View Full Version : Is Argentina safe?
Hi all,
My friend told me in gernal, South America is not safe.
Is Argentina friendly to you. S. Travlers?
DonRoberto
10-31-05, 18:44
I have been four times, have visited all parts of the country, and can tell you it is safe. Be observant, like you would anywhere, but just relax and don't worry.
I feel safer in Argentina then I do in most countries. I would rather be walking around Buenos Aires late at night then in most american cities!
Art Vandalay
11-04-05, 10:03
I agree, I have been to BA five times and I have only had one problem and I partially blame myself. I was in a taxi and the guy engaged me in friendly conversation saying his brother was going to the US and he, the taxi driver, was trying to get US dollars for him. He offered to exchange pesos for dollars at the rate of 3 to 1. Slightly better than the 2.94 to 1 at the time. Turns out he gave me a bogus 100 peso bill. I didnt notice it until he drove away. I was pretty peeved at the time but figured it was a small loss and at least I wasn't robbed. Other than that, I have had NO problems in BA and have walked around Recoleta, Puerto Madero and downtown late at night. But as it's been said before. Take extra precautions and you should be fine. Don't wear your camera around your neck and don't wear a fanny pack or something else that screams "Tourist". I think it's pretty easy to blend in in BA because there is no one particular look for portenios. Some are fair skinned some are dark. It varies. And that's my two cents.
Art
OslersVoice
11-04-05, 11:05
Turns out he gave me a bogus 100 peso bill. I didnt notice it until he drove away. I was pretty peeved at the time but figured it was a small loss and at least I wasn't robbed.
ArtUm, it sounds to me like you were robbed.
I guess Art meant getting robbed with violence. It's very different. I guess also he maent do not look like the woman on the paint (attached to this message)
OslersVoice
11-04-05, 15:04
I guess Art meant getting robbed with violence. It's very different. I guess also he maent do not look like the woman on the paint (attached to this message)If you can make yourself look more like the chair, you should have nothing to fear. Except a 300 lbs woman.
Recoleta is safe. The only problem I ever had was getting a stinky liquid sprayed on me and that was outside of Recoleta. The old "I can clean you up for a fee" scam.
The main problem I had in Buenos Aires was taxi cab drivers trying to pawn off counterfeit pesos. I make it a point to carry several smaller bills so I don't need to get much change when I hop into a cab. I got scammed with a bad 10 peso bill.
Otherwise, I wandered about safely.
Perhaps, you should NOT look like the woman. (this is Art's advice)
Having consumed one too many whisky nacionales, I left a club called las Pompitas and I can't remember where it is. Got there too late to score with the chicas as the club closed 20 minutes after I arrived. On exiting I was tapped on the shoulder from behind and cold sucker punched right in the shnaazola. Stunned I feel to my knees, while 2 guys went through my pockets and left with me with out a centavo.
Thankfully a cabdriver saw me get heisted and drove me to my apt for free. My door lady who has been opening the door for me for 2 weeks refuses to let me in cause I didn't have my key. She called the cops and I explained I just got mugged and lost my keys and they let me in. I was let into my apt by the person who rented to me. Man, that she didn't let me in irked me to no end.
This would have never happened if I would have just used some common sense. Stay in the tourist area, las Pompitas was all full of Joe Argentino. If you must slum around don't go alone. If you must go alone, don't drink!
I was tipsy and had aggravated an already sprained ankle earlier that evening, so here comes limping, drunk Joe Tourist out of a boliche at 5:30 in the am in a part of town where you don't see policemen on every corner.
All I was missing was a t-shirt that read "mug me, I won't fight back very hard".
Well I hope this is a lesson to you my friends, course most of you are too smart to do what I did. Comming to the end of a 28 day vacation in Argentina and even with this experience I can say I had a fantastic time. Argentinians are for the most part, very polite and nice people. I have traveled the world and never have I seen a city as beautiful, fun and what a night life scen!
I'll be back, cause what happened to me can happen in any big city. I've seen people stabbed in the streets of Hamburg, Germany, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and I really should have known better.
