Medellin Reports

[Gabacho]

Our good friend and underground reporter Osteoknot shared an idea that hasn't been mentioned. If you book your hotels or apartments with booking.com and have some level of history with them you can get a private car from the airport to your residence free of charge. You will of course tip the driver but there is no fee and you don't pay the airport exit fee or tunnel fee either.

The driver will be outside of customs as you go through and will have your name on a sign.

I speak for everyone here on the Medellin thread in saying that we miss reading Osteoknot's informative posts and we hope that he is doing well. I have seen those dudes with the signs with names standing by the lower level door that exits out to the bus and taxi area. I always thought it was some expensive shit for rich people LOL.

[Villainy]

Our good friend and underground reporter Osteoknot shared an idea that hasn't been mentioned. If you book your hotels or apartments with booking.com and have some level of history with them you can get a private car from the airport to your residence free of charge. You will of course tip the driver but there is no fee and you don't pay the airport exit fee or tunnel fee either.

The driver will be outside of customs as you go through and will have your name on a sign.

[Gabacho]

If you're talking about Colombia, the exchange rate is currently 3,911. The exchange rate hasn't been over 4,000 in awhile. When the rate went up to 4,500 a while back, prices were increased accordingly. Prices don't come down though so while they were adjusted up the value of the dollar against the peso has weakened significantly since then while the prices remain higher.

I was going to call him out on the 6000 and 4800 too but then I reread his post and didn't see where he said dollar anywhere he just said exchange rate, so I deduced that he must be talking about Great British Pounds instead of dollars and a quick Google search confirmed this. Just last week the GBP to COP was in the lower 4900's and it's currently in the low 5000's.

So I'm pretty sure he was referring to GBP to COP when he mentioned 6000 and 4800.

[Gabacho]

El Centro is garbage compared to what it was before C19 and much worse compared to several years ago.

While I had been to Bogota pre-pandemic I unfortunately didn't discover Medellin until 2020. However I do agree that Centro was much better at the end of 2020 when Colombia first opened back up to international flights and in 2021 as well. 2022 was still better but starting to go downhill. But when those stupid barriers went up in 2023 that's when Centro took a turn for the worst. Hopefully now that the barriers are gone it will be returning to how it used to be. It's only been a few months so it's still evolving but it does feel more open and free like how it used to. Now we just need the quality of the women to go back to where it used to be and we will be all set.

[Orgasmico]

Welcome back, Plaza Botero / Parque Berrio are pretty much back to pre-pandemic conditions with a few changes.

El Centro is garbage compared to what it was before C19 and much worse compared to several years ago.

[Orgasmico]

The exchange rate, once close to 6,000 is now back to about 4,800.

If you're talking about Colombia, the exchange rate is currently 3,911. The exchange rate hasn't been over 4,000 in awhile. When the rate went up to 4,500 a while back, prices were increased accordingly. Prices don't come down though so while they were adjusted up the value of the dollar against the peso has weakened significantly since then while the prices remain higher.

[MoonShot]

It's not hard to see who takes which girls in the plaza. Anyone interested can watch the girls talk to punters and watch them pair off and head to the hotels. I'm selfish, I focus on me and girls who interest me.

Well yes and no. It would require that you stand around in that area for a while because the girls can stand around for a while before anyone talks to them. I'm not going to waste my time doing that.

[Knowledge]

Welcome back, Plaza Botero / Parque Berrio are pretty much back to pre-pandemic conditions with a few changes. There are a couple of tourist oriented restaurant / cafes with a third due to open soon. The third one is The Social, a popular Provenza bar that serves Colombian pub grub. I believe they are going to take over the restaurant space in the museum. It will be interesting to hear your perspective.

Thanks for your detailed response.

Indeed, I have no doubt that you do the optimum (enjoy in your jacuzzi with girls you know or their relatives), but that's not achievable by poor me, who I will jump in town for one week, work at day, have only the night to roam around. I hope the Greiff, Berrio and Prado area have been not completely sanitized, LOL.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that most likely I will have a couple of naif colleagues to babysit, that is to take them out only to safe places, because they are really not into seedy environments as me. I should probably take them to CTG and tell them to go bed early in MDE. What would be the best safe night club in MDE? A place for no-brainers?

[Knowledge]

It's not hard to see who takes which girls in the plaza. Anyone interested can watch the girls talk to punters and watch them pair off and head to the hotels. I'm selfish, I focus on me and girls who interest me.

I have wondered the same thing. Who is taking these chubby unattractive older women hanging out in El Centro? There are so many other women who are younger, relatively more attractive or in better shape. It may be the case that they are providing good service to clients and are friendly and kind and the men appreciate the good service that they are providing. Clearly given that they are unattractive or older, they have to be good in bed otherwise I can't see how they are getting any business. As for the thicker girls, there is a market for that physical type and perhaps some of the local men prefer the meatier girls.

