The Tale Of The Pin Badge That Almost Got Away

   If you read our about pages than you know that we collect pin badges from where ever we visit. This story is about our pin from Cuba, the pin badge that almost got away from our collection of pins. 

An insight into how difficult it can be to find these little souvenirs

   We always look for enamel pins which have a special design and that would represent what we like most about the places we travel to. 

Pin badges and souvenir shops

   These are the type of souvenirs that will never compete with the ones tourists buy most often when they travel, such as postcards, fridge magnets, keychains and so on. And, for us, that’s what makes them special.

We haven’t met anyone, so far, who collects pin badges from their travels, so we just look at this as our own little thing.

Why pin badges are hard to find

   As a result of not being so popular amongst tourists, in some places, pin badges are really difficult to find. That, if you can find any at all.

Most often, if you’re in a place where there’s no demand for such souvenirs, you will find only a handful of street vendors, who will have some tucked away somewhere in a small basket, forgotten and hidden in the corner of their stall.

And the pins will most probably be in the shape of the country’s flag. Even though most of the time we look for more creative designs, we do have to buy flag shaped pins when there is no other option whatsoever. Never our first choice, though.

Looking for pins where there aren’t any

  With Cuba’s pin, now that’s a whole different story. It all begins with us returning to Havana from Viñales. With only 3 days left to spend in Cuba, we are now under pressure to find a pin badge or it will got away. We’ve been looking all over the city, but we can’t find any. 

We have been asking around in all the touristy spots and the only thing we hear is “no”, over and over again. Now, more than ever, we’re convinced that we will leave Cuba without a pin. And to be honest we feel rather disappointed that we can’t keep up with the challenge. 

We are determined to not let this pin badge get away from our collection.

Just when we are about to give up…

  We decide to take a break from the pin badge hunting and just enjoy being on the streets of Havana on such a lovely, summer day. Not long until we find ourselves wondering in “Parque Francisco de Albear y Lara”, in Habana Vieja (Old Havana).

That’s when something caught our attention. And no, it wasn’t the famous bar La Floridita. It was La Casa del Ron y del Tabaco Cubano (The house of Cuban Rum and Tabacco). This cigar shop has on top of its entrance door a huge “Havana Club” sign.

Yes, the world renowned brand that produces the Cuban Rum called “Havana Club”. 

Remembering the pin in Vigñales

   That’s when it hits us and we remember that in Viñales we met a waiter who was wearing a pin attached to his shirt and that pin was from “Havana Club”. The first thing we do is ask him where he’s got it from.

He said that it was provided by the company he works for and that it’s for employees only. We then think to ourselves “Would he be willing to sell it?”. We fire the question and we instantly get a firm, but friendly “no”.

He tries to help though, by checking with his colleagues to see if any of them are interested in selling. The answer is once more a “no”. It seems that we’re not the only ones who see pins as jewels. 🙂

It seems that on this occasion the pin badge got away.

We try at the museum

   So I guess we’re pin hunting again! Because if he has one, then there must be a place where we can get our hands on one. We enter the shop and ask the staff at the bar if they sell pins, but to our disappointment, the response was “no”.

However, they did advise that we might have a chance to find some if we go to the Museo del Ron Havana Club (Havana Club Rum Museum). So we quickly make our way towards the Ferry Terminal, because that’s where the Museum is located.

Havana Club Museum

   A short 15 minutes walk and we are there. As soon as we enter the Museum and approach the reception this young lady with a bubbly personality asks us what we are looking for and once we tell her she directs us straight to the souvenir shop located inside the same building.

This is probably our last and, by the looks of it, our only chance. So we ask the staff at the souvenir stand:

   “Tienes pins?” (“Do you sell pins?”)

   We don’t really know what the Spanish translation for the word pin is, but we have been given different variations of translation along our travels, such as prendedores, alfiler, brocheria, pines.

We are not sure if any are correct, but after saying all the words people would normally know what we’re talking about. 🙂   

   As much as we wanted to hear a yes, we were honestly, expecting a no once more. But to our surprise, she says:

   “Si.” (“Yes.”)

Finally, we found them! 

   We got so excited as if we were two kids seeing Santa for the first time. 

   Oh, but hold your horses now! I am sure you remember we said that finding this pin was not easy, because it really wasn’t. 

   Soon after the lady tells us that they do sell pins, she also mentions a “but…”. This is definitely not something that we want to hear right now. All our enthusiasm fades away in an instant, because “but” more often than not implies a contradiction to a previous answer.

And we are right! She tells us that they are out of stock at the moment and that they will restock on Friday.

   That would not be a problem if we would still be in Havana on Friday, which we won’t because we already have our flight booked for Miami, for Wednesday. They are two days too late with the restocking. 🙂

   We insist and ask if she is sure that she can’t find any. It really doesn’t matter if they are not in perfect condition. She firmly reconfirms that there are none available. 

   With nothing left for us to say, we head towards the exit, with our tails between our legs.

That’s why it’s called LUCK

   On our way to the exit, we pass once again by the Museum’s reception. The young lady who was there when we arrived waves us goodbye and at the same time she asks if we found what we were looking for.

We tell her that unfortunately we didn’t and explain to her in a few words why it means so much to us to have that pin. After hearing our story and how we travel the world, we see her getting excited and she says to us with a big smile on her face:

   “Por favor, esperan dos minutos”. (Please, give me two minutes!)

The pin badge that almost got away! Not one but two!

   And then…POOF! – she disappears. We have a feeling that something good is about to happen, and we are hoping that she would just come back with a pin. But then again, our luck keeps avoiding us, so we are not sure what to think anymore.

It literally takes two minutes and she’s back. With the same big smile on her face, she hands us not one, but TWO brand new Havana Club pin badges. 

 How did this happen?! …We’re just speechless! 

We pay with hugs

   We ask her how much we need to pay for them and she insists that no payment is needed. It is her present to us. This stranger just did this kind, wonderful heartwarming gesture for us without wanting anything in return.

We give her a big hug and thank her for being awesome. And we’d like to think that this made her day as special as she made ours.

  These two pins are much more special now, thanks to this beautiful and kind young lady who was working that day at the Havana Club Rum Museum (Museo del Ron Havana Club).

Do you buy a souvenir from where you travel? What kind? Don’t forget to leave your comment below!