Don't Take Any Chances

When it comes to risk, Mark and I have different comfort levels. I tend to be cautious and prudent where he tends to be daring and adventurous. Mostly, we balance each other out.

As we left the mainland, the phrase that both his Mom and my Mom said to me rang in my ears, "Don't take any chances." While I can't promise to avoid all risk, I can say that my natural compass strongly points to safety. Having said that, I'm open to things like riding the subway, taking taxis in foreign countries, and figuring out the local bus systems.

See, I subte like a local (subte is the Spanish word for subway/metro). The subte is cheap here, like 30cents, but it doesn't go to the artsy barrio of La Boca. For La Boca, ya gotta take bus #64, and bus #64 takes coins, coins that no one can seem to find. Our friends at the hostel spent a whole day walking to La Boca, and although we like to walk, we didn't want to walk all day. So, rather than walk to La Boca, we walked to the black market on Florida Street to search for coins. We couldn't find any coins at the convenience stores or even at the banks, but we did see this guy:

By the time we found coins, it was 3:30pm. I figured it was about an hour bus ride to La Boca, we'd have to walk from the bus to the area, and back again... what if it got dark? Everyone mentioned that it's the barrio, an unsafe neighborhood at night, and I didn't want to... gulp... take any chances. In my mind, the place started looking like this (filled with performers and pick-pockets and... chances):

As we waited for the bus, in the shadow of the building, I expressed my concern to Mark, "Honey, I need the freedom to say when we get there, "Hey, it's dark; I'm uncomfortable. Let's go home and come back tomorrow." "Fine," he laughed. And then, something awesome happened, a group of 5 Brazillian tourists joined us at the bus stop. They were also heading to La Boca. I was instantly relieved, and my worries disappeared completely. We chatted on the way to La Boca, and the bus dropped us off right at the colorful site which was filled with smiling tourists, talented artists, lively music, and couples doing the tango.

I felt a little silly for being so worried about this place. Granted, about half a dozen people warned us about getting our cameras stolen, but really, the worst thing that happened to me was getting my picture taken with these guys (and even that was pretty enjoyable).

A warm welcome from a Cuban who was mid-way through a liter of beer:

And a hug from a masked magnet salesman- it cost me a buck. Anyone want a magnet from Argentina?

Posted with Blogsy