Barranquilla Reports

[El Austriaco]

Surfer: Zona Rosa was on my list, but I never checked it out. Sorry, no updated information on this joint. CBJ.. that seemed to be the standard procedure. Didn't insist on uncovered practice, so I am not sure whether that would have been a possibility. Will investigate more the next time.

Lima Busy: you flatter me. Check it out, you should. That's what reporting here is all about, isn't it? Thanks.

Tom: I do understand daily withdrawal limits like you do, using a US-based card, but the 2+ years I have lived in Mexico, my experience has been that foreign ATMS give you whatever the local limit is, not my US daily withdrawal limit. Didn't try in Colombia, though, and you might be absolutely right. Street action? Where?

EA

[Surfer]

I recall a oplace called Zona Rosa less than a block from Lusitania. Wonder if the name changed.

Also, I am curious if you asked for bbbj, or just accepted cbj without discussion. That is a big issue for me as I hate cbj.

Great work EA.

[Lima Busy]

El Austriaco, I have never had the pleasue of reading one of your reports before. Having never been to Baq, your report has encouraged me to go. They were extremely well written, concise and informative.You managed to distill the flavor of this town in a few paragraphs. I may even print out a copy for the next time I do a Colombiana to get the full effect.

Bueno Suerte
LB

[Tom 33]

Thanks, El A. I'm surprised you didn't try some street action.

Only one minor correction. The 400K limit is per transaction, not per day. You can do as many transactions as your home bank's daily limit will allow. I have a US$510 daily limit and usually draw 1.1 million pesos every time I hit the ATM.

[El Austriaco]

Before leaving on this trip, I did a quick search here on ISG to prepare a list of P4P spots to hit in Barranquilla. Based on my cursory research, I got the impression that P4P options were limited in Barranquilla compared with Cartagena or other Colombian cities like Cali and rather on the expensive side, again compared with the rest of Colombia. So I set out, determined to investigate whether this was true or not.

From what I read here, Lusitania (actually spelt with an “s”) was the top spot in this area, with girls offering ST for COP 80,000. Sounded interesting. Went there on a Thursday night around 9:00 PM, cab from the hotel was COP 4,000. Lusitania is located on Cra. 44 at Calle 74. Every cab driver knows it.

By the time I got there, there were about 7 girls there, and more kept arriving. Within the next hour or so, the total number grew to about 20. No upfront entrance free, no minimum consumption. Drinks are on the steep side (COP 10,000 for a beer, COP 12,000 for a Cuba Libre, if I remember correctly, no prices posted anywhere). In other words, Lusitania is not the place to go if your main interest is drinking. Security was tight, got patted down.

Lusitania has a small bar area where the girls hang out, an area with tables, and a dance floor. Behind the sliding glass door in the back, that’s where you find the on-site rooms and the men’s restroom. Looks were generally 7 to 8, with three solid 9s. Initially offered COP 120,000 to COP 150,000 for fun in the private booths, though I am pretty sure they could have been haggled down to COP 100,000. Not sure whether any girl would have gone for COP 80,000, however. I was mostly looking. Strip show every hour, but nothing to write home about. Lusitania shuts down at 1:30 PM during the week, so I was told. Pretty classy joint, if you ask me… they even had two aquariums there. Who would have thought.. Caribbean aquatic life and hookers. What a combination. Made me think of diving.

For the cheap mongering bastard that I am, prices were a bit on the high side for me, though I was tempted with a few of the girls. Got the phone numbers of two girls, but never called them. Overall, I still think that Lusitania compares pretty well with the Rio de Janeiro termas I know in terms of prices, number of girls, and looks. The only negative aspect of Lusitania was that after talking to the girls, buying them drinks, and finally not taking them, they all would ask for a tip for their time, usually COP 20,000, although it wasn’t high pressure as many other places I have been to, and compared to the rates for ladies drinks’ here in Mexico, they actually didn’t ask for much. Additionally, the girls were much hotter and much more friendly overall (including to the extent of DFK at times). For whatever reason, customers (a fair mix of foreigners and Colombians) also seemed to enjoy dancing with the girls, which added a nice, though unexpected touch. Plus, I felt very very safe there both times I went. You should definitely check it out.

