Cartagena Reports

[El Greco]

Sweetlemon - thank you for your report which was most informative. I was surprised by your comment on CTG not being that appealing from both a tourist and hobby points of view. I was actually planning a trip in December. Many travel books describe Cartagena as one of the most beautiful cities in South America and that was what created my interest. And the hobby of course :)

Would you or anybody else recommend any better alternatives within, say, a three hour flying time radius of Miami ?

Thanks and best regards.

JD

I spent two weeks last December in Cartagena and would second Sweetlemons report. Very accurate.

Try Rio de Janeiro or even Buenos Aires in that order. Longer flights but worth it.

El Greco

[Npaul1]

No, the posts of Sweetlemon and I were not the same. If you read the beginnings of both you can see that I prefaced my comments on having been to Cartagena 10 times. I took his post and added my comments in CAPS in response to his statements based upon one trip. Then someone on the other side of the world edited my comments and turned them all into lower cased comments.

I have never met Sweetlemon, I am not a friend of Sweetlemon, and no, Senator, I'm no Sweetlemon.

[JackDaniels]

Sweetlemon - thank you for your report which was most informative. I was surprised by your comment on CTG not being that appealing from both a tourist and hobby points of view. I was actually planning a trip in December. Many travel books describe Cartagena as one of the most beautiful cities in South America and that was what created my interest. And the hobby of course :)

Would you or anybody else recommend any better alternatives within, say, a three hour flying time radius of Miami ?

Thanks and best regards.

JD

[Cachorro]

My first night I went to LDV and found a nice chica. I negotiated 200 COP for TLN and bought her and me a drink. 14K COP it came to be I think. This was at about 12:30. We then went to a nightclub in el centro for about an hour. It was fun, but an overwhelming experience. I paid her entrance fee and two drinks for me and her. (I can hear the groans now). At about 2 I wanted to go back to my apartment so we went. She was good in the sack, but after one "termina" she wanted to leave! Even though being with her was a pleasant experience, I paid for TLN and wanted it. My Viagra pill needed to be used! In any case, I only paid her 100K COP. Obviously she was mad, but I stood my ground and she left. My question is, did I do the right thing? What is the definition of Toda La Noche? Worst case I figured multiple pops uptil 5am.

Yes, you did the right thing to stand your ground. The proof is, she was fine about it the next day.

Things like "toda la noche" are too vague and the lazier girls will try and wriggle out of things any way they can. I prefer to say "until 10am" or "until midday" or whatever time you want. That way there is no comeback about what time you left the club, or "oh, is that the time!?"

Don't hesitate to ask direct questions like "Do you like sex?", it can give you a feel for whether she's going to deliver or not.

Buying drinks is OK. Personally I prefer to buy lots of drinks for the girls while in Cartagena. The LDV bar prices are quite reasonable and it usually pays off for you once you get her alone later in the night. I will buy a small bottle of rum at LDV, which means I can splash the drinks around a maybe deal her friends in a drink or two. And then I always have more booze back at the apartment.

She wanted money for the cab ride home for I paid her 10K. Later I found another american here and he said its pretty much standard for cap ride far. What does everyone here think?

Correct. Unless she lives in Bocagrande or Centro and then I would give her 5k.

So it is day 3 in my trip and 7 more days to go. I am sure I may of paid too much in some cases, but hopefully not too much. I also ended up paying the taxi 20 an hour plus I bought him a few drinks. What would be the going rate? Probably cheaper.

Yeah, you could probably pay 12k or 15k per hour. The true prices at the casas are probably much less than what you paid, but they always try and gouge the gringo. I got fed up with it and never use the casas.

Enjoy the rest of your time in Cartagena!

[FredA]

Has anyone stayed at the Hilton and wasn't allowed to have guest in their room?

[Junkyard]

Hello all,

It´s my first trip to Cartagena and it has been interesting to say the least. I want to share my experience so far, and ask a few questions.

I will cut through all the fluffy information and get to the meat! My first night I went to LDV and found a nice chica. I negotiated 200 COP for TLN and bought her and me a drink. 14K COP it came to be I think. This was at about 12:30. We then went to a nightclub in el centro for about an hour. It was fun, but an overwhelming experience. I paid her entrance fee and two drinks for me and her. (I can hear the groans now). At about 2 I wanted to go back to my apartment so we went. She was good in the sack, but after one "termina" she wanted to leave! Even though being with her was a pleasant experience, I paid for TLN and wanted it. My Viagra pill needed to be used! In any case, I only paid her 100K COP. Obviously she was mad, but I stood my ground and she left. My question is, did I do the right thing? What is the definition of Toda La Noche? Worst case I figured multiple pops uptil 5am.

My apartment is close to LDV so I ended up going there after the incident. It was about 3:30. I found another nice blondie from medellin (The first girl was from cali). We negotiated 150K cop for short term. She was ok, and I had a good time. She wanted money for the cab ride home for I paid her 10K. Later I found another american here and he said its pretty much standard for cap ride far. What does everyone here think?

I did the usual tourista activities the next day, then I wanted to see the casas! Hands down, the casas are where the good action is. I went to two of them in the Bosque area. Venus and another one, I can´t remember the name, maybe modilla house? The first one, modilla I think or similiar (Ill post a correction next time) had about 6 or 7 women. All thin girls! I could not believe it! I ended up talking to one for 20 minutes and paid her 80K to the house, and 80K to her. I think my cabbie got a commission, but I am not sure. She was very good! Great attitude. I tipped her another 20. I want to go to the Rosario Islands with a chica and she is on my list.

The taxi driver and I then went to Venus. I walk in and its amazing. It is probably about 10:30, with 25 girls and no men. All the girls are thin. I am used to Juarez, Mexico where most of the girls are fatties with a few thin ones. What does a guy do in this situation? Its like going to the grocery story and shopping for fruit. Over the years I have finally learned not to pick the prettiest because their attitudes are in the toilet. This one chica caught my eye and the look are her face was priceless. It was the look of, "Oh my God, he chose me!". She was from Medellin and had a great attitude. BTW, she was the first chica out of 4 to give me a BBBJ. What gives?! Must be because I am gringo and a little shy. Not sure. We negotiated 60K for the house, and 100K her (I knew I could probably get less for her, but I really liked her attitude and wanted to reward her for it). She even spoke some English which was impressive. I BTW am about a 4 on a 1 to 10 scale for Spanish. All else being equal, I´ll take her to the islands. All these girls have cell phones.

After that I went back to LDV. I found the blondie from the night before and I got her again for 150. I also saw the one I only gave 100 to. I ignored her and she was not a problem. We went to my apartment close by, and after this much sex I couldnt finish. She ended up being a clock watcher. I pleasently let her leave, but no way am I getting her again. It was only 15 minutes worth. Next time I go to LDV I´ll have to gracefully say no gracias. Looks go a long way, but I want a good attitude to go along with her.

So today I wanted to get a real massage. So sex, just a massage. So I saw there was a place called Masajes Rocio, and I went there. Ugh, they offer only sex and mediocre massages. I was not in the mood so I declined. However, this place looks to be one of the only places to get sex during the day. Anyone know of other places? We went by casa international and it was dead. What do I expect at 3pm? I will go back later tonight.

So it is day 3 in my trip and 7 more days to go. I am sure I may of paid too much in some cases, but hopefully not too much. I also ended up paying the taxi 20 an hour plus I bought him a few drinks. What would be the going rate? Probably cheaper.

Until my next report, best of luck to you all.

Junkyard

EDITOR'S NOTE: I certainly hope that the author or somebody else will post a link to this report in the Reports of Distinction thread. Please Click Here for more information.

[Cachorro]

Sweetlemon,

Good writeup, and I agree with most of your thoughts.

I'd say it was about comparable to what you would find in the Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic and I think Boca Chica is more fun because it's a whole street full of bars and much livelier all week.

True. LDV is great, but once you put that aside, Cartagena does not really have the depth and liveliness of other places.

As for prices, the LDV girls try on 300, 000 COP for a short time, but will accept 200, 000 for all night based on my small sample. (I'm sure you could do better with some hard bargaining, but I don't like to bargain too hard as it creates a bad vibe that premises the rest of the night IMO, if not for her then for me. The more the whole thing takes on the characteristics of business transaction, the less sexy the experience is for me. Also, I like to get the exact girl I want, who is usually the hottest one in the bar, and don't mind giving extra). Anyway, that's about $80 to $120 USD, roughly.compared to the DR, where you can get a similar girl for $20 USD or Rio, $60, Cartagena is not a bargain.

I think your Cartagena prices are too high here, and your Rio prices are too optimistic. You call Rio at $60... but if you ask the hottest girl in Help to quote a price and don't bargain, guys are paying 400R for a couple of hours. That's $180.

To give you a better idea, I hit both places earlier this year. In Help I settled at about 200R ($80), in LDV I settled at 100k to 130k ($50).

You probably just need to discover the real prices for Colombia, because the prices you are reporting on apartments, LDV ass etc are all a bit on the high side.

