Select "Add New Message" to post a message.
Printable View
Select "Add New Message" to post a message.
Hey guys,
I hear that this city is the best for picking the hottest Colombianitas.... and that came from my "girlfriend" who is a working girl in SJ. Anyways, any info about local hot spots, discos, malls, and bars would be greatly appreciated.
The only thing I ever heard is that in med. are massive drugs gangs street fights nearly every day.
Much violence,many youngsters die....real sad.
Police finds on a regular bases large illegal waepons storage locations etc.etc. Not to mention the drugs....:-(
Anyone can copy this????
Nibu.....been thinking of heding to Colombia myself in feb/march 2003...14 days. I will only travel by air!!!!
been mailing with some nice nasty colombianitas:-)
Colombia is a ghreat place for mongering!!!!!;-)
Cheap,lots of hot& pretty women and a nice climate.
Johan.
medellin, colombia- the legend, the myth, the reality- july, 2002
medellin, colombia- the city that seems to be shrouded in legend. i had been considering a trip to medellin for quite some time for a couple of different reasons. first, i heard the stories, usually told by experienced colombia veterans over a couple of ice-cold brews in cartagena, about the abundance of gorgeous women in this amazing city. whispers of “blanca-skinned chicas with long, sexy dark hair and bodies to kill for” initially peaked my attention. others mentioned the surprising number of monas (blondes) available there. but i think what really made me determined to check out medellin was that the fact that the coolest and most beautiful chicas i encountered during my past trips to cartagena tended to originate from there. i knew i would get to this destination eventually and in the midst of my july 2002, cartagena trip, i decided that the time was now.
i want to emphasize that the following report is based on my observations, opinions, and perceptions. all experiences are subjective and yours may differ somewhat from mine- as has been said many times- your mileage may vary no matter what destination you visit depending on your appearance, personality, language skills, dancing skills, and many other variables. please feel free to chime in if your experience differed from mine or if you feel i wrote something that you know is exaggerated, understated, or just plain incorrect . i especially hope that those of you who have visited medellin will chip in and help me in the instances where i have forgotten the names of various places. i fully understand that i could not possibly claim to be a “medellin expert” after a quick 10 day trip; however, i hope this report will add some clarity to the situation there (from a newby’s perspective).
***at the time i visited medellin, the exchange rate was approximately 2400 cp/us $1.***
a little information about myself to put this report in context- i am a single american in my early 30’s and have lived in caracas, venezuela for the past year. i am in reasonable shape, have all my hair, and tend to look like an average gringo. i have traveled in recent years to thailand, cuba, all over europe, mexico, and of course, all over venezuela. having learned a little bit of spanish, basically enough to order food with confidence, give directions to a taxi driver, engage in meaningless small talk about the weather, and/or throw some pathetic lines at beautiful chicas, i can usually make myself understood with a little bit of effort. however, i can not effectively read the spanish version of war and peace or have any sort of “meaningful, deep” conversations with anybody in spanish as of yet (although i am working on it).
the recent news reports on cnn.com had told of firefights between farc rebels and government troops that had spilled within the city limits of medellin. not very encouraging. and as i told other people in cartagena about my decision to visit medellin, the majority offered advice such as “watch your back!” or “i wouldn’t go there right now” or “it’s probably worth it for the chicas but just be real careful!” some clowns on boards such as ****** chastised, “say hi to farc for me” and “don’t end up like strikerviking” and “i’m not contributing to your ransom”. not the kind of comments that give you a warm, fuzzy, secure feeling inside. however, i had done my share of research and had asked advice from people in the know. obviously, nobody could guarantee my safety, however, after examining all the advice/research, i surmised that (much like cali) if i stayed where i was supposed to stay and basically, didn’t do anything stupid to draw attention to myself, i should be ok. with that, i said goodbye to sunny, humid cartagena and hello to sunny, pleasant medellin.
airport and taxi into medellin
i flew into the airport outside of medellin at about 5:30 pm on a monday night. i believe the taxi fare from the airport into town was around 29,000 cp and this was non-negotiable (the airport taxi guy showed me a card with this price). for obvious reasons, i wanted to take an “official” taxi and not some independent (which were available for less), so i readily agreed on this price.
the ride into town was uneventful besides the beautiful scenery and i was happy to make it into medellin before dark. my first impression of medellin coming down the mountain was that it is a gorgeous city- nicer than i expected. it is much like caracas in that it sits in a valley surrounded by mountains- however, the buildings and general cleanliness of medellin far surpasses caracas in my opinion. while i was there, the weather was hot yet comfortable (and cooler at night).
