When one is unlucky enough as to see photos of oil heir Greasy Bear Brandon Davis (you know, the guy that gave Lindsay Lohan the nickname of Firecrotch, officially the hottest word of the year?), mimicking to lick his own nipple, pictures of Spanish hottie Penelope Cruz are a true blessing!

What am I saying? Pictures of Penelope in a bikini or in any other sexy outfit are always a good thing and the best way to start a day or end it! So, here we are... Instead of opting for Miami, the 'Volver' star spent her winter holiday getting some R&R and working on her tan on the tropical isle of St Barts.

Despite rumors about being gay (and in a relationship with Salma Hayek) and after being linked with actor Orlando Bloom, the actress was all alone at the beach and, in her usual style, she showed herself very happy to see the paparazzi.

As a matter of fact, Penelope just recently said that she enjoys playing all sorts of games with the media, her favorite one consisting of leading them to believe that she's a lesbian. In an interview meant to promote her latest movie, 'Volver', Cruz revealed that she was the one that started the rumor in the first place, after she realized that she was getting more publicity if people believed she was gay.

'I grabbed Salma's ass - just to keep things moving, because everyone was a little slow', Penelope recalled one specific occasion when she turned on the rumor machine to serve her purposes. Well, that's one pretty clever girl who also knows how to have some fun.

You see how I talked and talked and said nothing about Penelope in this bikini that you see here? It's because there are too few bad things to be said about her (and none comes to mind right now) and because she looks so hot in these two photos that I don't want to ruin all the fun for you! Enjoy!