Santiago de Cuba is probably the strangest place that I have ever been to. In some ways I feel like I am doing it a disservice as I was only there for 2 nights but it was the first night that was just downright bizarreβ¦..
It all started with my taxi to the main square in the city. The sound system was mighty impressive though. Best not to dwell on that question too much. Within no time at all, I was in the centre of Santiago de Cuba ready to explore, or so I thoughtβ¦β¦. It felt like less than 10 seconds after getting out of the taxi, I was approached by taxi drivers looking to take me back to my hotel. All I want to do is walk around and get a feel for the place without being harassed.
Is that so difficult!? Well yes it seems that it is. I was able to escape from the main square with Tony from Scotland and do some walking around the side streets. We decided to walk back to the square and try to find somewhere to relax and listen to the band playing. At the main square, Tony got approached by an older gentleman that claimed to be the third best chess player in Cuba and challenged him to a match. How could he refuse?
The game was over very quickly indeed. Tony lost so maybe this guy is actually the third best chess player in Cuba. Apparently the man tried to convince Tony to buy some milk for his young twins, a chicken for himself and also to come back to his house so that his wife could cook him dinner.
During the chess match, I had been approached by another prostitute, or jintera. Well I am assuming she was, as she was scantily dressed and was very interested in me and wanted to take me for a drink. She was a pleasant enough woman but the number of jintera in Cuba shows one of its biggest problems to me and that is the dual currency system.