in terms of chicas, the differences between cartagena and medellin were readily apparent. the women had, in general, much lighter complexions. the description i had heard from people about “blanca-skinned chicas with long, sexy dark hair and bodies to kill for” seemed to be, more or less, accurate. and yes, there definitely seemed to be more monas, however, many seemed to be fake blondes, a la caracas. but, in general, more monas than say cali, cartagena, or barranquilla from my experience.
hotels
the first hotel i checked out upon entering the city was called hotel europa normandia on calle 53 no. 49-100 in el centro (the downtown area). this neighborhood gets somewhat shady at night and i was repeatedly warned by many locals that i should not venture here at night. unfortunately, many strip bars/casas are located in this area so i had to act against this advice a few times in the interest of research- more on that later.
back to hotel europa normandia- i walked into the lobby and the first thing i thought was, “if the rooms are as shabby as this lobby, forget it!” there were some pretty scary people hanging around that lobby as i walked in. i was quoted a price of 20,000 cp a night and the desk clerk nearly coughed out a lung laughing when i asked her, “tienes agua caliente?” she agreed to let me check out the room first and to make a long story short, it was an absolute dump.
i decided to check out another place in a neighborhood called el poblado recommended by another tsm’er (can’t remember the name of this hotel- sorry). hoping the price would be at least reasonable, i was pretty confident that i would end up at this place. el poblado is a very upscale neighborhood in medellin and pretty much the opposite of el centro. many nice discos and restaurants are located here and it seemed to me that poblado was the most “hip” neighborhood in medellin (similar to las mercedes in caracas)? however, when i arrived at this second hotel i was astounded to be quoted a price of 150,000 cp a night! i mean, it was a nice hotel and all, but shit, i just needed a clean, safe, and chica-friendly place to stay.
i then asked the desk clerks at this second hotel if they knew of any decent place in el problado for about 70,000-80,000 cp a night. at first, they shook their head and i was starting to get nervous, but then one of desk-clerks told me, “ya va” and made a phone call. it turns out they knew of a new hotel in el poblado that only charges 75,000 per night (including breakfast). so the taxi drove me over there and i was very impressed! hotel plaza rosa is located at carrera 32d no. 9-17 not far from calle 10. their email is hotelplazarosa@hotmail.com. it is a relatively new hotel and most of the taxi drivers have never even heard of it. more importantly, the hotel plaza rosa was new, clean, chica-friendly, and had cable tv, agua caliente, 24 hour security, a friendly staff, is conveniently located, and offers a splendid view of downtown medellin and the surrounding mountains from your hotel room window. i was thrilled to find this place and i stayed there all 10 days of my trip.
casinos and “normal” discos
there are a couple of large casinos in medellin -casino rio and another located in el centro (can’t remember the name). i played some blackjack in both of these establishments and had a pretty good time. important note: the chica blackjack dealers were much better looking in the large el centro casino than in casino rio.
while playing blackjack one evening, i struck up a conversation with a local guy named gustavo. he spoke pretty good english and offered to take me out to the discos to party. i jumped at the chance to hang out with gustavo since it always has worked to my advantage to hang out with a local guy in a new city; especially if, like me, your spanish is not well-developed. gustavo turned out to be a very cool guy and we partied a few nights. important note: the discos are dead (and most closed) sunday through wednesday throughout medellin, so don’t even bother going until thursday to saturday.
gustavo and i hit at least 4 or 5 different discos in poblado and in another neighborhood (again, can’t remember the name) which reminded me of avenida sexta in cali (it had many different bars and discos all along one strip). he introduced me one night to his girlfriend and a couple of his friends as we partied the nights away. i would say, in general, there are a lot of beautiful chicas in the discos of medellin. however, a lot seemed to be with dates/boyfriends. in fact, one thursday night, gustavo and i hit a disco called republica in el poblado and it was packed but we were the only single people in the whole place. needless to say, we got the hell out of there quick.
