Cartagena Reports

[Anonymous5]

Anonimous5, That BS must be done by the casino people, I will tell you why; something similar happened to a buddy of mine who was there in CTG back in 2010, to make the long story short, he played at a casino in Bocagrande and won over 1000 dollars (about 2 million pesos) after that, on his way back to his condo in laguito the police had the taxi driver stop, the cops searched my buddy and didn't bother to search taxi driver but couldn't find anything that would allow them to ask for money as a bribe for letting my buddy go clean with no crime, when he walked in his apartment realized the cops had stolen 600. 000 pesos (about 320 USD) out of the money won at the casino, bottom line is it was either the taxi driver that is used to setting up gringos that come out of the casinos or the casino people, who the hell knows, but please beware next time.

While what you say is likely true, in my scenario I was long gone from the casino before the shakedown occurred. I was playing at Rio Casino around 5-30-630 ish. Left and went home with family friends. Took a shower and ate dinner. Pre-gamed in my apartment and left around 11ish and the cab driver recommended Pleyclub, since I was new in town and wanted to try a different scene I said ok. After being disappointed with pleyclub pricing and it being the only thing going around in the area, I decided it was time to leave. If they made a correlation with me winning at the casino, they put an awful lot of work into it, as the events were likely 5-6 hours apart, and I did many activities in between. The only likely scenario of a setup I could possibly think of was me using the bathroom at Pleyclub prior to leaving and doing some bumps. It's not completely impossible someone watched me go in to the bathroom or watched / heard my activities inside and while leaving made a phone call in advance for a shakedown. Not really sure, but that would be far fetched as well, but not completely out of the realm of possibility. I suppose there is no sure way to avoid the cops, but one thing I practiced since then was to be around tc / clock tower area or in el laguito / ldv with my stuff. I figure those are the most tourist central locations and although possible for a shakedown, police don't hassle as much from my experience. I suppose it would be bad for tourism business, I imagine, but if you venture away from those areas then you are fair game. Either way, I never truly felt comfortable again on my nights out, as the police had me scared even just passing by while I was sitting in clock tower area outside. Not until the last ngith, when I decided to empty whatever I had left int he toilet did I really just feel free, as if I took a major weight off my shoulders.

[Lmarcone]

The casino that I know. Near where the InterContinenetal is going up is less than 10mins walk to Laguito (for me, at least).

Also, Anonymous- I am sure I know who you describe as "Joe". As I stayed at the hotel across from Isis.

I had no need of his "help" as I was with a chica from Medellin and I am perfectly fluent in spanish. He did get me an AlkaSeltzer late one night when the farmavias were closed. LOL.

He is good people. Why not give his name and / or # of it would help his "business".

Sounds like he was a "straight-shooter" with you- w / me, as well?

Anonimous5, That BS must be done by the casino people, I will tell you why; something similar happened to a buddy of mine who was there in CTG back in 2010, to make the long story short, he played at a casino in Bocagrande and won over 1000 dollars (about 2 million pesos) after that, on his way back to his condo in laguito the police had the taxi driver stop, the cops searched my buddy and didn't bother to search taxi driver but couldn't find anything that would allow them to ask for money as a bribe for letting my buddy go clean with no crime, when he walked in his apartment realized the cops had stolen 600. 000 pesos (about 320 USD) out of the money won at the casino, bottom line is it was either the taxi driver that is used to setting up gringos that come out of the casinos or the casino people, who the hell knows, but please beware next time.

[CartaAngel]

Anonimous5, That BS must be done by the casino people, I will tell you why; something similar happened to a buddy of mine who was there in CTG back in 2010, to make the long story short, he played at a casino in Bocagrande and won over 1000 dollars (about 2 million pesos) after that, on his way back to his condo in laguito the police had the taxi driver stop, the cops searched my buddy and didn't bother to search taxi driver but couldn't find anything that would allow them to ask for money as a bribe for letting my buddy go clean with no crime, when he walked in his apartment realized the cops had stolen 600. 000 pesos (about 320 USD) out of the money won at the casino, bottom line is it was either the taxi driver that is used to setting up gringos that come out of the casinos or the casino people, who the hell knows, but please beware next time.

[Anonymous5]

Is it quiet common for the cops in Cartagena to stop and search gringo occupants? Either in taxis or randomly on the street?

Why was your taxi stopped in the first place? I would imagine something suspicious was occurring to make them do this, surely.

I suppose I learned of the cops searching gringo's without reasonable cause the hard way. Nothing was suspicious (I procured the night before) and they had the road blocked stopping each car that passed by, similar to a US police sobriety checkpoint, which I naively assumed it was. I assumed the cops would just see if the taxi driver was drunk and if not, let us on our way but in actuality the cops didn't even bother with the driver and straight away asked me to step out of the vehicle. I know when in foreign lands one should be more cautious as US laws don't apply, but I didn't think a search would occur without reasonable cause, ie pulling a foreigner out of their taxi cab, while otherwise doing nothing harmless of the sort.

I may have been acting weird after I was pulled out, as I was already using earlier that night, but still tried to remain calm and cool to give them no reason to suspect I was doing anything wrong, perhaps my eyes severely wide open was a give away to any police working in the country. I suppose they know the deal with foreigners however and a search can always turn up something and allow them to make some money. When I pulled everything out of my pockets, they immediately recognized a plastic coffee spoon I carry on me when using to make bumps easier. They continued searching me after I emptied everything out, although I assumed leaving my stash in my fifth pocket would be undetectable in most cases. The officer searching however must've dealt with this situation often and felt up my fifth pocket. He didn't take whatever was there out, but rubbed it to make sure that I knew that he knew something was there. At that point I knew my game was up. After posturing briefly, I realized these guys wanted money, as it was pretty obvious they didn't make me empty the contents inside of my fifth pocket or any other standard police routine search they do here in the states. In fact it was pretty casual, as can be. They didn't mention any money, but I figured what was up and tried to get through with it without emptying most of the cash I had on hand. Worse part is that they saw the entire amount of cash I had on my person. All in all, the shakedown sucked and I should've been less naive to keep its stashed on me, but the payout could've been much worse (perhaps like $350-400 US total on my person). Being allowed to leave at that point with only 50k ( $25US) out of pocket was a miracle, as I could've paid much much more. As I handed over cash, I feigned as though each note handed over was financially crippling, which it was to a degree psychologically, but in reality it was actually just money won at the casino. Lady luck eventually blessed me with a break-even night I suppose, as I could've easily lost the same amount in the casino itself. I suppose my brief time in the casino was to win enough to pay off the police shakedown later that evening

[Cocinero]

4th night. This night I wanted to try something different and knew of the club in el laguito, which I actually walked into not knowing what it was called while coming home the first night attempting to go to Horus Casino. I was still somewhat awake from my adventures on night #1 and didn't want to stay awake alone on the couch at a guest's place. When I walked into LDV...

