Don't ask us how or why we came across this -- and the British home secretary's husband did not bring it to our attention -- but the latest entry on the blog of the reigning Miss Universe, Dayana Mendoza, has a sort of eye-catching dateline: "March 27, 2009, Guantanamo Bay."According to the Web site of the U.S.O., which arranged the visit, the Miss Universe Organization made the decision to "deploy Crystle Stewart, Miss U.S.A. 2008, and Dayana Mendoza, Miss Universe 2008, to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to visit troops as part of a U.S.O./Armed Forces Entertainment tour."
Ms. Mendoza, who competed as Miss Venezuela, has a blog on the pageant's Web site, and this account of the visit appeared there last Friday, after her deployment:
This week, Guantanamo!!! It was an incredible experience.
We arrived in Gitmo on Friday and stared going around the town, everybody knew Crystle and I were coming so the first thing we did was attend a big lunch and then we visited one of the bars they have in the base. We talked about Gitmo and what is was like living there. The next days we had a wonderful time, this truly was a memorable trip! We hung out with the guys from the East Coast and they showed us the boat inside and out, how they work and what they do, we took a ride around the land and it was a loooot of fun!
We also met the Military dogs, and they did a very nice demonstration of their skills. All the guys from the Army were amazing with us.
We visited the Detainees camps and we saw the jails, where they shower, how the recreate themselves with movies, classes of art, books. It was very interesting.
We took a ride with the Marines around the land to see the division of Gitmo and Cuba while they were informed us with a little bit of history.
The water in Guantanamo Bay is soooo beautiful! It was unbelievable, we were able to enjoy it for at least an hour. We went to the glass beach, and realized the name of it comes from the little pieces of broken glass from hundred of years ago. It is pretty to see all the colors shining with the sun. That day we met a beautiful lady named Rebeca who does wonders with the glasses from the beach. She creates jewelry with it and of course I bought a necklace from her that will remind me of Guantanamo Bay :)
I didn't want to leave, it was such a relaxing place, so calm and beautiful.
That glowing account of Ms. Mendoza's visit to the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay is unlikely to please Hugo Chavez, her country's president. Mr. Chavez, who reportedly called Ms. Mendoza to congratulate her when she won the Miss Universe crown last year, recently called on the United States to "return Guantanamo and Guantanamo Bay to the Cubans" after closing the detention facility there.
Mr. Chavez, who is close to the Cuban leadership, may now be rethinking the praise he heaped on Ms. Mendoza on Venezuelan television last year, when she returned to Caracas with the crown: