La Habana - Is Havana really safe?

Hotel Telegrafo, Havana Cuba

The last three nights of our "Historical Central Cuba" tour took us to La Habana.  As we entered the once prosperous city, our guide briefed us on it's history before and after the revolution.  There are many buildings being refurbished now, and you'll see scaffolding and fencing everywhere.  The buildings that have been repaired are truly spectacular with their pillars, high ceilings, tile and artwork.
Our guide encouraged us to explore Old Havana during our free time, and told us multiple times how safe the city is.  That being said, off we went.
Cathryn and I had been there before, so we headed out to find a Bake Shop that made great little Guayaba turnovers.  One turnover and a coffee made for a great afternoon snack.  We returned to the Hotel Telegrafo in time to get cleaned up and head down for Happy Hour.
Turned out Happy Hour wasn't so great.  One member of our group had her purse stolen by an athlete who specialize in "snatch and run".  She lost her Passport, Drivers Licence, Credit Cards, and all her money.  The poor sole, traumatized as it was, now had to endure a marathon session with the Cuban Police in order to get a report which would in turn, allow for the issuing of documents to temporarily replace her Passport.  During the process, a number of different Police officers told the woman and her witness (through our guide/interpreter) that this had never happened before.

The next day I was having a Cristol (great Cuban Beer) at the Hotel Bar and a man from Germany sat down next to me.  We exchanged travel stories.  He told me how he was swarmed in a bar by a group of young women who left him without his money or his iPhone.  He fortunately, carried only enough money for the day.  The balance of his money, Passport and other documents were in the hotel safe.

Walking the streets in Old Havana

So, is Havana safe?  I'd say yes. We never once felt threatened when walking around, and have never heard of anyone being physically abused or mugged.   However, where there are people, there are thieves.  Practice good habits so as not to become a target.  Stick to the main avenues.  Use a bag/purse with a strap that can go over your head and shoulder.  Carry the bag under your arm.  Avoid flashing or counting large amounts of money in public.  If you don't have a safe at the hotel, use a concealed money belt for your valuables.  Always be aware of your surroundings.  Seeing the same stranger nearby more than once on a busy street probably isn't a coincidence.
This was a very unfortunate event for our travel companion to experience.  The lesson we learned from it is to never get complacent.  This could happen in any city, in any country.  Travel smart, be safe, and enjoy your travels.

Seeing a little better in Cuba

We took a last minute trip to Santa Lucia Cuba, which is east of the City of Camaguey, South of Cayo Coco and North of Holguin.  As a lot of people do, we wanted to take some gifts that we could leave behind.
As we quickly prepared for the trip, we bought a few pair of reading glasses (among other things) to take with us.  By the last day of our stay, we had given everything away except the glasses and we weren't sure what to do with them.
I had been chatting with the Bar Tender quite a bit so I thought I'd ask him if he knew of anyone who may be able to use the glasses.
I strolled down to the bar early in the evening and took up my favorite spot in front of the beer tap.  To my left (I found out later) was a hotel worker who began employment at the resort 23 years ago, when it was being built.
I asked Leonardo, the tender, if he knew of anyone who needed some eye glassed.  He inspected the ones that I brought and compared them to the pair he had in his pocket.  He said the ones he had didn't work the best anymore.  He got some paperwork from the back of the bar and started comparing the different strengths of lenses.
As the exercise continued, I felt a keen interest from the hotel worker standing beside me.  He also wore glasses.  Closer inspection revealed, his had no arms.  He had rigged the armless glasses up with a piece of elastic and wore them like goggles.  He tried on the new spectacles that we had brought and luckily one of the pairs worked for him.  It turns out, they were the same strength that I use so I gave him a spare pair.
Leonardo was also successful, in that his eyes were better than ours and he could use a pair of the weaker glasses.
I'm sure we could have left the glasses and they would have found their way throught the Cuban economic system to someone who needed them.  However, seeing the hotel worker sporting his new look that evening and the next day was kind of special.