Is it quiet common for the cops in Cartagena to stop and search gringo occupants? Either in taxis or randomly on the street?

Why was your taxi stopped in the first place? I would imagine something suspicious was occurring to make them do this, surely.

[Anonymous5]

update, i just spoke with the english speaking local who helped me out my first few nights in town. i never asked him specifically about elektra while in ctg. i just spoke with him briefly over the phone, and asked him about elektra as well as a few other things. he claimed elektra has been closed for about a week now because the owner didn't pay rent or something like that, said he was always in the casino's gambling. elektra being closed may actually have legs to it, as cab drivers who were dropping me off at clock tower / tu candela's, after refusing pleyclub, would have no incentive at that point to lie about elektra being closed. having heard from my english speaking local friend, i have more conviction in my belief that it was in fact closed during my stay 3/3-3/9. my eng speaking local friend said it had been closed for about a week, which would coincide with my stay there exactly, and also be around the time the previous poster blackpage saying it was open from 2/28. 3/3. i didn't even inquire about elektra on my first night there 3/3. perhaps it is in fact closed, which i walked over there myself to be 100% positive. it does appear to be a temp closing according to my friend, as the guy may in fact settle his dues and it will reopen at some point.

my nights in ctg, which surprisingly got progressively worse.

1st night. i was staying with family friends, who were conservative and aged, and sleeping on a couch in an apt in el laguito. bringing back girls wasn't an option. had dinner with the family friends in downtown / old city. afterwards the went home and i went over to tu candela's. place was completely empty outside, so i decided to venture outside. i decided to stay outside as it was much more livelier than inside tc. i was on the hunt for some party supplies, as i figured might as well in colombia. i wasn't exactly hip to the game, so i just asked some guy who was trying to sell me some cigars. he was ready for the handoff, but i made sure to take a look at my surroundings to make sure everything was ok. i saw some guy on a roof who was avidly paying attention and felt something was fishy, so i just walked away to go to a bench / sitting area. i just chilled out there for a few minutes drinking a beer i had purchased outside. one nice young girl with a pretty face ventured over to come talk to me. i thought she was pretty looking so i entered the conversation and got right down to business. i learned tln from you guys, so i broke that out on her to get a gauge of what kind of price she was looking at. i believe she offered either 175 or 200k (could've even been 150k, i was a little drunk at that point). i knew a tln was out of the possibility as i was staying over a guest's house and it would be completely unacceptable, and only asked for reference. i ended up asking for how much for an hour. i got quoted at 100k, which was fine for me as she looked really pretty and young. not a crazy body, but i'm a sucker for a pretty face. she also seemed very nice and pleasant which is also a major plus in my books, as i've got a low tolerance for bitches. we ended up chatting for a bit, until she found the english speaking local, who i guess helped her with us foreigners. i met him and chatted him up. pretty decent guy from everyone else i had to deal with. he explained to me clearly that i shouldn't be buying nay of that stuff out on the streets as everyone is watching and to go somewhere else to complete the transaction. he told me, the girl, and the seller of the goods to walk over to some bar outside of the walled city, directly across, forgot the name it was a small place with not much going on. we ended up completing the transaction here, and i proceeded to the bathroom. once i cam back out, the seller was gone, and me and the girl just chatted for a few, as much as we could without really understanding one another. we had a beer each and i went outside and smoked a cigarette, and she asked for one as well. we wrapped up at this place, and headed back over to the clock tower area to meet the eng speaking local, who we'll call joe for simplicity, not his actual name. joe advised that we could go to a nearby motel that charges by the hour for 20k. i said fine, as i had no other place to go with the girl. we made a quick stop at isis, but i didn't even venture inside and it was straight to the room. the guy at the reception handed me two condoms and off we went. we got down right to it with little to no foreplay. i guess i had a lot of pent up energy and i barely lasted a minute, feeling slightly embarrassed, but she was hot. we chilled for a few and did some foreplay for a while. i was fingering her good and felt her wet as anything. we suddenly get a knock on the door implying that our time was up. she negotiated with the guy that it would only be a few more minutes. knowing my time was running out, i quickly got into gear and we went at it again for a good 5-10 minutes pretty hard. ended up cleaning up and leaving the place, walked over to isis to say thanks to joe and had to head back home, as i had an early morning. it was only 130-2 am at this point. the young lady was chipper and happy, which was a good thing. she had a glow to her face, so although i didn't last incredibly long, i think i left her satisfied with the encounter. took a taxi and went back to el laguito for 7k, and all in all it was a very good night.

2nd night. i decided to be adventurous this night, and headed over to the pleyclub to check out the action there. a couple of girls approached me together and chatted me up. they both asked for drinks and after looking at the prices, i was in no mood to cough up a healthy dose of money. i ended up finishing a beer and jsut left the place to head back to tc area. this is where things tarted to go wrong. i was till carrying the stuff i had from the previous night and on the taxi ride back to old city we were pulled over by the police. my naive american just assumed they were doing a sobriety check and didn't assume much. next thing i know the officer is pulling me outside of the vehicle. he made me empty my pockets and although i left my stash in my fifth pocket, he felt it and made sure i knew he felt it. at this point, i kind of realized what was up. i tried to balk for a minute but i realized these guys wanted some money. i ended up handing over 30k to one of the officers and tried to see if that was good enough. the other officer then motioned that he needed something for himself as well. i pulled out another 20k and handed it over and luckily he allowed me to leave. this was fortunate, as when i pulled out everything from my pockets, i had over $250 us and like 200k colombian. i knew i was getting the shake down and just relented, i suppose it could've been much worse. luckily i had won about 70k in the casino earlier in the day, so the loss wasn't as severe, but it made me feel like crap that i just got shook down regardless. the taxi continued on to tc area and i got out of the car a little nervous from what happened prior. the same girl from my first night spotted my arrival and came up to me and gave me a hug and a kiss. joe must've shown up shortly there after. i suppose i'm a weird guy but i never like doing things two nights in a row, and was kind of picky about going with the same girl again, but she was hot so i agreed. not doing the same thing on two consecutive nights also probably led them to pleyclub, which ultimately regret for leaving the old city / boca grande region, a truly regrettable action. i ended up trying to play hardball with the girl thinking i could get a better deal, and slightly pissed off at getting shook down by the police. i talked her down to 80 for one hour thinking the deal would be good. same scenario as the night before. i had no place of my own and we went to the same motel that charges by the hour. almost groundhog day type of shit, except the shakedown bit. when i tried to get the condoms from the guys at the desk, he hands me one, but i ask for two. the girl then makes it a point that we will only need one condom. in retrospect i should've just coughed up the extra 20k and possibly even given more considering the rest of my nights here were not as great as my first. what actually happened was me getting upset and playing hardball yet again on the point of brinksmanship, i suppose the shakedown left me bitter. i just asked my money back from the guy at the motel and walked away, thinking the girl may budge. she didn't. i should've used a little better diplomacy and just coughed up the money she wanted originally. my biggest mistake while in ctg, besides getting shook down. i ended up calling it a night and proceeded to go back home via taxi, as i had another early morning. quite depressing to say the least, that approximately $10 us cost me having fun to not having fun. i'm a fool for sure.

3rd night. the night i finally had my own place to myself, an apt from juan in playa mar. i ended up going back to the tc area to scope the action out there. my boy joe introduced me to some girls who were ok looking but nothing extravagant. i ended up chatting with one of them, as she spoke decent english, and even brought her a few relatively cheap priced drinks outside of tc. after a while however, i realized this wasn't the quality of girl i was looking for, even though she was nice and pleasant. she just didn't do it for me. i ended up catching up with joe again, who had met up with another american. i decided to kick it with the american just talking bullshit and get a gauge on where he was headed for some action. i had to take a [CodeWord140] anyways, and he said he was going to head over to some stripclub which turned out to be isis. i agreed as i figured it would be cool to hang around some people i understood and not feel alone. the same girl however from the two previous nights was with the american's friend. i wasn't going to be a child about it however, and realized the line of work. we both still kind of just had friction towards each other. no eye contact and no pleasantry salutations. i just went with the flow anyhow. we ended up getting into isis and sat down. with in a short period of time a couple of girls joined me and the american. the girl was ok, and i only let her stick around because i didn't want to be the only guy at the table without a girl to chat and flirt with. the american offered to buy me a couple of drinks inside, which was cool and i returned the favor by offering him some part favors. this is where things started to get sketchy however. the new girl starts ordering some tequila shots for herself, to which i never recall agreeing to. i decide to go to to the back of the place where they allow you to smoke cigarettes. the new girl joined me and just started kissing me. i normally don't kiss girls in this profession, but for some reason, probably alcohol and party goods, i participated. it did get me more interested in the lady however. we venture back inside and the bill arrives. it was something like 220k, which i had no intention of contributing to three ways (73k each) , especially considering the american said he would buy me two of my drinks and i don't recall telling the girl i would pay for her drinks. the american suggests i pay 60k, to which i still balk at, as i was only really expecting to pay for one of my drinks the entire time i was there. i finally agree to avoid hassles and upsetting everyone that i would pay 40k out of pocket. i talk to the girl and question why i'm paying for her drinks. she tells me as well to just pay 40 and that would be fine. the american and his friend are incredulous and just leave the place. i end up staying behind trying to sort out the bar tab of whatever the difference was. i imagine around 60k. i eventually pay over my 40k and as i'm walking out i see the bouncers pointing at me, which makes me nervous, especially considering i got shook down the night earlier. not sure if these guys plan to beat me outside for not paying the full total, or if the would call the cops to have me shook down as well. figured i was safe in the place and tried to subdue on the staff members who was just giving me dirty looks. my paranoia eventually faded, and i figured what ever was going to happen was going to happen. i ended up leaving on my own, and was happy to see joe still standing outside. i took a taxi immediately however to just get away fromt hat place, but did notice the girl from the 1st 2 nights was still with joe and didn't leave with the american or his friend. i noticed the girl was looking uncomfortable prior to leaving as was i. within a minute in the taxi, i decided to give joe a call and had the taxi turn around. i talked to joe about the girl from the 1st 2 nights and asked if she was willing to go back with me. joe explained to me that she just got a knife pulled on her from one of the girl's inside and was shaken up, and would not be able to participate, which sucked ass, because at this point i was really into her and she was the best option around. jpe told me she could call a friend for 60k. i said f it, let's go, as it was already 4 am at this point and the night was getting bonkers. the girl was around a 7 or so, nothing spectacular but would do the deed at that hour. we ended up going back to my apt and chilled on the balcony for a bit sipping a drink in the apt. we went into the bedroom and got it on quickly. she was very tight which was a major plus. i performed much longer with her, and we had a decent time. ended up doing it twice and it was pleasurable, not a bad experience. she ended up taking a taxi back and i gave her 10k fro the ride back. not bad for the total price, but i would have still liked to have gotten with girl number 1.

will give reports for nights 4 and 5 tomorrow. these do take a long time to type out. 4 pages in google doc document that i copied to. god damn.

4th night. this night i wanted to try something different and knew of the club in el laguito, which i actually walked into not knowing what it was called while coming home the first night attempting to go to horus casino. i was still somewhat awake from my adventures on night #1 and didn't want to stay awake alone on the couch at a guest's place. when i walked into ldv on night #1 i expected to see casino tables but saw it was dark inside and only had a bar to it. wasn't looking for more action on night 1, so i just ended up asking a bouncer where the casino was. lol, it appears i walked right past it. i ended up drinking a beer at horus and leaving shortly thereafter on night 1, not realizing that the place i originally walked into was ldv. well on night 4, i ended up going back to ldv, not realizing it was ldv, because i wanted to pregame at a local place before heading on to other things. i ended up chatting with a few girls, some very hot, and even got quoted for a decent rate for one hour of action. may have been in the 100k range. i'm not the kind of guy who likes to get his action that early in the night 12am, and enjoy drinking and partying with a crowd till the night gets stale. then at that point, later in the night, i'm up for some action. still not realizing it was ldv, i casually asked one of the girls i chatted with what the name of the place was, which she replied la dolce vida. i was like ahhh, i've been sort of kind of looking for this place and even walked in here at one point, but now i realize i'm actually here. mind blown. i suppose the smart thing to do here was keep friendly conversations going with the women and take down some phone numbers. wish i had that foresight at the time as there were definitely some lookers in the place. before i knew it, i think i went out for a smoke or something and when i returned it was getting close to empty. i suppose this is yet another mistake i made. i figured keeping a girl around at ldv would require me to keep ordering drinks or close the deal and agree to leave with them. the partying for 3 nights in a row i suppose took its toll and i wasn't being as friendly as i could possibly be. i still should have made an attempt to find out where the girls were headed or secure some numbers, at the very least, for some quick day action or maybe a late night call, even if i didn't want to buy them drinks at ldv. i recall reading these forums and you guys mentioning that the girls leave ldv and go to another place, and then proceeded to ask the taxicab about club elektra. the taxi driver said it was closed and replied europa was still an option. i had the taxi take me over to europa and it was dead outside and inside. not sure if the place would liven up shortly but i wasn't in the mood to wait around, so i ended up going back to the clock tower area. i may have chilled outside scoping the action and drank a few drinks hoping that i would run into joe around there, or secure some nice piece by myself. my mistake, again, was never making the effort to get a sim card i could plug into my phone. i perhaps could have relied on payphones when i need it, but i suppose i got lazy. anyways, not much going on by the clock tower, never met joe, and it was approaching 4 am. i decided to just grab the best looking broad still around and try to negotiate a fair price. i got a decent looking girl to agree for 80k for an hour. i agreed and we hopped in a taxi and headed back to my apartment. when we got back, she asked me to make a her a drink, which i did. i pulled out some party favors to get me ready for the action and she asked for some too. after giving her some of the stuff, she then proceeded to ask me to pay in advance for our session. luckily she spoke english well enough, so i understood what she was saying. i told her that i would pay her after. she said if she didn't get paid in advance that she would leave. i said ok, and she astonishingly got up off the couch and walked out. i wasn't going to pay her in advance to only have her create issues later on, plus she wasn't super attractive to the point of paying in advance and making concessions to. you do your services and then get paid. still kind of shocked she took the trouble of getting up from the clock tower area, agreeing on a price, getting comfortable with a drink and some party favors, and then deciding to leave with nothing in hand to show for it. mind boggling. like i said, the nights got progressively worse, but the worst was yet to come.

