Cartagena Reports

[AmorPorFavor]

That's one way to look at it. Although Mojo Bandit already did an excellent job of explaining it, I'll give my take.

"Hi! Tell me everything I need to know to have a great time in Thailand."

Every active board gets some post like that from time to time. Where do you start? You know nothing about me. You don't know what I consider to be a great time. Maybe a BJ bar in the morning and a Soapie in the early evening is just right for me. Maybe I'm a Soi Cowboy kind of guy. Maybe I should be looking at Phuket. We have had guys in the Medellin thread ask if the beach is within walking distance.

I've helped a lot of people in the Colombia forum (and pissed some off) and for me the best response to a generic post from a new member is "Read the Forum." I don't often use RTFF because I prefer to be polite when I'm not actively pissing someone off.

Give me something to work with. Do you understand that most people won't speak English? Do you understand that you can't pay for everything with Dollars? Have you ever mongered before? Have you ever traveled internationally before?

I will bend over backwards and give the shirt off my back to help some guy out (sorry about the sweat), but you've got to be willing to do something on your own. Otherwise, everything I've done is worthless.

Cartagena might not be for you. Someone can give you all the information they think you need to know, but it turns out you wanted a place with a climate like Medellin.

RTFF does one more thing. Every forum has a few guys who don't always give the best advice. Unless you read the forum you don't know the good guys from the bad guys. The first guy I met in Medellin probably should have been told RTFF. Instead a couple of guys told him he needed to stay in El Centro. I suggested he should spend a few days at the Mansion, get a feel for the place then decide whether or not El Centro was right for him.

If I remember right he lost several days worth of the room in El Centro, which he'd prepaid, because he only spent one night there. First thing in the morning he was lucky enough to get a room at the Mansion and he spent the rest of his trip there, loving every minute.

RTFF. It helps you decide if you're going to the right city or the right country.

RTFF. It helps identify who can best help you.

RTFF. It fills in the small gaps in your knowledge.

RTFF. It shows you're taking responsibility for the success of your trip.

RTFF. It shows you respect the efforts of everyone who has contributed.

I took my first trip to Cartagena last January. I spent a lot of time with two different chicas that a tout who was a very cool cat from Venezuela hooked me up with. Took them out to eat and to Playa Blanca and wifed up with one for 3 days and nights. Stayed in a luxury oceanfront condo tower. It was like a honeymoon. Both chicas were very chill and also beautiful and young. I had such an incredible time that when I got home I immediately booked another trip for late April but of course the covid cancelled that for me. I can't wait to get back there when things improve. I spent many hours RTFF before the trip and it was very helpful so many thanks to the Cartagena experts on this forum.

[Mojo Bandit]

Can anyone share info on the mongering scene in Cart for some newcomers such as airbnb locations, chica spots, etc.

Since these cats are being jerks, I'll help you out my friend. Anyone trying to get laid is a friend of mines. There is a beach scene during the day in Bocagrande. Its called Hollywood Beach. You have to walk close to the water to see the talent. Pay as you go because the guys will pad your bill. There the main square in the Old City that happens at night. Space and Dulce Vida are to main night clubs, with Isis right across the street from Dulce Vida. All the cab drivers will try to get you to go to a couple of the strip clubs. We went once to one called Playclub. Didn't like it but you may. As for Airbnb, forget Morros City and just ask the owners if they allow visitors. I was just told that right now, many of the Airbnbs are not allowing visitors to the buildings because of covid. Hope this helps. If you read back to before March, you will get some good intel from here.

To the dude asking a simple question for info Imp not there yet, but have been vigorously researching. You always get the RTFF from folks, which to me is shorthand for either rudeness, laziness or total lack of knowledge. Its rare that we see the infamous RTFF on the Thai forums, people enjoy sharing over there.

My research, including the proverbial RThisFF, leads me to tell you that the above info is correct.

Living wise depends on your budget and your desires. If you are a beach bum, the Boacgrande seems to be the place to be. I think my intital trip will be for two months, so Ill get a discount somewhere. I'm looking at Bocangrande and the Old City for places. I wouldn't bother reserving a place anywhere in the world right now, things will change as the vaccinations start. I'm sort of in limbo right now too so its just a waiting game until after the holidays.