A couple of days later (I was busy with my non-pro), I hired a cabbie to show me some other places, one of them Peluqueria Victor, Cra 48 & Calle 69, Tel: 358-5943, of the massage parlor variety. Actually, you walk into a living room and sit down on a sofa, which brought back flashbacks of places in El Salvador and Boca Chica, DR that I have been too. No entrance fee, free to look. Once I got there, they immediately did the lineup of all the girls, about 15 of them, looks 5-8. The guy in charge, Victor, quoted COP 150,000 for three hours take-out, COP 250,000 for TLN. I wasn’t impressed with either selection, prices, or the attitude of any of the chicas (or the gringo rip-off attitude of Victor). Left as soon as I had gotten there.

Based on this experience, I skipped checking out Variedades Loly at Carrera 48 #69-84, Tel: 358-2032, just around the corner, and decided to pick my cabbie’s mind a bit more. I never liked the lineup thing, and just thought that there had to be more to Barranquilla than this.

He suggested Juernes, and that’s where we went. This was on a Monday. Juernes is located at Cra. 46 with Calle 73-26. Got there at around 9, and the place was pretty dead, though I spotted a black hottie in the dark. I left and went back at 10. Juernes is like a low-roller version of Lusitania, more run down, with a bar, tables, a dance floor, and on-site facilities. There were more girls (10+) and a few more customers. In total, there were about 12 girls, some 5s, mostly 6-7, some 8s, and two definite 9s. Onsite room cost is COP 13,000 for one hour, fee to be negotiated directly with the girl. Ended up talking to my hottie, Maria Paula, one of the two 9s, a caleña with a fantastic body with an 8 face. Told me she had worked as a model before, and looking down her body, I didn’t second-guess her. She started with an initial offer of COP 100,000 for an hour, I countered with COP 70,000, she said OK (which was the standard rate there as another blond paisa girl had told me before). Definitely arrecha in the sack, multiple positions, CBJ, everything covered. One full hour of great sex, very enthusiastic, took it as a matter of personal pride to make sure that the pop was forthcoming (which was slow in coming thanks to vitamin C). Gave her at COP 10,000 tip, so total damage was COP 70,000 plus COP 10,000 tip plus COP 13,000 for the room equals COP 93,000. Roughly USD 45. Recommended. Give her a call if you got a chance.. her cell phone is 315-530-7605.

Drinks were very reasonably priced (Club Colombia beer COP 4000, or COP 1,000 for a Coke), much more inexpensive than Lusitania, plus all drink prices were posted. No strip show, but a dance floor (though when I went there, it was during the week, so I don’t know about weekends). No cover charge, no minimum consumption. Incredibly nice and friendly atmosphere. According to Mari Paula, very few Barranquilleras there (girls mostly from Cali, Medellin, Bogota). As per her and other girl’s information, this place was not entirely off foreign mongerer’s radar.. they all said that they got a fairly good flow of Filipinos and Arabs off ships docking in Barranquilla. Not sure whether anyone has reported on it here. Not a lot of English spoken in this joint, but you could get by (some girls tried with me just for the novelty of it). Opens at 6 PM, closes down at 1:30 AM during the week and 3:00 AM weekends.

Once I was back from Cartagena (roughly a week later.. look for my report in that section), I went there on a Tuesday at 6:30 PM, and there were only three girls there, including the paisa ho-cum-waitress, a very amicable, voluptuous blonde. Again, it just struck me how genuinely friendly and upbeat the girls were (in addition to remembering me, of course). Maria Paula was taking the day off, but I wasn’t disappointed… there was another hottie there the other day that had fancied my appetite, though I didn’t see her, either. Over the next hour or so, more girls kept arriving, though I decided to check out other options (as reported below) and again come back later. At around 9:30, there were about 10 to 12 girls present. Ended up talking to Sara, a 25-year old morena, born in Barranquilla, but raised in Cartagena, very bubbly, just a sweet, sweet costeña, face 8+, body 7 (hips were a bit big for me, but the boobs made up for it), attitude 9+. Quoted COP 50,000 for one hour (“un ratico”), no reason to negotiate for me. The usual COP 13,000 for the room. Total damage COP 63,000 (USD 30.00), but Sara was so sweet, I gave her another COP 10,000 tip. I was improving. Again, CBJ, covered everything, multiple positions, overall experience 8+. Recommended. Needless to say, I left happy. Just when I left, the hottie I had seen the first time came in. Oh my.

