Looking for a cheap place to eat, we venture into Centro Habana, a rougher version of Old Havana.
During my meal I wander off to the ladies and say hello to the Cuban woman outside, who I assume is the toilet attendant. I tip her as is normal but she looks at me quizzically. 'Don't you want it?' I ask thinking that maybe I've offended her. 'Well, ok' she replies taking the money and hugging me. I realise my mistake. She's not the toilet attendant after all and I've given money to a random person.
Mumbling something about a disco down the road, she tries to drag me out of the restaurant. I tell her I'm with my friend and she promptly walks over to the table and sits down. Shortly afterwards her boyfriend joins us and tries to persuade us to go to a club down the road. When we decline, she leans over and asks slightly aggressively if we'll buy them both a drink but not here as the mojitos are apparently bad. Feeling I'm getting in deeper into something I don't feel good about (Al has no clue as to what's going on and is blissfully unaware of my toilet encounter) I agree to buy them a drink at the bar we're in. They insist on going elsewhere but I'm feeling uncomfortable at this stage and refuse. After a few minutes of unpleasant wrangling, they order beers and as soon as they arrive take off into the night.
Later I discover from others that this is not such an unusual situation. Quite often Cubans 'befriend' tourists. It's difficult to know whether they're just being friendly or out for the free drinks.
(Photo - Plaza de San Francisco, Havana)
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