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After <a href="/journal/old-havana-no-receipt-you">Havana,</a> I flew to Santiago, the second city of Cuba, located in the Oriente region at the eastern end of the island. It is called &ldquo;heroic city&rdquo; for its role as the cradle of all the revolutionary wars of Cuba. It was founded in 1515 and its first mayor was Hern&aacute;n Cortes, the conqueror of Mexico. Its wealth came from the production of coffee, copper, sugar, and, more recently, rum.

In the Comoros Islands, an African archipelago near Madagascar, the local community of Mutsamudu celebrated the placement of Ujumbe Palace on the 2010 World Monuments Watch.

How easy is it to get a 4-wheel-drive 135-foot articulated man lift weighing 40,000 pounds stuck in the mud? Quite easy, as it turns out. That, at least, was our experience&mdash;Robert Silman, Mike Auren, Jenna Cellini, and me&mdash;who spent three days evaluating the condition of the wall masonry of the North Family Great Stone Barn at the Mt. Lebanon Shaker Village, in New Lebanon, NY.

For the last year, WMF has participated in a number of on-site meetings to analyze the columns and capitals that form the cloister of St. Trophime and determine the best methods for cleaning, repairing, and maintaining the structure.