After that, I was again busy with my non-pro, and the cartagenera GF was arriving to give me a farewell fuck, so I didn’t have time to go back there. Too bad, there were still a good 2 to 3 girls I would have done without a problem. Next time. And there will be a next time.

Not too far from there, there was another place that my cabbie suggested, called La Hoja, located at Cra. 44/72-243, just down the street from Lusitania, actually. First time I went there, around 9, there were two girls present, one old and haggard one, while the other one was quite doable (young dark morena). I went back to Juernes and greener pastures. The second time I went there, on a Tuesday, I made it around 8, with again two girls present, nothing special. I decided to hang out and have a couple of drinks, and ultimately, I ended up talking to one of the better looking chicks (by 9 PM, there were about five of them, looks 5-8, only one 8, though), Lucy. Apparently, Tuesday is the slowest night of the week (with lots of girls taking the night off). According to Lucy, ST was COP 70,000, with COP 10,000 for the onsite rooms. Salidas/amanecidas (in other words, TLN) could be arranged for a COP 30,000 bar fine and COP 80,000 to 100,000 for the girl. I am sure the rates the girls commanded could have been haggled down. In that respect, La Hoja seemed to operate like Juernes, just with less girls. I passed. The place opens at 7 PM and closes down at 1:30 like everything else in Barranquilla, except for weekends, when closing time is 3:00 AM (Thu through Sat). Drinks were very reasonable (COP 3,000 for Club Colombia, same rates for ladies’ drinks), no entrance fee, no minimum consumption, no high-pressure atmosphere. By the time I left, there was one girl there that was definitely doable (a morena clara). Overall, the same setup as Juernes, with less clients and less girls, and I liked the Juernes selection and general atmosphere better, though the atmosphere at la Hoja was pretty friendly,too. But then again, La Hoja had aquariums :). Just couldn't convince myself to go diving, though.

On the way back home from Juernes, I mentioned my COP 50,000 session with Sara to the cabbie, and according to him, it seemed expensive for him as a Colombian, and he wanted to show me more economical options. Unfortunately, between my barranquillera and cartagena non-pros, I couldn’t take him up on his offer on the subsequent days. You might want to give him a try: his name is Miguel Angel, phone number 310-742-5846.

Final conclusion: IMHO, Barranquilla is not as bad as reported here for P4P as long as you speak Spanish and are willing to look beyond the most obvious options and venture beyond what most cabbies will initially recommend to you. It didn’t take me very long to find some P4P much more in line with general middle-of-the-road rates in Colombia and with very decent looking girls with good attitude, and I am keen on exploring more of this option, since I am confident that I will find even more appealing alternatives. Will report on future findings, needless to say. Of course, exploring non-pros in this city is so entertaining and rewarding that you might find it unnecessary to go this route, and as long as you have time and speak somewhat decent Spanish, it might not be necessary. But the two approaches aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive, either.. and P4P doesn’t have to break the bank in Barranquilla. Isn’t it always good to know there is a sure thing, even in a city like Barranquilla, and to avoid the crazy GFE?

But more on that in the Cartagena section...

[El Austriaco]

So why should you go to Barranquilla?

It might not take long to find out once you've made it there, you know. It might be that simple, IMHO, of course.

I’ve been to about fifty countries or so by now, I’ve traveled extensively in Latin America, I’ve studied in Venezuela, and I’ve spent about 6 months+ in Brazil by now, so to use the words of Colonel Frank Slade, “I have been around, you know”. But after spending 8 days exploring Barranquilla, I simply got to say that, compared with any other place I’ve been to, Barranquilla has the finest selection of girls I’ve ever seen anywhere - bar none.

