Malediction in Buenos Aires

I wish that today was April Fool’s Day. Sometimes being hit by a hammer is not enough. Malediction requires that you are hit again, but this time by a sledgehammer. This morning Ania’s bag that contained our precious camera was stolen. The camera itself wasn’t too expensive, but the lens was. And we had a ton of expensive accessories as well (large capacity cards, multiple batteries, polarizer, etc.). Gone. All gone almost in front of our eyes. Ever since we boarded the airplane in Frankfurt, Argentineans had told us to be extremely careful in the city because pick pocketing and theft was a national pastime. It looks like they were right after all.

Buenos Aires started out with a bang the first day: we spent our first day exploring the city and really enjoyed what we saw. Then it fizzled a bit when we toured around the riskier La Boca. Starting from Wednesday, it went downhill from there. Ania and I became very sick. Both of us had fever, a severe cough and were generally helpless outside the apartment. Activities were reduced to a trickle – actually we didn’t go out at all on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday we packed our stuff and moved out to a hostel in downtown Buenos Aires.

After I rang the doorbell of our new hostel, I noticed that two guys and a girl had also managed to slip in before the door closed. I swear I told Ania “eh, these people just followed us in. Maybe they don’t belong here”. We walked all the way up to the second floor where we finally put our bags down just two meters from the reception. I took less than ten seconds to fill in the form: this was enough time for these fu***** bastards to take Ania’s bag and run away with it. And I am 100% sure it is these ******* who took it, because they disappeared right after. I ran downstairs and looked outside. How futile.

So how do we like Buenos Aires? It is one of the most beautiful cities we’ve seen this year. However, I don’t want to talk about this city anymore because I fear more maledictions. I will give you one piece of advice if you choose to visit this city: don’t keep an eye out for your stuff. That is not enough. Keep your stuff with you at ALL TIMES. And buy a pistol to threaten anybody who gets too close to your stuff.

Damn I’m angry.