Medellin Reports

[Vitrea]

1) there was no such thing as Corona app for me.

You are expected to register with CO migration on the "Check-mig" link.

https://apps.migracioncolombia.gov.c...reregistro.jsf

No big deal if you don't do this. They will pull you the side and do it for you in Medellin. Takes 10 minutes extra. I was one of the first ones to get off the plane and got out in 15 minutes with them filling the form for me.

You have to do the same form on the return and I did it on the phone while I was line to get into passport check. The guard there even helped me couple of steps. He watched me do it so came over and looked over my shoulder gently advising me whenever I paused doubtfully. For the return, you don't have to upload PCR.

2) Leaving FLL, I showed PCR result (in the email from the lab) to Spirit people before boarding. They were sending people back if it did not say PCR on the lab result. Some folks were crying. My friend who came on American 5 days later said, American did not check to see if it says PCR or not on it. As long as it does not say, antibody test, you are good to go.

3) Showed PCR to the immigration officer. Also on the phone. No printed copy. Could not have been easier, considering I was dreading it. I went on the 21st. Migration officer told me ours was the second flight.

I saw the same thing. No hookers in sight.

Thanks for the inforation on the departure. You guys when they say get to the airport 3 hours before an international flight and 2 hours before a domestic one? I usually do 90 minutes international and 60 domestic, but this time really do the 2,3 hour thing especially in Colombia.

CL said they checked his flight info, and they do that for Americans but what the long line outside of the airport really is for is to check to make sure Colombians have the corona app on their phones. The Corona app does not work with American phone numbers. You tell the authorities what hotel you are staying at but you can literally go anywhere.

The notion that countries like Colombia did not take Corona seriously is a joke. Colombia has taken the virus way more seriously than Mexico or the USA, and it is still raging. This finding just re-emphasized to me that all generalized lockdowns do is destroy economies. IMO the shame of it all is that so much of the energy is misdirected. All this emphasis on hand washing and sanitizer when the virus is spread through the air kind of irked me.

Just smile and politely deal with the bossy security personnel in front of every hotel. They are treating everyone like shit not just you. LOL.

Hotels are using Corona to charge guest fees for anyone you bring into a hotel. When I say guest fees, I mean they will charge you like the guest has to have her own room. I do not know about love hotels, but if you cannot register a guest upfront, look at going to cheaper hotels for short term hookups or maybe look to airbnb.

As for getting your PCR test, instead of booking from one city direct to Colombia, I booked two separate tickets on Spirit: one to Fort Lauderdale and one to Colombia the next day. In Lauderdale, I rented a car and went to labdoctor. Org and prepaid the $179 for the PCR Covid. I went there at 4 PM to get tested. They have a way to send you results via email or text but I think I entered my information too late. So I had to go back to the clinic at 8 AM and have the results printed out by hand. The nurse assured me that they would have results before my flight, and they did.

I used my phone to take a picture. I then googled how to convert a jpg to pdf online and then googled how to compress a PDF file. The PCR Covid test has to be small to be uploaded. You will get a confirmatory email from the Colombian government. That email will be needed when you enter Colombia.

Last I checked, Spirit has flights to multiple cities in Colombia, Viva is flying to Medellin from Miami, and American is now flying to Cartagena.

Needing two masks on the flight was not enforced. There was no meal or beverage service on the flight so stock up before hand.

[Vitrea]

Valid question based on what we all read in media. I am not worried.

You don't worry about Covid? What about when banging 15 different girls, isn't there a risk? These chicas aren't tested regularly--I wonder how many are positive and spreading to each other and anyone they get paid to fool around with. Not worried about covid in a restaurant? Or in a casa? I wonder how many people are going to Colombia--and coming back with Covid--and how many of those will have a bad reaction.

Everything we study at work about this and everything I read seems much more serious than it seems reports like this indicate. I am happy it worked out for you--and now I hope you have no symptoms of anything in the next 2 weeks.

[ColombiaLover]

I prefer to go for a bit longer, but my attitude is a few days are better than none. From a cost perspective, it's hard to justify. But these trips relax me. And, of course, I'm flying from Florida, so the time and cost involved is not as much as for others coming from other parts of USA (or the world).

