General Info

[FoxesHunter]

Winner71
thanks a lot for your precious news. I know Colombia a little bit but reading these posts I begin to understand the colombian people about danger in Colombia.

[FoxesHunter]

I've been to Pereira several times now ... lots of pretty chicas ... but the PFP scene is not that good, especially compared to Medellin ... IMHO.

Ricker
In your opinion is it better Madellin or Pereira for fucking no prostitute girls? I will ahev only 12 free days and I'd like to collect some interesting and pleasant fucking.
Thanks

[Tom 33]

I have had a 100% success rate.

A few days ago, I got an invitation sent from Wisconsin to my home in Medellin. There were 2 first class stsmps on the envelope. It got here in 5 days.

I got 3 pieces of mail sent to me in Cartagena. They took longer.

However, I would not advise sending anything very important by regular mail. Use Fed Ex or any other private courier that will service Colombia.

I wouldn't even know how to send "regular" mail from Colombia to the US. Last time, I used Servientrega.

[Bango Cheito]

A friend of mine did a little experiment sending postcards all over Bogota via the postal service there.... by his results they lost 60% of what he sent!!! No I didn't slip on the zero there, it was over half!

Private courier services are generally good and reliable. It usually takes a week or less from NYC for stuff to get to Bogota, here we have Servientrega and Expresito, the two big ones, and then a bunch of smaller envios places. I'm using some little place in Queens on Tuesday that only charges $1.19 per pound!

[Bango Cheito]

Maybe I am being misunderstood. I NEVER said Bogota was 'safe' by North American standards. It is still up there, especially in the muggings department, LIKE I SAID.

I have actually in about 90 days total I have spent there witnessed THREE attempted muggings. One time the guy fought four of them off, they didn't get a dime but he got cut in a couple places by a razor blade. The other time, my gf was walking ahead of me because she had to use the restroom, and some guy accosted her but he saw me catching up to her and fucked off (I'm a big boy, 6'3" 265lbs). The other time some guy was tailing me, I looked at him to let him know I wasn't having his shit, he fucked off. So I'd be the last person to say muggings aren't a problem in Bogota.

That story about 'so if you disappear they'll at least know when you were last seen' is a little silly. What DOES happen is that a taxi driver (or maybe not even a real taxista) will often take advantage of customers who are drunk or don't know the area, will take a detour into a little alley and his friends are there waiting to rob you. That is a very common scam in many cities. Of course taxi drivers also have to watch their clients VERY carefully too.

My point was not that Bogota was safe and that you should completely let your guard down there, far from it. It was rather that you shouldn't be lulled into a false sense of security in Medellin or Barranquilla which are actually quite a bit MORE dangerous! It's kind of like how people think NYC is a dangerous place just because it's big and dirty and parts of it are run-down, NYC is REALLY one of the SAFEST cities you can visit, especially now. There are tons of American cities with WAY more violence than NYC, but people 'feel more safe' there for some reason I'll never fathom. I work in one of the worst parts of the Bronx day in and day out, and it certainly doesn't compare in danger with ANYWHERE I've been in Latin America, or many other US or Canadian cities.

Another thing to keep in mind is that everybody always worries about murder and kidnapping but even when those kind of stats are very high the likelihood of you being murdered or kidnapped is extremely low compared to the likelihood of you getting mugged or having your pocket picked, or getting hit by a car for that matter!!

Furthermore let me point out that South American cities are NOTHING like North American cities. In North America we could have one of the safest areas of the country right next to one of the most dangerous areas of the country, it happens all the time, a good example is how close Sterling Heights is to Detroit :| in South America it doesn't work that way, even in the nicest, richest neighborhoods shit still goes down. As a matter of fact, in Bogota some of the highest incidents of mugging occur around la 93 and the Zona Rosa, the areas everybody thinks are 'safest' because they still have a North American mentality. Rio is the same way, most of the muggings actually happen in Copacabana Leme and Ipanema (and Rio is one of the places where I've actually been, including two of the favelas).

[Winner71]

Where in Colombia? It's been a while, but I've sent stuff to Bogota and to Barranquilla. Call Servientrega in Miami. Beatriz will typically answer the phone. She's very freindly. It's better if you speak some Spanish. Like I said, it's been a while... but if I recall Servientrega is under Federal Express... though I do not recommend sending something via FedEx from your home city to Colombia. I've heard nightmares about that. What always worked for me and what I was recommended to do when I had the same questions were the same... Call Servientrega in Miami and talk to Beatriz.