night 5. i spent the day at the hilton with my family friends, and that's also the day i ran into the jetski scammers. still had fun on the jetski's but i did feel a little robbed that i'd didn't get the fulltime that suppose to be allocated. one of the reasons i couldn't really have day action in el laguito is because my family friends stayed on the same street and i didn't want word to get around of my activities. i tried to play it cool during the day, even as good lookers were propositioning me on the walk in el laguito. another mistake i suppose i made was not going overt o playa hollywood on my stay in ctg. it was a little away from main streets i imagine and i could've partook in some conversations and what not there. anyways, after dinner with my family friends at riquismo's, i headed back to the apartment for some light pregaming and planned to head over to ldv shortly thereafter. i ended up getting to ldv a little early, around 11:30ish. i chatted up a few girls inside, but one of them was asking for like 300k tln. way out of my range at this point, and she wasn't hot enough to justify that price. i did run out fo party favors and did inquire with the girls i was chatting with if they could assist me. they were being stand offish and said they could help me get some if we went for some action back at my place. i'm not a regular user, but the party favors would give me a little wake me up after 4 days of hard partying at that point, so i was really keen on getting some to feel better. the girls were not being helpful and it was getting close to 1am at this point. i didn't want to be up all night from the party favors, as i was leaving el laguito area around 12ish and had to be up by 11am the latest, luckily i packed the night before however. i decided i couldn't wait around for the girls to help me out, so i just jumped in a taxi and see if i could get some from him or by tc, hopefully running into joe at some point. the taxi i got into actually had some on his person and i just ended up getting it from him. in retrospect, i should've just went back to ldv at that point and kept drinking and eventually picked out a girl to leave with. i believe i ended up just asking the driver about elektra and he said it was closed, fml. i told him to take me over to club isis. the driver was keen on leaving me at isis and said i could go use the bathroom inside of there. for some reason i agreed. i ended up getting a drink at isis and used the bathroom to loosen up a little. after 20-30 minutes however i was out of the place and left. i proceeded to go over to the clock tower area and just hung around for a few minutes seeing if anything was going on outside. eventually it was the same crap but it did appear tu candela's had something going on. i decided to venture in hoping to see some good action. ended up being completely filled and there were not many girls still left around. i still stayed and had a few drinks hoping something would come along but it never did. i still did not want to walk the streets carrying around my party supplies so i ended up going to the bathroom a final time and did a decent amount and threw over half of the full amount down the drain. in all honesty, it was the most free i felt in ctg after a while. i knew the cops no longer could shake me down and i felt like i lifted the weight off of my shoulders. what i didn't realize at the time however, was that the stuff that i got from the taxi was probably cut with a lot of speed, i imagine. i'm not an expert but this stuff had me feeling very jittery all night and i was not feeling relaxed and cool. later on i noticed my eyes were severely dilated and i felt like i was tweaked out. i've never tweaked before, but that's how i believe it would feel. there's a small chance it was some super pure stuff that makes you feel like that, but i doubt it. from my use in the states i've gotten a pretty decent handle of what i should feel like. there's been times in the us where i've gotten below par party favors, but also plenty of time i got some really good stuff. this stuff from the taxi wasn't on the scale of really good stuff. i should've just contacted joe, yet again, as he even advised me that most of the stuff these guys will have is cut up with some stuff, and that he had a good connect himself. i naively assumed the stuff would be so plentiful in ctg that there would be no reason to adulterate the stuff as it would be everywhere for low prices. i should have just trusted joe with everything from girl acquisitions to part favor procurement. once again, a phone would've, made things easier, but i probably felt i would be fine getting the things myself. sometimes you have to touch the stove with your hands yourself, even if many people warned you that its really hot. i should have just trusted the advice from joe and had him get me the better quality, unadulterated stuff, because this stuff made me feel like crap. anyways, at this time 4am nothing much going outside of tu candela's so i decided to get into a taxi to see if i could find another place to scoop a girl for a final night in ctg. nothing was really going on at this hour, so i just told the taxi to be on the lookout for anything walking on the way to el laguito. we ended up catching a broad who was walking outside of ldv on the steps and decided to inquire. i wish i had not. she was at best a 4, even with beer goggles. she agreed to 60k for an hour, and i guess i just wanted some quick action before heading out of town. we get back to my apartment area and the taxi wanted 10k for his troubles, which i really didn't feel like arguing 3k over so i said ok, but the problem was i only had 50k notes at this point. the girl gave the driver 10k and held on to my 50, with me assuming i would pay her 20k later on, without even realizing i still only had 50k notes. we get upstairs and i guess i just want to get this over with quickly and just go to sleep asap, as the party favors had me antsy and not wanting to talk ro chill out with her. i suppose even on a sober night, i wouldn't have wanted to spend much time with her anyways. after 5 or so minutes she gets undressed and i wrap myself up looking to stick it in quickly and get this over with. she starts playing stupid by saying no not yet. ends up she was trying to stall out the hour. she keeps doing this bullshit till eventually she starts just giving me head, which was ok and i started ff'ing her. we do that for another 5 or so minutes without me releasing. i figure let me just stick it in and move on. finally get to the point of sticking it in and bang her for like 5 minutes or so. eventually after releasing and relaxing for a few. i figure lets do it again so i could let her go and get some sleep. at this point i go to get another condom and now she starts asking about more money and then even says the hour is up, which it is but mostly due to her bullshit of stalling and not letting me stick it in from the get go. after some arguing, i tell her to just get the fuck out. i told her she has my 40k and that she can leave. she remains motionless on the bed. f'and great. i tell her i'm not paying her anything and that she was stalling the entire time. she eventually says that a bj + a fuck is extra money so i have to giver her not only the extra 20k originally agreed on but 30 k more. i'm incredulous at this point and just begging and pleading for her to just leave me alone and go. i kept on motioning with my finger to just leave. she still remains motionless on the bed. it's approaching like 6 am at this point and i just want to sleep. bad times all around. i eventually get her to get dressed and to at least sit on the coach area. she keeps demanding more money and i agree that if she leaves i'll just pay her the 20k originally agreed upon and we'll both walk out together. she keeps telling me that she won't go outside because she's fearful that i will just throw her out and lock the door, which is ludicrous. this girl was straight psychotic. i think what she planned to do was have me leave the apartment first and then wait for her, but she planned to lock me out of my apartment and steal some of my shit inside. i eventually, mostly due to aggravation, just tossed a 50k note outside of my apartment door, with my foot keeping it ajar. hoping she would just go after the money and i can close the door and get some sleep. she happily did so. worst experience ever and i was still feeling tweaked out from the party favors. i could've played ctg much better. hindsight is 20/20 but the last couple of nights were hell, especially the last. i've learned a quality lesson in life i suppose. don't pick up anything at 4 am without doing due diligence on what kind of personality the woman has, as well as staying with what is comfortable. in all honesty, looking back at it now, if i had spent all 5 nights with the girl form the first night things would've been excellent. i suppose its the problem we all have as men in that we always look for the next conquest hoping it will be better than what we already have in front of us. i think another learning experience is that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. if you make good relations with someone in a foreign country, you should stick by them for their advice and connections. thinking i could do better on my own turned out to be a true nightmare. so much fail the last 2 nights. you live and you learn i suppose, but i would rather have those last 2 nights back to have something more enjoyable to remember.

not the most flattering report, but i don't embellish things and only speak truth. if people can learn from my mistakes then i guess the better. wish i hadn't had to experience this myself. at least, i did get two quaiity nights of action during my stay, so all was not lost.

[Vitrea]

Update, I just spoke with the English speaking local who helped me out my first few nights in town. I never asked him specifically about Elektra while in CTG. I just spoke with him briefly over the phone, and asked him about Elektra as well as a few other things. He claimed Elektra has been closed for about a week now because the owner didn't pay rent or something like that, said he was always in the casino's gambling. Elektra being closed may actually have legs to it, as cab drivers who were dropping me off at clock tower / Tu candela's, after refusing PleyClub, would have no incentive at that point to lie about Elektra being closed. Having heard from my English speaking local friend, I have more conviction in my belief that it was in fact closed during my stay 3/3-3/8. My Eng speaking local friend said it had been closed for about a week, which would coincide with my stay there exactly, and also be around the time the previous poster Blackpage saying it was open from 2/28. 3/3. I didn't even inquire about elektra on my first night there 3/3. Perhaps it is in fact closed, wish I walked over there myself to be 100% positive. It does appear to be a temp closing according to my friend, as the guy may in fact settle his dues and it will reopen at some point.

Good to hear it is reopening and good to hear that the taxi drivers weren't lying to you. Appreciate you taking the time to follow up and posting the info.

[Anonymous5]

Thank you for your posts and sorry about the no-so-great experience you had. To answer your question, in my experience, it is not the norm. The take home here is that you need some basic spanish skills if you want to venture solo in Colombia. The difference between,"cerrado vs cerrado ahora" can be subtle and can be missed. Also, I notice that once people realize that you do not know even a little bit of their language, they do not make much of an effort to explain the details. Alternatively, one can potentially run into unscrupulous taxi drivers anywhere in the world. I cannot tell you the number of times I was nudged to go to a different strip club in the US. You just hear what they have to say and ignore them. CTG, unlike BOG and MDE is a tourist place and is no different from other tourist towns all over the world. Glad you did not let that get to you and still managed to go out. Personally, I never had any issues with taxis in CTG. I have travelled extensively and I must say without a doubt that Colombians are one of the most honest people within the developing world.