[Black Page]

I remember you well. LOts has changed.

Thanks for your detailed response.

Indeed, I have no doubt that you do the optimum (enjoy in your jacuzzi with girls you know or their relatives), but that's not achievable by poor me, who I will jump in town for one week, work at day, have only the night to roam around. I hope the Greiff, Berrio and Prado area have been not completely sanitized, LOL.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that most likely I will have a couple of naif colleagues to babysit, that is to take them out only to safe places, because they are really not into seedy environments as me. I should probably take them to CTG and tell them to go bed early in MDE. What would be the best safe night club in MDE? A place for no-brainers?

[Black Page]

Please tell us how you prevent this web site's auto correction software from changing the second letter of the alphabet into the word "be" and the third letter of the alphabet into the word "see".

It's SOOO annoying!

Workaround: upload your report, then spot the auto-correction edits, re-open your report with the edit function, make all changes. The damned auto-correction does not happen on edited text.

[Robotron]

Assuming flights wouldn't get canceled, do you think traveling to Medellin when the entire week is filled with Thunderstorms and 60% chance of rain is worth it? Seems like the parque lleras is the main attraction and I'm not sure if it would dead during rain, or perhaps better deals are to be made if not many people are out. What would other options be in this case? Thanks.

[JjBee62]

To each his own, but I for one enjoy comida colombiana.

Even at home I'm eating Colombian food, cooked by real Colombians, at least once per week. The meat here is better though.

[JjBee62]

I can hardly imagine paying a taxi driver with a 50 mil bill either. If you go from Nequi in Bello to La Estrella, I doubt you would get a fare up to 50 mil. Not really the point though. People with a lick of common sense keep some 20's 10's 5's and 2's to pay a taxi driver without trying to break a large bill.

Now if you want to say that you prefer one of the services, that is just fine. I like DiDi myself. The advantages are you can see how far off the pickup driver is. The cars are newer and much cleaner and you get an automatic fare set by distance which you can lower if you think you can get it for less.

But just to balance your opinion. I've lived here 5 years, speak Spanish but used to be called "Casper" in the service, so I am an obvious gringo. I have not had a driver try to rip me off in the manner you described. Quite the contrary, I've had drivers accept less when neither of us had change. Some taxis use their phone for GPS others don't. The worse thing I've seen is a driver going off on a non-optimal route and I am happy to speak up. Now I have heard some people here say that getting a cab in Poblado near Parque Lleras is a different animal and that may well be true but I don't fish in those waters.

The ex-pats that I hang with have likewise never mentioned a problem with taxis. One is pretty lazy and speaks less Spanish than a 6 year old. He hands the taxi a card with the address where he wants to go. Even he hasn't ever mentioned a problem.

From Parque Lleras I always walked to Parque Poblado to the line of taxis waiting there. I've had a few taxis that hadn't reset the meter, 1 was over 15 k. Had another with a doctored meter. My normal trip cost 6500, but same route was at almost 10 k. Definitely, the Parque Lleras area is the place to be careful with taxis.

Knowing where you're going, the most direct route and having a rough idea of a cost, and having as near as possible exact change.

[Gabacho]

I can hardly imagine paying a taxi driver with a 50 mil bill either. If you go from Nequi in Bello to La Estrella, I doubt you would get a fare up to 50 mil. Not really the point though. People with a lick of common sense keep some 20's 10's 5's and 2's to pay a taxi driver without trying to break a large bill.

Now if you want to say that you prefer one of the services, that is just fine. I like DiDi myself. The advantages are you can see how far off the pickup driver is. The cars are newer and much cleaner and you get an automatic fare set by distance which you can lower if you think you can get it for less.

But just to balance your opinion. I've lived here 5 years, speak Spanish but used to be called "Casper" in the service, so I am an obvious gringo. I have not had a driver try to rip me off in the manner you described. Quite the contrary, I've had drivers accept less when neither of us had change. Some taxis use their phone for GPS others don't. The worse thing I've seen is a driver going off on a non-optimal route and I am happy to speak up. Now I have heard some people here say that getting a cab in Poblado near Parque Lleras is a different animal and that may well be true but I don't fish in those waters.

The ex-pats that I hang with have likewise never mentioned a problem with taxis. One is pretty lazy and speaks less Spanish than a 6 year old. He hands the taxi a card with the address where he wants to go. Even he hasn't ever mentioned a problem.

It happened to me once in Bogota years ago when grabbing a taxi leaving from Montserrate back to Santa Fe and then in Medellin the failed attempt at it which was in 2022. Since then I try to avoid regular non-app taxis.

I said 50mil bcuz knowledge had originally said he got got for a 50mil.. It can be a 20mil or whatever. I assure you though there are taxistas doing that with fake notes..