This anecdote is from Frederik.Vanhaverbeke@elis.rug.ac.be, November, 1997

I advise people to be very precautious in “casas particulares.” I, for example, lost 7 traveller cheques and I assume that they have been stolen in a house in Cienfuegos. I’m definitely sure that the people of the house have searched my luggage: when I arrived in Cienfuegos and after I had put my luggage in my sleeping-room, I went for a stroll in the city. When I came back after 1 hour, however it took several minutes before the landlady opened the door and when I entered the room, my shampoo was standing on the table while I hadn’t opened the luggage before. I immediately left the house but only several days later (in Trinidad) I noticed that 7 cheques had disappeared. Unfortunately, I can’t tell the address of the house but I can say that the house was suggested by someone working in the “terminal de omnibus” (bus station) from Havana when I bought a ticket to Cienfuegos.




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