Other Areas

[Perry Mason #1]

I couldn´t agree more with Johan, as Spanish language skills are critical.

I'm a big fan of Pimsleur language CD's as they aren't cheap but are the best out there. See amazon.

Or if you have the time there are always the language immersion schools in places like Costa Rica, Mexico and Guatemala.

Personally, I think the best bet is in Xela, Guatemala where for about a $120 a week you get 4 hours of one on one language instruction and boarding with a family. Compare this with Costa Rica where you´ll pay 2 to three times that and instead of one on one instruction you´ll be in a group of 4 other students. Additionally, I think CR is a rip-off these days for newbees to Latin America.

[Perry Mason #1]

A few general questions:

1. What was it like getting to Merida? Did you go by plane? What are the logistics?

I had made plane reservations through a Venz carrier in Miami for the CCS to Merida leg. Unfortunately, I was delayed in Customs and Immigration and missed the national flight that I had made a reservation for. It was Saturday, early afternooon, and all the other flights for the day were sold out on both national carriers which fly there. OW fare was around $100. It was either wait on the long standby list or come back the next day. I eventually decided to just get to the Bus Station and get to Merida ASAP. The station (I think La Bandera) had several express executive buses but unfortunately they all were evening departures. So I waited for several hours at the station and endured the way too long bus ride. It was a beautiful new Volvo sleeper bus with seats that fully reclined and was an enjoyable passage. With hindsight, my only concern was with my bags and the cash on my person while waiting in that bus station in Caracas.

2. How does one access their money in Merida?

There are plenty of ATMS. I brought plenty of US dollars to make the most of the black market and know now a few people who give me 2400 per dollar.

3. How is safety in Merida? I've had friends tell me they actually feel safer in Columbia than Venezuela which has made me nervous about visiting Venezuela in general outside Margarita.

Super safe. If you have basic street smarts and aren´t in to wearing shorts and loud hawaian shorts you should be just fine. I´ve been to Colombia, Beirut, Syria, etc and feel super safe here. There are few foreign tourists outside the dirty backpacker breed and plenty of tourist infastructure for the Venezuelans coming from Caracas. I have heard of slash and dash cell phone grabbers from a few women but yet to see anything to make me nervous.

4. I'm just curious if you have met any students who speak English? Of course we should all learn Spanish-- I know that.

Only bits and pieces, probably not enough to get their pants off in English. And personally when I hear horrible english from a young lady it is a real turnoff as I get flashbacks from *****s overexplosed to Gringos. But, there is a major at the University in Modern Languages, so I´m sure that billingual babes exist. Buy some Pimsleur CD´s and you´ll be cruising. You could easily find a tutor here too. Yet for day to day you´ll need Spanish to get the gems.

5. How friendly are the women towards young gringos? Are the women as attractive as those you find in Caracas?

Some have an aversion to the dirty backpacker type as Merida is on the South America Lonely Planet circuit. For me those days are over, so if you know how to dress, can speak the language, and have a little game, you´ll do great.

Personally, I think the ladies are a little sexier in Caracas but I still find plenty that make my jaw drop and the costs are much cheaper here.

6. What are some of the places you have found fun to meet the ladies? Any favorite clubs, bars? Any luck walking around the university? Too many names to list here, but there are plenty. PM me when you plan to go and I´ll give you the details from my memoirs. The university is spread out all over town so there isn´t so much as a central campus as there is in the US sense.

7. About what are you paying a month for rent? Where is a good area to find an appartment?
I paid about $500 for a 3b, 2 bath furnished apt in an exclusive area on the 8th floor. From my research and after being here for two weeks I realize that what I´m paying is probably above market. However, some of the others I looked out weren´t nearly as nice and I was eager to get out of the hotel that I was in. There are 3 local newspapers, one has better classifacados than the others but most agents want 6 mos to 1 yr committments. Yet those that cater to the weekenders from Caracas are more open for the month to 2 month arrangement.

8. What do you think of the city and area, outside partying with the chicas? Is Merida paradise?

Merida has many positive qualities once you get past the typical 3rd world setup of things. I was expected more of a historic looking place but unfortunately it isn´t colonial in the sense of Antigua, Guatemala or Tallin, Estonia. So initally I was a little disappointed with that aspect.

Yet, the climate is perfect, I found an awesome gym, there are plenty of outdoor pursuits in the Andes, cabs and food are cheap, and stylin´gringos are quite rare so I´m pretty happy here.

