La Boca was one tourist attraction I most certainly was scared of visiting in Buenos Aires. Many reviews we read on the internet warned of the dangers involved in visiting the place.

I was so nervous, I followed the advice of previous visitors and left my passport and most credit cards in the hotel. I took my CA drivers license for my lone ID and one credit card. I also placed $20 in my wallet but that was it.

Well, anyway, we went and we survived the visit. All my fears actually disappeared as soon as the public bus we took from San Telmo dropped us off at the very last stop. What brought about the change? I saw many tourists in the area and there were many waiting for the bus back to the center of town laughing and chatting. They all looked so relaxed and as soon as I saw that I knew the place wasn't as scary after all. We didn't let our guard down but we weren't as scared anymore while we walked around the area. My impression of La Boca? Very, very colorful as you can see from the pictures below.