Tango and Cash (robbery) ... attempted anyway

SUMMARY POINTS ..

• Spent morning trying to get some more stuff posted home, but turned out we'd have to queue for about 2 hours so decided to sod it. I'll have to figure out some way of carrying all the stuff I've amassed, while still being under the max of 20kg for the London-Dublin leg
  
• Next headed onto Boca as this is one of the recommended areas to visit. We paid a quick visit to the Boca Junior's football stadium. I'd never heard of em but apparently they're a famous football team that Maradonna played for. Maradonna (when I was young I thought his name was "Marijuana") is regarded as a god here and people were kissing the foot of his gold statue inside the museum. I took a photo pointing to his "Hand of God", that part seems to be divine alright!
• After an expensive lunch of quite possibly the SMALLEST lasagne I've ever eaten, we headed back to Murillo to (hopefully) pick up my new leather jacket. I was dreading that the jacket either wouldn't be ready, or the shop would be closed (we tried ringing but no answer) or that the jacket would require more tailoring to fit properly! As it happened the jacket was waiting for me and it fit perfectly. It's baby cow skin so it's ultra soft... I'm sure the cow wasn't killed just for my jacket... I'm sure it's also being served in a McDonalds somewhere, so don't get overly stressed!
• Had my first attempted robbery today on the subway train on the way to get the jacket. It was rush hour at this stage and BA's subways get PACKED solid at this stage ... as we boarded the train I felt a guy pushing into me. At first I thought he was just trying to get on before the door closed, but as my hand dropped to feel around my pocket (something I always instinctively do) I felt two fingers entering into the pocket with my wallet! I grabbed the fingers and let out a yell, then turned around to stare down at the owner: a short fat white guy in his 40s. It was bizarre and I was so unprepared for how to react so it wasn't anger, just surprise that he managed to get that far... then turned to anger rather quickly. As I shouted at him, he sort of smiled and shrugged, pretending that his hand had just slipped. But then he quickly got off the train before the door closed, so it was clear he was just on it to pick-pocket me (or possibly someone else if I hadn't russled him out). As he got off the train I noticed him talking to some other guy and shrugging to show he got nothing, so probably he was the "spotter" for the guy.
  I was still a little in shock, but I swear if that guy had stayed on the train for about 10 seconds more there would have been violence. I got really angry really quickly. A hand-chop to the throat was probably on the cards.
  
  It's rather telling that after 3 1/2 months travelling: the first rude person I ever encountered in South America was in Argentina (like the crazy lady in El Calafate, or lots of people I met in Mendoza), the first rip-off attempts in South America were in Argentina (particularly in Mendoza with the guy at the cinema giving incorrect change, the restaurant charging too much for food, the taxi driver claiming he had no change, etc), and now my first robbery attempt in South America was in Argentina. Thankfully I had my wits about me in all the situations (bar when I was overcharged while drunk, but at least I got that back the next day!).
  
  I've met a lot of nice Argentinians, but compared to the rest of the continent they are a pretty dodgy bunch.
  
• Quick tour of Caminito in Boca. Just a lot of colourful buildings plus some nice signage. Nothing much particularly outstanding. Perhaps I've been spoiled by what I've seen in other places on this trip so my standards are high. Lots and LOTS of aggressive touts though, trying to get you to take photos with Tango dancers or Maradonna look-alikes. Avoid the place I reckon. It's a tourist trap.
  
• Tango show! We had booked a show called "Sabor a Tango" through the hostel (Hotel Ritz) for a decent price of AR$160, which is about $30. Apparently the hostel has a special price as the show normally retails for double that. Food, unlimited drink and tango show are all included. Lessons are included too but we opted to skip that. I'm happy enough to know salsa alone! The show was amazing and very well done. The food wasn't particularly great though (the steak was so tough it was like cutting through wood) and the wine was vinegary, but we could have as much as we liked so it wasn't too bad . Definately the highlight of my Buenos Aires trip, although we weren't officially allowed to take photos of the show.. damn!
  
  
• Last day for Pedro who's leaving tomorrow morn...