One more observation / suggestion concerning my last post. Should someone actually go to Cartagena and start actually exploring things related to the Cartagena List and the Cartagena Map, you should know that it's not as up to date as it could be though much of it does not change. Also you should know that Cartagena has sketchy areas and some of the places on the Cartagena Map are in not so "nice" an area so depending on your own comfort level and experience, you may want to stick to the touristy and safer areas.

The areas generally considered safe are these barrios / neighborhoods: inside the walled city, some times called to Old City, are two neighborhoods Centro and San Diego, Centro makes up the southwest area of the walled city and is where the "clock tower", Dolce Vida, and Space are. The other neighborhood inside the walled city in the northeast part is San Diego. Just to the south of San Diego outside the wall is a very small area called Matuna, which is shaped like a triangle and only like a building/block wide at its southwest end and two or three blocks wide on the northeast side. Going farther south on the other side of Matuna is a neighborhood called Getsemani which when I started going to Cartagena over a decade ago was so sketchy I would not venture there at night, but just last year Forbes magazine called Getsemani one of the ten coolest neighborhoods in the world. I included an image of the Old City

South of the Old City connected to the land by an isthmus leading to what on the map looks like a peninsula with another peninsula sticking off of it are actually three neighborhoods that make up the extreme southwest of Cartagena , The largest is Bocagrande and it has the most beachfront and a number of high rise buildings housing hotels and airbnbs to rent and that look out over the ocean. To the far southwest of this peninsula with a peninsula sticking off it wrapped around a the southwest side of a little lake is the small area called El Laguito which is home to more than a couple of chica-friendly buildings and so a few mongers end up staying in this little area. There are also out of town prostitutes who stay in buildings in Laguito and it happens in spurts but sometimes there are streetwalkers there. My very first night ever in Cartagena and I had met a girl on line and she had came over to the apartment ,I had to pop out to get condoms and as soon as I exited I walked out of my apartment and this chica walks up to me who is gorgeous, she looked like a young Vanessa Williams (Miss America 1984 for yu young guys) and wanted to offer me "nude Massage". I am pretty sure there was a pack of venezuelan chicas working Laguito last year but I never hit on them because I was shacking up with a little hottie most of that trip. The peninsula sticking off the peninsula is neighborhood called Castillo Grande which is essentially more high rise residential buildings and not an area I personally would look for a chica-friendly apartment.

Other areas that are safe. There is a neighborhood accessible by a bridge across the lagoon at the southeast corner of Getsemani the bridge crosses the Laguna de San Lazaro called Manga which is quiet and residential and just like Castillogrande, not a place I would think to look for a chica friendly apartment. Northeast of the Old City the road/highway runs along the ocean heading to the airport and this strip of land is bounded by intercoastal water to southeast and the ocean to northwest and this area has been coming along over the last few years, nicer hotels along the beach area, on up further along that highway that skirts the ocean and when getting closer to the airport the city has even put a park overtop the highway that has a cycling an skating areas and so residents do not have to deal with traffic getting across the street to the beach. I suspect that this area has a nice future for family vacationers but again its not the place I would go looking for chica friendly apartments.

For a general rule of thumb but not necessarily a strict rule, places that are at the western end of the city and have some body of water between them and the mainland, whether it be a strip if intercoastal water or a bay or a lagoon, these are the safer areas. Of course there are exceptions to this, just across the bridge to the northeast leaving Getsemani to reach the mainland is the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas. A huge concrete fort that is a popular tourist attraction and the area immediately surrounding this is safe. There are probably plenty of strada 2,3,4 areas that are fine throughout Cartagena but I can only attest to what I know. FOr people who grew on ghettos areas none of it might be a problem, again it is a matter of what you are comfortable with. I have on occasions gotten in a taxi and ridden to the malls Caribe Plaza Centro Comercial and Centro Comercial Portal de San Felipe, could not find any shoes to fit me because down there I may as well be Shaquille O'Neal. I included an image that circles the touristy areas in red.

In fact in one of those historic moments where you remember where you were when something happened, I had jumped into a taxi at Caribe Plaza and the taxi driver recognized that I was from the USA and he is like real excited and he is going on in Spanish, but at the time my spanish was even more limited than it is now and he was excited and talking fast. I eventually I understood him to be say "Obama killed Osama" you can see why I was confused. In spanish it is "Obama mat a Osama"and said really fast it is ObamaMatoahOsama. Then the same level of excitement from the security guard when I reached the apartment building "ObamaMatoahOsama" he said. It felt good to know that the son of birch Osama was dead but it also felt good that these Colombians felt enough camaraderie with us 'estadounidenses' (Americans from USA) that they were more excited than I was.

