Hey Susan. Hope you’re enjoying living in Cuba. Trinidad was one of our favourite parts of our visit to Cuba; you’re in a lovely spot. You’re absolutely right – no one likes a scammer or a con artist. Hope things are as safe in Cuba as when we were there 3 years ago. We’ve actually got a post on the current climate in Cuba here. Would love to hear your feedback on what’s being said. Cheers – Jim

Hi Lucette. That’s a really complicated scam, isn’t it? I guess the counterfeit cigars were probably home-rolled. We were in Viñales in the west of Cuba and I bought some home-rolled cigars from a tobacco farmer. The cigars were good but not quite on a par with the real thing. I still liked them because of the memories they brought back and like I say they weren’t bad either.
Thanks for letting us know about this scam though. So interesting. I remember walking past the Partagas factory in Havana actually. Everyone kept telling us it was closed for renovations (this was a while back too) but we thought we’d go and have a look anyway. We were approached by a guy who showed us his employee badge from the factory and told us he would be able to show us round the factory if we wanted even though it was closed. So dodgy. We just made our excuses and walked on and he left us alone. That part of Havana gave me the creeps to be honest, but no one else bothered us.
It’s such an interesting country, isn’t it? Even the scammers don’t seem dangerous and are all so charming. Sorry you got scammed. Hope the cigars are still smokable.
Cheers for your comment – Jim

Hi Amy. It’s such a shame that there are scams like the Buena Vista still going on in Cuba. Like you say, the vast majority of Cubans are so lovely, it’s a shame that people’s views and experiences are coloured by the nefarious few. It’s so hard to tell whether it’s a scam or not when you’re somewhere as unique as Cuba, isn’t it? Hopefully our readers will see your comment and be aware of the scam when they’re in Havana!
Cheers – Jxx

Hi D. First of all I just wanted to say thank you for leaving such an interesting and in-depth comment. Appreciate your effort. Secondly, I want you to know how jealous of you I am that you’ve just been to Cuba. We’d love to be back there.
Your insights into the locals’ impressions of tourists are very interesting and since you’ve explained it, quite understandable. Cubans have been forced to live in such a bubble for so long, the world has moved on without them and they’re just starting to catch up. I just hope that, in catching up, they don’t lose too much of what makes Cuba such an engrossing, beautiful country.
I must say I do agree that we never felt at risk in Cuba. There were a couple of moments where we felt a little uneasy – in some backstreets or late at night – but this was mostly because it was a new place and somewhere tourists probably didn’t go very often. That was why the locals were probably a bit surprised (and therefore a bit starey) at seeing us.
As far as taking photos goes, we found the majority of people were happy to have their picture taken. Like you say, asking first usually sorts things out. We just said “permisso?” to ask and they usually were fine. Some, like the gents with the chicken at the end of this post: http://mrandmrsromance.com/2015/01/the-best-way-to-see-cuba-cuban-adventures-small-group-tour.html asked for money before we took the pic. We were fine with that too – I mean it was a fascinating moment and so Cuban, we didn’t mind paying a couple of CUCs for the opportunity. The ones I didn’t like were the old men and women who walk around touristy areas of Havana with gigantic fake cigars asking for money for a photo. Just felt a bit icky.
And as far as the scam you were caught with, that’s the strangest one I’ve ever heard. All that effort and time from them for just a few CUCs.
Thanks again for your comment
Jxx

As for other scams, gosh I was SO disappointed because I had no idea beforehand. I really didn’t think there would be so many people trying to woo you to this restaurant and that taxi etc. At many a turn when you think someone is being friendly there is an attempt at getting something monetarily from the encounter. Others not so but there were enough that it left a negative impression. From what I gathered talking with Cubans at length, tourism and customer service is still very new to them in general, they’re learning the ropes. For some reason they’ve gotten the idea that ripping off customers is par for the course. So until they learn otherwise it will probably continue.
In fact, the Cubans I spoke with said that right at the beginning of tourism @ 20 years ago, because Cubans had been kept in the dark a lot about the world and other people, they had been told not to trust outsiders, Esp. Americans. Can you blame them? So when the first tourists started coming, many were attacked, robbed and ripped off. It needed to be addressed and was by the gov’t. My friends said eventually people realized that these people, the tourists, we’re coming their on their own volition willing to spend money there so there was no need to rob them. Between the gov’t intervention and the realization, it mostly stopped. So this is a step in the evolution of learning tourism and customer service.
Hopefully one day all the scams stop and people see tourists for who they are, people from other countries passionately interested in Cuban people and culture and not potential money makers. Can you tell I’m idealistic? 😉

The worst scam for me was a man who I thought was a good friend of a new but honest vendor friend I had made, taking me to his ex’s apartment so I could see their baby after trying to show me where a party was that night, which it was legitimately. There I met his ex and her friend getting ready to go to that party. They were nice enough but I could tell there was a major effort to woo me while there. Braiding my hair, telling me I was pretty….it felt a bit much. I kept trying to get out of it but was too nice and they were getting quite aggressive, so I yielded out of self-preservation. By night’s end they insisted on walking me to use the Internet despite wanting them not to and saying I was ok and whatever else I could say. When they finally we’re going to leave they asked for refreshments or a few CUC’s because they had walked me despite me asking them not to. It wasn’t so much a bother about $3 CUC’s more than it was feeling used under the guise of friendship and interest in me as a person/foreigner. That’s what really rubs me the wrong way. The friend of the ex was the only one seemingly not in on the scam and genuinely interested in the world, having studied in France previously and a bit of a Francphile. Either way it didn’t feel good. But again they’re learning.
Other than that, Cuba was very safe. I could tell violence was a rare occurrence. Having grown up in SF during 70-90’s…I experienced a LOT of violence on the streets and in school. So this was a very nice change.
Cheers.

Wow. Sounds like you had some interesting personal experiences in Cuba, Craig! Thanks for sharing.
Cheers – Jim