Other Areas

[Jesi James]

Courtesy of Nibu.

I just took the picture.

[Member #3435]

I spent four days in Valledupar just prior to the Festival de Vallenato. I had a real nice time and thoroughly enjoyed seeing another part of the real Colombia. I didn't do any mongering since I was hanging with a group of regular girls and I'm not one to burn the candle at both ends. There are a few strip bar type places and I was even handed a flyer for a new one while on the street but didn't partake. It can be done though.

First, in case you're the adventurous type and want to experience a different part of the real Colombia be forewarned that VUP is even hotter than Barranquilla or Cartagena. It was in the mid 90's rather than the high 80's to low 90's. I was prepared for it, I like hot weather, I had an air conditioned place, and we went to a water park and to the river during the afternoons to pass time and enjoy ourselves. For me it was fine.

The streets of VUP are lined with trees that have very thick canopies. I would try to look up to see the birds that were making such a racket in those trees but I could never find them since the canopies are so thick. The streets are clean and the homes have lawns. Not US style lawns but lawns none the less. I thought it was a very pleasant small city.

If you're on a tight budget don't go during or close to the Festival de Vallenato. VUP is a small city (300, 000 inhabitants) in the middle of nowhere. The FdV is a national event. In other words, there is a limited supply of rooms and demand explodes.

5 weeks before my trip hotel rooms we're non-existent. Out of the question. I paid the most for lodging that I've paid anywhere in LA. One of the hotels referred me to a high end retail type agency for apartments. They were quoting me between 1, 200, 000 to 1, 600, 000 COP/day for nice apartments and 400, 000 COP/day just for a bedroom in an apartment! Totally freekin nuts!

I found a nice apartment with a/c in a great location for 300, 000 COP per day. Thanks to the favorable exchange rate that was about $125/day. They were asking 400, 000/day. Any other time you can get a nice hotel room for 70 to 100, 000 COP per day.

I saw lots a very nice looking girls on the streets of VUP. As many and as nice as anywhere in Colombia. I also enjoyed the whole Vallenato culture and ambiance. The whole place; young, old, kids, married, single, eats, sleeps, and drinks Vallenato. I had heard a fair share of Vallenato previous but now appreciate it even more. Dos observaciones del Vallenato: All music, whether it be classical, rock, pop, salsa, etc etc, and the artist who perform them do so from a core of emotion but Vallenato and their artists perform their art from a whole different level of emotion. Vallenato is pure emotion. The other observation and favorable impression it made on me is that it is very clean. No vulgarities or corruption from the ugly side of pop culture, IMO.

Here are a few pix from the first official day of the Festival. It is of the crowd that lined the streets for the parade: Desfile de los Piloneros. All pix were taken from the balcony of my apartment. Since they are for this forum, I specifically chose pix with girls in them. They are not the best examples of what I saw and was hanging with but are what I found recorded by my camera. Sorry, no pix of my regular girl friends. Too easy to trace found.

All the best, Schwmm

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[Safety Guy II]

Can anyone tell me or have any experience driving with a driver south from Medellin to periera or temales de santa rosa? I ask my novia she said mucho cuidado! I think that hits the point but then again I have heard of people doing this. Its only 100 miles. Any thoughs.

If you insist on driving purchase an International Drivers License at your local "Triple A" office. Then notify your insurance company. Better yet in my mind is to go to the main bus terminal in south Medellin and catch either a mini bus (van) or an intercity bus. I like the vans as you can interact with your fellow riders and they stop a couple of times to break or eat. My seat mate on one side was a policia who was an anti FARC jungle fighter and spoke some english. Since we both work with "Blackhawks" we had a nice conversation. My other seat mate was a very well built lady who was some what stuck up to the rest of us. Dinner by the river was cheap and very tasty. The big buses are nice but a bit slower (5. 5 hours for me, but usually 4). The road is pretty good but windy however the scenery is spectacular. Last December I went from Medellin to Manizales with some camping and climbing gear and it was not a problem. The road had a number of washouts and damaged sections from the extreme rains that happened last fall. The river was raging and high. Everyone was friendly and interested in my gear. The warning is do not eat the ice cream from the roadside venders. It tastes good but will fight back later. Finally, Manizales is worth a day or two.