So Bocagrande, the Old City, and El Laguito are the main places to search for a chica friendly apartments. El Laguito is farthest from the action in the old city and closest to the beach action on Playa Hollywood and its only fifteen minute average taxi to the Old City. There are strip clubs all over the city but use your own judgement about how you feel about visiting the that particular area.

One last thing, if you see something on the Cartagena Map or in the Cartagena List that looks interesting but not sure if it is still a viable thing, try using the "Search Thread" function in "Cartagena Reports". Just below the banner ads and below where you see the posts numbers and page number before any of the post above where it says "This blog is moderated by Admin' and toward the right side it says Thread Tools and Thread Search. Click on the little arrow to the right of where it says Thread Search and a search box opens. Here you can enter things like the name of a strip club and see how long ago anyone visited.

[JjBee62]

To the dude asking a simple question for info Imp not there yet, but have been vigorously researching. You always get the RTFF from folks, which to me is shorthand for either rudeness, laziness or total lack of knowledge. Its rare that we see the infamous RTFF on the Thai forums, people enjoy sharing over there.

That's one way to look at it. Although Mojo Bandit already did an excellent job of explaining it, I'll give my take.

"Hi! Tell me everything I need to know to have a great time in Thailand."

Every active board gets some post like that from time to time. Where do you start? You know nothing about me. You don't know what I consider to be a great time. Maybe a BJ bar in the morning and a Soapie in the early evening is just right for me. Maybe I'm a Soi Cowboy kind of guy. Maybe I should be looking at Phuket. We have had guys in the Medellin thread ask if the beach is within walking distance.

I've helped a lot of people in the Colombia forum (and pissed some off) and for me the best response to a generic post from a new member is "Read the Forum." I don't often use RTFF because I prefer to be polite when I'm not actively pissing someone off.

Give me something to work with. Do you understand that most people won't speak English? Do you understand that you can't pay for everything with Dollars? Have you ever mongered before? Have you ever traveled internationally before?

I will bend over backwards and give the shirt off my back to help some guy out (sorry about the sweat), but you've got to be willing to do something on your own. Otherwise, everything I've done is worthless.

Cartagena might not be for you. Someone can give you all the information they think you need to know, but it turns out you wanted a place with a climate like Medellin.

RTFF does one more thing. Every forum has a few guys who don't always give the best advice. Unless you read the forum you don't know the good guys from the bad guys. The first guy I met in Medellin probably should have been told RTFF. Instead a couple of guys told him he needed to stay in El Centro. I suggested he should spend a few days at the Mansion, get a feel for the place then decide whether or not El Centro was right for him.

If I remember right he lost several days worth of the room in El Centro, which he'd prepaid, because he only spent one night there. First thing in the morning he was lucky enough to get a room at the Mansion and he spent the rest of his trip there, loving every minute.

RTFF. It helps you decide if you're going to the right city or the right country.

RTFF. It helps identify who can best help you.

RTFF. It fills in the small gaps in your knowledge.

RTFF. It shows you're taking responsibility for the success of your trip.

RTFF. It shows you respect the efforts of everyone who has contributed.

[Mojo Bandit]

Can anyone share info on the mongering scene in Cart for some newcomers such as airbnb locations, chica spots, etc.

Since these cats are being jerks, I'll help you out my friend. Anyone trying to get laid is a friend of mines. There is a beach scene during the day in Bocagrande. Its called Hollywood Beach. You have to walk close to the water to see the talent. Pay as you go because the guys will pad your bill. There the main square in the Old City that happens at night. Space and Dulce Vida are to main night clubs, with Isis right across the street from Dulce Vida. All the cab drivers will try to get you to go to a couple of the strip clubs. We went once to one called Playclub. Didn't like it but you may. As for Airbnb, forget Morros City and just ask the owners if they allow visitors. I was just told that right now, many of the Airbnbs are not allowing visitors to the buildings because of covid. Hope this helps. If you read back to before March, you will get some good intel from here.

