May 1rst is a holiday in Belgrade. Unlike Cuba, citizens do not go to the Revolution Square waving the national flag. That kind of Worker’s Day celebration is history here. This morning the streets were completely empty and later the radio announced that the artificial lake, Ada Ciganlija, was absolutely packed with people.

It does not surprise me since the heat today reminded me of the Havana heat and in a city without an ocean the lake is the only body of water that can keep people fresh.The awaited summer has arrived again but I think I will wait for the homeland beach to swim. For a Cuban, swimming outside the Caribbean is tough. We need our boiling sea water.

I usually visit Havana in April, for no reason other than work convenience, but this time I am an unemployed butterfly with a semi gypsy life so I can plan my trip for June and drink up to my grandma’s 100th birthday with the entire family. Starting today I will be counting the days and preparing myself physically and psicologically to the high temperatures that I will facing. Hopefully it will be just hot and no hurricane disturbs us this year.