[Member #3437]

Any good reports on Leticia? I saw the 'hot and humid' one below, but I live in florida so hot and humid is a way of life for me.

I am an adventure traveler and will be entering Peru and/or Brazil from Leticia soon. Need to hear about things to do along the river on my way.

[Legal Tender]

Can anyone tell me or have any experience driving with a driver south from Medellin to periera or temales de santa rosa? I ask my novia she said mucho cuidado! I think that hits the point but then again I have heard of people doing this. Its only 100 miles. Any thoughs.

A couple of months ago I drove from Medellin to Armenia. It is a beautiful drive through the Andes. First and foremost, do not under any circumstances be on this road at night. The traffic is simply uncontrolled. The road winds like a snake, and the truckers have no fear or common sense. Passing on blind curves seems to be the desired technique. It's only about a hundred miles, but count on at least 6 or 7 hours.

I've driven all over the world. Would I do it again? Probably not, but what a memory. On the trip, I drove through a rain storm where you couldn't see 10 feet in front, and no where to pull over unless you wanted to drop about 1000 feet; encountered sleet; and, got rear ended by a dude in a van. I'm still engaged with Hertz which, of course, tried to rip me off on the damages. And, I saw three wreck scenes (not the actual occurrences), but all three could have resulted in causalities.

Do not try it unless you speak fairly good Spanish, or have a friend with you that can speak your native language and Spanish. The road signs are non existent. It ain't Kansas.

If you go, we would certainly like to read about your experiences.

[Tom 33]

Can anyone tell me or have any experience driving with a driver south from Medellin to periera or temales de santa rosa? I ask my novia she said mucho cuidado! I think that hits the point but then again I have heard of people doing this. Its only 100 miles. Any thoughs.

I took the bus in 2005 from Medellín to Manizales to Pereira to Armenia to Cali. Especially if you limit your travel to daytime hours, you should be fine.

I think that your novia is off base. However, the way Colombians drive on those curvy mountain roads is another topic.

[Que Rico]

Can anyone tell me or have any experience driving with a driver south from Medellin to periera or temales de santa rosa? I ask my novia she said mucho cuidado! I think that hits the point but then again I have heard of people doing this. Its only 100 miles. Any thoughs.

[Jesi James]

Spent the last couple of days there as I exit Colombia after 3 months. Really, really hot, humid and all in all not really my cup of tea. I went by Gardenias on the main road which is what they call International and it is close to cll 7 and cr 6. It is a big open bar and there was literally 5 people there. A mamason, some dude with the mamason, 2 non descriptive providers and me. Service was quoted as 70 COP for a rato. I declined and departed.

Hot and Humid, pesos y reales exchange one for one. I booked a boat out to Iquitos for 65. 00 USD. The 9 hour trip lasted 12. I would fly out if I had to do it again. A trip to Santa Rosa, Peru on a boat taxi from Leticia or the Brazil side costs 3 COP or Reales. Well, I couldn't get out of here fast enough.

[GringoLoco2]

I'm hitting Periera soon for a weekend.

Anyone have any recent information?

Hotel recommendations close to the action?

Thanks

[Jesi James]

Is Aero Republica still the only airline flying to Leticia?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A1...tional_Airport

Aerorepublic and Satena, you have to call or visit a Satena office as they do not have online ticket sales yet.

[Member #3435]

Any one been here to play? I met a sweet hot chick online from there and so I was researching my options for a side trip and it wasn't looking good. Avianca & the other airline were quoting approx $400 to $500 R/T from Bogota because my dates coincide with the Festival de Vallenato. All the first tier priced tickets were listed as "Agotado" (sold out).

Then, I get a promotional email from Avianca touting $255 + tax from MIA to any major city plus one free domestic R/T ticket. So I call them up thinking that my dates for Valledupar fall within the restricions and exceptions but NO!

I got R/T MIA to BAQ plus one R/T BAQ to VUP for $398 all in! Fuck me! Sign me up! I did.

So can anyone report on the P4P scene there or girl friendly hotel recommendations. Thanks all, can't wait, will report.