Daddy Rulz
11-12-05, 14:24
Got a fake 100 peso bill from the Banko Francias ATM at Cabildo and Fred La Croze. Bank wouldn't change it. Check your money carefully it wasn't even a good fake I just didn't look at it because I got it from an ATM.
Thanks, Lunico, for sharing your experience with the forum instead of just staying quiet about it. I wonder where this las Pompitas Club is? You must have been really out of it to not even know what part of town you were in. If you remember, please tell us.
I felt surreally safe in tourist parts of BA, and when I went to Flores with Capt. Dave and Jackson, it also seemed extremely safe there.
Pampitas = Nuevo EstiloThanks, Dickhead. Is that an area normally considered off-limits to mongers?
I'm going to try to find on one of Jackson's maps.
Hi HeadGames,
It's on one of my maps. In fact, because it's off by itself in Barrio Norte, it has it's own map.
Still, Lunico story surprises me, because it is in what I would call a relatively safe area. For example, I've been there dozens of times, and I've NEVER seen any suspious-looking street thug types hanging out anywhere in the area.
Thanks,
Jackson
I looked at the map and I remember the street outline. I walked about 1/2 a block away from the club before I was mugged. Thankfully no guns or knives were drawn on me, unlike my other mugging experiences in Los Angeles, and Mexico City.
Still I have zero regrets about comming to BA. Beautiful town and it is extraordinarily safe. I was really asking for that one, After 28 days in town I felt like a local. I was making friends with locals and their still my friends. Looking back I took a lot of risks moving late at night alone, walking through unkown territory. Soon as I threw my good friend alcohol into the mix I probably lost the ability to see a sherman tank comming down the street.
I posted this just as a reminder that in any big city we are always in a bit of danger. Especially with our hobby, I mean no chica I know takes credit cards.
Damn, only 10 minutes from Recoleta. I'm really surprised.
If your in Congreso, a bad part of town where I stayed once, Recoleta is 10 minutes away. I saw some hoods observing me in Congreso once, last June, but they didn't move towards me, probably because we noticed each other at the same time. The province of Vicente Lopez is 10 minutes away, everything is very centralized here.
Here is link to some interesting crime info on BA.
http://www.britishembassy.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1058275603812
It all rings true and makes sense. I mean 28 days I walked all over BA, that increases my chances of getting victimized. Even chicas get victimized, Libia was telling me about that once last December. Thats really bad, to service men all day and on your way home get robbed. Man!
My expierience was not without a silver lining. The free cab ride, I found a hotel in Recoleta, Plaza Francia, 70 a night for a single in peak season. I left my apt in micro cause it was starting to depress me. The poor lighting and stuff. My new slightly swollen upper lip is quite becoming, and now im considering botox injections.
Finnaly my boxing instincts are still good because I was up before ten, but I coulnd't find my mouth piece.
On my last trip, I had an unpleasant experience.
I was in a taxi, stopped at the traffic light at 9 de julio and Corrientes, at around 4pm.
Two small street kids opened the doors on the passenger side and started to climb in. I had no packages for them to steal. I punched the one who opened the back door in the face and he took off running. The one that opened the front door grabbed the driver's little coin bank that he used to make change with. The cabdriver took off running after the little thief but the old guy was no match for a 10-12 year kid in a footrace.
When they approached the car, I was caught off guard, as there are often harmless kids in the street there selling candy or pens to the motorists waiting for the light to change.
I had neglected to lock the door after I got in the cab. The little socio-economically deprived bastards thought they saw an opportunity and took it.
Be careful.
ChicagoBoy23
11-13-05, 16:13
Probably best comparison is Europe. You have to watch out for petty crime in big city crowds but thats about it. I have been to Argentina 5x in past 2 years and always had a great time.
BA is probably one of the safest Latin American metropolis. Certainly more safe than other places I have been like Lima and Carracas which have some bad neighborhoods.
Of course if you walk around drunk waving cash you are asking for trouble.
ChicagoBoy23
11-13-05, 19:05
Youths set fire to 374 parked vehicles before dawn Sunday, compared to 502 the previous night, police said. A week ago, 1,400 cars were incinerated in a single night.
