SOME CRIED FOR ARGENTINA

When we cruise, we go on excursions or tours. Sometimes we explore a city on our own. And that's what we did in Buenos Aires. Maybe that was a good thing.

On one of the tours, as an older couple got off the bus, their Rolexs shining in the sun, they were mugged for their watches. One mugger was caught by a retired Seattle policeman. But he could only capture one. The older man who was mugged, suffered contusions and abrasions and was taken to a hospital.

Another couple was mugged or shaken down or robbed in the cemetery where Evita Peron is housed. (Well, it's a mausoleum, so she and the other Perons aren't buried there--maybe entombed is the word.)

So while I was struggling, along with our daughter, to find the Spanish words and expressions I had forgotten from high school and college Spanish, at least we were safe. Actually, I never felt uneasy or threatened anywhere in Latin America. But I did receive a monumental headache after having translated to our Spanish speaking cab driver for three hours.

Also, I can see how the cemetery in Buenos Aires could be a great spot for crime. It's huge with rows and avenues of ancient tombs of all sizes, mostly large. Evita's is hard to find. No signs indicating the way. I had to ask a caretaker, in Spanish of course, where it was. Then we told another couple the location. But evil could easily lurk behind corners in this area approximately the size of downtown MTV to the high school.

So when you visit another country, leave your jewelry at home. Replace it with a phrase book at least or it's "lo siento" for you.