The jet ski guy does sound like an asshole.

Update, I just spoke with the English speaking local who helped me out my first few nights in town. I never asked him specifically about Elektra while in CTG. I just spoke with him briefly over the phone, and asked him about Elektra as well as a few other things. He claimed Elektra has been closed for about a week now because the owner didn't pay rent or something like that, said he was always in the casino's gambling. Elektra being closed may actually have legs to it, as cab drivers who were dropping me off at clock tower / Tu candela's, after refusing PleyClub, would have no incentive at that point to lie about Elektra being closed. Having heard from my English speaking local friend, I have more conviction in my belief that it was in fact closed during my stay 3/3-3/8. My Eng speaking local friend said it had been closed for about a week, which would coincide with my stay there exactly, and also be around the time the previous poster Blackpage saying it was open from 2/28. 3/3. I didn't even inquire about elektra on my first night there 3/3. Perhaps it is in fact closed, wish I walked over there myself to be 100% positive. It does appear to be a temp closing according to my friend, as the guy may in fact settle his dues and it will reopen at some point.

[Zing23]

I have been to St Maarten many times and it seems that prices are half at the source, Colombia.

Ideally, I would like to find a chica (or 2) early afternoon to hang with til the next morning.

Is there a Seamans / Carolinas case type scene in Cartagena where I can take out a chica to play with in the day time and beyond?

First thing, Cartagena is the most expensive place in Colombia for girls. Prices you pay will be about the same as in St Maarten. However, since there are not any casas that tourists frequent, this means that most girls are freeelance and you don't have to pay casa fines to take them out. LDV is the freelance bar for chicas and there are a few later night bars as well. If you go to the beach during the day time, you will run into available girls there. However, at the beach you have to worry about umbrella guys like Tony who pimp girls and take a cut. Cartagena is more free wheeling than St Maarten (where the girls are all in a few casas and the rules are well known).

Girls in Cartagena have a harder time marketing their services, since they are freelance. They cannot expect to have 5 or 10 short term clients in one night, as in St Maarten. Therefore, TLN prices can be lower (since they are not giving up as much potential revenue).

-zing

[Anonymous5]

Hi guys,

Am thinking of going to Cartagena mid April for 3/4 nights.

I have been to St Maarten many times and it seems that prices are half at the source, Colombia.

Ideally, I would like to find a chica (or 2) early afternoon to hang with til the next morning.

Is there a Seamans / Carolinas case type scene in Cartagena where I can take out a chica to play with in the day time and beyond?

Seems from reading the forum there is a lot of freelances around.

Also, I just checked out PLAYA MAR APTS, right on the beach. Looks good, any opinions on that too? Or good central beach places for around 100 bucks per night?

Many thanks.

Stayed at playa mar 801 overlooking the ocean. Two bedrooms for around $66 a night. Juan will quote 75. Try to negotiate with him a little. He wanted $225 for 3 nights, but I talked him into $200 for the three nights. Pretty good area and decent apartment for the cost, although I would contemplate checking on hillybilly's connection. I saw his link and they do have an apartment for $50 night for one bedroom.

[Anonymous5]

Thank you for your posts and sorry about the no-so-great experience you had. To answer your question, in my experience, it is not the norm. The take home here is that you need some basic spanish skills if you want to venture solo in Colombia. The difference between,"cerrado vs cerrado ahora" can be subtle and can be missed. Also, I notice that once people realize that you do not know even a little bit of their language, they do not make much of an effort to explain the details. Alternatively, one can potentially run into unscrupulous taxi drivers anywhere in the world. I cannot tell you the number of times I was nudged to go to a different strip club in the US. You just hear what they have to say and ignore them. CTG, unlike BOG and MDE is a tourist place and is no different from other tourist towns all over the world. Glad you did not let that get to you and still managed to go out. Personally, I never had any issues with taxis in CTG. I have travelled extensively and I must say without a doubt that Colombians are one of the most honest people within the developing world.

The jet ski guy does sound like an asshole.

Update, I just spoke with the English speaking local who helped me out my first few nights in town. I never asked him specifically about Elektra while in CTG. I just spoke with him briefly over the phone, and asked him about Elektra as well as a few other things. He claimed Elektra has been closed for about a week now because the owner didn't pay rent or something like that, said he was always in the casino's gambling. Elektra being closed may actually have legs to it, as cab drivers who were dropping me off at clock tower / Tu candela's, after refusing PleyClub, would have no incentive at that point to lie about Elektra being closed. Having heard from my English speaking local friend, I have more conviction in my belief that it was in fact closed during my stay 3/3-3/9. My Eng speaking local friend said it had been closed for about a week, which would coincide with my stay there exactly, and also be around the time the previous poster Blackpage saying it was open from 2/28. 3/3. I didn't even inquire about elektra on my first night there 3/3. Perhaps it is in fact closed, which I walked over there myself to be 100% positive. It does appear to be a temp closing according to my friend, as the guy may in fact settle his dues and it will reopen at some point.

My nights in CTG, which surprisingly got progressively worse.