Barranquilla gives you lots of plenty of time and reasons to ponder this question, and my assessment is based on a number of factors:

1. Percentage of beautiful women. I don’t know, how many times have you seen two perfect 10s within 5 seconds passing two 9+s in the street? It happened to me on my last day in Barranquilla, it was absolutely unbelievable. More of this, and I would have come home with a broken neck and cross-eyed. In this respect, Colombia even topped Venezuela for me, and I thought that this wasn’t possible.

2. Sexiness. Just to see Barranquilleras wear the shit out of a pair of jeans is worth the price of a plane ticket. You might reconsider everything you ever learned about female anatomy afterwards.

3. Variety of looks. Barranquilla has it all, blonds, brunettes, redheads, jet-black hair, white girls, morenas claras, morenas oscuras, mulatas, black girls, tall, short, slim or not so slim. The only thing Barranquilla seems to have preciously little of are ugly girls. So unless you're into that or totally focused on Asian chicks, I can’t see why you wouldn’t find something to your liking in Barranquilla. IMHO, of course, Barranquilla even beats Rio de Janeiro in this respect, and Rio is pretty damn good in terms of variety of looks. Only other place to compare to would be Venezuela, again (and Sao Paulo, a place I haven't been to, for the Asian element). For ugly chicks, I can highly recommend Bhutan.

4. Attitude. And if the above wasn’t enough, the girls I’ve met were simply sweethearts, very approachable, very friendly and uncomplicated, and quite flirtatious. Goddammit, I got hit upon by 18-19 year old non-pros who couldn’t wait to hang out with me. The first girl I passed on the street told me "Hola, adonde vas, gringuito lindo?". I should have told her "A la cama... contigo!" :)

Of course, speaking Spanish is a big advantage with regular girls, and I am not sure how well one can do speaking English or any other foreign language. I speak fluent Spanish, so this wasn't an issue for me.

One of my very best “virtual” friends is from Barranquilla, so I finally had a chance to get to know her in person. Not surprisingly, she was an absolute sweetheart and just fun to hang out with (other than being a rock solid 9 and having an ass to die for – just a prime example of a Barranquillera). On a Friday evening, we went to have beers and shoot the breeze sitting in an outdoors place (still in the Norte area, but like on Calle 79, don’t remember exactly). She was very adamant that I wouldn’t leave my jacket hanging on a chair outdoors, for fear it would be stolen. Well, when the time came to pay the bill, we discovered that her purse had been stolen, including cell phone and ID (cedula). The next day when I called her at home, she told me that someone had called a number from her cell directory, offering to return the cedula… for a “finder’s reward”, as they put it ever so elegantly :). How about creativity in Colombia… ever heard of pursenapping? And so it happened: a couple of days later, she had her ID back, cash and cell phone were gone, of course. There are criminals in Colombia, but at least these ones weren’t unreasonable.

And on to... the P4P options.

[El Austriaco]

flew to barranquilla from mexico city via panama with copa airlines. i’ve flown copa on several occasions before, to quito, ecuador and to santo domingo, dominican republic (twice), and the hub of the americas at tocumen international seems to work well for me, connection-wise. considering that i am based in central mexico, connecting at houston, atlanta, or miami is pretty pointless for me. of the only other viable alternatives, mexicana was considerably more expensive, and avianca wasn’t any cheaper on my preferred travel dates, so i decided to go with the most convenient connection and the shortest travel time (roughly 6 hours, including connection) rather than connect in bogotá. had planned to go to cartagena first and travel to barranquilla by bus and/or taxi from there, but flying directly into bar ended up being about 150 dollars cheaper, so i ended up doing it the other way around. total ticket cost was roughly 720 bucks, no steal, for sure, but on air tickets, you’re getting fucked all the time, anyway, in mexico.

