181 The pearl of the antilles? 



of good-natured pirates, fighting off the mosquitoes, gulping our 

 coffee, and harking to the cook as he recited patriotic Cuban 

 poetry. At least that's what Arturo said it was. I only know that 

 it was undeniably dramatic and the cook, who must have had 

 another bottle stashed away somewhere, rose to heights of superb 

 eloquence, bringing tears to the eyes of everyone and loud shouts 

 of viva from all throats. The dawn came quickly. 



After breakfast Nicolas was turned loose, without ill feelings, 

 and we all boarded the truck and returned to Puerto Padre. Once 

 again I had found no flamingo colony, but I felt that I had learned 

 at first hand some of the reasons why there was none to be 

 found. A refuge cannot exist without the support of government, 

 or without the basic and essential bulwark of favorable public 

 opinion. In Cuba these things seem very far away. Nevertheless, 

 there is still hope. The people of Cuba are resourceful, energetic, 

 and extremely conscious of the beauty of their land. The educa- 

 tional and social improvements now taking place may well turn 

 the scales in the right direction, and in time to save the great 

 natural beauties of this lovely island, truly the Pearl of the 

 Antilles. 



