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[QUOTE=Knowledge;1736284]#GPS.
I don't know why taxi drivers getting lost would be an issue in 2015.[/QUOTE]Wrong. I followed along with my GPS while we went in the opposite direction of the mall I wanted to go to. Dude it's the other way. He insisted he knew the way and dropped us off at the big mall that is on the hill. Toro or something.
The average taxista in Colombia has a fifth grade education and can't even spell GPS. You could work out the entire route on your GPS before you got in the cab, speak excellent Spanish, and still not know what the best route was based on time of day, construction, labor protests, and so forth. And if you did, they would still claim they did not have change, give you counterfeit change, mysteriously break down right where their cousins lived and would rob you, and so forth. The idea of colombian taxistas as being "extremely helpful" as a few posters have recently said, makers me ROTFLMMFAO. Suerte with all of that.
Just wanted to add regarding the protests at Centro and taxistas. I do remember now on a previous trip, the first day I arrived there was a "No Mas Secuestros" (No More Kidnappings) manifestation at Centro, which kind of ruined my plans to hit that part of town earlier. Fortunately, I had other options.
So not all protests are potentially unsafe, that one obviously wasn't, but insane traffic jams (or total stoppage for that matter) and people density is definitely something I want to avoid when I'm on vacation!
Anyone who's down there now should be careful since the Copa America is going on. It's a lot of fun to watch a game with a bunch of friends in a home setting or maybe a venue in Poblado or Laureles but watch out in other areas, especially if the Colombian team wins. A kid was killed by a stray bullet in Medellin when the Colombians beat Brazil so just keep the game schedule in mind and assess carefully where you will be when the game is finishing. Not to scare anyone, there's some potential for fun when la selection wins but there is also potential for danger.
Met up with James Dandy and did a casa run. Nice guy. I had a great time. We visited quite a few casas and selected from two different casas. He knows centro very well. We started off quite early, a lot of places did not even have chicas in yet.
My impression is that the casa girls are above average, and great value. Its hard to remember names of places. Best to just either go with someone or use the map and hit as many places as you can.
It is pretty much 35 k /40 k half hour or 60/65 k full hour. They'll either have a board with the prices or you can just ask.
I forget the names of the two places I was in (apparently they change all the time), but if they are an indication, cleanliness is decent enough. Although, as you can imagine, the rooms are not exactly the Four Seasons.
And centro did not appear to be prohibitively dangerous. I don't think I would be afraid of walking there in the daytime.
I can see what people are talking about regarding the lineups passing you by. Hard to remember all the names. I like to employ a ranking system. Yes / No and then from there Better / Worse. Seems efficient enough for me. I just focus on the current winning name LOL and forget the rest.
[QUOTE=Phunluv;1736426]Anyone who's down there now should be careful since the Copa America is going on..[/QUOTE]When does Copa America end?
[QUOTE=IguanaSix;1736709]When does Copa America end?[/QUOTE]Colombia plays Peru tomorrow (Sunday) at 3 pm. So don't be in a rough or unfamiliar part of town if and when they score a goal! After the game is over, it only seems to really matter when the team wins; people here get too depressed to run rampant, riot, and kill when the national team loses, LOL! Assuming Colombia wins tomorrow and goes ahead to the quarter-finals, you can follow the rest of the schedule on the Wikipedia article for the 2015 Copa America.
[QUOTE=IguanaSix;1736709]When does Copa America end?[/QUOTE]Well, let's ask Mama GOOGLE. The Final takes place on July 4th in Santiago de Chile.
By the way, today (Sunday, June 21st) Colombia plays against Peru at 4:00 pm..
For those more adventurous and intending to follow Surfer500 into el centro, which is not a bad idea at all, when you are leaving airport MDE you can choose a bus that will take you to el centro or a bus that will take you to san diego. You just need to ask where the bus is going.
[QUOTE=JohnGault;1736092]Never been to Bogata, but the taxi drivers in BAQ are the worst. Many times I have had them attempt to rip me off. I think a lot has to do with if they have meters. In BAQ, and Lima they have no meters, and that is when the larceny starts. Now in MDE, and Costa Rica they have meters, and I have never had a problem in those spots. Only complaint I have with the MDE taxi drivers is a lot of them act like they know the location you want to go to, but they end up driving around asking other drivers for directions.[/QUOTE]Google maps app now works off line. Once you load the city map (Just browse the city you are in, within the app) when you have Wifi, it caches the local info and you can use it without data. Just zoom in and zoom out and play with it. The more you play with it, the more details it will load. Once I give the taxi driver the destination, I tell him I have google maps on my phone. They won't argue when you try to redirect them.