barranquilla is one hour ahead of mexico city, i.e. the same as est (eastern standard time). arrived in barranquilla right on time, connection in panama was no problem. smallish airport with a somewhat unfinished look for a city of roughly two million people. immigration was a breeze, very quick and easy, and would have been even faster had the immigration officer not got confused regarding austria vs. australia and kept insisting that i needed a visa. well, i am used to it by now :). no visa required for a eu citizen, after all. luggage pickup and customs, finally, without any problems.

once outside the airport building, it doesn’t take long to feel that you’re in the caribbean. you know, like someone just slapped you in the face with a hot, wet towel. there is a booth for cab tickets. total cab cost to the zona norte was cop 19,820 (roughly usd 10.00). as of november 15, the exchange rate was 2,278.87 cop per usd as per www.xe.com/ucc/, though most places (hotels, restaurants) would only give cop 2000 per dollar. not yet sure what the actual atm rate was (need to check), so to be conservative, i’ll use the cop 2000/usd 1 exchange rate when quoting prices.

the cab ride takes roughly half an hour (the airport is on the south side of town, near soledad). on the way into town.. we passed a sign in the mercados area saying “young men! this is what masturbation will do to you”. couldn’t read the rest of it at the speed the cabbie was going at, but i wasn’t too concerned. masturbation was not high on my priority list…

stayed at the hotel boulevard, carrera 58 #70-41, apartado aereo 53010, barranquilla, atlantico, colombia. main phone 00-57-5-368-1295, other phone numbers 368-1212, 368-1294, 368-1295, 368-0810, 368-0820, 368-0830, 368-0840, fax 368-1364. website: www.cotelco.org/boulevard58. the pictures are pretty accurate.

boulevard 58 is located in the zona norte, a couple of blocks down the hill from the el prado, a five-star hotel. the cost for a single room was cop 94.272 per night (roughly usd 48.00), including breakfast. made the reservation over the phone since i couldn’t find any online reservation option at the time – very friendly and helpful reception clerk. actually, there is an online option: http://www.cotelco.org/boulevard58/reservas.htm. now i know better. availability was no problem this time around... the hotel seemed pretty empty most of the time, and i stayed eight nights there (6 days prior to going to cartagena and 2 once before i took off) . didn’t ask for any cc at the time i made my reservation, but asked for a deposit when i checked in. i paid in cash as i stayed there.

when i think of boulevard now, the term that comes to mind is “unassuming”. while the exterior is pretty nice, once inside, everything is pretty run-of-the-mill, including the pool. ac in room, room service with very reasonable rates (appetizers cop 2,320 to cop 4,250), club sandwich cop 9,500, most entrees cop 10,000 to 15,000, with a cop 2,320 room service charge, local beer cop 2,320, imported beers 3,480). room service is reasonably prompt. minibar rates were very reasonable also, e.g. approx. cop 12,000 for a 375 ml bottle of ron medellin. couldn’t complain. there is a hotel restaurant also, but never tried it. phone calls were sort of expensive.. i’ll provide more economical options below.

is boulevard girl friendly? yes.. i think so. though i didn't take any pros there, getting a girl into your room is possible. one time, i had to give a non-pro a gift i had bought for her, and she wanted to come to the room, and the receptionist told me.. ok, 15 minutes max, otherwise we'll charge for another occupant. another time, another regular girl came to my room, and i was charged cop 25,000 extra. one cab driver (one of the taxistas de confianza of hotel management) suggested that late at night, this charge could possibly be avoided with a small tip :)

atms: my first task was to find an atm that would accept us-based cards. once you leave the hotel, walk up calle 70 (turning right) past the prado hotel and go on for a couple of blocks. the first atm i saw, granahorro, (at the mall on the left side of the street), though supposedly accepting foreign (cirrus) cards, didn’t. oh well. conavi on the other (right) side of the street, at cra. 52, however, worked perfectly fine. cop 400,000 daily withdrawal limit. fine with me, problem resolved.

