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[QUOTE=NCal2014;1744307]Thanks for the heads up. I like Southwest. I was hoping it would be similar to them. I was not as lucky with the pricing I got 2 roundtrips to San Andres for just under $300 USD.[/QUOTE]Is that 2 tickets for $300 or each? When did you search for flights? Trick is to log in in spanish and from a location outside of US. Not sure why but as soon as you choose english, it adds gringo tax. I do this on a couple of my trips while in south america.
[QUOTE=SBeach25;1744708]Is that 2 tickets for $300 or each? When did you search for flights? Trick is to log in in spanish and from a location outside of US. Not sure why but as soon as you choose english, it adds gringo tax. I do this on a couple of my trips while in south america.[/QUOTE]The price was for 2 tix.
[QUOTE=SavePros321;1744684]Can't really add much to Onibmab's awesome breakdown of both sites other than to say Romance Latina was legit pre 2013. Since Robert (Mansion) co-owned the site with Jay (the guy that runs RL), Jay and this Rico Suave-looking guy would set up shop at the Mansion and invite a bunch of chicas over to interview and set up profiles for them. RL was unique in that chicas would go there actively looking for gringos. You would find current and former Mansion chicas on there, was well as semi-pros ("college students".
Post 2013 they have let the site go to shit with about of fake profiles and web cam scammers. I don't know why Jay doesn't go through his site and clean house. Probably more profitable to make it look like RL still has lots of talent (inflated, plus they don't do a cleanup of old, 1 year inactive profiles of chicas), which fools guys into paying for a membership.
Colombian Cupid are full of scammers through and through. There are only three flavors on that site:
-Fake profiles
-Chicas looking for Western Union novios (with no intentions of meeting you in person)
-Unattractive MILFs looking for serious relationships[/QUOTE]Yea all I got was web cam proposals and wester union requests, too early for that crap, being my first time going, I'm tenting an apartment from air bnb in poblado.
[QUOTE=Chesscat;1744661]Spent a week in Medellin with a young friend. I am 58 he is 27 so we had different experiences. Spent the first few days in El Centro at the Nutibara. If you stay there just make sure to get a room towards the back, away from the discotec. That's what we did and it was quite nice. $65 k per day. After arrival in a van from the airport, went to Mondongos on the other side of the river. Very nice, but a little pricey. That same first night he took a girl out of Fase 2, she wanted to drink, at Charlee's, quite expensive. Finally they went to a love hotel, and then she got a taxi for them to come back to the Nutibara. Nice intro to Medellin, glad he survived. That same night we had a few drinks at the disco at the Nutibara, there were some locals dancing, it was amusing. Then about 3 am walked down to Conejitas. Not very nice at that hour. Then walked around the block. Bad idea, but interesting and we lived. Approaching back to the Nutibara, entered a "casino", there were about 10 people around the roulette table. I bet it up with $10 k worth of tokens. People were very nice.
Next day had breakfast near that same casino, right across the street from the Nutibara. En El Centro the young locals can be seen drinking at breakfast time, they haven't been to bed. Nice "bandeja paisa" for about $5. Took a walk down towards "La Minorista", it gets dicier and dicier. Bought some fresh-squeezed orange juice from this lady on the corner, she warned us, but we kept on. It is a sight to see. My young friend had never been to Central or South America, it was quite the wake-up call. Finally got so dicey we had to cross over to a sort of median area. Police put on their plastic gloves and searched two guys right next to us. We got a pass. Walked back, they seemed to have some sort of complicated whistling warning system to protect their drug sales.
Bought some phones. In this regard I will say that things have changed - 3 years ago you could get mugged for a smartphone, but nowadays everyone has one. So you might consider bringing your own phone, it's not the big deal it used to be.
Then not long past noon time went to "Parque del Periodista". That place is crazy fun, particularly if you like to smoke. Never made it back, but it would be awesome at night.
I did continue to take some walks during the daytime back behind the Nutibara. It is quite crazy. It would be good to study for a sociologist, but even though it's interesting it really is just too dangerous.
The next day after another good breakfast, went to try to buy a lighter. The little store didn't have one, but this guy there took us around to find a lighter, the whole time telling me that we needed to get out of there, too dangerous. This I took as a sign, and we got a taxi to head for La 70. (in hindsight it would have been easier and cheaper to take the metro). The cab driver took forever, because he was looking for a hotel that would pay him a commission. It's actually a pretty short ride. Finally I told him to just let us out, and we were on the best part of La 70 in any event.
We sat down to get some food, and there was a little park behind us. We ended up getting a room in a newly-refurbished Hotel Parque 70. This hotel was super. This area is just a few hundred yards from the metro station El Estadio and it is a great location. La 70 is infinitely more authentic than Parque Lleras, and you walk out your door and you are right there. We went to a soccer game, La Verde versus Cali. Happened to sit right next to this group of about 300 crazy kids, sometimes referred to as the "Porra Brava". Amazing experience. Fortunately La Verde managed to come out with a tie game, so no actual violence. Next time I will sit at the other end of the stadium with the people who have shirts on.
