Medellin Reports

[Kelso1]

Thanks to Wolf 662 for the great video of Centro. I must say I was scared to death watching it. By all means don't go near Centro, and even worse stay away from Mayorista.

Poblado is the place to be at at all times. Be happy in the park there as you pay thru the nose for the wonderful, and loving girls who work that area. If you can't find to you liking there then hit social media for some fun that way.

Make sure also that on social media you always pay what they ask for, and give plenty of taxi money also. Then of course a big tip to the hard working girl as the measly 200 K to 300 K is not nearly enough.

[HappyButLookin]

If your implying that El Centro is safe for a first time non Spanish speaking gringo to hang out in, that in my opinion is bad advice. El Centro is dangerous even for Colombians and much more so for an obvious foreigner.

I frequent El Centro, mainly for the strip clubs but generally walk through the streetwalker area and occasionally catch one there too. My Spanish is crap. If like me, you are good in and are used to cities, it's really no big deal. I've spent a lot of time in developing countries and have mongered around the world. I don't see much risk at all in the daytime for the clued in and very little at night. If I leave a strip club before the train stops, I walk to St Antonio and jump on the Metro. Later than that, I call an Uber. Been doing this for 5 months and the only issue I ever had was that 3 hookers tried, unsuccessfully, to pick my pockets. In fact is was the first place I got laid on New Years when I arrived because that day there were no better choices and I had a goal.

Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've been doing this for 20 years, much of the time in places where it's not legal. I don't see what the big deal is if you do research and know how not look like a victim or a tourist.

[PolloNegro]

So what you are saying is these are the Hard down facts!

Medellin is no more dangerous than the streets of Miami, Atlanta, or New York, many of the cautious posts make you think that the Colombian are savage people ready to pounce on you at any given chance. That's just not true. Pollonegro is out!

[El Mechanico]

Thats just the hard down facts.

Here's the hard down facts, hard down truthful facts. Those are just the Hard down facts

So what you are saying is these are the Hard down facts!

[Surfer500]

LOL. Many people who have posted on this thread, and probably countless others who haven't, have done just that without any problem (myself included). If you consider that a challenge, I doubt you were even in Medellin.

If your implying that El Centro is safe for a first time non Spanish speaking gringo to hang out in, that in my opinion is bad advice. El Centro is dangerous even for Colombians and much more so for an obvious foreigner.

[Wolf662]

Do you lot think I would be ok staying in El Centro or should I stay in El Poblado and have to travel everywhere?

Personally I won't stay anywhere else in Medellin, I love the vibrant busy culture of El Centro, aka La Candelaria in the daytime. At night it gets a little scarier but I either don't go more then 2 blocks to a strip club or I take a cab.

See for yourself, here's a video I took of downtown El Centro street scenes I took in 2017 if you want to look how scary it seems:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTNh...ature=youtu.be

[YippieKayay]

When doing casas and spas runs, do I bring my own condoms? I prefer my own condoms for size and good feel. My experience with foreign condoms is.

That they aren't that good for me. I prefer Magnums.

Yes you can bring your own. The casa condoms are cheap and small usually in my experience.

[PolloNegro]

So, what's the low down on the el centro lot lizards these days?

Feline and behind, very reasonable I must add, especially near Vera cruz! Pollonegro is out!

[Blklouky]

When doing casas and spas runs, do I bring my own condoms? I prefer my own condoms for size and good feel. My experience with foreign condoms is.

That they aren't that good for me. I prefer Magnums.

[PolloNegro]

I will touch on this once and once only. Many of the members of this forum will give you their experience from their ethnicity view point. Thats just the hard down facts. When I became a member of this forum, after reading a few posts, I was cautious as a little old lady walking home from the store in a rough neighborhood. Then I stopped and I thought about it, I've been to Beliz, nicaragua, Honduras, Salvador, Guatamala, Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, London, France, Italy, Sierrea Leone West Africa, Brazil, Jamaica, DR, Brussels, Belgium, Germany,. I had not been to Colombia.

I had my reasons, I did not want the hassle of returning to America and being searched for drugs, didn't want to be kidnapped, didn't want a finger cut off, I had heard too much BS and had watched too much television. Reports and rumors had me thinking every kid in Colombia had a AK-47 and megatons of Blow and were ready to kill Americans. My fears were absolutely wrong. Then everyday facts began to kick in.