If the downward trend continues, "things could return to normal very quickly," National Police Chief Michel Gaudin said, noting that French youths burn about 100 cars on an average Saturday night.
-------------------
OK - I take it back. BA is safer than average European city
The women in Buenos Aires shave their armpits.
Another advantage for Argentina!:)
Downtown Av. Cordoba, alone, fully dressed, in mid of the night, all the way to my Recolata Apartment. Nobody ever bothered me.
Last July. Puerto Madero.
Cute Chica. I thought I was in love.
She ripped out my heart.
Amber Wrath
11-14-05, 16:18
I looked at the map and I remember the street outline. I walked about 1/2 a block away from the club before I was mugged. Thankfully no guns or knives were drawn on me, unlike my other mugging experiences in Los Angeles, and Mexico City.
Still I have zero regrets about comming to BA. Beautiful town and it is extraordinarily safe. I was really asking for that one, After 28 days in town I felt like a local. I was making friends with locals and their still my friends. Looking back I took a lot of risks moving late at night alone, walking through unkown territory. Soon as I threw my good friend alcohol into the mix I probably lost the ability to see a sherman tank comming down the street.
I posted this just as a reminder that in any big city we are always in a bit of danger. Especially with ourhobby, I mean no chica I know takes credit cards.Dammit Lunico.
20/20 hindsight is working perfectly. Count your blessings again. Sons a bitches could of bean meaner and assaulted your little boys along with your snazoola.
Booze> turns tough guys into.
What was on that t-shirt from Cancun? Drunk guy holding a martini>
Two drinks and your the best lover.
Three and your a lion.
Four and your a horney monky.
Five your bullet proof.
Six your invisible.
In your case we need to fit in world class cumbia dancer somewhere.
Keep the Faith.
Amberwrath
Thanks Sconjo. Was that city Chicago? IE you lived closeby in Milwaukee?
Sconjo USA
11-15-05, 12:04
Sorry to dissapoint you. But it is a city in new jersey. I won't say the name of the city, but it is accross the river from Philadelphia, Pa. I think if the atomic bomb was droped on it, no one would miss it.
Sconjo USA.
OslersVoice
11-15-05, 12:51
sorry to dissapoint you. But it is a city in new jersey. I won't say the name of the city, but it is accross the river from philadelphia, pa. I think if the atomic bomb was droped on it, no one would miss it. Sconjo usa.Could only be Camden! Yes, its a real lovely place.
Sconjo USA
11-16-05, 00:17
You Could Be Right!
Sconjo USA
11-16-05, 23:21
I was in ba in Sept. For 10 days. I walked all over. Had only one problem, somebody tried to pickpocket me on 9 di julio between near santa fe. As I felt hi hand go into my back pocket, I swung around and thru a right punch. Caught the top of his head. I don't carry a wallet and nothing in my back pocket so he got nothing. There were people around. Thease guys are a bunch of brazen bastards. If I was in the states where I live, I would have made the bastard bleed from all over. I live close to a city that is on the fbi list as the most crime city in the entire usa. So I know most of the tricks. Sconjo usa
VegasFirstTime
11-26-05, 16:02
I just got back from my first BA trip. I went solo and didn't feel in Danger once. You just have to be careful during night because there are far less people out and about, but I didn't not feel in any danger at any time.
I spent 6 days in B. A. and I walked on almost every street from Recoleta to San Telmo. Took every subte A, B, C, and D from 8 in the morning till about 11 at night. With little common sense used I had no problems at all. Walking in B. A. is no different then walking in East LA or New York.
The only scariest thing I can remember is you need to watch your footing, all the side walks are full of dog poop.
I try to stay mostly in Recoleta. Not smart to be walking around places like the centro at night time.
One girl told me that she was robbed 3 times walking back from a boliche in Centro at night.
Then, we went to eat in Palermo. We were walking around some side streets, and there were restuarants and things around, and I said that it seemed dangerous. She says no no its safe. Next thing I know she pulls me into a bar because some little chico is scampering right at us, and he runs off.