one saturday night, gustavo and i were hanging out at an indoor/outdoor disco (in the aforementioned medellin neighborhood that i can not remember the name) and gustavo started talking to a couple of women- one was about a 6, the other about a 7. i was somewhat interested in the 7 as she was about 5’3, 125 #’s, 24 years old, big breasts, and long, dark curly hair; cute but not spectacular. we had some small talk and she asked what hotel i was staying at and when could she see it. later, while she tried to teach me the salsa (i failed to learn again, by the way), she asked when i was going to visit her at her house. but she had a 2 year old kid and she wasn’t really my type so after gustavo asked me how i liked her, i told him that i think i will pass. well, he really wanted to do her so i said, “hey man, help yourself.” he then put the “full court press” on this girl and at first, she seemed rather disinterested. but that never deters a latin man (as opposed to most gringos, like me, who bail after no initial response). after she realized that i wasn’t interested and after gustavo fed her a few more shots of aguadiente and more beers, she seemed to be responding to him somewhat. later, all 4 of us drove up into the hills to check out an awesome view of medellin below. it was really a cool sight. i looked around and noticed that gustavo had disappeared with the 7 from the disco and appeared to be in the backseat of the car with her. she was very drunk by this time and i found out later that she blew him in the backseat of his car while her friend and i were checking out the view of medellin. gustavo related later that he loves hanging out with gringos because it is very much a “win-win” situation in that he gets to help out a new person in his city by showing off the medellin sights, chicas, etc. and also, he receives a lot more attention from the chicas when he is with a gringo. so we were a good team….
soon after that, we had to drive the 2 girls home since they still lived with their parents (pretty much the norm in latin america to live with the parents until marriage), so we dropped them off. all the discos were closed at this point, so gustavo suggested that we go to some park in poblado where a lot of people go to hang out and drink. this park is right off of calle 10 and, as usual, i don’t remember the name. anyway, there were tons of 20-something people hanging out and drinking, and i would describe them as sort of a hippy crowd. so we bought another bottle of aguadiente and took our place in this park. soon enough, we met a group of about 4 women and 3 guys and we just started partying with them. these women, again, were about 7’s so i wasn’t incredibly interested (i’d rather pay for professional who is an 8 then try for an “average” chica here- i figure if i am going to go through the hassle of wooing a non-pro, i want her to be worth it). somehow, we ended up partying with these people until 9 in the morning (hadn’t done that since college) and everyone was super cool. they said i was “a friend for life” and i promised i would call them if/when i returned to medellin in the future.
we ended up visiting the girl who blew gustavo the next night and we took her and her 22 year old sister (who was a solid 8) out for ice cream. her sister was really adorable and i was definitely very interested- so we were flirting a bit and gustavo (being the good friend that he is) is telling her what a great guy i am and what i do for a living and that i am looking for a novia, etc. etc. and then she, all of a sudden, asks me when i am leaving medellin. so i told her the day after tomorrow and after that, the flirting and everything from her end seemed to abruptly stop. gustavo must have sensed this because he then tried to convince her that i would be returning in december and then in april and then, perhaps, all next summer, but she wasn’t buying it. so with that she told me to give her a call when i return in december. i guess i can’t blame her for not wanting to get involved with someone who is leaving the country in 36 hours, but i was a bit disappointed anyway.
ok…let’s get to fun stuff.
p4p venues
from my experience, it seems that p4p options can be divided into four different venues in medelllin- street girls, massage parlors, strip clubs, and casas.
street chicas
i heard from a couple of people that you can find plenty of street action somewhere in el centro, however, i never looked since street hookers are not my thing. i also heard that some of them are transvestites and/or sick, so i would be very careful if searching for this type of thing in medellin.
massage parlor
i jumped into a taxi my first night and instructed him to take me somewhere close with chicas bonitas. he said he knew just the place and took me to a “massage parlor” about 5 minutes from my hotel called loutron located on carrera 32 (transversal inferior) no. 2 sur- 47 in el poblado. it is definitely an upscale place but pretty affordable considering that, in general, medellin is not a great p4p place. loutron is basically a house which has been converted into a “casa-like” establishment. after pulling up from the street, you will see a large gate. my taxi honked his horn (on other occasions i needed to get out of the car to ring a buzzer) and a guy came out to open the gate. i was subsequently let in to a fairly nice looking house and a “mama-san” type directed me to a little waiting area and gave me a menu to browse. there must have been at least 15 different types of massages described ranging in price from 55,000 cp and up. a standard, full-service, hour-long massage with a chica of your choice was 76,000 cp. as i was checking out the menu, a parade of bikini-clad chicas entered the waiting room, and individually introduced herself, took off her top, and turned around to show off her body. i was here 3 times and there were always around 8-10 girls. the girls ranged from solid 7’s to 8.5’s on my subjective rating scale.
i visited loutron 3 times and was never disappointed. i went with one particular girl twice since she had awesome tits, was very sweet, gave an excellent massage, and tended to exclaim, “que rico!” a lot which is my weak spot. i believe her name is kelly and she let me take a couple of photos. unfortunately, the pictures really don’t do her justice as she looks much better in person.