I am a dark skinned latino, I can pass for African American everyday of the week. I am 5'10, I weigh about 280 lbs. I look like I can handle myself well in a brawl. I was raised in some very hard neighborhood and harsh conditions. So surviving is what I know how to do. Here's the hard down facts, like it or not. No one is running around trying to rob a black man who looks like he can fight. Thats just the hard down truthful facts. I wasnt robbed in any of the countries that I mentioned above and once again, since traveling to Colombia, I have not been robbed. I walk around Centro at 1 am, 2 am, 3 am, 4 am, I have yet to be robbed or even approached to be asked for money to be robbed, I just have not. No one wants to rob anyone who they think will kill them, they just do not want to take that chance. I am not telling you to not be cautious, I am telling you if you are on the darker skinned side and grew up in a rough environment and look like you can handle yourself, the chances of you having robbery problems in Colombia are slim to none. Those are just the Hard down facts that I have observed on my visits to Medellin. Medellíand Colombia is safe as far as I can see. Pollonegro is out!!

[Eszpresszo]

I applaud you for your exploratory spirit, but IMHO el centro is not a good idea for an absolute newbie traveling alone with no Spanish skill. Even a Poblado or Laureles apartment would be a challenge, but at least probably safe.

LOL. Many people who have posted on this thread, and probably countless others who haven't, have done just that without any problem (myself included). If you consider that a challenge, I doubt you were even in Medellin.

[TroyBoy]

First of all thanks to everyone who has posted in this thread. Really enjoyed reading all the information.

Been to Thailand over ten times, Cambodia, Netherlands and Germany mongering but want to try Colombia.

I don't care too much about culture tbh, I plan on renting an apartment, cooking my own food (I have food allergies) going to casa's during the day and chilling out in room at night, possibly getting an escort to visit or going to a strip club by taxi door to door.

Do you lot think I would be ok staying in El Centro or should I stay in El Poblado and have to travel everywhere?

I am currently learning basic Spanish but don't want to commit until after my first visit if I want to keep visiting.

Sorry for the long post, appreciate any help, I'll definitely post a report when I'm back.

I applaud you for your exploratory spirit, but IMHO el centro is not a good idea for an absolute newbie traveling alone with no Spanish skill. Even a Poblado or Laureles apartment would be a challenge, but at least probably safe. I would strongly recommend booking at the mansion and hooking up with some more experienced Medellin mongers to get a sense of the lay of the land for your first trip. Food allergies- yeah I can understand why you would want to prepare you own food, but I still say the Mansion is the perfect place for any newbie to get a feel for how things work. Just hook up with some guys there and get your ass out of the mansion to explore.

If you are hell bent on getting an apartment I would suggest getting your first apartment in Poblado or Laureles (area of la setenta). Good luck.

P.S. Looking at your handle-- if you are a friend of Billl I know Bill has many english speaking friends who meet regularly; a great group of guys who can maybe help you on our first visit.

[TroyBoy]

First of all thanks to everyone who has posted in this thread. Really enjoyed reading all the information.

Been to Thailand over ten times, Cambodia, Netherlands and Germany mongering but want to try Colombia.

I don't care too much about culture tbh, I plan on renting an apartment, cooking my own food (I have food allergies) going to casa's during the day and chilling out in room at night, possibly getting an escort to visit or going to a strip club by taxi door to door.

Do you lot think I would be ok staying in El Centro or should I stay in El Poblado and have to travel everywhere?

I am currently learning basic Spanish but don't want to commit until after my first visit if I want to keep visiting.

Sorry for the long post, appreciate any help, I'll definitely post a report when I'm back.

I applaud you for your exploratory spirit, but IMHO el centro is not a good idea for an absolute newbie traveling alone with no Spanish skill. Even a Poblado or Laureles apartment would be a challenge, but at least probably safe. I would strongly recommend booking at the mansion and hooking up with some more experienced Medellin mongers to get a sense of the lay of the land for your first trip. Food allergies- yeah I can understand why you would want to prepare you own food, but I still say the Mansion is the perfect place for any newbie to get a feel for how things work. Just hook up with some guys there and get your ass out of the mansion to explore.

If you are hell bent on getting an apartment I would suggest getting your first apartment in Poblado or Laureles (area of la setenta). Good luck.

P.S. Looking at your handle-- if you are a friend of Bill I know Bill has many english speaking friends who meet regularly; a great group of guys who can maybe help you on our first visit.

[HBoy54]

Well this clarifies things now for the record. So I guess you may have started a trend so we can now kind of be like truck drivers when communicating on this thread.

So, what's the low down on the el centro lot lizards these days?

[Wolf662]

Do you lot think I would be ok staying in El Centro or should I stay in El Poblado and have to travel everywhere?.

Depends on your level of comfort in more dangerous large Latin cities. I stayed in Centro my 1st trip (and the 3 trips after) but I lived in Latin America for 5 years and a part of Wash DC that is scarier then Centro and I speak fluent Spanish. If you stayed in a OK part of centro and cabbed at night you would be OK I think but opinions differ.