Medellin Reports

[LapPad]

Thanks Esteban. We ended up booking apartment today.

If you are resourceful and can wing it in a Latin American country, you can do an apartment. No one speaks English in Medellin. Otherwise, you might try the Mansion for a few days. The real value the Mansion provides is helping you get oriented, introducing you to some girls and casa tours.

[Old Parr]

It really blows my mind when people are too chicken shit to go to a country where they can't speak the language. I've been to 49 countries and I sure as hell don't speak 49 languages. I've gotten by. He could show up with a phrase book plus some of the sex slang from this forum and have a good time. That's if he has any balls.

What are you speaking about as it is obvious you do not speak 49 languages, but you can communicate in most of the countries you have been to I can assure you that with you Spanish and English skills, as well as the other languages that you have some knowledge of. You most certainly are not clueless like so many on the ISG, and as much as you have traveled you have learned to communicate with the people in some manner, and I am sure the Dickhead is not bringing out a google translator.

[Old Parr]

If someone isn't willing to make some effort to communicate, they should just stay home.

Thank you as you definitely get it!

[JjBee62]

It really blows my mind when people are too chicken shit to go to a country where they can't speak the language. I've been to 49 countries and I sure as hell don't speak 49 languages. I've gotten by. He could show up with a phrase book plus some of the sex slang from this forum and have a good time. That's if he has any balls.

I think both of you have a point. You don't need to master the language to enjoy the country. Just put Google Translate on your phone and try to pick up a few of the basics and you can get by.

However, there are plenty (especially my fellow Americans) who act offended when the people in a foreign country don't understand English. As if the whole country should learn another language to accommodate one tourist.

If someone isn't willing to make some effort to communicate, they should just stay home.

[Surfer500]

Best way to minimize problems with the Policia is to not do anything illegal or might even appear to be illegal at first glance. As far as your passport in your room, it doesn't matter if you have all your luggage and your pet carrying a bag of fruit, sorry officer "my passport is guarded at my hotel" . If they want to arrest you for something or suspicion of something, they will. Furthermore, the department has incentives to make captures by rewarding officers with a day off.

The question raised had to do about identity, of course a gringo would be stupid to do anything illegal or act stupid which is the obvious. I'm not aware of what the law is regarding visitors to Colombia and what kind of ID is required to be in their possession, but have seen the police checking ID's of locals which are called "cedulas" and actually checking their in Country database of people.

Therefore it would be wise for visitors to carry ID with them at all times as the Police might consider this to be "illegal" and problematic just as it would be for the locals. The police are also aware that there are a lot of pickpockets and thieves in Medellin that not only target gringos but Paisas as well and would understand why a visitor would not want to carry their original Passport on them.

[Hasideas Tao]

Best way to minimize problems with the Policia is to not do anything illegal or might even appear to be illegal at first glance. As far as your passport in your room, it doesn't matter if you have all your luggage and your pet carrying a bag of fruit, sorry officer "my passport is guarded at my hotel" . If they want to arrest you for something or suspicion of something, they will. Furthermore, the department has incentives to make captures by rewarding officers with a day off.

The best way to minimize problems with the policia is to carry a color copy of your passport along with a photocopy of your entry stamp into the country with you at all times. If they ask where the original is tell them it is in your safe deposit box in your hotel because you don't want it stolen. Then offer them to go with you to your hotel and you will show them the original. This is what I did the only time I got stopped at 2 in the morning and they said OK no problem.

[EstebanH]

It really blows my mind when people come to a country and cannot even communicate with the people. I could understand it if for example if you were an English speaking person and going to for example Puerto Vallarta or Cancun, Mexico, because there are at least some people who understand the English language because of the American and Canadian tourism, but to go to a country like Colombia where very very few people have any knowledge of the English language, and not be able to communicate at all blows my mind away. Why not go to somewhere you can at least carry on a half ass conversation? It just makes no sense what so ever to me. If you want to visit a country that is not native to your language at least learn to speak the language in a conversational sense.

Most of us in the USA were never taught a second language. We are late to the game. I have been studying Spanish for five years now. Its really, really difficult to learn a new language unless you are immersed and can take formal lessons. Most of us have to work. We come down for a little fun and we can get along just fine with Taco Bell Spanish, thank you.

[Lefeu]

...Got up the next day and first place I went was Energy Massage near Estadio. I was there 2 years ago and saw 2 beauties. This time was different. There was a large lineup of 15 to 18 girls but only one that was decent. I would give her a 7. 5. Literally the others were not good. Girls must be eating a lot more McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts since I was there 2 years ago. Girl was fine. Nothing great. 140 k pesos for an hour.

Late that night I went to Fase Dos. Not a lot of beauties but there were at least 3 that were very nice. One in particular with a flawless face and a body that was perfect. Great boobs, solid stomach. Great service and very relaxing 180 k pesos. I like this place. It's small enough to feel intimate. And the people were friendly. Been there many times...