[Johan007]

hi newbound,

here is my view on some sa cities.
first of all before you go: learn spanish. this is essential. trust me even high educated women down there seldomly speak good english. if you are new to traveling to south-america i would not go to colombia.(imho)
start with something easy,well known and not so off the beaten track.
i would suggest panama,costa rica,dom.republic or mexico! (yes sir)

lima: very large city with lots of smog. fist 2-3 days i was there it realy hurts my eyes. food and girls are great (and cheap too). one backdraw on lima is it's size. if you are not familiar with the local bus system you'll need taxis a lot....and that will cost you a lot of money.
the beach in lima also sucks bigtime(pollution and rocky beach....so stay the hell outta there if you don't want to get your skin infected or something like that)
positive: many nightclubs,many pro and non-pro girls availeble.
some barrios are not safe (center,victoria and others) so stay away after dusk.

panama city: tranquilo city with lots of (mainly) colombian and dr hookers. some what pricier as lima but not too expensive. nearby pc you have lots of oppertunities to recreate on beach or resorts. however decameron resort is not cheap (150 $ a day!!).
as a whole i regard the city as "safe"......unless you break the basic rules.(low profile,speak spanish,don't flash arround money..and don't carry expensive things)
you can ask king of sluts for more info....he knows more then me regarding panama,although i think he is sometimes a bit negative towards panama.

fortaleza (brasil): has about 2.5 million people and is a fast growing metropole in the north east. the city itself is buttugly....trust me on this one. the beach however is great,and the night life too. lots of hookers availeble. also you can reant here some cheap appartments. (which is better then any hotel imho)however i heard that the scene in fortaleza rapidly is getting more dangerous and more expensive. if you also like some cultural activities do not go to fortaleza!!!! if you like party every night and hookers...please go there. do not interact with minors (keep in mind brasil girls can look way older then they are!)....if the authorities catch you you are in a world of deep shit.please look into the fortaleza section for more info.

dr: sosua.....a small northern beach town with lots of hookers and nightlife. imho the place is a bit run down and packed with (cheap) mass turism from europe and canada. if you like more style....classy women do go to santo domingo.(the capital). also here are some areas not safe for gringos. please feel free to look for more info in the sd secton.....or ask ******* on this. he is the man on dr.

colombia: cartagena is a very romantic and lovely city with an old spanish colonial city center...and pretty save for colombian standards. as i was there with my (ex) amiga i didn't had much time to get arround with the hookers...but i can tell you that there is plenty of action to be found. from here you can also vist the lovely and tranquilo isla de rosarios by speedboat (lancia);it's about 2 hours from cartagena.
the only bad thing about cartagena are the streetvendors at the beach and close to the beach....those guys are bad mother fucking assholes....and they keep pushing you to sell something!!!!!!!!!! just ignore them completety and do not try to interact with them in spanish or english.
if there is one city you could visit as a first times to colombia....this is it.
bogota has lots of cultural events...and many good looking women. but no beach!!!!!!!!!!! bogota women are very classy and here you need to dress sharp to impress them. just being a gringo won't help....

27 sept i'll be off to caracas venezuela. most likely i will travel on to isla margarita. i retun 16 october.

have fun


johan

[ChicagoBoy23]

You will kick ass in Peru if you have any game at all. The non pro chicas there are very friendly and love gringos!

[New Bound]

Hey Johan,

I've really enjoyed reading your posts on WSG. You have really visited a lot of Latin America. So what are some of your favorite cities if you had a couple of months to take a vacation. I was looking to practice my Spanish, and meet some very friendly chicas. I'm a young gringo from Oregon, USA. Maybe get married if I meet the right women. It would be good if the city was relatively inexpensive and fairly safe. I'm probably going to Merida in the next couple of months, but I'm considering my options to maybe visit somewhere else.

I'll make sure to report on my trip once I arrive. I'm just curious of your opinion, as you are well traveled. Thanks.

[New Bound]

Perry Mason,

Thanks for being such stud and finally bringing some info on Merida to the board. I've been wondering for years what life is like there, but never had a chance to visit to date.

A few general questions:

1. What was it like getting to Merida? Did you go by plane? What are the logistics?

2. How does one access their money in Merida?

3. How is safety in Merida? I've had friends tell me they actually feel safer in Columbia than Venezuela which has made me nervous about visiting Venezuela in general outside Margarita.

4. I'm just curious if you have met any students who speak English? Of course we should all learn Spanish-- I know that.

5. How friendly are the women towards young gringos? Are the women as attractive as those you find in Caracas?

6. What are some of the places you have found fun to meet the ladies? Any favorite clubs, bars? Any luck walking around the university?