Even in Recoleta, they have security standing outside all the apartments. These guys are not standing there because it is safe at night.
Be smart and just cab your way around once it gets into the wee hours.
Marak5,
The porteros standing outside the apartment buildings are there to keep an eye on the buildings, not to patrol or otherwise get involved in what's happening in the street.
In other words, their presence in front of an apartment building is not in any way indicitave of any perceived level of street danger.
Thanks,
Jackson
StrayLight
05-12-06, 19:53
I've lived or traveled in a lot of major cities, and I don't find BA to feel anymore threatening than New York, Washington DC, Paris, Tokyo, or wherever. Common sense is the order of the day. And 90% of it is simply knowing where you don't belong and when.
That said, I take a few simple precautions. I don't leave the apartment or hotel with everything. I carry one non-significant ID, and one credit card / ATM card that has a very, very low limit.
I don't wear my Rolex out at night if I'm going to be walking a lot or going somewhere new in a new neighborhood.
I have a honeypot wallet. This is a wallet with nothing significant in it except a few bills of local currency and some outdated cards that make it look real. Whenever I use an ATM machine or whatever, I pull the wallet out and make it look like I'm doing all my business out of it. As I turn away from the machine, I obviously put my wallet back in my back pocket.
I've never been robbed -- knock on wood -- but I fully expect to be some day. If and when it happens, I just want to walk away alive and minimize the damage.
Straylight
Hey,
I've walked all over at the strangest hours in the middle of the night without a problem. Last time I was there (January) I walked one night from Calloa and Corrientes to San Telmo, about a 30 minute walk, maybe 3 or 4 in the morning and there were plenty of other people walking home or somewhere, calmy, not all worried looking like here where I live. They seemed to be comfortable with their surroundings, not stressed.
I'm not saying things can't happen, it's just that the odds seems to be much lower there than many other places I've been. I never stumble around drunk, always have my wits about me, but that's just normal for me. I'm not stressed or overly concerned about my well being in BA.
Not only does BA have machine gun toting thugs on every street corner, but the entire city is controlled by Asian youth gangs, Ukrainian immigrant gangs, and every type of Latino mafia. Not a day goes by that I don't witness a shoot out.
Other safety issues are health related. Rats and snakes, as well as many species of poisonous spiders, abound. Weather hazards include typhoons, floods, and tidal waves (of course it is well known that Buenos Aires is on the most flood prone area of the tropical Atlantic coast) and frequent tornadoes.
The water supply is infested with cholera, and malaria and yellow fever are also prevalent. It would be much better to go to government controlled resorts in Mexico such as Ixtapa, or perhaps Cancun.
Plus Americans need a visa to visit Argentina and that involves lengthy interviews at an Argentinean consulate, and the only Argentinean consulates in the US are in Miami and Bismarck, North Dakota. Overall it is not worth the effort to visit Argentina. It's just another banana republic with fat, mestizo-type women.
Marak heard some chicas lost their cell phones and were possibly robbed so that proves everything I am saying.
Hope this helps.
Hi DH,
You forgot to mention the $250 dollar exit fee and the mandatory body cavity search at the airport.
Thanks,
Jackson
You're absolutely right. My memory is bad at my advanced age, I must have been in Cartagena or some other place that felt safer.
Best not to go to BA, very dangerous, please disregard my previous comments.
I wouldn't take the chance Mojokpr.
Exon
Daddy Rulz
05-19-06, 05:54
Not only does BA have machine gun toting thugs on every street corner, but the entire city is controlled by Asian youth gangs, Ukrainian immigrant gangs, and every type of Latino mafia. Not a day goes by that I don't witness a shoot out.
Other safety issues are health related. Rats and snakes, as well as many species of poisonous spiders, abound. Weather hazards include typhoons, floods, and tidal waves (of course it is well known that Buenos Aires is on the most flood prone area of the tropical Atlantic coast) and frequent tornadoes.
The water supply is infested with cholera, and malaria and yellow fever are also prevalent. It would be much better to go to government controlled resorts in Mexico such as Ixtapa, or perhaps Cancun.