Schwmm

[Jesi James]

Manizales hotels

Hotel Amaru
www.hotelamaru.net
Cll 20 No 20-19
884-3560
314 740 4408
Wi fi
49 cop single/70 doble, discount available for 3 or more days
Pay for a double if you want a guest

Hotel Consul
www.hotelesmanizales.com
Cr 20 no 20-25
882 3720
I forgot to write the prices.

Hotel Galicia Plaza
Email: Galicia plaza@hotmail.com
Cll 21 no. 19-28
873 3778
30 cop single/40 cop doble

[Panman]

Is Aero Republica still the only airline flying to Leticia?

[Dickhead]

I was in Leticia in 1977 on my first trip to South America and I went way in the hell into the jungle, maybe a 2 km walk, and there was a "district" which was a clearing in the jungle. It had four places in it. All were playing Elvis Presley and similar shit from the 1950s and I was with three guides, one from Mexico, one Swiss, and one from Leticia. I first thought they would rob me and kill me as we walked into this area but they did neither. The Mexican guy I am still in touch with to this day.

We went back and forth between the places and finally I picked a gal and for around $2 US, maybe $3, she agreed to go with me and we walked out some back door and I figured there were rooms back there. No. She threw a blanket down on the ground and we did it in the dirt.

No shit. And I bought a bunch of weed from a guy I met at our hotel (Parador Ticuna; I still remember). Then we went to get on the plane back to Bogota a couple of days later. I think we were there 3, 4 days. It was 100 fucking degrees and there was a line of hundreds of people on the tarmac. No real terminal. The guy I bought the weed from (also had drank with him and such) comes up and says, "DH! DH! You don't have to wait in line! " and brings up to the head of the line and then onto the plane. My travelling companions were like WTF is this? He had enough gold and emerald jewelry to gag a moose, which is why I had figured him for a dope dealer when I met him at the hotel.

Anyway it turns out that I had been getting my drugs from the head of local Customs. Also in Leticia I caught a crocodile with a spear. This Parador Ticuna had trained parrots that would smoke cigarettes and drink booze out of shot glasses. There's another word for these parrots but it escapes me right now. Oh yeah: Macaus or macaws. Mean motherfuckers too.

I remember the first night there, beating around the bush with this guy and finally asking him about weed. He said he would send some to my room the next day and I think he wanted $10 US (half a day's wages for me back then). The next day some kid shows up with a bunch of weed wrapped in newspaper. Had to be two-three ounces of bud. I said, "I can't smoke all this in three days" and he just shrugged. I gotta say, I gave it a hell of a shot.

Anyway that was a long time ago but I remember it like it was yesterday. Of course I don't remember yesterday all that well either. I just wish I had bought some of the emerald and gold jewelry at those prices back then, and still had them. I did not have any god damn money to spare which is why I did not.

My guess would be Leticia has changed somewhat in 30 years but it is certainly ideally located for any kind of smuggling. It's funny but as I think back on it I don't remember the heat being all that bad. It probably was but I just remember the drugs and the pussy and the houses on the river that were up on stilts. They had two levels and in the high water season you only used the top level. Also we went across the river to Santos, Brazil and visited this brick factory where all the employees were like 8 to 10 year old kids. Sad.

Anyway RH, thanks for the memories and glad you had fun.

[Rock Harders]

Mongers,

I just spent about five days in Leticia and I am happy to report that there is action to be found in this ultra isolated, out of the way place, especially if you are reasonably young and good looking. I arrived on a Sunday and took up residence at the Hotel Anaconda, which is the located right across the street from the market/ port area and went for about $80 USD per night. The hotel is one of only two major hotels in the town, the other being an all-inclusive Decameron property. The hotel has a nice pool and good food, which I ate about every meal in as a result of my concerns for the hygenic practices used in the local restaurants.

Anyway, there is a hooker bar called Gardenias, just get a city tour from a taxi driver (15k COP or less) and he will drive you past it. I walked by one night (I was already occupied with a non-pro Paisa I met on a jungle tour) and there were about 20-25 chicas working and maybe 10 mongers. It is important to note that every bar / restaurant / nightclub here is an open-air outdoor affair without air conditioning, and the heat and humidity here is oppressive.

Suerte,

Rock Harders

EDITOR'S NOTE: I would suggest that the author or another Forum Member consider posting a link to this report in the Reports of Distinction thread. Please Click Here for more information.