If the destination is complex, load the path before you leave wifi zone, and you can even see the roads the taxi should be following.
[QUOTE=Dickhead;1736336]The average taxista in Colombia has a fifth grade education and can't even spell GPS. You could work out the entire route on your GPS before you got in the cab, speak excellent Spanish, and still not know what the best route was based on time of day, construction, labor protests, and so forth. And if you did, they would still claim they did not have change, give you counterfeit change, mysteriously break down right where their cousins lived and would rob you, and so forth. The idea of colombian taxistas as being "extremely helpful" as a few posters have recently said, makers me ROTFLMMFAO. Suerte with all of that.[/QUOTE]I have used taxis in all of the countries of North America, Central America and South America (except Venezuela and Honduras). Small and Medium sized cities in Canada has the friendliest taxi drivers. Colombia taxistas will be in the top 5. I am sure there are bad apples but it is all relative. I am always on alert as that is the only smart way to be but I find 80% of them to be friendly and 90% to be honest.
[QUOTE=DrCoolhand;1736738]Well, let's ask Mama GOOGLE. The Final takes place on July 4th in Santiago de Chile.
By the way, today (Sunday, June 21st) Colombia plays against Peru at 4:00 pm..[/QUOTE]Hi Dr. C,
The game today actually starts at 2 PM Medellin Time. Don't miss it. Should be a good one.
If you have the GPS telling you what you also notice by looking out the window, I don't know why you wouldn't overrule the taxista and tell him to turn around and take you where you want to go. My practice is to use GPS if I'm not sure of the route and redirect the driver whenever he strays from the route. Sometimes I will juice up the volume (using the Spanish language announcements) so the driver hears it from an objective source and doesn't have to lose face. Another poster mentioned demonstrations and traffic are not reflected by his GPS. I recommend you upgrade to one of the many GPS apps that have real time traffic updates. My last advice on this subject is if none of this makes sense then it's probably best to get someone from the mansion to lead you around.
[QUOTE=MrEnternational;1736322]Wrong. I followed along with my GPS while we went in the opposite direction of the mall I wanted to go to. Dude it's the other way. He insisted he knew the way and dropped us off at the big mall that is on the hill. Toro or something.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Vitrea;1736952]I have used taxis in all of the countries of North America, Central America and South America (except Venezuela and Honduras). Small and Medium sized cities in Canada has the friendliest taxi drivers. Colombia taxistas will be in the top 5. I am sure there are bad apples but it is all relative. I am always on alert as that is the only smart way to be but I find 80% of them to be friendly and 90% to be honest.[/QUOTE]I have used taxis in every Latin American country except El Salvador and rate costa rican taxistas the highest and panamanian taxistas the lowest, with colombian taxistas ranking well below average. Méxican and guatemalan taxistas get an above average rating as well. Chilean taxistas are efficient but not too friendly. I am a light consumer of taxis and a heavy consumer of public transit.
I agree with what you said about the Medellin taxistas. On the other hand, many locals will caution against flagging down random taxis on the street. In a pinch, it's a better option to get one from a taxi rank if you can't call one by phone. It filters out some of the bad apples.
[QUOTE=Vitrea;1736952]I have used taxis in all of the countries of North America, Central America and South America (except Venezuela and Honduras). Small and Medium sized cities in Canada has the friendliest taxi drivers. Colombia taxistas will be in the top 5. I am sure there are bad apples but it is all relative. I am always on alert as that is the only smart way to be but I find 80% of them to be friendly and 90% to be honest.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=StudPlayer;1736907]For those more adventurous and intending to follow Surfer500 into el centro, which is not a bad idea at all, when you are leaving airport MDE you can choose a bus that will take you to el centro or a bus that will take you to san diego. You just need to ask where the bus is going.[/QUOTE]Adding to your info, when you exit the airport arrival door, turn right past all the taxis and you will see a bus or buses about 150 meters away. Both bus routes take you into el centro and their office behind the nutibara hotel, the difference being one takes the autopisto route and enters the city from the north, the other one going the las palmas route and entering the city between el centro and el poblado, the drivers call the routes autopisto and las palmas.