Plus Americans need a visa to visit Argentina and that involves lengthy interviews at an Argentinean consulate, and the only Argentinean consulates in the US are in Miami and Bismarck, North Dakota. Overall it is not worth the effort to visit Argentina. It's just another banana republic with fat, mestizo-type women.
Marak heard some chicas lost their cell phones and were possibly robbed so that proves everything I am saying.
Hope this helps.
Hi DH,
You forgot to mention the $250 dollar exit fee and the mandatory body cavity search at the airport.
Thanks,
JacksonIt was so bad there that I fled to the safety of SP, I may not get laid anymore but at least I don't have to be robbed everyday by machine gun toten gangs, sleep in a rat infested 4 seasons, or worry about how sick (not if I will get sick but how sick) the food will make me. Even the bottled water gives you dysentary. Stay away, stay away.
Yawn! Two such comments are funny, but sarcasm only goes so far.
yawn! Two such comments are funny, but sarcasm only goes so far.Great first post!
I also thought the sarcastic posts about the machine guns, snakes and malaria in BA got old about the 100th time. Wasn't even funny the first time.
Escapee5150
05-20-06, 20:59
I was drugged and robbed one time. I met some people in a very nice restaurant one time that spoke english. It was very subtle. They were pros. It was my own fault to mingle with strangers, but I figured, hey, I am in a restaurant, what can they possibly do. They put some kind of drug in my wine when they poured it, and in the entire bottle itself for all of us. It very slowly cooked my mind, so I was not able to think by the time that I started feeling drunk. I thought, this must be the wine kicking in. And then from there it just got worse. I woke up 18 hours later in my apartment and all my stuff was gone. I did not want to share this info because I felt like such an idiot that I could let that happen. I happened to be semi-drunk on 1 liter of beer before I even met them and had the bottle of wine. Another dangerous situation. Never get drunk here. The whole situation would be extremely difficult to recreate. They were very good and got extremely lucky. The drugs were so subtle that it is hard to describe. Like a time released pill. By the time I felt messed up, I was too messed up to think at all. I have never had any type of drug like that at all.
If you put a frog in boiling water he will jump out. But if you put one in cold water and slowly turn up the heat, he will not. He will just slowly cook to death. That is what it was like. Very very slow but linear.
This place can be very dangerous, and then not dangerous at all. And that is what makes it so dangerous. You eventually let your guard down. That is what happened to me.
And walking at night is completely different than the day. I still do it, but I am tempting fate.
Take cabs and don't talk to strangers. Makes it hard to meet people though.
Also be aware of the different demographic types of people. I found some cool students and musicians to hang with. Students are generally not criminals. And musicians will steal your girlfriend in a heartbeat. But not your guitar. It is some kind of honor among thieves. It is that way all over the world. Not sure exactly why.
Be safe.
Never get drunk here. This place can be very dangerous. And walking at night is completely different than the day. I still do it, but I am tempting fate. Take cabs and don't talk to strangers. Never had a single problem here in 5 years and I can be quite careless in a daredevilish sort of way when drunk and sometimes sober. All of your tales, especially the part about being drugged and robbed, only exist in newspapers and far away places in my world.
Jaimito Cartero
05-21-06, 00:22
Never had a single problem here in 5 years and I can be quite careless in a daredevilish sort of way when drunk and sometimes sober. All of your tales, especially the part about being drugged and robbed, only exist in newspapers and far away places in my world.Well, I don't think he's making it up. I was in BA when it happened to him, and he mentioned it in a PM sheepishly.
I think that some people are too trusting, and you shouldn't have all your eggs in one basket. I had an employee of a hotel rip off a decent amount of cash from a Lima hotel last year. Luckily, I had my funds split up, and wasn't seriously strapped.
Some people do seem to attract bad things, though. Not sure if it's just attitude, flashing lots of money, or just bad luck. I personally think that bad things can happen if you're drunk and out and about with no one watching your back.