1st night. I was staying with family friends, who were conservative and aged, and sleeping on a couch in an apt in EL laguito. Bringing back girls wasn't an option. Had dinner with the family friends in downtown / old city. Afterwards the went home and I went over to Tu Candela's. Place was completely empty outside, so I decided to venture outside. I decided to stay outside as it was much more livelier than inside TC. I was on the hunt for some party supplies, as I figured might as well in Colombia. I wasn't exactly hip to the game, so I just asked some guy who was trying to sell me some cigars. He was ready for the handoff, but I made sure to take a look at my surroundings to make sure everything was ok. I saw some guy on a roof who was avidly paying attention and felt something was fishy, so I just walked away to go to a bench / sitting area. I just chilled out there for a few minutes drinking a beer I had purchased outside. One nice young girl with a pretty face ventured over to come talk to me. I thought she was pretty looking so I entered the conversation and got right down to business. I learned TLN from you guys, so I broke that out on her to get a gauge of what kind of price she was looking at. I believe she offered either 175 or 200k (could've even been 150k, I was a little drunk at that point). I knew a TLN was out of the possibility as I was staying over a guest's house and it would be completely unacceptable, and only asked for reference. I ended up asking for how much for an hour. I got quoted at 100k, which was fine for me as she looked really pretty and young. Not a crazy body, but I'm a sucker for a pretty face. She also seemed very nice and pleasant which is also a major plus in my books, as I've got a low tolerance for bitches. We ended up chatting for a bit, until she found the English speaking local, who I guess helped her with us foreigners. I met him and chatted him up. Pretty decent guy from everyone else I had to deal with. He explained to me clearly that I shouldn't be buying nay of that stuff out on the streets as everyone is watching and to go somewhere else to complete the transaction. He told me, the girl, and the seller of the goods to walk over to some bar outside of the walled city, directly across, forgot the name it was a small place with not much going on. We ended up completing the transaction here, and I proceeded to the bathroom. Once I cam back out, the seller was gone, and me and the girl just chatted for a few, as much as we could without really understanding one another. We had a beer each and I went outside and smoked a cigarette, and she asked for one as well. We wrapped up at this place, and headed back over to the clock tower area to meet the eng speaking local, who we'll call Joe for simplicity, not his actual name. Joe advised that we could go to a nearby motel that charges by the hour for 20k. I said fine, as I had no other place to go with the girl. We made a quick stop at Isis, but I didn't even venture inside and it was straight to the room. The guy at the reception handed me two condoms and off we went. We got down right to it with little to no foreplay. I guess I had a lot of pent up energy and I barely lasted a minute, feeling slightly embarrassed, but she was hot. We chilled for a few and did some foreplay for a while. I was fingering her good and felt her wet as anything. We suddenly get a knock on the door implying that our time was up. She negotiated with the guy that it would only be a few more minutes. Knowing my time was running out, I quickly got into gear and we went at it again for a good 5-10 minutes pretty hard. Ended up cleaning up and leaving the place, walked over to Isis to say thanks to Joe and had to head back home, as I had an early morning. It was only 130-2 am at this point. The young lady was chipper and happy, which was a good thing. She had a glow to her face, so although I didn't last incredibly long, I think I left her satisfied with the encounter. Took a taxi and went back to el laguito for 7k, and all in all it was a very good night.

2nd night. I decided to be adventurous this night, and headed over to the Pleyclub to check out the action there. A couple of girls approached me together and chatted me up. They both asked for drinks and after looking at the prices, I was in no mood to cough up a healthy dose of money. I ended up finishing a beer and jsut left the place to head back to TC area. This is where things tarted to go wrong. I was till carrying the stuff I had from the previous night and on the taxi ride back to old city we were pulled over by the police. My naive American just assumed they were doing a sobriety check and didn't assume much. Next thing I know the officer is pulling me outside of the vehicle. He made me empty my pockets and although I left my stash in my fifth pocket, he felt it and made sure I knew he felt it. At this point, I kind of realized what was up. I tried to balk for a minute but I realized these guys wanted some money. I ended up handing over 30k to one of the officers and tried to see if that was good enough. The other officer then motioned that he needed something for himself as well. I pulled out another 20k and handed it over and luckily he allowed me to leave. This was fortunate, as when I pulled out everything from my pockets, I had over $250 US and like 200K Colombian. I knew I was getting the shake down and just relented, I suppose it could've been much worse. Luckily I had won about 70k in the casino earlier in the day, so the loss wasn't as severe, but it made me feel like crap that I just got shook down regardless. The taxi continued on to TC area and I got out of the car a little nervous from what happened prior. The same girl from my first night spotted my arrival and came up to me and gave me a hug and a kiss. Joe must've shown up shortly there after. I suppose I'm a weird guy but I never like doing things two nights in a row, and was kind of picky about going with the same girl again, but she was hot so I agreed. Not doing the same thing on two consecutive nights also probably led them to PleyClub, which ultimately regret for leaving the Old city / Boca grande region, a truly regrettable action. I ended up trying to play hardball with the girl thinking I could get a better deal, and slightly pissed off at getting shook down by the police. I talked her down to 80 for one hour thinking the deal would be good. Same scenario as the night before. I had no place of my own and we went to the same motel that charges by the hour. Almost groundhog day type of shit, except the shakedown bit. When I tried to get the condoms from the guys at the desk, he hands me one, but I ask for two. The girl then makes it a point that we will only need one condom. In retrospect I should've just coughed up the extra 20k and possibly even given more considering the rest of my nights here were not as great as my first. What actually happened was me getting upset and playing hardball yet again on the point of brinksmanship, I suppose the shakedown left me bitter. I just asked my money back from the guy at the motel and walked away, thinking the girl may budge. She didn't. I should've used a little better diplomacy and just coughed up the money she wanted originally. My biggest mistake while in CTG, besides getting shook down. I ended up calling it a night and proceeded to go back home via taxi, as I had another early morning. Quite depressing to say the least, that approximately $10 US cost me having fun to not having fun. I'm a fool for sure.