another girl i sampled at loutron was cool enough to offer to take me out on the town in medellin that next weekend. i declined just because i really wanted to hit the discos sans a chica to try my luck on my own (but it was a tempting offer).
strip clubs
strips clubs are in abundance in medellin and i think i visited at least 5 or 6 during my 10 day visit.
show san diego is located close to casino rio and seems to be one of the more popular strip clubs. i was there on 2 occasions and there appeared to be about 10 chicas working. overall, girls ranged from 6’s to 8’s. a corona cerveza will set you back 6000 cp while a shit pilsner beer costs 3000 cp. the way it worked here (and all the other strip clubs) was that a chica would dance for 2 songs (eventually getting completely naked) and subsequently, circulate in the audience looking for a tip (2000 cp seemed to be about right?). all the chicas seemed to be available (short-time rooms were available in the back for your convenience). i went with one particularly chica sexi my second time at san diego who was pretty much the prototypical medellin chica with the pale skin and long, sexy dark hair and a killer body. i was charged 50,000 cp for 45 minutes with this beautiful woman and was quite happy with her.
there are at least 4 or 5 strip clubs located in el centro which are all pretty much the same- pretty low quality chicas (4’s to 7’s) available at very cheap prices (i heard 30,000 for 45 minutes thrown around but i didn’t partake here so you’ll have to ask). many of them appeared high on something. but perhaps you can find “a hidden gem” (talking like tsm bruce) sometimes??? i’m not sure. i didn’t take down the names or addresses of these places, however, if you want to check them out, ask any taxi to take you to a strip club in el centro and you’ll get to one of them.
casas
i must have visited 4 or 5 private casas during my time in medellin and what i observed is that the so-called “upscale” (translation- expensive) places were not significantly better than loutron or even some of the chicas in rio. they were usually located in a private residence and had 10-30 chicas available. one i went to somewhere in el poblado tried to charge me 150,000 cp for one hour with one of their chicas but i didn’t see anyone over a 7.5. maybe the best ones were occupied or not working that day? i’m not sure but i got the hell out of there quick.
another taxi took me to a casa located in el centro which is called club social- casa blanca located at cra. 50a no. 57-38, (balboa x la paz), tel: 231 6432 where i had a pretty good experience for the price. this is obviously a lower-class place and i would think twice about going there unless you are with a colombian friend to watch your back. i walked in (another converted house) and there appeared to be 20-30 chicas of all shapes and sizes available- the range was actually startling- ranging from 2’s (yes, i’m talking scary) all the way to a couple of 8’s. after ditching a couple of chicas gordas, i finally asked the waiter for a chica delgada and he brought me back a very cute 19 year who was practically hiding in the corner (can’t remember name as usual). she claimed she only works one day a week (saturdays- the day i was there) and had a 1 year old baby at home, but you absolutely could not tell- her body was near flawless. i asked about the price structure and it was 30,000 cp for ½ hour in a short-time room. so i said what the hell, and we adjourned into the back room. the place was filthy and smelled like one of those jerk-off cubicles in the back of an adult book store. i asked her if she would go with me to my hotel and she said that she doesn’t do that. i couldn’t bring myself to even sit on the bed, let alone screw on it and i almost backed out, however, i ended up just bending her over the bed after slipping on the condom. she was a really nice girl and i ended up giving her a 20,000 cp bonus (which i normally never do) just because i enjoyed her company and because i felt bad that she had to work in this shit hole. i meant to get back to casa blanca but i never made it. could be worth a look see…
one night i went out with a colombian friend to a place called taberna luna lunera on avenida 33 no. 63b- 201/215 and they apparently have a web page (although i’ve never checked it out): www.lunalunera.com.co. it is located in a safe neighborhood and looked like a pretty cool place to hang out. we were only at this place for about 1 hour one evening and we were there a bit early. the place looked like it had potential though and i wish i would have returned. there were about 15 girls ranging from 6’s to 8’s ( all apparently available) and a short-time motel next door (motel hostal cerro 33). luna lunera looked more like a bar and they might even serve food. not sure of the chica prices.
so, overall, i had a good time in medellin- the people were very friendly and the city itself is very nice. the p4p situation is not stellar and it is my opinion that cali offers a better range of p4p opportunities. however, i believe the non-pro chicas in medellin are as beautiful, if not more (depending on your taste, of course) than the chicas of cali. i believe medellin would be an excellent place to meet a non-pro girlfriend if you had at least a month to circulate to meet “normal” chicas. it would help to meet locals and to be introduced to the normal population instead of having to rely on discos 3 days a week or randomly running into the “chica of your dreams” in one of medellin’s many nice malls.
some final thoughts on medellin
• internet cafes: there are not many internet cafes in medellin compared to cartagena, cali, or barranquilla (or the rest of the world for that matter). the best one i found (by far) was located in centro comercial ovierto. there is internet access to be found in cento comercial tesoro, however, it consists of 5 free terminals in the movie theater lobby and is usually occupied with a line of adolescents.
