Saturday, September 5, 2009

A Vantage Point

90 miles to the north of Havana lies a small island, two miles wide by four miles long.  The population is shrinking.  A few years ago there were more than 26,000 full time residents.  22,000 people, more or less, now live on that island.

Some say that the island itself is in danger of shrinking, giving part of itself back to the seas that surround it as sea levels rise in the Atlantic ocean and in the Gulf of Mexico.  These two bodies of water come together along the cluster of 1700 islands just south of the Florida mainland.  Our little island is the southernmost of these with any kind of societal organization and population.

By now I'm sure that you recognize the island I'm describing, Key West, a most unusual place.  We've lived here for 8 of the last 10 years and I've been writing about Key West for more than seven years at The Real Key West.   I'll continue to do so as time and inspiration allow.

Here I'll be chronicling the intersection of this place with Cuba to the south.  It will be occasional at first. As I discover things about Cuba through the lens of Cubans and visitors to Cuba, I'll highlight those elements that I find interesting.  I hope that you'll find them interesting too.

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