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I got stuck up at gupoint (not sure if the gun was real) in Boca. Got my bag, $, camera, and most inconvenietly, my LP Argentina book. They are not for sale at all here.
Anyone in BA that can give me a look at their LP book would be doing me a great favor. Shoot me back a private message or call me at my Hotel Dos Congresos at 4372 0466 room 109 anytime, email me at heevay at yahoo dot com, or give me a way to contact you.
I promise you true tales and free beer
[QUOTE=Skip1]I got stuck up at gupoint (not sure if the gun was real) in Boca. Got my bag, $, camera, and most inconvenietly, my LP Argentina book. They are not for sale at all here.
Anyone in BA that can give me a look at their LP book would be doing me a great favor. Shoot me back a private message or call me at my Hotel Dos Congresos at 4372 0466 room 109 anytime, email me at heevay at yahoo dot com, or give me a way to contact you.
I promise you true tales and free beer[/QUOTE]Sorry to hear about your ordeal. If you can post a bit more about how / when this happened, perhaps others can learn from it and avoid it!
More on the great stickup. I went to Boca and wandered around the tourist-tango area near the river and then walked along the river to the right as you face the river for about 1km were the old derelict boats are with no problem at all. The next day I came back and did the tango area again, had some pizza in a very local place just outside the tango area bought some bootleg CD's from a very nice guy at a stand and walked along the river to the left as you face the river – also no prob.
BUT after about 300 meters to the left at the old disused big rusty steel bridge structure that is in all the tourist pictures, there are little boats that run across to the other side of the river. It is a very short distance – less than 100 meters to the other side. The boats are rowboats and very picturesque and well maintained. They look very atractive and legitimate. BE WARNED on the other side of the river, were they go, is one of the most dangerous places in BA – maybe in all of Argentina. It's called ISLA MARCEL. I was suck up at gunpoint almost immediately as I got off the boat – within 30 meters.
When I told my Argentine friends about it they thought it was almost funny that I managed to find the worst are in BA by accident - a place "where no tourists go and no Argentines go". This is a really lawless area that even the cops keep away from.
The thing about it is that the boats look so innocent – as if they were designed to look cute for tourists. At a minimum, those boats should be barred from taking ANY foreigners and warning signs should be posted. This is a major danger.
From what I remember, most of Boca is a dodgy area. I explored it and the surrounding area once when I just moved here.
Can you think of anything that may have set you off as a "mark" for these guys?
I'm not saying this necessarily applies to you, but its fairly common to see foreigners walking around relatively poor areas with "Please Jack Me" plastered all over them. Cameras around neck, clueless looking, Indiana Jones hats, audible English / French / German, visible "waistpacks" undoubtedly stuffed with cash, etc.
[QUOTE=Skip1]More on the great stickup. I went to Boca and wandered around the tourist-tango area near the river and then walked along the river to the right as you face the river for about 1km were the old derelict boats are with no problem at all. The next day I came back and did the tango area again, had some pizza in a very local place just outside the tango area bought some bootleg CD's from a very nice guy at a stand and walked along the river to the left as you face the river – also no prob.
BUT after about 300 meters to the left at the old disused big rusty steel bridge structure that is in all the tourist pictures, there are little boats that run across to the other side of the river. It is a very short distance – less than 100 meters to the other side. The boats are rowboats and very picturesque and well maintained. They look very atractive and legitimate. BE WARNED on the other side of the river, were they go, is one of the most dangerous places in BA – maybe in all of Argentina. It's called ISLA MARCEL. I was suck up at gunpoint almost immediately as I got off the boat – within 30 meters.
When I told my Argentine friends about it they thought it was almost funny that I managed to find the worst are in BA by accident - a place "where no tourists go and no Argentines go". This is a really lawless area that even the cops keep away from.
The thing about it is that the boats look so innocent – as if they were designed to look cute for tourists. At a minimum, those boats should be barred from taking ANY foreigners and warning signs should be posted. This is a major danger.[/QUOTE]It is called "Isla Maciel" and it is certainly very dangerous.
Andres
Not in your category, but had my rented cellphone swiped off my belt by a swift moving, bicycling ladron tonight. Just less than a block away from Exedra, walking with Emilia, a sweet little mexicana to catch a cab back to my place. I heard snatch and grab was the main MO down here. Didn't take me long to see it in action.
The dog
Yeah I was taking pics of the steel bridge with a small digital camera and was, I supose, clearly a foreginer. My point is that the area and partularly the boats did not look dangerous. I've travelled to all kinds of places and you have to make judgment calls all the time an this one looked ok. That's why a warning is needed at that particlar spot.
An argentine friend of mine, middle class guy in his 30's, told me that Isla Maciel used to be an ok old neiborhood 20 years ago - his grandparents lived there but it turned bad as the the old timers moved out.
More info re: my stolen cellphone. I got a new phone today from Phonerental, the company I opted to deal with on a short term basis here. Bad news-in the fine print I am responsible for half of replacement costs (plus taxes) on the stolen phone. I ain't shaming myself with the exact figure out of my pocket, but it was substantial. Don't let your phone get stolen!
Cheap cell phones here go for 100 pesos. Check Clarin and La Nacion for daily sales and see if they over charged you for the same model.
Will do, thanks for the info.
[QUOTE=Skip1]An argentine friend of mine, middle class guy in his 30's, told me that Isla Maciel used to be an ok old neiborhood 20 years ago - his grandparents lived there but it turned bad as the the old timers moved out.[/QUOTE]Skip1:
Isla Maciel was always dangerous, although not as extreme as nowadays. In fact, some minor companies operate there, and the Club Atletico San Telmo has its stadium in the heart of the island. Thus, some people should be able to go to work or watch a game without much hassle.
Hope this helps,
Andres
I hate to revive an old threat, but my experience today warrants it.
I was having lunch alone at La Strada near V. Lopez and Junin today around 2:30. About twenty minutes after sitting down, some men rode up to the entrance on a motorcycle and one jumped off and ran into the restaurant. I only saw him in my peripheral vision for a split second before he hit me very hard in the face. He then began pulling at my watch, which was pretty nice, and I stood up and swung back. At that point, his friend donkey punched me in the back of the head and I sort of grayed out for a minute. When I regained my senses, they had taken off on the bike.
I have a fractured orbit and quite a lot of soreness, but am otherwise okay. The police believe that I was followed for some time prior to the attack, since my table could not be seen from the sidewalk, and that I was very lucky. They said that these attacks are usually conducted with either a gun or knife involved.
I've no idea how they zeroed in on me, other than the fact that I am dressed nicely, but I have taken normal precautions on this trip (radio taxis, not pulling out maps in public, etc. Anyway, be safe out there!
If you see me out and about, say hi. I am the mellow American with a big shiner.
What kind of watch? Did they take your wallet, too?
That area is usually patrolled, isn't it?
Sssshhhhh! There's no crime in BA!;)