phone calls: between carrera 52 and 53 on calle 70, there is a cybercafé with reasonable internet rates (cop 2,000 per hour, cop 1,000 for half an hour) which also has booths for phone calls (to land-based phone numbers) and cell phones (from a cell phone they provide). charge for local calls is like cop 300 per minute, very reasonable. much better than using the in-room phone at the hotel. at that rate, i didn’t see any reason to get a local cell phone.

restaurants: there are quite a bit of restaurants in this area, and one that i liked was los helechos, which actually specializes in paisa cuisine. it’s located on cra. 52 no. 70-70, phone 356-7493 or 345-1739. had some pretty good lunch combos (ejecutivos) for cop 7,000 to cop 10,000 (usd 3.50 to usd 5.00). very reasonable.

vitamins: on the corner of calle 70 with cra. 53, there is a drugstore (superdrogaria olimpica) which openly advertised viagra and cialis. for cialis, no generic version was available, only the real stuff. pricing was cop 22,000 for one 20 mg pill, cop 86,670 for a box of four. they offered both original viagra and generic brands. the generic ones were cop 2,500 per pill. didn’t try them, but i am sure the friend i bought them for back in mexico will report here, right, db? for the real viagra, i was quoted cop 12,000 for the 50 mg version, if i remember correctly. needless to say, no prescription required for either. gosh, do i love this country.

after spending a week+ in barranquilla, let me give some general recommendations (and to confirm some pieces of information that have been said here before on this board):

* bring an umbrella and a water-proof jacket. downpours happen at a moment’s notice, you will need them.
* when it rains, it pours. tropical rain in barranquilla is not for the faint of heart, and once it happens, you or anyone else is not going anywhere. i am just surprised nobody is offering white-water trips.
* the heat and humidity can be downright suffocating. i am not kidding. as recommended before, limit your activities to early morning or late afternoon. feels like living in a steam bath.
* even if you feel edgy to do things during the daytime despite the crazy heat and weather permitting, there’s preciously little to do. barranquilla is not a touristy city, and not set up as such.
* keep your small bills. trying to pay with cop 20,0000 notes sometimes was a problem in stores, for whatever reason.

well, before someone asks “so with shitty weather, debilitating humidity, and nothing to do during the day, why should i even go to barranquilla?”... i'll move on to the chicks.

[Surfer]

HH's comparison seems quite accurate, though he knows BAQ much better than I do. I HATE the climate in BAQ/CTG. I LOVE the climate in Medellin, and Cali is only slightly hotter than Medellin. I think Medellin is by far the most attractive city in Colombia.

I agree BOG feels like the most dangerous city, definitely more so than Lima. I find it the least friendly city too. Several others disagree, and granted part of it is the fact that I have such great conections in Cali (Antifreeze first among them), but I personally find Cali the friendliest of the LARGE cities.

[Hoof Hunter]

Thanks a lot El Austriaco and Hoof Hunter for your answers.

What about the climate in Barranquilla?
Is it really damn hot???
Surely much hotter than in Lima during Summer........

BAQ - really damn hot. Although, when I was there two weeks ago (Nov. 19th-22nd), the weather was actually temperate (approx. 75-80 degrees F). It also had been raining daily up until that point and as I was leaving BAQ. But in general, it gets hot as shit there. 95+F. Just be sure to stay inside during the days, and ride it out.

Lima - a 4 seasons place. In winter months, it gets chilly (approx. down to 50 with a breeze, since it's located on the Pacific coast. This past weekend when I was in Lima, in the daytime, t-shirts were more than ideal as they are in spring. Temps about 65-80. At night, needed long sleeves or a jacket.

BAQ is much hotter than Lima anytime of year.

[Volpone]

Thanks a lot El Austriaco and Hoof Hunter for your answers.

What about the climate in Barranquilla?
Is it really damn hot???
Surely much hotter than in Lima during Summer........

[Hoof Hunter]

Thanks guys for your point of vue.

What would be interesting to compare is Lima and some other cities in Colombia, except Cartagena.

I stayed in Lima, in Miraflores and San Isidro. I really feel safe there. Would it be the same if I stay in the good suburbs of Barranquilla or Bogota or Cali or Medelin?????

