Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza finds Guantanamo Bay 'beautiful'

London, Apr 1 (ANI): Miss Universe 2008, Dayana Mendoza, recently visited the controversial Guantanamo Bay, and claimed that she found the place really "beautiful".

In her blog, the Venezuelan model has described her five-day trip to the disputed region.

Ever since Mendoza has been crowned Miss Universe last summer, she has travelled Indonesia, Spain, the Bahamas and Puerto Rico.

"I didn't want to leave, it (Guantanamo) was such a relaxing place, so calm and beautiful," the Independent quoted her as saying on her blog.

Her visit to the base was designed as a morale-boosting treat for troops.

"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 it was like living there," wrote Mendoza.he met the military dogs, who "did a very nice demonstration of their skills," and had a first-hand look at the detainee camps with their orange jump-suited inmates.

"We saw the jails, where they shower, how they recreate themselves with movies, classes of art, books. It was very interesting," she said.

But one person who is likely to be unimpressed with Mendoza's visit is the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

It is believed that as an anti-US Cuba ally, Chavez would certainly not approve of her fraternising with US soldiers at Guantanamo Bay.

However, away from all the controversy, Mendoza cannot help but gush about the water at Guantanamo.

"The water... is soooo beautiful! We went to the glass beach, and realised the name of it comes from the little pieces of broken glass from hundreds of years ago. It is pretty to see all the colours shining with the sun," she said.

The Miss Universe also met a jewellery maker on her visit, of which she said: "I bought a necklace from her that will remind me of Guantanamo Bay." (ANI)