Very helpful report Colombialvr as I was curious about the lleras area. I could never see traveling for such a short stay though but I guess work requires you back.

.

[MarquisdeSade1]

I appreciate the reply, I accidentally scrolled past it earlier because there was a bunch of church / priest banter here LOL, and I missed the post.

That's quite a great background of travel adventures man, hope you make it there soon in time for your bday celebrations.

"Pretty dead"? The place is devastated.

Sure hope I don't have to postpone further.

[Gringo Trooper]

I have 3 flights booked for Oct I keep rescheduling them, issues with work and issues with the airports opening

I appreciate the reply, I accidentally scrolled past it earlier because there was a bunch of church / priest banter here LOL, and I missed the post.

That's quite a great background of travel adventures man, hope you make it there soon in time for your bday celebrations.

[Surfer500]

.CL said they checked his flight info, and they do that for Americans but what the long line outside of the airport really is for is to check to make sure Colombians have the corona app on their phones. The Corona app does not work with American phone numbers. You tell the authorities what hotel you are staying at but you can literally go anywhere..

Can you please clarify this. Specifically, are you saying that the Corona App does not work on American phone numbers, or did you mean to say it only works with Colombian phone numbers. This is confusing as I thought it was Internet based as I can download it to my Iphone from the App store.

The reason I bring this up is because I don't want Big Brother following me around, albeit my I phone stays locked up.

Please shed more light on this.

[Osteoknot]

You don't worry about Covid? What about when banging 15 different girls, isn't there a risk? These chicas aren't tested regularly--I wonder how many are positive and spreading to each other and anyone they get paid to fool around with. Not worried about covid in a restaurant? Or in a casa? I wonder how many people are going to Colombia--and coming back with Covid--and how many of those will have a bad reaction.

Everything we study at work about this and everything I read seems much more serious than it seems reports like this indicate. I am happy it worked out for you--and now I hope you have no symptoms of anything in the next 2 weeks.

Jjajajajajaa.

[SpiderRider]

1) I went to Lleras last night. Place was pretty dead. While discos don't open until November, Lleras Town and Beer Store were open and were both pretty full. Lleras Town closed at 1.

". pretty dead"? The place is devastated.

[Sandymnn]

When are you going down to Colombia?

You can learn a basic understanding of Spanish if you download a program like Pimsleur.

Since, you have traveled all over the world, it sounds like you have street smarts, which obviously helps.

I'm am like you, in the sense that we both stick out like sore thumbs.

If I go to a seedy area, I usually just wear a hat, but either way, they will see your gringo-ness no matter what.

Bucaramanga would be a great place to visit. I've met chicas on tinder (non-pro's) that live there and they are eager for extranjero visitors.

I have a lady friend that lives in Riohacha, that city is a dump in my opinion.

However, I second the other gentleman's suggestion. Study a bit of Spanish. There are quite a few places in Manazales which have English speaking, expat, owners. Not sure how well you will do with absolutely no Spanish, since I speak Spanish. English is not widespread here.

The countryside is breath taking, and once you see how much work goes into growing, harvesting, and processing coffee, you will never complain again about the price.

[Member #4665]

I like small towns whether in Mexico Russia or Deutschland.

Which small-town did you like in Germany?

[MarquisdeSade1]

Probably the number one indicator of a malicious Chica, whether it be a street walker, a Tinder Girl, or a Fay-Boo girl is if they are extremely aggressive, that's a very bad sign indeed raising red flags, and when I encounter a Chica like this, like one in El Centro who after 30 seconds pushes hard to go to the room, I pass as typically it's going to be a bad session, rushed, and whatever was agreed to balked at once in the room.

I typically give them the middle finger in their face and walk away, they are just hunting the weak.

I'm guessing the chances all will go well are at best 0%.

For lack of more familiar terms.

There are alpha mongers and beta mongers.

Conversely there are want to be alpha hookers and beta hookers.

They all tend to seek out their polar opposites, at least typically.

[Elvis 2008]

I'm at the airport now. Heading home to work for a few weeks before I return in later October for another round. A few comments.

1) I went to Lleras last night. Place was pretty dead. While discos don't open until November, Lleras Town and Beer Store were open and were both pretty full. Lleras Town closed at 1.

I saw the same thing. No hookers in sight.

