La Boca

I finally got around to visiting this colourful neighbourhood in the south east of the city at the weekend. It’s near the old port and famous for its houses painted in bright colours and it’s also home to Boca Juniors football club which has a devout following here. There was a River Plate VS Boca Juniors game on Sunday which is classic rivalry similar to the ‘old firm’ (Celtic V Rangers) games back home only much much more intense. The tv stations who don’t have the rights to show the game still have commentators and a camera panning around showing just the crowd in the stadium and the score which is still entertaining if slightly bizarre.

The government organises free tours of ‘La Boca’ and you can find information on this and other free tours here http://www.bue.gov.ar The area has a bit of a ‘dodgy’ reputation for crime and there is a heavy police presence especially at weekends so its advisable to stick to the main streets. There are plenty of restaurants with a bit of a ‘hard sell’ approach to get you to eat and most have entertainment, tango musicians / dancers, albeit somewhat tacky touristy. There was a Maradona look alike offering a photo taken with him for 20-30 pesos a snap which for here is a tad extortionate so I decided to 'leave him on the bench'.