To the dude asking a simple question for info Imp not there yet, but have been vigorously researching. You always get the RTFF from folks, which to me is shorthand for either rudeness, laziness or total lack of knowledge. Its rare that we see the infamous RTFF on the Thai forums, people enjoy sharing over there.

My research, including the proverbial RThisFF, leads me to tell you that the above info is correct.

Living wise depends on your budget and your desires. If you are a beach bum, the Boacgrande seems to be the place to be. I think my intital trip will be for two months, so Ill get a discount somewhere. I'm looking at Bocangrande and the Old City for places. I wouldn't bother reserving a place anywhere in the world right now, things will change as the vaccinations start. I'm sort of in limbo right now too so its just a waiting game until after the holidays.

No one is being rude for the sake of being rude and some who have responded about reading the forum are actually more helpful than the hundred other people who just altogether ignore posters who just throw out a general question. The point is that the forum is set up in such a way that people go to these places (Cartagena for example) and have their experiences and then they make a report in the "Cartagena Reports" thread of the Forum. Then others can learn by reading these "reports". It is how it is set up. So no one wants to just keep making their reports over and over so each person that pops up can catch up, nor does anyone want to repeat other peoples reports over and over. That is why RTFF is listed on the front page of the forum. That being said you also have to realize that like I said earlier , with the Coronavirus situation , there are not any recent reports and Cartagena is slow on reports compared to Medellin because A) way more mongers go to Medellin and B) Medellin is a much bigger city with way more scenes to find pay for play pussy of all categories.

In one sense GameTime is correct, Clock Tower Square (Plaza de Los Coches) After around 10pm, the clubs are Dolce Vida, Space and make sure before you book an airbnb that you are allowed to have visitors is all You Need To Know, but its not All There Is To Know.

That being said its also obvious that so many people do not pay attention to the whole forum. They miss out. If you back out of the Cartagena thread and look through the lists of threads in the Colombia section you will see things like "Reports of Distinction" "Cartagena Hotels and Rental Apartments" and "Cartagena Lists". "Cartagena Lists" is extremely helpful if you read the right posts, If you examine the whole Colombia forum there are some absolute heroes on this board. "Cartagena Lists" is where you will find one such hero's post who's moniker is WorldTravel69 not only did WorldTravel69 put together a list but also a custom made Google Map to show people exactly how to get to places and such ( You'll need to go back to 04-11-17 post 491). The amount of info in there is staggering and no way anyone can just pop back to you with short answers and cover everything. So when guys tell you to read the forum they are saying "its all here and read the whole forum, not just this thread or a few posts. There is a lot alot of info but you need to explore. Then you also need to get a membership because some info needs to be shared through private messages.

[Nyezhov]

Since these cats are being jerks, I'll help you out my friend. Anyone trying to get laid is a friend of mines. There is a beach scene during the day in Bocagrande. Its called Hollywood Beach. You have to walk close to the water to see the talent. Pay as you go because the guys will pad your bill. There the main square in the Old City that happens at night. Space and Dulce Vida are to main night clubs, with Isis right across the street from Dulce Vida. All the cab drivers will try to get you to go to a couple of the strip clubs. We went once to one called Playclub. Didn't like it but you may. As for Airbnb, forget Morros City and just ask the owners if they allow visitors. I was just told that right now, many of the Airbnbs are not allowing visitors to the buildings because of covid. Hope this helps. If you read back to before March, you will get some good intel from here.

To the dude asking a simple question for info Imp not there yet, but have been vigorously researching. You always get the RTFF from folks, which to me is shorthand for either rudeness, laziness or total lack of knowledge. Its rare that we see the infamous RTFF on the Thai forums, people enjoy sharing over there.

My research, including the proverbial RThisFF, leads me to tell you that the above info is correct.

Living wise depends on your budget and your desires. If you are a beach bum, the Boacgrande seems to be the place to be. I think my intital trip will be for two months, so Ill get a discount somewhere. I'm looking at Bocangrande and the Old City for places. I wouldn't bother reserving a place anywhere in the world right now, things will change as the vaccinations start. I'm sort of in limbo right now too so its just a waiting game until after the holidays.

[Mojo Bandit]

Can anyone share info on the mongering scene in Cart for some newcomers such as airbnb locations, chica spots, etc.

