Plastic wrap = theft deterrent

One of the first things I noticed at baggage claim in Buenos Aires was that some bags appeared to be wrapped in plastic. At first I thought that they were brand new bags being shipped and instead of putting them in a box, they just decided to plastic wrap them. Then I noticed more and more people with the plastic wrapped bags. What was the deal? Yesterday I saw one of the machines that does this. People get out of their cab at the departure gates and instead of going to the Sky Cap, like a lot of us do in the States (or the Unites as my cab driver told me they call the United States for short), they go to this machine and pay to get their bag plastic wrapped. I asked someone why...was it that they didn't want their new bags to get scuffed? Kind of. Apparently this is a theft detterent measure. The bags wrapped in plastic are less likely to be robbed (by thieving airport workers, I guess). So here's the deal...some people only get one out of their three bags wrapped. If I were a thief...I'd target the wrapped bags and just make them dissappear. Probably why I'm not a thief. What happens if secruity/customs needs to search the bag? I may get this done to one of my bags on the way home, just to see what happens at security/customers (Please note, the wheels have been cut out of the plastic so they are fully functioning, which is an awful nice touch).

Saturday morning we went to La Boca, a neighborhood in Buenos Aires. Absolutely colorful. Lots of people trying to get your attention. The main tourist trap is called Caminito. A few streets of colorful bars and shops with fake Tango dancers out front that only tango for $. And there's also a guy that looks like a famous Argentine soccer player who is offering to get his photo taken with people so they can tell their friends they hung out with a famous soccer player while in Buenos Aires. Whatever. And there was a totally smelly dock. It smelled like I would imagine hell to smell like...imagine the most disgusting smell you've ever had to endure and multiply it by rotten eggs and putrid standing water and you'll just about have what the smell was.

After a quick nap we went off to the Feria (Flea Market) in Recoleta. There were tons of stands with hand made crafts. So much fun to see it all. And then there were a bunch of kids from the local University doing things University kids do...try to get attention. This guy was practicing for Cirque du Soleil. Others were learning to walk tight rope and there was one random guy dressed like a US Founding Father walking around playing a recorder. It was just amazing fun. So much to see. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

From there we went to Happening for dinner. It's in Puerto Madero, an area that used to serve as the main port of Buenos Aires but as Buenos Aires grew larger they probably had to get a larger port. It's buildings have all been refurbished into restaurants and such. There's a nice walk along the Plate River where you can still see the cranes that were used to unload the boats. And lots of people just walking along the banks, enjoying the evening breeze. Gorgeous.

Today we went back to Recoleta and the Feria. After some shopping and a trip to the local ice cream parlour (have I mentioned how delicious the mascarpone ice cream is here? I need to find some in the Unites...how will I ever be able to live without it, now that I know of its deliciousness?) we went to the Recoleta Cemetery. We were told it was 200 meters from the Flea Market stand we were at, but being stupid Americans, we had no idea how far 200 meters was. I figured it'd be a few streets away. After walking for about 2 minutes and just as we were arriving at a corner I asked someone where the cemetery was, he said it was 30 meters away. Surprised at how close, I said: Really? Stranger: Yes, it's just the next doorway down. Me: Are you sure? Stranger: Yeah, you want me to take you there and show you? So...turns out the cemetery is completely enclosed, unlike the cemeteries I'm used to, that are essentially large, open fields. Another tip: if you're looking for the uber-expensive and older than anything in Idaho cemetery in Argentina, it's behind that building that looks like a government or school building. The cemetery is chock full of crypts/mausolea. Absolutely amazing and overwhelming. You have no idea what to look at. Many are in disrepair (imagine that!) and New Guy swears he saw some bones in an open coffin (Gross!).