Originally Posted by
Reindeerflame
On my first day in Buenos Aires, I was "sprayed" by someone in one of those incidents in which the goal is apparently either to distract and engage in theft, or possibly to earn a gratuity by assisting in cleanup. This occurred in the park area overlooking the English Statue not too far from Retiro station. (this apparently happens all over the place, not just in Argentina, but this is the first time it's ever happened to me).
When a couple pointed out the sprayed material on my cloth bag (containing camera and maps) and clothes, I nonchalantly said "oh, that's OK" and walked off quickly with big, bold strides....much to their apparent dismay.
I am sooooo glad I read this before coming to Buenos Aires. Happened to me a couple days ago where some lady came up to be wanting to clean something off me. Since I knew about it before hand, I quickly said 'No' and kept walking (a little faster of course). Then some guy tried to get my attention by calling out at me in broken English. I ignored him and went on my way.
At first I didn't think they got me with anything, but looking afterwards when I got to my destination, I saw that they had tagged me with some kind of lotion that got on my bag and my pants. arg... so frustrating.
It was on Av. Florida at 7:30am Friday morning.
I have to give a big thanks to the FT community for helping me to be aware of this beforehand ^