I like Medellin. I think this was my 8th or 9th time. Weather is like Spring. Area around Parque Lleras has very nice, cool, hip restaurants, shops, coffee bars, regular bars. Shaded streets make it cooler. I will be back to Medellin soon.

Nice report! I had the same experience at Energy, at times plenty of talent, and at other times not much different from New Life. At least the latter has a bigger line up, easier to find one or two decent looking.

[Dickhead]

It really blows my mind when people come to a country and cannot even communicate with the people. I could understand it if for example if you were an English speaking person and going to for example Puerto Vallarta or Cancun, Mexico, because there are at least some people who understand the English language because of the American and Canadian tourism, but to go to a country like Colombia where very very few people have any knowledge of the English language, and not be able to communicate at all blows my mind away. Why not go to somewhere you can at least carry on a half ass conversation? It just makes no sense what so ever to me. If you want to visit a country that is not native to your language at least learn to speak the language in a conversational sense.

It really blows my mind when people are too chicken shit to go to a country where they can't speak the language. I've been to 49 countries and I sure as hell don't speak 49 languages. I've gotten by. He could show up with a phrase book plus some of the sex slang from this forum and have a good time. That's if he has any balls.

[Mr Enternational]

If they were looking for over-stayers, why wouldn't they just wait until they try to cross a border instead of in front of a casa?

Makes no sense that immigration would be waiting outside of casa's to check on gringos.

Because just like here in Thailand there are overstayers that have been here for years with no intention of going to a border anytime soon. But one thing is for sure, sooner or later they will be trying to go get some pussy!

[Jebapaf]

Arrived last week on May 19th. Got in late on a JetBlue flight. Hit the Maloka hostel (private room) in Parque Lleras. Great location. Room was not good. I knew it didn't have AC but the room was very humid and had a musty smell all 3 nights. Bed was hard. Shower would not hold a temperature and would literally go from hot to cold on it's own depending if water was being used somewhere else in the hotel. The bright side is that it was relatively quiet in my room. The location is great and you get breakfast (eggs, toast, coffee, juice).

Got up the next day and first place I went was Energy Massage near Estadio. I was there 2 years ago and saw 2 beauties. This time was different. There was a large lineup of 15 to 18 girls but only one that was decent. I would give her a 7. 5. Literally the others were not good. Girls must be eating a lot more McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts since I was there 2 years ago. Girl was fine. Nothing great. 140 k pesos for an hour.

Late that night I went to Fase Dos. Not a lot of beauties but there were at least 3 that were very nice. One in particular with a flawless face and a body that was perfect. Great boobs, solid stomach. Great service and very relaxing 180 k pesos. I like this place. It's small enough to feel intimate. And the people were friendly. Been there many times.

The next day I hit New Life downtown on Calle 56. Lots of girls. 2 that I really liked. Sofia and I forget the name of the other. Sofia was great. Fun. Smiling. $10 extra for uncovered BJ. Well worth the money.

That night I tried La Isla Club. It's up on the top of the mountain at Las Palmas. Very big place inside. Did not feel intimate to me. I waited for girls to come out. I literally saw one beauty and the rest was completely not interested in. I might go back here again in the future but it's so spacious inside that it doesn't feel personal to me. I was told girls were 200 k to 300 k with room. I left without buying.

Next day I hit Fase Dos at night again. Don't even think of getting to these strip clubs until at least 11:00 pm. They are dead until then. Saw my beauty from the other night but she was busy. I tried another tall very built girl. Not bad. I liked the first one better but not bad. Went home.

Next day I hit New Life again. It was a Sunday and my 2 good looking girls from the other day were not there. Picked a girl that looked like an 8 with shirt on. Was a 7 with shirt off. Not bad. Pleasant. Easy to talk to. Done. Most massage places are closed on Sunday so plan accordingly.

Stayed 3 nights at Maloka Hostel. Stayed last 2 nights at Novelty Suites Hotel next to Oviedo mall in Poblado. Last minute reservations got me a room for an average of $55 per night with a great breakfast buffet in the mornings. Like this hotel a lot. It seems that last minute reservations always seem to be cheaper than advanced ones at this hotel.

Sunday morning they close off the main street through Poblado for 2 or 3 miles and let joggers, bikers, pet walkers, etc. Have the road for at least 5 or 6 hours. Highly recommend walking this road on Sunday mornings. Fresh fruit on side of road, Fresh squeezed orange juice, lemonade, etc. Very pleasant.

I like Medellin. I think this was my 8th or 9th time. Weather is like Spring. Area around Parque Lleras has very nice, cool, hip restaurants, shops, coffee bars, regular bars. Shaded streets make it cooler. I will be back to Medellin soon.

[Tomasb]

This 'problem' is much ado about nothing. If a country requires an exit flight then simply book a flight with United, who will reserve your flight with their airline or another Star-Alliance member. Print out the ticket to show the agent. Once its booked, you have 24 hours to cancel it with no charge. Other airlines may have same cancellation policy but not sure.

I had to do this for the Philippines last year when I was still at SFO airport at the ticket counter with Eva Air, the Taiwanese airline. I reserved my outbound on line and showed the electronic version of ticket to the airline agent. Worked fine though make sure your outbound flight date falls within your visa stay limit.