I guess in general, I just don't trust anyone I don't know, and remember that if something is too good to be true, it probably is a scam of some sort. Perhaps that means I'm paranoid, but rather safe than sorry.
Cross your fingers, don't do stupid things or go to notoriously dangerous places without watching your back. If you get drunk, raise your chances of getting robbed and / or hurt by a multiple of whatever. After that, it's all percentages. And yea, definitely some people step in shit over and over again. I was hit from behind, mugged and robbed at gunpoint many years ago in good ol Norfolk, Virginia. Just minding my own business, before the first beer of the night, and walking down the street about 9pm. You never know. The cops shot and killed the guy about 3 weeks later. He was preying on so many people in a relatively small section of town that they staked him out.
A while back, I remember meeting an American guy down here that had just visited Rio for a week. He said he was robbed on the street 3 times! This cannot be a coincidence. I've been to Rio 4 times that I can remember and never had a problem, though I will concede that that's a place you should be alert in. Rio / Brazil, unlike BA, is one of the 4 tigers (Brazil, South Africa, Jamaica, Colombia IIRC) for violent crime stats.
Rock Harders
05-21-06, 10:20
Mongers-
I think the best way to avoid being preyed upon in Buenos Aires or anywhere else is to avoid appearing to be easy prey. A lion takes down the weakest and most vulnerable wildebeast of the herd. The same rings true with thieves and hustlers. If you are walking around or hanging out in the vicinity of Recoleta Village or Calle Florida wearing obvious tourist gear and appearing to not know exactly where you are going, you appear to be easy prey for the MANY hustlers that frequent those areas. Of course, if you are alone at night, drunk, and / or have money falling out of your pockets, you are asking for a mugging in any location.
Personally, I take a number of precautions to avoid becoming the victim of any sort of theft or scam. As a rule, if I take any sketchy women to my domicile (which means any I just met) I always put my easily removeable valuables out of reach and out of sight (IPOD, wallet, cellphone, etc. Also, I never take any non-radio taxis, and I try to take radio taxis from companies I am familier with. For example, if I am leaving a club such as Cocodrilo which is located in a non-tourist neighborhood, I never take the cab waiting outside the door, I always walk a block and a half down and take the first radio taxi that appears.
Other than that, I pretty much do everything else normally as I would in any major metropolitan area. I have lived in Buenos Aires on and off for a year and a half (now permanently) and I have never personally had even one minor problem. I walk (and would walk) all hours of the night through any area of Palermo, Barrio Norte, Belgrano, Recoleta, Retiro (except shantytown north of bus station) San Telmo and Centro without any fear. I think the desirable areas of Buenos Aires are safer than most US cities and most definetly safer than 99% of major Latin American cities. I would be afraid to some degree, based on reputation, to walk around such cities as Caracas, Sao Paulo, or Rio De Janiero at night. I get the feeling that there are people in those cities that would blow my head off without blinking an eye if they thought I had enough cash on me to warrent it. I just do not get that feeling walking around in Buenos Aires.
Suerte,.
Dirk Diggler
Jaimito Cartero
05-21-06, 12:23
Well, for adventure, I go to some of the most dangerous brothels around. I've been to these in San Jose, Lima, Rio, etc. I limit my exposure by bringing only the cash necessary, and I usually have some sort of defensive weapon with me. I'm also willing to give up what valuables I have if prudent. I'm not going to die for a $200 digital camera and $25.
It is amazing how some people just seem to be ripped off more often. I haven't been physically robbed since I was a teenager in my own town.
Having a sense of personal awareness and personal security is important in any major city; unfortunetly several American students here just don't grasp that concept and as a result have become victims.
Even in the good areas it just might be your luck: One of my female classmates got mugged one night after class on Zabala about 2 blocks from Cabildo. Two others were robbed in their apartment and aparantly tiedup.
And then you have the ignorant ones who ride the colectivo at peak times and get pick-pocketed, one girl lost $300pesos (a fortune to us college students) and 2 others had wallets stolen. And three were held at gunpoint a couple nights ago in Boca.
A lot has do with having both common an street sense.