It's easy to pickup up the poorer, less educated girls for a quick shag, but the educated, professional girls (which are what I find attractive) are a bit more circumspect about some young gringo such as yours truly. I'm considered guilty of being a sex-tourist or simply here today gone tomorrow until proven innocent, but once the girls get to know that you have some connection to the area, they open up-sometimes quite literally. The women are friendly and flirty and luscious. I have about 7 girls in the queue that are waiting for a call so I've got my hands full at the moment.

I think talking about good girls vs bad girls is a bit too simplistic. It's a continuum or sliding scale. You would be surprised how many of those educated, professional girls have given it up for money at one time or other. Even if it was just one time to buy that expensive pair of sunglasses they were lusting after.

A good middle ground is the prepagos. Less hardcore than pros, but none of the drama of a novia (especially if you are planning on changing novias regularly).

[Member #4603]

I really have no idea why NPaul1 copied and reposted my entire post, it's either an error ot he's an insane person.

Anyhow, I'm not trying to encourgage or discourage anyone. Just giving my most objective opinion for people who don't have the time and money to explore Latin America as I have and are deciding where they might like to go.

[Gonzo]

First of all, is Sweetlemon and NPaul1 one in the same, or did someone copy someone else's post? In any case, if your posts ends up discouraging a guy from going to CTG, well good!

Also, I was reading that the caretegana girls aren't as 'pretty' (i know it's very subjective) as medallin girls. I am basically attracted to your typical columbian (black hair, dark skin, very latin looking). I have read that cartegana girls are more similar to dominicans or girls of african descent (which I am not very attracted to).

Lastly, the 'beach community' I live in now is very relaxed and laid back. Houses on the beach (as opposed to apt. bldgs), and I know all my neighbors. I can walk out on the beach any day, any time as long as it's sunny and see girls in g-strings. Is there a similar "vibe" in cartegana, and do many girls hang out on the beach?

Jon32, a few points based on my limited experience of 2 weeks in both places.

1. It's gonna be real hard to find a beach near MED, it's a ways from the ocean. So if you're a "water" person, you may feel landlocked in MED. If you're more of a "mountain " person, MED is for you. (maybe there's river beaches near MED, but that countryside still seems dangerous to me).

2. I was pleasantly surprised by the attraciveness of the Cartagenaras. They have smoking bodies (in general) - perhaps the better economy of MED has led to one too many runs to McDonalds, and it shows on some women). But overall, MED women are gorgeous. Small advantage to MED women, but if you're into morenas CTG is the advantage. Guys say that MED women are a bit colder, but that hasn't been my experience.

I have burns of my chin that will never heal from my jaw hitting the ground looking at MED women, and plenty in CTG also. And I also love the variety of chica skin color found in CTG (negro, morena, triguena/canela, blanca). MED is dominated by blanca skin. Don't worry about the lack of young women in CTG, no problem there, IMO!

3. CTG proper, the places where you would want to stay, Bocagrande or Laguito, is more of a Collins Ave, Miami Beach than a Malibu beach house scene. Much more urban and intense with all the AC machines blazing.

4. Chicas do hang out on the beach. Very sexy chicas in teeny-weeny suits. And there's plenty of chicas to order on the beach. If you got some game, non-pro possibilities look good.

5. What's your tolerance to heat and humidity? If it's low, stick to the "eternal spring" like weather of MED.

6. Do you like large urban areas or smaller cities? MED is growing like hotcakes, whereas CTG feels like a smaller place.

My suggestion: take a month or two or 3 off, and spend time in both places, girl watching and real-estate investigating, and getting the general feel of the place.

[Jon32]

Hello everyone, long time monger here. I sometimes hate these kinds of questions, but here it goes.

Well, I am moving to Columbia and am having the hardest time deciding between Medalliln and Cartegana (never been to either). I live on the beach now, and dont really know how I am going to live without it if I chose Medallin. On the other hand, Cartegana has a much smaller population and not as many universities (i.e. young women?).

Also, I was reading that the caretegana girls aren't as 'pretty' (i know it's very subjective) as medallin girls. I am basically attracted to your typical columbian (black hair, dark skin, very latin looking). I have read that cartegana girls are more similar to dominicans or girls of african descent (which I am not very attracted to).

Lastly, the 'beach community' I live in now is very relaxed and laid back. Houses on the beach (as opposed to apt. bldgs), and I know all my neighbors. I can walk out on the beach any day, any time as long as it's sunny and see girls in g-strings. Is there a similar "vibe" in cartegana, and do many girls hang out on the beach?

Apologies to anyone who is going to write rtff. But I have and am just having a hard time deciding where to move.