• the food, as i noticed in cali and cartagena, is excellent and quite cost effective. there are many decent restaurants located within walking distance of hrp ranging from fast-food type establishments (el corral, taco loco, crapes and waffles, etc.) to more upscale open-air bar/restaurants. just walk out hotel plaza rosa, take a left, and walk down calle 10 until you find a restaurant you want. if you get a chance, order the steak pimienta (pepper steak) at a small place actually called “steak pimienta” on calle 10 in poblado. it is very good at a very good price.
• medellin has many nice malls to browse merchandise and chica-watch. my personal favorite was centro comercial tesoro which was located near poblado and offered a stunning view of medellin from a scenic overlook. be aware, though, that prices in tesoro were way above what you will find in the other malls. other malls included centro comercial ovierto (where you can find the good internet café) and centro comercial san diego.
• i only heard gunshots once during my trip when i awoke one night to hear automatic rifle fire, obviously from one of the barrios on the outskirts of town.
• when you enter one of the malls via taxi, armed security personnel will often ask your taxi driver to open the trunk in an effort to sweep for explosives. also, trained dogs were often observed at locations where crowds of people gathered.
• it is always better to ask your hotel to call you a taxi vs. flagging one down in the street, i was told. kidnappings do happen in medellin and it is best to know you are entering a legitimate taxi.
would i return to medellin? hell yes! however, if you are the type of person who is solely looking for p4p opportunities, then i would advise you to consider cartagena or cali instead. i plan on returning to medellin in december and possibly to bucaramanga to check out the scene there. if anyone will be there then, send me an email and we can drink a beer and chase some chicas around. hasta luego…
Nibu: This Medellin report is the "new" Medellin report. These reports were originally posted on TSM and Xtremetravel.net. I'll probably be going back in December so I'll try and post another at that time.
Nibu- I don't know of any listings for massage parlors in Medellin. I found the one M.P. from a taxi recommendation. I didn't see anything in the local newspapers.
Not sure about streetwalkers since that's not my thing. I heard that there are plenty in El centro (but watch out for transvestites!). Not sure of any websites besides the one I mentioned in my report. DO NOT travel around Colombia by bus! Even most Colombians won't do this now. Fly from city to city- it is much safer.
Never had any reason to interact with the police in Colombia. I love rock and roll, however, I can also appreciate salsa/merengue. Even though a lot of Colombians (and Venezuelans) enjoy rock, salsa and merengue are, by far, more popular. If you want to meet a "normal" chica for a girlfriend, it is almost a prerequiste that you dance.
Yes, they all took off their top for me during the "meet and greet" session when you are deciding which one to choose. That is the only massage parlor I found.
Just took taxis in Medellin, I hear the Metro is great though. Like I said, I know nothing about other hotels or street walkers.
Nibu,
I can NOT go in December!!!!
MY holidays are planned in february...that's it!!
I will most likely visit Cartagena...BQ and MAYBE Cali. Will stay up 14-18 days....hehe
I hear if ye fly in with ACES/Avianca you get a large discount on their airfares inland!
I will NOT travel by land IN Colombia!!!
It's not certain now,but it's most likely that a German friend of mine comes with me to Colombia.
if ANYONE of you horny *****mongers wants to meet up,send my an email:
johan_nl@eudoramail.com
I like beach,swimming,nightlife,(sleazy)*****s,non-pro chicas as well..and good food and drink. I do NOT use any drugs...ok?
My greatest wish is to organize a REAL MEGA GANGBANG there....
suggestions?
Johan.
PS:err....and this time NO rental moto-bikes for me Pete!!...;-)
In Medellin for a week with a friend. Here is our report:
TRANSPORTATION: The airport is way the hell out of town, $15 taxi ride into town. Once you are there, any taxi ride within town should cost $2-4.