7. About what are you paying a month for rent? Where is a good area to find an appartment?

8. What do you think of the city and area, outside partying with the chicas? Is Merida paradise?

Thanks Perry, I think it is really cool that you visiting this city.

[Perry Mason #1]

Johan007,

I couldn´t concur more about the hookers to housewife bit. The problem is that too many times foreigners without the advantage of experience with pros fall for their creative cons or are victims of that Pretty Woman syndrom.

As for the phone question, I did purchase a pre-paid Nokia here with Movistar for about $80. It isn´t the newest or coolest but works great and has virtually unlimited free text messaging. And truth be told, I almost never used this function in the states but here it works perfectly. I send all the prospects I´ve met around here some general message about what there up to and presto we´re having drinks.

There are plenty of beautiful, young, and non-pros just about everywhere here. Unfortunately, many (even the students) lack real ambition or drive and many are content with boring and tedious lives. This makes conversation interesting as most haven´t a clue about shit regarding the current state of affairs, history, etc. Many prefer to just zone out in front of a TV. Thats great for noctural pleasures but for me it takes more than a nice young body to keep me interested...

I spent a few weeks on Isla M a couple of years ago and also wasn´t too impressed. I met a few non-pros as it was Carnival while I was there but as for everything else I share your opinion about that barren, touristy rock.

[Johan007]

The funny thing was she had plans of eventually moving to Margarita so that she could find a Gringo husband.

Hi PM,

LOL, i guess many girls try and do this. But you know what they say about hookers?? You can't change them into housewifes;-) These girls (once married) are real pain in the asses and probaly drive you insane and/or bankcrupt...they will trade up as soon as they are in the US/Europe which isn't hard for them to do. Trust me....I for sure will TRY at all costs NOT to marry a hooker!!! Just think about SEX...and nothing else. NOT all women on Isla M are hookers...but I have to admit it will be damn hard to find "normal" women on that barren piece of rock...hahahahahahahha Most hookers i met were (in one way) very stupid and quite boring company (apart from the sex thing that is...). offcourse you also may have your upscale escort student girl which costs 100-200 US $ an hour...but that is not my game.

The other day i met (online via msn) a girl from Isla M (29 yo)...and now she was living in Italy. hahahahahahaha I didn't even borther to ask what she was doing there! I guess she went with an italian dude...and dumped him for whatever reason and now she was looking for a new "target".....LOL. hee NOT ME!!

PM..what you mean with "texting"...is that the same as sending a SMS-message by cell phone?? Isn't that expensive with your US cell phone in Venzuela?? Or did you buy a Venezuelan cell phone?

btw I still have quite a collection of forreign (pre-paid) cell phones here in my home from...Brasil...Colombia...Panama...hahahahahahah
But ir's soooo practical to keep in touch with those latin vixens :-)



suerte

Johan.

[Perry Mason #1]

I earlier posted that there were 10 different agencies in Merida. Unfortunately, that was just creative advertising with different ads and numbers but in reality many are the same company. So I can now confirm there are 3 agencies. Of course I have the contact information for all of them and if you{ll be out here shoot me a PM.

To date I{ve only worked with one. For 30k bolivares, less then 15 dollars, they sent 4 young, thin, and very attractive women to my apartment. It was a difficult choice but I picked one for an amazing hour of fun.

It took some coaxing for the agency to agree to send the ladies to my apartment as they said they only go to hotels. But eventually she was one over the gringo accent of my spanish and she sent them over. They arrived exactly on time and it was pure GFE.

Granted, I offered her a drink, had music, etc. But the girl, who couldn{t of been a few days over 18 was a real pleaser.

From my conversations with her, there are 5 total gals in that agency and she arrived from Trujillo 10 days ago. The funny thing was she had plans of eventually moving to Margarita so that she could find a Gringo husband.

I{ll post the photos when I get to a more secure terminal.

[Perry Mason #1]

Johan,

I have also heard that rumor about Merida having the highest HIV rate. Yet I{ve only read it on this board. I haven{t found any other sources which confirm it and logically it really doesn{t fit the profile for an Andean city in Venezuela. Sure there are lots of students here but safe sex seems a big priority with every gal I have had the pleasure to meet.

Nevertheless, you{re very right about the importance of Spanish language skills off the beaten path. I only communicate in espanol while in country and it has opened many a door here.