[Tom 33]

I have to disagree on a couple of points:

The Bocagrande penninsula is teeming with ATMs. There are only two in Laguito. About three blocks into Bocagrande from Laguito is an Olimpica(currently under construction). Within a three-block radius of the Olimpica, there are at least 15 ATMs that I know of. Go another three blocks toward Centro and you easily double that number in a three-block radius.

After living here for 4 years, I am still finding great restaurants that I had never before tried. I'll give you a couple of names: Club de Pesca, La Olla Cartagena, Chef Julian, Crepes and Waffles, La Dulceria, and Julias. None of those mentioned are in Centro. Centro has a ton of very good restaurants.

[Member #4603]

I'm in the middle of a vacation in Cartagena and since I've been reading the board quite a bit, I wanted to offer the members my impressions.

Cartagena is a pleasant town, quiet, safe, but really nothing special. The city covers the bases, but doesn't excel at anything in particular. Rio de Janeiro, most Mexican tourist cities, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba have far, far more to offer as tourist spots.

The city of Cartagena has a vague construction zone feel. And this is not just because there is a lot of construction going on, but even finished structures are a bit on the shabby side. I was surprised to discover that the city turns into a ghost town very early in the evening and I'd say it's really too quiet for a tourist city. Most places I visited in Latin America are 24 hour towns, Cartagena definitely isn't.

The beaches here are mediocre. The water is a sort of green/brown and the sand at the beaches is far from the crystalline white sand you find elsewhere in the Caribbean.

There is a notable scarcity of ATM machines in the tourist areas and the ones that are here always seem to be out of service which makes getting cash super inconvenient. The food is so-so and fairly limited but they do have a really wide variety of interesting fruit juices. There isn't a huge selection of good restaurants compared to Mexico, but it's as good as Brazil and the DR and far better than Cuba on this measure.

Private apartments are plentiful. Unless you come at the peak of high season, I'd say rent a room at the Hilton and then spend the next day look for a place. You can find an elegant apartment for about $100 a night or less and an adequate place for about $50 per night. Getting an internet connection is a bit of a pain if you're a heavy user with a laptop, but internet cafes are plentiful for light users and there is a weak wireless network bouncing around the buildings of Laguito if you just need to read the news and send a few emails. Cartagena has many small groceries where you can buy all the necessities (though they close early). Taxis are fairly cheap and abundant.

On the plus side, the touts are not as bad as people say. A walk from the Hilton to the complex where the La Perla del Caribe Casino and the La Doce Vita are located at the opposite end of Laguito (I guess this stretch would be considered the gauntlet) I'd say, on average, four touts will accost you and not really in a heavy handed way. The beach is worse as you're a sitting duck and the street kids in the old town can be very persistent as I saw some that were obviously not kidding when they said they were starving, but all in all not too bad. I guess if you're new to this sort of thing, it might be irritating/intimidating but believe me there are "touts" in other places that walk with you, sticking to you like glue block after block, and will not go away short of violence or payment. Cartagena touts are really not too bad. Pretty low key.

Since this is a sex guide, I guess that's enough of the preamble. In my time here, I've gone to the famous LDV twice. I'd describe it as a smallish bar with tables and chairs strewn here and there and without a good selection of drinks. It's more of a booty store that serves some drinks than a real bar that also happens to be a booty market. I went on a weekday and then again on the weekend. During the week, there were about 25 girls and 10 guys. During the weekend I'd guess there were about 50 women and 30 men in the bar. The quality of the women ranged from 8 to 5 in quality, I didn't see any 10s (the type of women you just can't stop starring at and for whom you would be willing to empty your wallet on the spot), but all that is subjective anyway. There were all varieties from blond to black. Truth be told, I was expecting better and was a bit disappointed though people new to Latin America might think it's heaven on earth. Based on the non-pros (I. E. Normal women) one sees walking around town, in the airport, working in this office or that, and even at the casino next door, Colombian women are absolutely gorgeous and I fall in love every other minute. (That is if you like the Colombian type which is long dark hair, wide hips, small waists, full breasts or the black/mulata women with the smooth dark skin and gorgeous asses-which I do).

The girls in the LDV don't seem to rise to the general quality of the Colombian women in general. The girls are rough around the edges, dumb, but generally agreeable. Don't get me wrong, there are some very beautiful girls there with some smokin' hot bodies, but I'd say that it's just not worth coming to Cartagena for the LDV because there are far better destinations with so much more to offer on all fronts. As a mongering spot, both Help in Rio and Adelitas in Tijana are so much better than the LDV for quality and selection. I'd say it was about comparable to what you would find in the Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic and I think Boca Chica is more fun because it's a whole street full of bars and much livelier all week.