To repeat what other people have said but more specifics, you need to read the Forum to get your information but since the Coronavirus interrupted the whole world there are barely any usable post since February or March of this year. So you need to go back to about March of 2019 and read up to about March of 2020 to catch up. It seems like a lot of reading but when you start to learn to recognize posts that have information compared to back and forth type posts then it will start to go faster. Since the current situation is not perfectly back to normal you just need to read the last few weeks to catch up.

[Game Time]

Can anyone share info on the mongering scene in Cart for some newcomers such as airbnb locations, chica spots, etc.

Since these cats are being jerks, I'll help you out my friend. Anyone trying to get laid is a friend of mines. There is a beach scene during the day in Bocagrande. Its called Hollywood Beach. You have to walk close to the water to see the talent. Pay as you go because the guys will pad your bill. There the main square in the Old City that happens at night. Space and Dulce Vida are to main night clubs, with Isis right across the street from Dulce Vida. All the cab drivers will try to get you to go to a couple of the strip clubs. We went once to one called Playclub. Didn't like it but you may. As for Airbnb, forget Morros City and just ask the owners if they allow visitors. I was just told that right now, many of the Airbnbs are not allowing visitors to the buildings because of covid. Hope this helps. If you read back to before March, you will get some good intel from here.

[MongerHunger]

Can anyone share info on the mongering scene in Cart for some newcomers such as airbnb locations, chica spots, etc.

You should RTFF!

[Kafka]

Can anyone share info on the mongering scene in Cart for some newcomers such as airbnb locations, chica spots, etc.

I guess you've got a problem reading. ?

This form is full of information but if you're too lazy to actually read anything why should anyone bother.

[Nounce]

You ought to see Bangkok, Phnom Phen and Siem Reap if you want to see floods. Now I'm thinking of flooded Cartagena. What do they say about insanity?

One night it started to rain while I as walking back to El Laguito from Clock Tower. By mid way, the streets were completely flooded.

[Remy316]

I am a 10 year vet of the DR and love it. However flight to CART are very low now and I am curious. I have posted for years on DR forum but know nothing about CART. I have read many of the post here but would appreciate some help for a first time guy I like airbnbs by but not sure what area is best. Thanks in advance for help.

Can anyone share info on the mongering scene in Cart for some newcomers such as airbnb locations, chica spots, etc.

[Kafka]

You ought to see Bangkok, Phnom Phen and Siem Reap if you want to see floods. Now I'm thinking of flooded Cartagena. What do they say about insanity?

It's not a big deal it's a huge party unfortunately some of the businesses get water squashed into them and for the most part it's just fun as usual.

[Nyezhov]

To be fair, the volume of water falling in 30 minutes of storm rain in Cartagena cannot be compared with the rain in Medellin or any other place where most of us are used to live. This is tropical weather. It is true that I have never seen such flooding not only in Singapore, which is organization perfection, but even in the chaotic Batam, where wheater is nearly the same.

You ought to see Bangkok, Phnom Phen and Siem Reap if you want to see floods. Now I'm thinking of flooded Cartagena. What do they say about insanity?

[Game Time]

Some friends and I are thinking of heading back to Cartagena in Feb. Our usual routine was to work the beach, Clock Tower and Dulce Vida. Any improvement on those venues or the general scene in Cartagena? Thanks for any responses.

[Mojo Bandit]

Happens every year, multiple times during rainy season. They don't have proper storm sewers. I saw a few in Bocagrande but for the most part its rain on concrete. I remember a taxi ride into Medellin and the taxi driver commented, "can you imagine if we didn't have a storm sewer system like Cartagena?" That valley would turn into a lake.

To be fair, the volume of water falling in 30 minutes of storm rain in Cartagena cannot be compared with the rain in Medellin or any other place where most of us are used to live. This is tropical weather. It is true that I have never seen such flooding not only in Singapore, which is organization perfection, but even in the chaotic Batam, where wheater is nearly the same.

I agree with both YippieKayay and Black Page. It seems like in Cartagena the rain comes down all at once and their drainage system is horrible / nonexistent. I even read that the reason the beach is so dark looking is because of the soil getting washed into the sand when it rains. I always stay in El Laguito and in one area of the street just up from the building I stay the water comes up over the sidewalks to where you have wade no matter what and you better get out of the way if one of those crazy taxi drives comes down the road too fast or you will get drenched. As for this recent rainfall in Cartagena I read that it is the result of Hurricane Iota passing just north of Cartagena.