As for the ladies. Prior to my arrival I had created a list of ladies in Merida from amigos. com and then played the text message game with them since arriving. Last night I went out, solo again, and and with the miracle of text messaging I sent a message to a girl I met on my Amigos. com profile. She told me where she was going to be and so after a few drinks at another place I showed up there. Problem was the place was packed with beautiful women and she kept texting me where I was. The problem was further complicated because the place was such a target rich environment, and not wanting to look like some sucker waiting to meet some girl from the internet, I did what I{m trained to do and starting spitting some game to some nice little honey that was liking this pimpin. I end up drinking and dancing the night away with her while still wondering if I would run in to Miss Internet. I finally told my prospect, after a few rum and cokes, and too many dances that we needed to get some fresh air outside. This morphed in to lets go get something to eat and once in the cab at zero dark thirty and with all the rests. that I saw closed I told the taxi to go to my apartment. It is always a tense moment when you mention those words to a Taxista with a straight face and full of confidence always with the possibility that the prospect will say, what, or no we can{t go there. However, silence is consent and I think it is easier for them to just go along with the plan of least resistance.

Once in my pimped ass pad she had little chance for escape. Turned on the cd player bumping some cool tunes, opened two beers, lit a few candles and you know the rest of the story. This gal was 21 vice 18 like the first but what a hot little thing.

[Johan007]

Hi Perry M,

somewere along the road I read that Merida area has the highest HIV rates of all Venezuela. I don't know if that is true...but better watch out dude. Just play it safe down there.
Yes....in most sa cities people don't speak english. If you realy want to tear up some non-pro gems...learn spanish!!
If you go to margarita Island...MOST turists are from Europe.(85% Germans,Dutch,British,Scandinavians and Belgians) Others are Venezuelans from the mainland.
I have seen many Americans in Panama,DR and some lost mongers in cartagena (Colombia). In Brasil and Peru I hardly saw any Americans. That is.....no large turist groups. But I am sure that US mongers have traveled in these countries.
Also on Cuba there are ver FEW Americans due to the policy of the US government of boycotting this island. IF companero Castro steps down or dies (which is more likely) and democrazy will prevaile I guess Cuba's gates are wide open for US people.
Cuba has (IMHO) some mighty fine women......too bad the country has it's limitations.

bye

Johan

[Perry Mason #1]

Merida is a city of 500,000 located in the Andes and home of the famous ULA (University of the Andes). The city has a real bohemian air about it and like everywhere in Venezuela is loaded with beautiful women. Getting here from Caracas is via a 90 minute plane ride (around $100) or a 12 hour bus ride in a deluxe sleeper bus (about $15).

There are loads of young students hanging around with delusions of Gringo power. Hollywood has done a great service for the American males reputation abroad.

There are two primary cell carriers that work here: Movistar and Movinet. I went with Movistar, which included a new Nokia and the first month free for about $80. It is prepaid cellular and all the rage here.

I´m still working on the apartment bit as I think the person that I´ve been dealing with is attempting to charge me way over market. There are 5 local daily newspapers and according to other ads there are a few other furnished apartments available. This nut will be cracked in a few days.

While looking for apartments in the newspaper I found no less then eleven agencies that claim to deal in young, attractive massage and other entertainment. One seductive ad offered a one hour massage for 30k and a two hour massage for 40k. I promise to further explore all of these options once I get set up...

As far as gyms go there are several in town. The best appears to be called Gymnasio Cuccaraca which is owned by the same gentleman who owns a very popular disco by the same name. Monthly rates are about $15.

The town seems to be pretty devoid of other foreigners. I´ve ran across a few of the backpacker types from Germany but few others. I also have yet to speak English with anyone.

[Erikla]

Turns out, I'm the first gringo they've ever talked to or really ever seen up close ... I felt like Brad Pitt, Tom Cruize, etc ... all in one.

Make a long story short ... ...

Wow, that is the real beauty of single exploration! Off the beaten track just has too much to offer. I know that feeling, it is out of our worlds.

Good FR btw, post more if you like.

eia

[Perry Mason #1]

I've enjoyed the many informative posts on many of the less traveled areas of Venezuela.

My research tells me that the Andean city of half a million with over 60,000 students has a ton of potential. Therefore I've decided to spend two months there sowing seeds and breaking hearts. I'll have boots on the ground in a week.

Pics and reports to follow.

[Zombie Caracas]

Well, I haven't too much to say, Guatire is a small industrial city just past Guarenas (exiting east from Caracas). 2 shopping malls, the Buenaventura and Oasis are very well known and easily spotted from the Main Avenue. Just recently I learn about the club posted earlier and except that, I just know the existence of 2 very famous Motels that are on the way, one of these called Camelot (just in front of the Oasis. Coincidence?). No girls on the corners or in a special meeting place (or bar) that I know.

Any change I let you Know.