Street action is hit and miss. It seems to be concentrated in the Laguito area, but there is no one locale where girls stand around and wait per se. It basically depends if a pro is walking down the street or eating in a restaurant at the same moment as you. Many of the girls you'll meet later in the LDV or elsewhere hang around the beaches or restaurants in the area during the day looking generally bored and are surely up for a quick tryst. I've been propositioned while sitting in restaurants along the stretch pretty regularly.

I was expecting to do some major hooking up, but truth be told I got bored with the pro-scene in short order. The scene is too small and the girl you did last night will be there giving you dirty looks the next time you go as you leave with someone else. Also, since they all hang around a relatively small area, I think the probability is good that one would come up and say Hello,, while I was trying to put my best face forward with a potential novia. As for prices, the LDV girls try on 300, 000 COP for a short time, but will accept 200, 000 for all night based on my small sample. (I'm sure you could do better with some hard bargaining, but I don't like to bargain too hard as it creates a bad vibe that premises the rest of the night IMO, if not for her then for me. The more the whole thing takes on the characteristics of business transaction, the less sexy the experience is for me. Also, I like to get the exact girl I want, who is usually the hottest one in the bar, and don't mind giving extra). Anyway, that's about $80 to $120 USD, roughly.compared to the DR, where you can get a similar girl for $20 USD or Rio, $60, Cartagena is not a bargain. Mexico is completely different, has no true real freelance scene, and is much more expensive so no sense comparing apples to oranges. Cuba is so heavy handed that you can never really be comfortable there though the girls are pretty much free.

In sum, I don't think Cartagena is a good place to visit as a tourist or as a monger given the nearby competition.

That said, Cartegena seems like a great place if you're interested in meeting a girlfriend/wife. I could easily see myself marry a Colombian girl; they are both sweet and sexy. But you'd definitely need to be fluent in Spanish. If you're not, it would just be frustrating. Fortunately, I'm fluent in Spanish and have a very good income and lots of freedom so I can afford to take my time. At the moment I have a couple very sweet girls that I'm dating that I met the old fashioned way-online. For these "real" Colombianas, there is some selection at:

www.latineuro.com (about 25% of the girls seem to be from Cart). www.sotb.com - some Cart girls www.cafetropic.com - free site, good selection of Colombians and a few from Cart. Many others with recycled a foreign affair girls, but for Cart girls, stay away from TLC as they all seem to be from Cali or other cities.

It's easy to pickup up the poorer, less educated girls for a quick shag, but the educated, professional girls (which are what I find attractive) are a bit more circumspect about some young gringo such as yours truly. I'm considered guilty of being a sex-tourist or simply here today gone tomorrow until proven innocent, but once the girls get to know that you have some connection to the area, they open up-sometimes quite literally. The women are friendly and flirty and luscious. I have about 7 girls in the queue that are waiting for a call so I've got my hands full at the moment.

I've gone out with several very nice girls. Real girls. I can tell the difference between a nice girl and a dirty girl instantly because the dirty girl will come to your apartment and trash it while the nice girl will come and start cleaning it up. I find that sexy. These girls won't go to bed with you unless they think you're their boyfriend (or sleeping with you will make you their boyfriend) or unless they think that they'll lose you if they don't. The dirty girls will do it just for a bit of excitement. There are also a segment of women that think they are too important for words-they have a few dollars so act exaggeratedly snobby. Some are good looking but the attitude is a big turnoff. Anyhow, I'll have to decide on just one girl very soon or run the risk of ending my stay with a meltdown as they are starting to pop over unannounced and it's getting stressful.

It's no wonder Colombian men have such a bad reputation with the local women for their infidelity. I really have no idea how I'm going to control myself for any length of time with all the gorgeous, friendly girls walking around either.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I certainly hope that the author or somebody else will post a link to this report in the Reports of Distinction thread. Please Click Here for more information.

[FredA]

Is the Hilton a good place to stay for mongering?

[Master Yoda]

How are the girls comparitively?

Cartagena (in particular).. and the entire realm against DOMINICANS.

Meaning: thinner/larger, darker/lighter, more interesting/less interesting, more educated/less educated, more african or more mix/less african or less mix, etc.

[Zidaho]

Other than the numb scull bagage inspectors at the international gates of the airport, Cartegna is fun, it does have romantic charm. And going over to Isla Rosarios is only a hour or so boat ride, it's an impressive place to take a **** for a few nights. The diving is also way better in the aquatic preserves around Isla Rosarios then say . . . Cozumel since they had all those hurricanes the past few years Cozumel is going to take several years before it get's the color back it like diving in muted colors because so much sand was stirred up on the corral reefs.

I like Cartegena it's more manageable by foot then Medellin that's for sure.