Hi All
I was recently in Santiago de Cuba where I was staying for two weeks, having been there before I know many people and had arranged to stay in a Casa Particular near to some of my friends.
The name and address of the Casa is:
Sandra-Aimee y Fransciso
Santa Rita No. 465 e/ Reloj y Calvario Santiago de Cuba
Anyway, my first couple of days were a bit of a blur and I spent a lot of time with my friends and partying. A couple of days later I noticed that some money, quite a large sum, had been stolen from my room although stupidly I had not locked it away!! Plus, believe it or not, some of my clothes and underwear had also gone. I immediately told the owners and they were not sympathetic at all, the man there going completely ballistic and asking me to leave straight away, I was absolutely gobsmacked, he made out that I must have made a mistake and that I must be going mad. I knew exactly how much money I had had before and I was not wrong, a large sum had gone and you cannot make that sort of mistake. I had budgeted for my trip and now it was ruined. If he thought I was mistaken about the money then how could he explain my clothes and underwear that had gone too, that I myself had unpacked on arrival. It made me think it was a girl because underwear went missing. There were a few girls working there who would have been in my room putting toilet paper in there, I noticed clean towels and a light had been mended whilst I'd been away but who knows.
I left near enough straight away and when I arrived at my new Casa, a lovely sweet old couple, the lady there told me that it had happened many times before and basically what they do is they all get together, somewhat of a conspiracy, take something of great or little value from the room and then plead innocence when the tourist complains. Imagine if I had stayed there without noticing, day by day something else would have gone missing! There has been one arrest there in the past apparently, when a couple complained to the police about a similar incident and a boy got arrested and sent to prison.
I just want to warn you all to be really careful when travelling around Cuba, it is safe but always be on your guard and I DO NOT advise that you stay in this Casa Particular. I live in South London and thought I was streetwise but obviously not, thinking that my valuables and belongings were safe in my room, I was a complete idiot. I don't want anyone else to make the same mistake, I shall certainly learn from mine but it cost me.
However, this does not reflect all Casa Particulars in Santiago de Cuba, I have stayed in many and this has never happened to me before.
Good luck and happy travelling around Cuba, it's a beautiful place.
Sophie
Not to discredit anything you have posted but did any of your "frens" ever enter your room, even for a minute ?
Things happens, just be more careful the next time, if will.
Erros teach us, so do not be upset, just learn and don't make that mistake again.
Hugs.
Pelican 1040 Micro Case and a cable lock will solve that petty theft kind of thing. Lock the case, lock the case to your suitcase and lock your suitcase to something big and heavy. Also make a bit of a fuss about people entering your room and security etc. before anything happens. I always remember the reason I enjoy travelling the places I do is that I am comparitively wealthy. That of course means others are comparitively poor and while being poor certainly doesn't make you dishonest, there is no reason to leave temptation laying around in plain sight.
No none of my "frens" EVER went in there, I am very careful of that, I know how these so called "frens" can be!!!! Especially the boys, being a young girl travelling alone I had many males offering to be my "fren" or more than a "fren" if you know what I mean. It was only me in there at all times apart from when I was not there visiting other "frens" and that's when someone must have gone in there who worked or lived in the Casa itself! I travelled around Cuba for four months last year and I never had any problems with my stuff or with any of the people and kept my valuables locked away at all times, I can't believe I was so stupid this time leaving my money in my room unlocked but then saying that some of my clothes and underwear went and I can't lock it all away!!! It was a bad Casa, good job you don't get many, thanks for your replies
Sorry for the misfortune. Unless you know the casa well (stayed a few times) lock everything away. Always lock the money away.
SophsLondon, Thanks very much for your post, and in particular, for posting the name of the casa! Hopefully eventually they will rip off someone who goes to the police. The police are not always effective, and can usually be counted on to waste many hours of your vacation--but still, if a casa gets reported more than once, there's a better than even chance that it will be closed down.
In any case, thanks again. How did you find out about this particular casa anyway? Was it posted on one of the casa websites? If so, maybe you or someone can contact that website and let them know? I'm fairly sure that CubaJunky and Info (the two websites listed in the FAQ) would not want to be advertising a casa which has a reputation for theiving from its guests!
I am sorry to say so Sophie but either you are not very street smart or either your story is not always that coherent.
Somtimes you describe yourself as a very carefull person who don't make any mistakes:
- "I knew exactly how much money I had had before and I was not wrong, a large sum had gone and you cannot make that sort of mistake"
- "none of my "frens" EVER went in there, I am very careful of that"
But other times you don't seem that carefull at all and you make lotta mistakes:
- It took you a couple of days to find out that money had gone: "A couple of days later I noticed that some money, quite a large sum, had been stolen from my room"
- "stupidly I had not locked it away"
Was it really the casa owner who is responsible for the missing money or is that the most easy explanation?
Unfortunately we can not hear the story as told by the casa owner.
There are not many casa owners who will steal from their guests. Can get them in big trouble.
Why didn't you go to the police?
Finally I think the advice of #3 is quite correct: "Do not lead anyone into temptation"
No offence mend, mere some observations
trusted partner
