Buenos Aires...a city where stealing has been elevated to an art

"W's" daughter Barbara was just another victim of what has become a true epidemic in Buenos Aires, Argentina: theft.

I too had been to San Telmo for dinner, an older part of the city that has been rehabilitated.

Since I had lived in B.A. many years ago, I was fully aware that theft was a problem. But I had never seen anything that comes even close to the skill displayed by thieves these days or the number of thefts being reported.

On day two, I was "welcomed" with the loss of my laptop in what was a highly skilled, incredibly daring operation. About an hour later, in what was a totally separate incident, another member of our party also fell victim to thievery. He had just cashed $100 and when he got home realized that that the money was no longer in his possession.

In both cases, it was a "joint venture" operation in that one individual distracted the potential victim while the other disappeared with the loot.

Advice for anyone traveling to Argentina: BE CAREFUL...leave your laptop at home and take all precautions given that the skill displayed by these robbers was truly amazing.