sun go down over the Caribbean.
For more photos, more history, and a detailed account of our infiltration efforts, check out the full report on The Bohemian Blog: The Soviet Legacy: Inside Cuba’s Unfinished Nuclear Power Station
Cheers,
DR.
The project was funded by the Soviet Union, much to the horror of the US. Especially following the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, American wasn’t too pleased with the idea of another Soviet nuclear reactor being built just 180 miles off the coast of Florida.
As it turned out though, the fall of the Soviet Union left the project without funds and construction ground to a halt.
Getting inside this site took a bit of work, as we dodged guards and battled against intense swarms of mosquitos to sneak in along the canal built for cooling water. It was well worth the effort though!
After exploring the industrial ruins of the turbine hall, we made for the reactor itself.
There were plans to build two of these reactor towers, but while one was built up to 16 floors before being abandoned the other barely made it higher than a few storeys.
We got inside the main building, again by waiting and sneaking past guards, after which we began to climb through a series of chambers and curved corridors that run around the interior of the reactor.
We reached the top just in time for sunset. The roof had collapsed in places, and holes opened in the floor to reveal sheer falls down into the base of the building. Carefully stepping across the rubble and strewn equipment though, we made it to a porthole window on the coast side of the power station, and got to watch the sun go down over the Caribbean.
For more photos, more history, and a detailed account of our infiltration efforts, check out the full report on The Bohemian Blog: The Soviet Legacy: Inside Cuba’s Unfinished Nuclear Power Station
Cheers,
DR.
That sunset adds a bit of magic to some great shots