VNY
Escapee5150
05-24-06, 07:41
Never had a single problem here in 5 years and I can be quite careless in a daredevilish sort of way when drunk and sometimes sober. All of your tales, especially the part about being drugged and robbed, only exist in newspapers and far away places in my world.I wished. Why would I make up a story that would nominate me for the royal dumbass award. It happened. Unfortunately. I lost $1700 U$S. I had just gotten $1000 AR out of the ATM, then they followed me to the restaurant. The guy asked me the time like he was not interested in me and that was a key move he made. Then he heard my accent and said "a donde sos?" I said from Dallas, and he said, "oh my sister is from Dallas". She came over and pulled out here driver's license and it said from "Plano, TX", a suburb of Dallas. She said she worked for the Dallas Morning News Latino Section. Their story was really perfect, they executed very well. I was already a bit drunk. I don't drink wine, and I thought it must be the wine making me feel so relaxed.
Plus, it is actually very common. Never drink anything in S. America unless you open it, or it is served by a restaurant. I knew that, but I was there with them when the waiter brought the wine. They used distraction techniques like the girl hitting on me.
I slept for 18 hours and woke up with everything gone.
It took me a week to get over the drugs and I still had to be here another 3 weeks. But being BsAs, I was panicking that I had to leave in only 3 weeks.
And thanks guys for not harassing me about being such an idiot. I truly was, but I was lonely and just wanted to speak some english with someone. I had been there two months and was bored, and therefore, let my guard down. It's back up now!
That same trip, I also got hit by a car in Rio. HARD. VERY FRICKIN HARD. I landed hard on the hood, rolled up on to the windshield, flipped up into the air, and did like a triple luts (it was actually a single) hit another car that was parked, and landed on my feet, like a frickin cat. No breaks. Not even any bruises. But my bell was rang hard. I thought I was for sure dead. My last thought was "well, I had a pretty good life". I was happy about that last thought. And then BLAMMMM. I did not get hurt because I made an athletic move in the last split second and turned away from the car, so the bumper hit the back of my calve, and then my butt and shoulder hit the hood, which molded over the engine like cellaphane - I could feel all the engine parts through the hood. The hood gave in which cushioned the blow. I rolled up on to the windshield, and then when I slid off the side of the car, the side mirror also gave way and bent like nothing which was more cushioning. The mirror is what spun me around for my single luts.
Very lucky. I could not believe I was perfectly ok. Although a bit wabbly, dazed and confused. I told some guy that I knew could not understand English, that his country was a P. O. S. Straight to his face. He agreed.
That was a tough trip. 2005 sucked in general.
But in BA, getting hit by a car or taxi is the easiest way to die. They will drive right by the curb. But you can get mugged and robbed. Or in my case, drugged and robbed.
I talked to a guy tonight that said they were drugging people on the long term busses to other cities. Now they make you show ID and write down your DNI number, and the crimes stopped.
Be careful out there.
Escapee5150
05-24-06, 07:42
Two others were robbed in their apartment and aparantly tiedup.I met a girl that that happened to. The guy had a gun too. Tied and robbed.
Escapee5150
05-24-06, 07:55
I think the best way to avoid being preyed upon in Buenos Aires or anywhere else is to avoid appearing to be easy prey.I was so sick of dining alone mainly. The night that I was robbed that I might as well have had a neon sign saying "please rob me".
No more though.
Being able to speak spanish changes a lot.
The whole thing involed a lot of luck on their part. It just would not be duplicatable. They got really lucky. Like a 1 in a 1000 performance.
In three years living here I have been drugged 56 times, robbed 103 times, raped on numerous occasions, and even defecated on. And I met a guy who knew a guy who told me about a guy who heard about a guy who lost fifty centavos in a pay phone booth. He went to the office of the phone company to try to get a refund and they locked him in a closet and anally raped him with a broom handle, or maybe it was a utility poll.
But seriously, I have ridden the long distance buses many times and I can tell you that sometimes they ask for ID and sometimes they don't. There is no consistency at all.
Rockin Bob
05-24-06, 13:43
Seems to me Buenos Aires is a lot safer than a lot of places.