2) Airport. Do not be one of those last minute gringos. Get there earlier. You will wait in line outside to have your flight information checked. Then you'll get your temperature tested and be offered (or asked to use) hand sanitizer. The guy was nice and did it for me, but it took some time. SO BE SURE YOU COMPLETE THE FORM UPON ENTRY AND UPON EXIT. Not much open in the airport. Beyond migracion, Guy's burgers was open, but the other restaurants were closed.

Thanks for the inforation on the departure. You guys when they say get to the airport 3 hours before an international flight and 2 hours before a domestic one? I usually do 90 minutes international and 60 domestic, but this time really do the 2,3 hour thing especially in Colombia.

CL said they checked his flight info, and they do that for Americans but what the long line outside of the airport really is for is to check to make sure Colombians have the corona app on their phones. The Corona app does not work with American phone numbers. You tell the authorities what hotel you are staying at but you can literally go anywhere.

The notion that countries like Colombia did not take Corona seriously is a joke. Colombia has taken the virus way more seriously than Mexico or the USA, and it is still raging. This finding just re-emphasized to me that all generalized lockdowns do is destroy economies. IMO the shame of it all is that so much of the energy is misdirected. All this emphasis on hand washing and sanitizer when the virus is spread through the air kind of irked me.

Just smile and politely deal with the bossy security personnel in front of every hotel. They are treating everyone like shit not just you. LOL.

Hotels are using Corona to charge guest fees for anyone you bring into a hotel. When I say guest fees, I mean they will charge you like the guest has to have her own room. I do not know about love hotels, but if you cannot register a guest upfront, look at going to cheaper hotels for short term hookups or maybe look to airbnb.

As for getting your PCR test, instead of booking from one city direct to Colombia, I booked two separate tickets on Spirit: one to Fort Lauderdale and one to Colombia the next day. In Lauderdale, I rented a car and went to labdoctor. Org and prepaid the $179 for the PCR Covid. I went there at 4 PM to get tested. They have a way to send you results via email or text but I think I entered my information too late. So I had to go back to the clinic at 8 AM and have the results printed out by hand. The nurse assured me that they would have results before my flight, and they did.

I used my phone to take a picture. I then googled how to convert a jpg to pdf online and then googled how to compress a PDF file. The PCR Covid test has to be small to be uploaded. You will get a confirmatory email from the Colombian government. That email will be needed when you enter Colombia.

Last I checked, Spirit has flights to multiple cities in Colombia, Viva is flying to Medellin from Miami, and American is now flying to Cartagena.

Needing two masks on the flight was not enforced. There was no meal or beverage service on the flight so stock up before hand.

[Just Incognito]

Like most of you here, I was desperate to get back to MDE. I booked and they cancelled multiple flights. I was getting frustrated and booked a trip to GDL Mexico. Two days before travel, September 21 opening was confirmed. I could not find a ticket to MDE so I booked through BOG but on the day of flight one ticket opened up on Spirit (X 4 the original ticket price plus change fees) but will all COVID hassle I figured I would rather go direct to MDE and I am glad I did. It has already been well described here what is needed to get into CO so I won't rehash. It was smooth and no issues with migration. *Just do your online registration 24 hours before and don't wait till last minute. *.

Life is slow but not dead. I actually enjoyed the reduced traffic. Many restaurants are closed but there are enough open and some bars are open. I did not venture out to bars but spent almost every evening with my dates in the hotel roof top bar, which was awesome. I realized how much I missed the lovely weather, city views and sharing music / Gin and tonics with sweet paisas before getting into a hot jacuzzi couple of floors down or the pool. I split my stay between a house with a three bedroom unit and private heated pool (with two other friends) and a new modern hotel in the heart of Provenza with amazing views (alone). I find very few Provenza options with views so I am happy to find this. Both places were very good in their way..

You don't worry about Covid? What about when banging 15 different girls, isn't there a risk? These chicas aren't tested regularly--I wonder how many are positive and spreading to each other and anyone they get paid to fool around with. Not worried about covid in a restaurant? Or in a casa? I wonder how many people are going to Colombia--and coming back with Covid--and how many of those will have a bad reaction.

Everything we study at work about this and everything I read seems much more serious than it seems reports like this indicate. I am happy it worked out for you--and now I hope you have no symptoms of anything in the next 2 weeks.