Pretty much would be the same. Just got back from a weekend jaunt to Lima, btw. I enjoy that place. Miraflores and San Isidro would compare to Prado/Alto Prado/El Norte areas of Barranquilla. Those areas are very well-maintained and pretty safe. I've walked those areas in both cities at night, late night, during the day without issue. Taking taxis without issue, just negotiate BEFORE getting in. You'll find more English speakers and expats in Lima who will be more than willing to help you out. Just aren't that many expats in BAQ.

Lima would compare mostly to Bogota in Colombia. Both being capital cities, there is the multi-international business presence in both. People from other areas of the country flock to those cities in search of a better opportunity. The Miraflores/San Isidro comparision in Bogota would be El Chico/Rosales/Zona Rosa/Parque 93 areas.

Actually, Bogota is probably less secure than Lima, esp. for foreigners and dual citizens. Not that I've personally have any firsthand knowledge of anyone who has been kidnapped, but the risk is definitely greater in Bogota. It's just not something that I've seen or heard about in Lima. Petty crimes, hell yeah. Nothing violent. Just people capitalizing on people's ignorance, false sense of security, or naivete.

In Medellin, you have Poblado, Laureles as comparisions to Miraflores/San Isidro.

[Hoof Hunter]

Sosua's a small beach town, where many of the girls are working or have "worked." Kinda fucked up, but been there and done that. Does have a nice beach and is laidback. Sosua is point and click. BAQ requires a little work and planning, and definitely Spanish.

BAQ is a city of 2 million or so, I believe. It's a port city, a working town. Not the most pretty city, but Prado, Alto Prado in the North rival any Strata 4 or Strata 5 areas in Colombia. And it's accessible.

There are plenty of businesses, and universities there. The girls have options. BAQ is not a bigtime pro town. Many girls choose not to enter prostitution, as they are not as desperate as the girls of Sosua. That being said, if you speak Spanish, it shouldn't be too difficult to score in BAQ. I'm batting about 1000% in that city. You can meet girls out and about in stores, Buena Vista, El Centro in the day in the shops, just in passing, or online.

I've said this before, the soul of Colombia lies in BAQ. The people are the salt of the earth. I've been to every major city in Colombia, except Cali. But I've been told many times, that outside of the hot chicas and salsa, there isn't much more to it. Still curious about Cali.

Bogota is what it is and what it lacks. Still love to pass through there and hit the Barrio Sante Fe for fun. There you can do TLN with some pretty-hot Paisas and Calenas for COP100.000. However, the area is dicey as hell. I've never had a problem personally, but I wouldn't recommend it as I've seen some things with my eyes this year that should've scared the shit out of me. Medellin is really not my cup of tea, but I've enjoyed my time there. Meeting non-pros in passing and getting attention from others was interesting enough. The drive into the city from the airport is incredibly beautiful to see. However, the city just seems too plastic, too artificial to me. JMO, not trying to offend anyone.

There's petty crime everywhere, including in BAQ, but none of the major issues (FARC, major AUC presense, kidnapping) that Colombia's unfortunately become renown for. When things might be getting a little dicey, someone, even a stranger, will step in to warn you beforehand. CTG and Santa Marta are within 90 mins on opposite sides of BAQ, if you get bored and/or just want to hit a beach.

Closest you'll get to a Sosua comparison in Colombia would be Cartagena. But it really wouldn't be a comparison when it comes to chicas. The hottest Sosua chica would be middle to lower-middle of the pack in CTG. However, the beach stalls, beach action, expats, English spoken, etc. would be a fair comparison.

Hope that answers some of your questions.

Anyone have a comparison between BAQ and Sosua DR ? From what I can gather, BAQ is not the prettiest of cities, but neither is Sosua. My usual stomping grounds are CTG but im thinking about a side trip to BAQ. Im curious to see if the locals are as friendly as reported here.

One of the things I liked about Sosua were the numerous open air bars to kick back, have a few beers and rap to the putas. They are all putas as there are no non-pros to be found there. Colombia is head and shoulders above the DR in terms of non-pros (and 24 hour electricity).

