IKEA comes to La Boca

Walking through La Boca, the poorest neighbourhood in BA, one is startled to come upon the familiar colours of  IKEA. But there they are: the unmistakable yellow and blue of the iconic brand, here in Buenos Aires!






Yes, it appears IKEA has come to South America with a gigantic, multi-level operation. All 12,000 products from the company, the third largest consumer of wood on the planet, are showcased at this new facility. Apparently the building can handle over 40,000 customers at any given time.







The building has restaurants on every level serving up that funny tasting coffee and lots of those world famous meatballs. Efforts are now underway to meet minimum standards for the actual meat content in the meatballs, but that's another story mainly of interest in Europe.





On the right, an artist's image of the new IKEA uniforms to be worn by staff around the world. The new attire, again in the recognisable blue and yellow colours, will be rolled out this summer in the northern hemisphere.

La Boca

La Boca is a barrio in Buenos Aires on the riverfront, at the mouth of the Rio Plate. It is most definitely a working class neighbourhood and a highly popular tourist destination.



Walking through the barrio, which is not accessible by subway, presents a rougher side of town; not the nicest part of the city, yet still very much a neighbourhood. Some guidebooks suggest ignoring Boca all together, others say it is unsafe at night. One source mentioned that police are there during the day to watch over the tourists; when they leave at sunset, so do the police. Somehow it doesn't seem quite that bad.

As one gets closer to the waterfront the barrio's homes and businesses become more colourful. There is a certain element of fun, and there is lots of noise and colour.

Souvenir shops and overpriced bars and poor restaurants appear as one gets to the centre of the barrio, a street called Caminito (immortalized by the tango of the same name). English and Portuguese become the most widely heard languages and tourists are everywhere.

Side streets offer a place for local artists to set up stalls and these are well worth the visit. The artists seem genuinely happy to talk with people and present their works.

Boca is a neighbourhood. Somewhat touristy in the daytime. Vibrant and colourful, and full of life, with or without the tourists and the Policia.

Photos by Jim Murray. Copyright 2013.

Dengue Fever

Throughout Argentina signs and posters are prominently featured on street corners, in Subte stations and at bus stops. Radio and television spots also remind people of the need to restrict exposure to a problem that increases in Argentina with each year: Dengue Fever.

Dengue is a problem that began only in the 1950s and has grown since. It is a virus spread mainly by several species of the Aedes mosquitoes. While millions worldwide are infected every year, about 20 000 humans die as a result of infection.


There is no vaccine,
so prevention is carried out by reducing the habitat and number of mosquitoes, and by limiting exposure to bites. Proper treatment once infected is important.

We have noticed mosquitoes since arriving in BA two months ago; mainly in the evening hours. I seem particularly suited to attracting bites. So far, no symptoms.