[Vitrea]

Like most of you here, I was desperate to get back to MDE. I booked and they cancelled multiple flights. I was getting frustrated and booked a trip to GDL Mexico. Two days before travel, September 21 opening was confirmed. I could not find a ticket to MDE so I booked through BOG but on the day of flight one ticket opened up on Spirit (X 4 the original ticket price plus change fees) but will all COVID hassle I figured I would rather go direct to MDE and I am glad I did. It has already been well described here what is needed to get into CO so I won't rehash. It was smooth and no issues with migration. *Just do your online registration 24 hours before and don't wait till last minute. *.

Life is slow but not dead. I actually enjoyed the reduced traffic. Many restaurants are closed but there are enough open and some bars are open. I did not venture out to bars but spent almost every evening with my dates in the hotel roof top bar, which was awesome. I realized how much I missed the lovely weather, city views and sharing music / Gin and tonics with sweet paisas before getting into a hot jacuzzi couple of floors down or the pool. I split my stay between a house with a three bedroom unit and private heated pool (with two other friends) and a new modern hotel in the heart of Provenza with amazing views (alone). I find very few Provenza options with views so I am happy to find this. Both places were very good in their way.

Mongering: I don't do centro casas anymore. One friend wanted to go to casas so we did one afternoon. I contacted Energy (used to be my favourite Casa) on whatsapp and they said they had 10 working. We took a taxi there and none impressed us so we left. One buddy knew of a Casa in a 10 floor residential building in the general Estadio area. It was bit of a hassle to get in, Porteo logging in our IDs etc and had to wait at the door for like 15 minutes, elevator malfunction so we had to walk up six floors but there were three cute friendly girls for the three of us. Very Nice bodies and decent faces. 130,000 CBJ and 150,000 BBJ. Showers with hot water. In fact both my friends got numbers from their girls and saw them again at our hotel. That is telling in itself.

I did two to three sessions a day. I don't do street. I used to do Fase but they are closed. La Isla is open but I did not go. I don't see a need for clubs but I do enjoy the high energy atmosphere and the vibe of hanging out with friends.

I don't use Tinder.

I am mainly an FB guy but for the last couple of years it is almost 100%, friends of girls I know. I pay comission to each girl that sends me so I never find myself short on availability, even close to midnight. More importantly, having mutual contacts is way more secure than a random online contact. I had 15 dates in 6 days and some of the girls I saw twice.

Return back to MIA, flight was delayed by nearly 2 hours but with Global Entry, I was able to make my connection. No questions asked.

I have already booked my trip for October. Hope CO does not change the rules and will keep up the pace of opening. I wear a mask, stay hydrated, wash hands frequently and take my vitamins and don't worry about COVID. Have fun and stay safe.

[Blakman]

Very helpful report Colombialvr as I was curious about the lleras area. I could never see traveling for such a short stay though but I guess work requires you back.

I'm at the airport now. Heading home to work for a few weeks before I return in later October for another round. A few comments.

1) I went to Lleras last night. Place was pretty dead. While discos don't open until November, Lleras Town and Beer Store were open and were both pretty full. Lleras Town closed at 1.

2) Airport. Do not be one of those last minute gringos. Get there earlier. You will wait in line outside to have your flight information checked. Then you'll get your temperature tested and be offered (or asked to use) hand sanitizer. The Spirit line was pretty slow, but that may have been because there were a bunch of gringos who spoke zero Spanish. Geez. Could not even pronounce the word for bathroom! I discovered that I was supposed to complete the information on the Colombia migration page again. The guy was nice and did it for me, but it took some time. SO BE SURE YOU COMPLETE THE FORM UPON ENTRY AND UPON EXIT. Not much open in the airport. Beyond migracion, Guy's burgers was open, but the other restaurants were closed.

Gringos leaving today included a big group of brothers. Probably around 30's. And a few of the stereotypical middle aged gringos.

3) Saw my high school girl again on Sunday and then went out with an old favorite on Sunday night for a few drinks and some fun afterwards.

All in all, a good first trip. Not too crazy. Just getting my rhythm back. As I said in another post, everyone seems to be doing a good job of social distancing and wearing masks in public. Did not "feel" unsafe where I was.

.