HOTELS: We stayed in Poblado. When we were there, the Sheraton was $79 and the Intercontinental was $55, through Travelocity, and tho there are a lot of cheaper hotels, we wanted the security. The Intercontinental is old and worn down compared to other Intercontinenetals, more like an old Holiday Inn, and is up on the hill, kind of inconvenient. The Sheraton is next to the Oviedo shopping mall, which is very modern and safe.
LAYOUT: Did not meet any other Americans or Canadians.
Almost NOBODY speaks English here, even at major hotels, and stores, and we never met a taxi driver who spoke any English. The city is sprawled out in a valley between mountains, and is NOT organized and there is no central tourist area. Everything is done by taxi, and the streets are winding with lots of one way streets. Even the Taxi drivers got lost and needed to radio for directions. I wouldn't rent a car here! Food is cheap, but not especially good. Dollar is king, currently 2,500 pesos for 1 USD. People friendly but not accustomed to talking to Americans.
GIRLS: More beautiful girls on the streets than almost anywhere we have been. Due to army, drugs, murders, and war, there are 1.3 women for every man, and the guys are not very handsome by and large, so you see lots of couples where Selma Hayek is married to the janitor from Taco Bell. But the regular girls are mostly shy with strangers.
P2P: The monger scene is surprisingly undeveloped. Colombian friends tell me that, if you live there and can provide some security to a girl it is so easy to get a regular girl that few Colombians bother to pay for it. There are few organized clubs, and you wouldn't want to risk a streetwalker, who might be kidnapper-bait. Twice, we called places listed under "massajes" in the yellow pages, and they sent acceptable girls for $40 for 2 hours, but our hotel charged us a $20 guest fee LOL because the girls showed up at the desk and had to register. When we walked girls in ourselves, no questions, no fee, no problems. There are 3-4 high class private houses that have been turned into large bordellos. We recommend Oriente's and Casablanca. Any taxiste should know. Each has 30-40 girls, rating 6-10, sitting on sofas. They may ask for more, but 50,000-75,000 pesos ($20-30) will get you an hour onsite, and 100,000-150,000 pesos ($40-60) will get you a few hours at hotel (ymmv, we speak fluent Spanish). Girls are generally very sweet, giggly and nice, GFE very possible with Spanish. Every girl offered to see us outside, but we were trying to maximize variety. We did not meet any girls who spoke more than 5 words of English.
SAFETY: At first we were very paranoid, and thought we would be kidnapped or shot any minute. What we found out is that, like any other city, the careful tourist is likely to be just fine.
Statistically, 3,000 kidnappings and 30,000 murders a year in Colombia, but I have to say that we never felt threatened. In the areas we were in, we saw lots of police and military, machine guns, dogs, etc. But we saw no crimes, criminals, or sinister people on corners. It LOOKED safer than Chicago or Detroit. Everyone told us there were places in Medellin where your life was worth about $10, but we always asked before going anywhere, and didn't go somewhere if it was in an unsafe area. ALWAYS ask if the place you want to go is in a safe area. Kinda like sitting in Manhattan knowing that a few miles away in Harlem or the Bronx you could get killed.
CONCLUSION: The girls are STUNNING here. But frankly, you can meet 100 Colombian girls in the clubs of Panama City, in complete safety and with far greater convenience. As a matter of fact, all of the very top girls we met in Colombia had done a tour of duty in Panama, or planned to, because they can earn twice as much. So it makes more sense to go to Panama, where lots of people speak English, there is a big tourist industry, there is almost no crime, and the dollar IS the official currency. Panama City prices are higher, but convenience and safety probably worth it. As a side note, if you could stay here longer than a week, and speak some Spanish, you could probably meet a regular girl. I bought dinner and some ($2) flowers for a club girl that hung around all day, and she almost cried when I gave her the flowers! Most of the local men are unattractive, irresponsible, and/or have no money, so even the nicest girls would LOVE to meet a Gringo. We have friends who ended up marrying Colombian girls, and their wives are gorgeous, well-mannered, and appreciative.
Overall, this is not a real tourist-friendly place like Rio, San Jose, Buenos Aires, or Panama, but a nice change of scenery. They just do not get many North American tourists because of reputation for violence, and are not set up to convenience tourists. We would recommend going ONLY if you are street-savvy, speak Spanish, preferably have a friend to go with (safety in numbers), and have already burned out on Buenos Aires, Rio, and Panama City. It took a lot more effort to get settled, get fed, find the right chica places and get around than in EZE, SJO or PTY, but once we did find the right places, the girls are terrific!
chuponalgas-great update on a now seldom visited destination! Thanks for taking the time. thor