3rd night. The night I finally had my own place to myself, an apt from Juan in Playa Mar. I ended up going back to the TC area to scope the action out there. My boy Joe introduced me to some girls who were ok looking but nothing extravagant. I ended up chatting with one of them, as she spoke decent english, and even brought her a few relatively cheap priced drinks outside of TC. After a while however, I realized this wasn't the quality of girl I was looking for, even though she was nice and pleasant. She just didn't do it for me. I ended up catching up with Joe again, who had met up with another American. I decided to kick it with the American just talking bullshit and get a gauge on where he was headed for some action. I had to take a [CodeWord140] anyways, and he said he was going to head over to some stripclub which turned out to be Isis. I agreed as I figured it would be cool to hang around some people I understood and not feel alone. The same girl however from the two previous nights was with the American's friend. I wasn't going to be a child about it however, and realized the line of work. We both still kind of just had friction towards each other. No eye contact and no pleasantry salutations. I just went with the flow anyhow. We ended up getting into Isis and sat down. With in a short period of time a couple of girls joined me and the American. The girl was ok, and I only let her stick around because I didn't want to be the only guy at the table without a girl to chat and flirt with. The American offered to buy me a couple of drinks inside, which was cool and I returned the favor by offering him some part favors. This is where things started to get sketchy however. The new girl starts ordering some tequila shots for herself, to which I never recall agreeing to. I decide to go to to the back of the place where they allow you to smoke cigarettes. The new girl joined me and just started kissing me. I normally don't kiss girls in this profession, but for some reason, probably alcohol and party goods, I participated. It did get me more interested in the lady however. We venture back inside and the bill arrives. It was something like 220k, which I had no intention of contributing to three ways (73k each) , especially considering the American said he would buy me two of my drinks and I don't recall telling the girl I would pay for her drinks. The American suggests I pay 60k, to which I still balk at, as I was only really expecting to pay for one of my drinks the entire time I was there. I finally agree to avoid hassles and upsetting everyone that I would pay 40k out of pocket. I talk to the girl and question why I'm paying for her drinks. She tells me as well to just pay 40 and that would be fine. The American and his friend are incredulous and just leave the place. I end up staying behind trying to sort out the bar tab of whatever the difference was. I imagine around 60k. I eventually pay over my 40k and as I'm walking out I see the bouncers pointing at me, which makes me nervous, especially considering I got shook down the night earlier. Not sure if these guys plan to beat me outside for not paying the full total, or if the would call the cops to have me shook down as well. Figured I was safe in the place and tried to subdue on the staff members who was just giving me dirty looks. My paranoia eventually faded, and I figured what ever was going to happen was going to happen. I ended up leaving on my own, and was happy to see Joe still standing outside. I took a taxi immediately however to just get away fromt hat place, but did notice the girl from the 1st 2 nights was still with Joe and didn't leave with the American or his friend. I noticed the girl was looking uncomfortable prior to leaving as was I. Within a minute in the taxi, I decided to give Joe a call and had the taxi turn around. I talked to Joe about the girl from the 1st 2 nights and asked if she was willing to go back with me. Joe explained to me that she just got a knife pulled on her from one of the girl's inside and was shaken up, and would not be able to participate, which sucked ass, because at this point I was really into her and she was the best option around. Jpe told me she could call a friend for 60k. I said f it, let's go, as it was already 4 am at this point and the night was getting bonkers. The girl was around a 7 or so, nothing spectacular but would do the deed at that hour. We ended up going back to my apt and chilled on the balcony for a bit sipping a drink in the apt. We went into the bedroom and got it on quickly. She was very tight which was a major plus. I performed much longer with her, and we had a decent time. Ended up doing it twice and it was pleasurable, not a bad experience. She ended up taking a taxi back and I gave her 10k fro the ride back. Not bad for the total price, but I would have still liked to have gotten with girl number 1.

Will give reports for nights 4 and 5 tomorrow. These do take a long time to type out.4 pages in google doc document that I copied to. God damn.

[Cocinero]

Hi guys,

Am thinking of going to Cartagena mid April for 3/4 nights.

I have been to St Maarten many times and it seems that prices are half at the source, Colombia.

Ideally, I would like to find a chica (or 2) early afternoon to hang with til the next morning.

Is there a Seamans / Carolinas case type scene in Cartagena where I can take out a chica to play with in the day time and beyond?

Seems from reading the forum there is a lot of freelances around.

Also, I just checked out PLAYA MAR APTS, right on the beach. Looks good, any opinions on that too? Or good central beach places for around 100 bucks per night?

Many thanks.

[Anonymous5]

I hear you, I think any traveller that's gone to Colombia, has experienced this BS from Locals, That happened to me in MDE, Bogota, CTG but guys let me tell you that in Santa Marta it is even worse, and no matter where you go, cheap or expensive restaurants food just tastes bad there, Santa marta needs better chefs, I am sticking to CTG for now since I have friends and connectios there to keep away from the BS.

I didn't even try Santa Marta while there. Hearing about your stories, I'm glad I didn't. Was only in CTG for 5 days regardless. Even with the hassles, I still think I may end back there one day.

[Vitrea]

That was probably the case. I didn't realize how close Elektra was from the clock tower, until after returning home and looking at hillbilly's map. I suppose I should have just walked there myself to find out the real truth, as you are correct in that many taxi's did try to direct me to Pleyclub. It was another frustration that I dealt with I suppose, as I felt most people there were being dishonest about just everything. I should have done better homework and research regarding Cartagena, and I likely would've had a better experience.

In another example of dishonesty, ...................... A modicum of honesty can go a long way, and the people I dealt with were far from it. If they acted in an honest and respectful manner, I'd be more willing to use their services later on, even in a follow up visit, but it appears they just try to extract the most they can from you without regards to common business courtesy.

Again, I probably should've done better research on this site and stayed glued to the map provided by hillbilly. I should've just trusted myself and you guys for the intel for areas and places to go.

Thank you for your posts and sorry about the no-so-great experience you had. To answer your question, in my experience, it is not the norm. The take home here is that you need some basic spanish skills if you want to venture solo in Colombia. The difference between, "cerrado vs cerrado ahora" can be subtle and can be missed. Also, I notice that once people realize that you do not know even a little bit of their language, they do not make much of an effort to explain the details. Alternatively, one can potentially run into unscrupulous taxi drivers anywhere in the world. I cannot tell you the number of times I was nudged to go to a different strip club in the US. You just hear what they have to say and ignore them. CTG, unlike BOG and MDE is a tourist place and is no different from other tourist towns all over the world. Glad you did not let that get to you and still managed to go out. Personally, I never had any issues with taxis in CTG. I have travelled extensively and I must say without a doubt that Colombians are one of the most honest people within the developing world.

The jet ski guy does sound like an asshole.

[CartaAngel]

I hear you, I think any traveller that's gone to Colombia, has experienced this BS from Locals, That happened to me in MDE, Bogota, CTG but guys let me tell you that in Santa Marta it is even worse, and no matter where you go, cheap or expensive restaurants food just tastes bad there, Santa marta needs better chefs, I am sticking to CTG for now since I have friends and connectios there to keep away from the BS.