[Sylvester]

In Colombia women are nicer and country is less turistic than Dominican Republic, and it's good, but if u are not a expert trird world traveller get out from Colombia, cause Colombia is 100 times more dangerous thn Santodoimingo, for example if u are a Gringo never go out of town that many people in xountryside live kidnapping rich men and tourist means richmen there.

But if you are a expert men with good eyes for avoid dangerous you can go to Colombi, but NEVER ACCEPT TO EXIT FROM TOWNS TO GO TO COUNTRYSIDE!

Anyone have a comparison between BAQ and Sosua DR ? From what I can gather, BAQ is not the prettiest of cities, but neither is Sosua. My usual stomping grounds are CTG but im thinking about a side trip to BAQ. Im curious to see if the locals are as friendly as reported here.

One of the things I liked about Sosua were the numerous open air bars to kick back, have a few beers and rap to the putas. They are all putas as there are no non-pros to be found there. Colombia is head and shoulders above the DR in terms of non-pros (and 24 hour electricity).

[Latina Passion]

but IMHO the risk of a VISITOR being kidnapped in the cities is virtually nil. Long term residents are at somewhat more risk, but the HIGH risk exists in the countryside, NOT ther cdities. Just my opinion.

Surfer, did you post on Peter's thread that you knew someone who got Kidnapped?

For the most part I'm with Surfer, I've been to Colombia 8 times in 16 months, and I have never had a problem there, but it is what it is!

I love Colombia almost as much as the next guy, but if I personally, knew anyone who has been Kidapped, then to be the risk is high!

Hell, I would consider the risk high even if dude was breaking all the rules, flashing money, bragging about money, drunk in a place he knew he should not be!

Surfer, absolutely no disrespect, bt for you guys headed down to Colombia, do watch your back, after all Colombia did not get it's reputation for nothing!

My girl lives in Barranquilla and she has been telling me, that things are getting a little bad down there, not attacks on Gringos per say but just everyday crime appears to be on the rise!

New poll here! How many guys know first had our from a very reliable source, anyone that has been kidnapped in Colombia? And any one that has been kidnapped from their home country? No and No here!

By the way any of you cats going to be in BAQ or CTG infebruary if so PM me!

[El Austriaco]

What would be interesting to compare is Lima and some other cities in Colombia, except Cartagena.

I stayed in Lima, in Miraflores and San Isidro. I really feel safe there. Would it be the same if I stay in the good suburbs of Barranquilla or Bogota or Cali or Medelin?????

Just got back yesterday from 2 weeks in Barranquilla and Cartagena, and wanted to quickly chime in on this. I spent about 4 days in Lima back in 1999, and this trip to Colombia was my 12th trip to South America and the Carribbean (excluding seven more trips to Mexico, where I have been living for two-and-a-half years now).

Based on my experience in other Latin-American countries (Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, El Salvador, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Salvador and Rio in Brazil, Chile), staying in a good neighborhood in Barranquilla did not make me feel any more insecure than anywhere else that I have been to in that hemisphere. When I was in Lima, I stayed in Miraflores, too, and I do understand that things have changed quite a bit in Lima, recently (and from what I hear, for the better), so my info might be outdated, considering that I was there 6 years ago (and Miraflores felt very safe when I was there). Staying in a safe neighborhood in Barranquilla and observing basic security precautions that you should observe anywhere in the world should keep you out of trouble, in all likelihood (personally, I didn't have any trouble there whatsoever). Can't really say anything about Cali and Medellin (because I haven't been there personally, though I'd love to go, and wanted to go this time) or Bogota (while I have been there, it was simply too short to come to any reasonable conclusion, plus I was accompanied the entire time I was there by a local to keep me out of trouble).

Cartagena was perfectly fine for me.

More detailed trip report to follow (including what areas and hotels I stayed in in both Barranquilla (Norte/El Prado) and Cartagena (Bocagrande) and pertinent information).

Hope this helps for what it's worth.

EA