Tropical Storm Elsa approaching Florida after battering Caribbean

In This Story: Barbados

Barbados is an eastern Caribbean island and an independent British Commonwealth nation. Bridgetown, the capital, is a cruise-ship port with colonial buildings and Nidhe Israel, a synagogue founded in 1654. Around the island are beaches, botanical gardens, the Harrison’s Cave formation, and 17th-century plantation houses like St. Nicholas Abbey. Local traditions include afternoon tea and cricket, the national sport.

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In This Story: Caribbean

The Caribbean is a region of the Americas that comprises the Caribbean Sea, its surrounding coasts, and its islands. The region lies southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and of the North American mainland, east of Central America, and north of South America.

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In This Story: Cuba

Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba is a country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos.

Since 1965, the state has been governed by the Communist Party of Cuba. The country was a point of contention during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, and a nuclear war nearly broke out during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

Culturally, Cuba is considered part of Latin America.

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In This Story: Florida

Florida is the southeasternmost U.S. state, with the Atlantic on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other. It has hundreds of miles of beaches. The city of Miami is known for its Latin-American cultural influences and notable arts scene, as well as its nightlife, especially in upscale South Beach. Orlando is famed for theme parks, including Walt Disney World.

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In This Story: Hull

Hull, or Kingston upon Hull, is a port city in East Yorkshire, England. Where the River Hull meets the Humber Estuary, The Deep aquarium is a futuristic building with an underwater viewing tunnel and hands-on displays. In the old town’s Museums Quarter, the Streetlife Museum focuses on modes of transport. Wilberforce House, birthplace of William Wilberforce, documents the abolition of the slave trade.

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