Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, is a sophisticated and cultured city which attracts visitors from around the world and convinces many to stay. I spent two weekends there during the austral summer month of January when temperatures are in the 80s and 90s.
During by nine country trip around the world I visited nearly thirty cities. I would put Buenos Aires in the top three if I had to list locations where I'd be willing to move permanently. This despite the fact that I was the victim of a street robbery on my last day there. More on that later.
First - what I loved about the city.
Buenos Aires is warm, but not too warm. It's streets and neighborhoods have the character of a town that has earned its place in the world. It is the center of a region with a population of 15 million, but it does not feel crowded. It is an international city where you can hear many languages being spoken and see the influence of other cultures wherever you look. In that sense, it is a welcoming and non-judgmental place where anyone can feel at home.
The dominant layers of architecture are influenced by the styles of Spain and Europe. Low rise office and apartment buildings of five to six stories, most dating from the mid-19th to early 20th century, line the wide shaded boulevards. Newer buildings from the Art Deco era and the 1950s to 1970s give Buenos Aires the feeling of a place somewhat frozen in time. A small cluster of modern high rises, clad in glass and steel, can be seen from Plaza be Mayo, but for the most part the city's stock of buildings is time tested and classic.
The people of Buenos Aires have their own style with one part taken from international fashion trends, one part from the history of South America, and all with a dash of tango.
This Argentinian flare is expressed by men who grow their hair long and pull it back into a small pony tail. Women have a fondness for high heels, high waisted jeans and crop tops. Lots of people smoke in the cool style of old movies. Medium tanned skin tones match perfectly with dark hair on the young and middle-aged. Older citizens develop the leathery look of a life well-lived in a warm and sunny climate.
No one is in a rush. As is the case in many countries in Central and South America the day starts at mid-morning for most businesses. In the afternoon there is a two-hour lunch break. Many restaurants don't open for dinner until seven in the evening or later. If you are a visitor used to a different schedule there is always a way around the daily routines. You just have to look for them.
The tango is the national dance of Argentina. In Buenos Aires you will find places to watch others perform, places to learn the tango and places to dance yourself. In city parks, especially on the weekends, you will find couples dancing for tips. When they are done dancing they sit at tables with their audience under the dappled sunshine of the many neighborhood plazas.
There is history around every corner in Buenos Aires. It is an old city and you can see it has been used and re-used. It has stories to tell. There is not a lot of new construction, but what you do see a lot of is run down spaces being renovated and adapted for new uses. It is what gives any city a sense of character.
While in Buenos Aires I explored primarily in five different neighborhoods: the city center, San Telmo, Recoleta, Puerto Madero and Palermo. I walked everywhere I wanted to go and always felt safe.
Language barriers are not much of an issue, but in Peru, Chile and Argentina there was a greater expectation that visitors should be able to understand and speak Spanish. By the end of my visit I had developed a good set of functional Spanish tools that got me through most situations, but when language did become a problem I always managed to find some way to break-through.
If you are staying in Buenos Aires long enough to learn the system there is a bus service and a metro. Uber is available, but because of disputes between private drivers and taxi cabs it's hard to get an Uber from the airport. I had my hotel arrange airport transfers. Foreigners are warned about taxi drivers in Buenos Aires. They can't always be trusted. To be safe, whenever I needed a cab, I asked the front desk to call one for me. They had a list of reliable drivers.
Throughout my journey around the globe I was warned by many people that the most dangerous place on my itinerary was Buenos Aires. While I was in the city however I felt completely safe. I even texted a friend of mine, who once lived in Buenos Aires, to tell him how much I loved the city and how safe I felt.
I texted too soon.
On my last day there I fell victim to a common street scam about a block from my hotel. It is known as "the pigeon scam." As I walked down the street I was hit by something that felt like bird droppings. I walked a few yards, put down my bags and found something to clean myself off with. As I did, a man came up to me to offer his help. As he distracted me someone else grabbed one of my bags, jumped in a cab and got away. I didn't realize what had happened until it was too late.
By this point, I had successfully traveled the world for four months and been in places you would think would be much more dangerous, but it was in Buenos Aires with five hours to go before my final flight home, that I let my guard down and was robbed. I was not hurt, the tourist police were very helpful and when I got home my insurance covered all my losses. I did lose my passport and had to stay in Argentina an additional day while I got a new one from the U.S. Embassy.
It is a blow to your self confidence when you are taken advantage of in such a way, but I got over it. The next evening as I was walking through the airport, I was tightly clutching my boarding pass and emergency passport, but at some point I had to put them down to transact some business. I realized that you can try as hard as you want, but you never have complete control when you are traveling. I had a very good system to protect myself and my belongings, but it only took about three seconds for a team of thieves to thwart that system.
It could have happened anywhere and I am glad it happened on the last day of my trip and not the first. I will not let one unfortunate incident spoil my impressions of the city or deter me from further travel to places I have never been.
I would still consider moving to Buenos Aires if I ever wanted to live in a country other than the United States. It is in a warm climate. It is a place full of life with interesting things to do and see and with a feel that is welcoming and unique. An urban paradise.
© Dean Pagani 2020
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© Dean Pagani 2020