Cuba's Unique Beauty

Tourism Is Surging

       The renowned photographer Juan Suarez has presented a magnificent portrait of Cuba as reflected by a stunning menagerie of 25 photos, such as this one, featured on the Havana Times.org website. He wrote: "We visited the keys north of Ciega de Avila in the resort area known as Jardines del Ray, which includes Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo. The popular tourist destination has exuberant vegetation, exotic birds, a colony of pink flamingos, and one of the best beaches in the country, Playa Pilar."

         This Juan Suarez photo shows a crowded beach at Cayo Coco now attracting more tourists. As Presidents Obama and Castro began to ease animosity between the two nations, the number of trips abroad by Cubans increased by 23.7 percent in 2014 and that has sharply increased in 2015. Likewise, President Obama has used executive power to allow more Americans to visit Cuba in defiance of the U. S. embargo that has harmed Cuba since 1962 and prevents most U. S. citizens the freedom to visit the island.

This Juan Suaez photo highlights the pristine white sands of Cuban beaches.

      This map shows Ciega de Avila, the area photographed by Juan Suarez, on the north-central coast of the alligator-shaped island of Cuba. Just off the coast of Ciega de Avila you can also detect the white sands of Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo in the area known as Jardines del Ray, now a prime tourist attraction.

       This important photo was taken yesterday {August 20th} in Brasilia, Brazil. It is used courtesy of Veslei Marcelina/Reuters. That's Dilma Rousseff, the President of Brazil, pointing out something to Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany. Brazil has by far the largest economy in Latin America and Germany has by far the largest economy in Europe. The two ultra-powerful women yesterday signed an agreement on climate change ahead of the much-anticipated global climate talks that will be held in Paris in December.

   German Chancellor Angela Merkel also yesterday vowed to boost Brazil's stagnant economy and to help elevate the mood of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Cuba's and Fidel Castro's dear friend. The 67-year-old Rousseff is less than a year into her second term as Brazil's President. It's been rough. A massive scandal at the state-owned Petrobas oil firm coupled with a slowing economy has reduced Rousseff's popularity to single digits and prompted massive street demonstrations demanding her resignation or impeachment. She has always been a strong economic supporter of Cuba, so her political status in Brazil is extremely important to the island. Perhaps the boost from the Merkel visit will help Dilma...and Cuba. 

 And by the way.........

      ................I learned something new about robins this week. The photo above was taken by Roland Jardahl and is used courtesy of Birds & Blooms Magazine. The caption to this photo stated: "American robins have as many as three broods in a year, with each nesting cycle lasting about a month from egg laying to the fledgling of babies. That means they don't finish their nesting till late August. Female robins lay and incubate the eggs but both parties care for the young." I thought that robins had just one brood of babies each spring, not up to three throughout the summer.  

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