This drugs in the drink thing is a lot more common in Brazil. In Fortaleza it happens all the time, the girl slips something in your drink, you go back to the apartment, and wake up two days later and everything you have is gone.
I myself got pickpocketed the other day on the subway. 30 something pesos, 12 bucks.
Taxi drivers are a problem. You might find the meter ticking away at double speed. Or you'll pay him and he'll switch the bill and hand it back to you, saying you gave him counterfeit money.
To borrow a line from Hanibal Lechter. You need to trust your instincts. At the first hint of danger, you're outta there. Immediately.
In seven years of living in Brazil, I lost about 200 bucks to thieves, tops. What I gained from seven years in Brazil: priceless.
Well it's clear now why DH is living at the Mansion and out of town, even though he may not be being raped as often as he liked in the past.
I lived in Manhattan for 11 years and the rule as previously mentioned is keep your head up and always look like you're going somewhere, stay alert and steer clear of dodgy situations.
I do think Buenos Aires warrants concern even though I've walked all over Centro, Barrio Norte and Recoleta all hours without incident in the past year and a half. Inside has proven to be where the problems are. Since we're talking about living here, the relative experience of other dangerous cities isn't so relevant. Where you are is where you're at.
I just read a poll today in Nacion, around 50% of the population's main concern is lack of security. No other public concern came close. I've known a number of chicas who have been shown a weapon and held up, some in broad daylight. I've witnessed several broad daylight street thefts and maybe most menacing of all is simply crossing the street and wondering if you're going to get taken out by a bus, taxi or flip motorist or motorcycle playing chicken with your carcass.
There are the dark looks on the street that have always made me wonder who if anyone would come to your aid in a tight situation. Try approaching a cop and asking for assistance. Giving it doesn't seem to be their first impulse.
There's an unwritten rule that tourists are left alone to protect the bread and butter tourist trade, but I've seen first hand closing ranks against an outsider and you don't want to be there.
Speaking the language helps because it takes you out of the helpless category and people are more likely to think you'll understand what's going on.
In the end, stay alert, it's a great adventure but not a free ride in my humble opinion.
And three were held at gunpoint a couple nights ago in Boca.Does being in Boca at night qualify as a good idea?
Does being in Boca at night qualify as a good idea?I think its important to stay out of the parks late at night.
Starfe
Norman Stormin
05-28-06, 14:19
I think its important to stay out of the parks late at night.
StarfeAn exception might be the rose garden in Palermo near the Embassy!
Not if Dickie Button is there!
Does being in Boca at night qualify as a good idea?These are people who go to Puente la Noria. By themselves!
Escapee5150
05-31-06, 23:01
I am sitting in a restaurant drinking a coffe, then 6 Cops surround me. Out of no where. And on my last night in BA. They tell me to come outside. Everyone is watching. I am watching like it is on TV and how could this be happening. What is happening? What the heck did I do? They made me spread eagle and searched me, very rough in the crouch area by a big guy in a bullet proof vest. They all had them as usual. They pulled out my video camera out of the pocket of my leather jacket. I said "solo tourista, que pasa?". The one girl policemen saw the camera and looked to the other cops and said "no", and knodded her head "no". They then pulled out my other camera. Then another cop said "toda bien", I said "porque?", he said "routina". I said "routina?" He said "routina." So I walked back in the restaurant, threw my cameras on the table, and fell into my chair, in a somewhat freaked out state. They never did explain, but I met someone earlier that day that seriously asked me two times if I were carrying a gun, because I was carrying the video camera in my hand, in the pocket of my jacket. It did look like it could be a gun. So that is what the cops were tipped off about. I did it so people would not see my camera. You know. To be safe. Wow. I was really safe. I had six officers surrounding me. What could be more safe than that?
I can't walk 50 meters without bumping into one to three police men.
What is up with that? I guess I feel safe, but should I worry about the police?
Pop till you drop,
Hojo
Escapee,
If you ever come out to LA, I'll make you an honerable Mexican. That happens to me here all the time. LOL.
Lunico
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.1.4 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.