A tale of two cities, safety first

I always planned for a bit of alone time in BA. And like all big metropolitan areas, you need to be careful. I knew this, but got even more sense of it on three occasions. The firsts included friends who had been there for work providing me with a sense of caution. There was nothing terribly specific but a general sense of being a little more cautious – the usual, like not wearing expensive jewellery, or flashing around money or a map – things that draw attention to yourself. Then, prior to the congress, another list of tips that were very similar was emailed my way. Again, most are common sense things but as a Canadian living in a relatively small centre, not something that one tends to think about in too much depth. For example, carrying your backpack to the front of you rather than the back to make it more difficult to grab. Or, holding onto your purse rather than letting it dangle off your shoulder.

I took it to heart, but it all became more real the day two of the conference delegates experienced crime first hand. They were not too far from the downtown hotel when something was splatter on them from above. Two people rushed to their aid, providing Kleenex to help them. And as they were doing that, the two helpers grabbed their two camera equipment bags and hopped into a vehicle that was driving by. They were not hurt, but their equipment was gone.

A few days later, crime again came to our attention. As part of a city tour, the buses stopped at La Boca. This is a very famous spot in BA. It is where immigrants first came to the country and also the neighbourhood of the birthplace of the tango. The spot is an intersection of several avenues where tango dancers pose for a photo with you for a price and local artists show their work in the charming streets. However, the tour guides were very deliberate to point out the two areas where we should stay. We did and walked in small groups and there were no issues, but I can’t help but wonder what exactly they feared. I suspect there was something, and particularly after the camera bag incident- news of which travelled quickly- that they simply didn’t want to chance another robbery.

We were also cautioned not the change money except at a bank or the hotel because there is lots of black market money and the exchange rate fluctuates daily with the dollar, but also in the moment depending on who you trust to change the money.  I witnessed one market vendor refuse Argentinean currency because a small section of the corner of the bill was missing.

It is with this as a foundation that I set out to spend three days on my own so I was a bit nervous. I chose to carry a soft bag of cloth that zips which contained my purse, my phone, a water bottle and a sweather. And the bag certainly wasn’t new.

So, how did it go?

Very well!

The desk clerks at the boutique hotel were so helpful. They suggested where to go and what to see. Sometimes I walked and sometimes I got a cab – average price of 50 pesos which is less than 10 dollars.  I visited two art galleries, a couple of malls, two huge markets with thousands of people, the opera house, and avenue Santa Fe – imagine Robson or Queen Street in TO but move it to BA.  I went out at night and even to a dance club. And while I keep my eyes open, I did not feel threatened. Yes, there are some people with issues on the street, but that exists at home too.  And, when there were large crowds, the police presence was evident. They were not intruding but they were there.

I chose to treat myself to cabs and they were easy to locate and have metres.

My key message, act like a local, dress like a local and behave in a way that doesn’t advertise that you are a tourist. Seems like common sense, but obviously the camera equipment folks either didn’t hear it or take it to heart.