I asked the city becuase I wa always under the impression that shit went from Miami to Bogota and got screened etc in Bogota and then if it needs to go elsewhere it goes from Bogota. Beatriz always told me liek 2-3 days to Bogota and then 5-7 days for Barranquilla. I can confirm that everything I sent always got there pretty timely... i.e less than a week. However, the last time I was in Barranquilla I went to a local Servientrega office in Barranquilla and they told me that all the stuff from Miami going to Colombia in fact gets shipped to their Ecuador or Peru(I cant remember which one) for screening and then on to Colombia. That's just what they told me.. policies may have changed or they could have been clueless. Regardless, that was in February of this year. All the stuff I actually have sent has been over a year ago.

Servientrega is where I would start. It's their biggest courrier and it's always worked for me. Hope that helps.

Has anybody, known, done it themselves? sent a package or letter via US MAIL to COLOMBIA with any "success"? or any other secure method of shipping that you would like to share. Thanks for any feedback! Kind Regards!

[MiamiHeatLuver]

Has anybody, known, done it themselves? sent a package or letter via US MAIL to COLOMBIA with any "success"? or any other secure method of shipping that you would like to share. Thanks for any feedback! Kind Regards!

[JudgeSchmails]

Winner. Nice report. You can tell you are sincere and objective in your comments. I think there is danger in most places including the US. THe biggest help I think you can have when in Colombia if you want to play in the riskier areas is to fluently talk Spanish and be cool. Being street smart is something that cannot be overlooked. Obviously, this may not stop you from being kidnapped. I was at a partywith some girlfriends and a buddy. The girls were pretty and the guys who were throwing the party were not the coolest guys in the world. It was no big deal for the most part. They just weren't all that hospitable. Anyhow I realized as the sun was rising, it was time to go. When I went to say thank one for the guys and shake his hand as a polite gester, he pulled his hand away and put his hand close to by face and said "bye gringo". If I were in the states, I would have just punched him immediately. But because I was in Medellin and it was his house, I simply left.

I still look back at that moment as an important moment in my travels. I think if I had hit him, I might now be here. In Colombia, sometimes it is best to just walk away. My spidey sense said, smile politely and walk away. I am not a small guy. But there was nothing to win there. And plenty to lose.

I guess what I am saying is, if you are going to go to Colombia, be smart. It is not your country. I rarely feel nervous. IN fact, I may feel more nervous walking around in Florida. I think the saying in the US is nothing good happens after midnight. I don't feel the same way in Colombia, but I try to be smart when I am partying.

I think I just rambled, but I am constantly asked by people here, is Colombia safe. All I can say is, not for everyone. Hotheads nead not travel there. It is danegerous enough if you are not a hothead. But the juice is sweet.

[Ricker]

I've been to Pereira several times now ... lots of pretty chicas ... but the PFP scene is not that good, especially compared to Medellin ... IMHO.

[Winner71]

foxes,

pereira not dangerous at all??? that is false. every city in colombia is dangerous with the exception of cartagena in my opinion. who are these 4-5 boys? friends of yours who you would trust would put their life on the line for you or people you met on line? there's an old adage to keep in mind here.... people never will admit that their city is the most dangerous.

when i talk to my friends in barranquilla about me going to medellin.. thier response is "estas loco? medellin es muy peligroso!"
when i talk to people in medellin and tell them that i live/lived in barranquilla...their response is "pero barranquilla es muy peligroso."
the only area where this does not hold true in my experience is bogota... every colombiano/colombiana both inside bogota and outside bogota always tells me "ojos, cuidado. bogota es muy peligroso." yep, even the cachacos that live there will straight up tell me how dangerous it is. bango cheito is the first person i have ever heard say... "bogota is safe." and while i'm not going to tear apart his statement and explain while it is not as it does no good as his mind is already made up, i will state that from my experience bogota is right where i put it on my list of dangerous/safe areas.

that being said... forget what 4-5 boys told you about pereira being safe. yes, 1st hand knowledge of people on the ground there is always the best. but it's the best hearing it face to face. i don't know where you met these guys, but of course they aren't going to come out and tell you how dangerous pereira can be or how boring it can be because if they do, you proabbly wouldn't go there. do they want that?

i'll tell you a little story as experience is something that one should listen to as well. when i was in medellin in november 2006, i was invited to a finca which is located 6 kilometers off the main road halfway between manizales and pereira. i got really hyped up as i love the countryside. 3 days before i was planning to go, 3 europeans were kidnapped for ransom on that small 6 kilometer road. suffice it to say, i decided not to go to that finca. instead i went to pereira and los termales de santa rosa de cabal which is also relatively close to that finca. i stayed in pereira for a night, in a hotel right off of plaza bolivar. that evening i went to the movie with my girlfriend at a mall located 2 blocks away from plaza bolivar. the movie ended around midnight. walking back we heard gunshots... thus we decided to take a longer route doing pretty much a full 360 to get back to our hotel. it was a very seedy area.. much different than what it looked like in the daytime. once we made it back to our hotel we saw 2 (probably dead) men in the street about 200 yards away. i didn't go check it out, i just told the man at the front desk of my hotel and went to bed.