Almost every country requires an onward ticket, but it is rarely checked upon. The IATA site has this information somewhere for each country. I found it on the Avianca website once also. You can also try the https://travel.state.gov/content/pas...n/country.html website. I didn't have an onward ticket for about 1/2 of the 20 or so countries I flew in and through the last year and half. The Dominican Republic required proof, and I think the other one that bothered me was Guyana. Peru is supposed to do this also, but I luckily had an onward ticket.

I will fly to Bogota this Sunday from Mexico City. And I don't have a ticket leaving Colombia. I'll be prepared to buy a ticket if needed. Flying to Aruba or Curacao from Medellin and Bogota is cheap, and makes a nice trip. I'm actually going to bring a Colombian chica with me to Aruba anyways. Aruba and Curacao hasn't required a visa for Colombians since last December, and a round trip ticket is only $252 right now. They can also can go to most places in Europe (Schengen area). I'm going to go to Brazil probably in about a month while there isn't a visa required. But, I'm guessing they will be strict on the departing flight.

But. I have bought a ticket once for a Colombian college girl to see me in Cancun last year, and immigration sent her back on the next plane to Colombia. I brought a different Colombian chica with me to Cancun after that and we were drilled and had our baggage searched, then set free. I bought tickets for the same lady to see me in Guatemala, no visa required for Colombians. But immigration was going to send he back to Colombia, but luckily she convinced an immigration officer to go meet me near the airport exit. He looked at my passport, then he went back and let my lady thorough.

So, laws are laws, but they aren't being followed. If you want to see where your future Colombian wife-to-be can fly with you, just search for "Visa Requirements for Colombian Citizens Wiki" You can do this for other countries as well.

I don't know if this is legit, but I just seen a website that will let you "rent" an onward ticket for 48 hours, cost $9. 99 https://flyonward.com/en/ I guess it books you a ticket and cancels it in 48 hours. Another website lets you print fake tickets, but if they actually check in the system like they did to me in Puerto Rico, a fake printed ticket won't work. It might work for an immigration officer just wanting to see some papers. Here is that site http://www.returnflights.net/.

Another thing that is sure is if you fly to Costa Rica from countries listed as high risk for Yellow Fever they will require proof before leaving. Last year I had a ticket to go from Medellin to Costa Rica via Bogota, and the airline in Bogota would not let me on the plane without my proof of a yellow fever shot. I ended up going back to Medellin where I started from. I think they gave me the flight back to Medellin free. I can't remember.

[James Dandy]

You must be either used to getting ripped off or a special sort of stupid. I travel all over the world. Not one to put up with getting ripped off. My attitude was simple, I was done and ready to leave, and ready to pay my tab. Not ready to pay the gringo rate. They didn't straighten out shit. 'I' straightened it out by showing the time on the card.

So it got straightened out like I said, why are you still crying about it? Just stay home if $3 wrecks your entire month.

Perhaps you have 'idiot' stamped on your forehead and that's why they tried screwing you over? As I stated before, my friends and I have never had a problem at NL, nor at any other casa for that matter. Good luck with your attitude, it's working wonders so far.

Maybe it was the casa's way of telling you not to come back? I don't think so, since they agreed to your protest and made it right, only for you to come here and whine incessantly about it. What was their point in making the customer whole for you to treat them like that in return? You could have just explained what happened and that in the end it was corrected, instead you accuse them of thievery and suggest everybody was in on it. For a well traveled guy, they sure took you for a fool!

[Surfer500]

It has nothing to do with the USA. It has everything to do with the laws of the country that you are entering. If the airline lets you through without an exiting ticket and that country's rules say you need to be out of the country by a certain date because of your type of visa, then they will be fined along with footing the bill of sending you back if need be. So they must verify that you will be leaving the country on a certain date by way of your ticket out. I am not sure if the DR or Colombia requires you to have an exiting ticket, but I can 100% tell you that the Philippines does no matter what country you are entering from. You will not step on that plane without showing them something. So it is not about being an asshole. The airline could give a shit about where you go or how long you are staying there. But what they do give a shit about is not being fined because they let you on the plane without the proper documents; in this case a ticket out of that country if that is what their rules dictate.

You are 100 % correct about the Philippines. I had a one way ticket from Bangkok on one airline to Manila and a one way ticket on another airline out of the Country. I had to produce a copy of the E-ticket out of the country before they would let me board the plane.

[Surfer500]

Makes no sense at all. If they were looking for young VENEZUELAN GIRLS, why would they check 6 AMERICAN MEN who step out of 2 taxis? They never came inside of the casa. They were looking for overstayers.

If they were looking for over-stayers, why wouldn't they just wait until they try to cross a border instead of in front of a casa?

It sounds as though they may have been looking for something else, didn't find it, and when the gringos showed up they decided to check on them as they had nothing else to do.

Makes no sense that immigration would be waiting outside of casa's to check on gringos.

Just my two cents.