Tools of survival

Dying to get here

The calm, flat seas of summer are what the Cuban people wait for each year, when they take their makeshift rafts made of whatever they can find and set sail for America. We found this one on the shore of a local hidden beach on Big Pine. Judging by the clothes left on board, it looks like there was at least two men and one woman. Judging by the broken hammer, rusty nails and balls of twine, the refugees were prepared to make repairs as needed on the way. Notches on one of the wood strips say they were at sea for about 13 days to make the 90-mile trip to the United States. Jenn says the title of this photo story should be "Salvation." Macy tries is out for size, which you can see is pretty small for such a big journey.