what's my point? my point is twofold... i found out when i got back to medellin that the 3 europeans were kidnapped because the owners of the finca refused to pay "protection money" to the guerillas. fortunately after a few days they obliged and the kidnappees were let go. 2nd point... an area which an acqaintance in colombia told me was perfectly safe ended up not so safe. granted it may well be safe... maybe i was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. actually, it's a good thing the movie didn't end 3 minutes earlier otherwise there may have been 3 men and a chica dead in the street.

moral is don't take for granted that a place is safe jsut because someone tells you it is safe. you always have to have your eyes and ears open. a few years ago that road from cali to medellin wasn't so safe to travel. fortunately now it is relatively safer. key word.. safer. not 100% safe. after all, if guerillas are collecting "protection money" and kidnpped some extranjeros 6 months ago from an area less than 20 kilometers away from pereira would you still say it's safe? i'm as daredevil as they come... in fact, a buddy of mine in medellin asked me why i would even go to pereira and los termales knowing that guerillas just sequestered a few extrnajeros just a few days earlier. it probably was a risky chance to take. i'm a risk-taker, as we all are for going to colombia in the first place. but don't say pereira is "safe" just because 4-5 boys that i'm assuming you met online told you so. i listen to friends and friends of friends who have nothing to benefit by telling me one way or the other. do these 4-5 boys have anything to benefit? in your eyes, no. in their eyes, maybe they think they have a new extranjero friend que da papaya.

about the pereira chicas opening their legs and lieing down when you tell them to sit... do you think i just made that up? sure the 2 or 3 gals that you have met from there online may seem shy. do you want them to come out and say "get your butt down here so we can screw?" all colombianas are horny by nature. it's in the water. whether you hit it off with them and get them in the sack is all about you... not them being shy or agressive. you got game and know how to make it happen... it's going to happen. you don't and it won't happen. not with a barranquillera, not with a calena, not with a chica from pereira.

dear friend, i have just chatted with 4-5 boys in pereira and all they have told me pereira is not dangerous at all. they told me false words or they don't understand danger? ;)

[Ricker]

How you know I like much to chat with people in Colombia. I chatted wit 2 girls in Barranquilla and both have asked money. I chatted with 2-3 girls in Pereira and may be do they know how to pretend better? ;)

Si senor, unfortunately that happens quite a bit, especially from the internet dating sites.

It's funny, because last night I called a chica I met on the internet, from Cartagena, and she asked me to send her money for a new phone.

I said OK, I would love to .... then hung up the phone, never to be called again.

They ask for money like that, bad bad sign of things to come. Plenty of good chicas out there to deal with that.

Suerte!

[FoxesHunter]

The Paisas, Medellin /Pereira, etc ... full of the most drama.
Suerte!

How you know I like much to chat with people in Colombia. I chatted wit 2 girls in Barranquilla and both have asked money. I chatted with 2-3 girls in Pereira and may be do they know how to pretend better? ;)

[FoxesHunter]

People in Colombia routinely make jokes about girls from Pereira being sluts and gold-diggers. It's a running joke for them, so there must be SOME truth to it. Pereira can also be quite dangerous.

Dear friend, I have just chatted with 4-5 boys in Pereira and all they have told me Pereira is not dangerous at all. They told me false words or they don't understand danger? ;)

[Kdogg21]

I have been to Cali Once, Medellin 3 times and Cartagena once. The scariest thing about Colombia is the Peso is now 2038 to the USD!

[Mangera]

Bango, I respectfully differ from your choices of the safest cities. Cartagena, I can swallow. But Bogota? I feel safer in Medellin as compared to Bogota. I have felt safer in the favelas in RIO and the Sarengetti in my Safari trip as compared to Bogota. No joke! Just the fact that the hotel employees have to take down the personal information of the taxi drivers that are picking you up at the hotel( in case you disapear, they can at least have a clue of who you were last seen with), raises a big red flag.

Granted, most of the rough places I have been to have been with a paisa friend, a rolo friend, and a carioca friend(rio). I have been to some pretty screwed up places, in different countries and I just felt totally unsafe as soon as I stepped on the sidewalk in Bogota. All that being said, I don't think Bogota is the most dangerous city in Colombia. Just my two pennies worth, according to my experiences and the experiences of mi amigos y amigas de Colombia.