We found Energy after some searching, and went there every day. You can walk from La 70, or take a taxi. They do the little parade for your selection, and there are beautiful women there. I couldn't remember their names, so I called out a name and got a lady I hadn't really requested, but she turned out to be quite complaisant, and I was a happy camper. There were 2 "10's" there, one from Medellin and one from Venezuela. It was $140 k for an hour, money very well spent.
There are many restaurants on La 70, and also there is food on the street. You can get steak, slaw and fries on the street, with a drink for about $5 US. Or you can get a more upscale delicious meal at the parilla "Dejame que te cuente".
During downtime, we played 3 cushion at a nice 3 cushion pool hall right there on La 70.
Here's an article that discusses this area La 70:
[URL]http://www.medellinliving.com/colombian-story/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A[/URL]+MedellinLiving+%28 Medellin+Living%29.
We had a great time.[/QUOTE]Highly recommend this area. If you're into dancing, El Suave is a great place. As good as any discoteca in Cali (except Chango).
Omitted this:
[URL]http://www.fantasiasenergy.com/[/URL]
[QUOTE=Chesscat;1744661]Spent a week in Medellin with a young friend. I am 58 he is 27 so we had different experiences. Spent the first few days in El Centro at the Nutibara. If you stay there just make sure to get a room towards the back, away from the discotec. That's what we did and it was quite nice. $65 k per day. After arrival in a van from the airport, went to Mondongos on the other side of the river. Very nice, but a little pricey. That same first night he took a girl out of Fase 2, she wanted to drink, at Charlee's, quite expensive. Finally they went to a love hotel, and then she got a taxi for them to come back to the Nutibara. Nice intro to Medellin, glad he survived. That same night we had a few drinks at the disco at the Nutibara, there were some locals dancing, it was amusing. Then about 3 am walked down to Conejitas. Not very nice at that hour. Then walked around the block. Bad idea, but interesting and we lived. Approaching back to the Nutibara, entered a "casino", there were about 10 people around the roulette table. I bet it up with $10 k worth of tokens. People were very nice.
Next day had breakfast near that same casino, right across the street from the Nutibara. En El Centro the young locals can be seen drinking at breakfast time, they haven't been to bed. Nice "bandeja paisa" for about $5. Took a walk down towards "La Minorista", it gets dicier and dicier. Bought some fresh-squeezed orange juice from this lady on the corner, she warned us, but we kept on. It is a sight to see. My young friend had never been to Central or South America, it was quite the wake-up call. Finally got so dicey we had to cross over to a sort of median area. Police put on their plastic gloves and searched two guys right next to us. We got a pass. Walked back, they seemed to have some sort of complicated whistling warning system to protect their drug sales.
Bought some phones. In this regard I will say that things have changed - 3 years ago you could get mugged for a smartphone, but nowadays everyone has one. So you might consider bringing your own phone, it's not the big deal it used to be.
Then not long past noon time went to "Parque del Periodista". That place is crazy fun, particularly if you like to smoke. Never made it back, but it would be awesome at night.
I did continue to take some walks during the daytime back behind the Nutibara. It is quite crazy. It would be good to study for a sociologist, but even though it's interesting it really is just too dangerous.
The next day after another good breakfast, went to try to buy a lighter. The little store didn't have one, but this guy there took us around to find a lighter, the whole time telling me that we needed to get out of there, too dangerous. This I took as a sign, and we got a taxi to head for La 70. (in hindsight it would have been easier and cheaper to take the metro). The cab driver took forever, because he was looking for a hotel that would pay him a commission. It's actually a pretty short ride. Finally I told him to just let us out, and we were on the best part of La 70 in any event.
We sat down to get some food, and there was a little park behind us. We ended up getting a room in a newly-refurbished Hotel Parque 70. This hotel was super. This area is just a few hundred yards from the metro station El Estadio and it is a great location. La 70 is infinitely more authentic than Parque Lleras, and you walk out your door and you are right there. We went to a soccer game, La Verde versus Cali. Happened to sit right next to this group of about 300 crazy kids, sometimes referred to as the "Porra Brava". Amazing experience. Fortunately La Verde managed to come out with a tie game, so no actual violence. Next time I will sit at the other end of the stadium with the people who have shirts on.
We found Energy after some searching, and went there every day. You can walk from La 70, or take a taxi. They do the little parade for your selection, and there are beautiful women there. I couldn't remember their names, so I called out a name and got a lady I hadn't really requested, but she turned out to be quite complaisant, and I was a happy camper. There were 2 "10's" there, one from Medellin and one from Venezuela. It was $140 k for an hour, money very well spent.
There are many restaurants on La 70, and also there is food on the street. You can get steak, slaw and fries on the street, with a drink for about $5 US. Or you can get a more upscale delicious meal at the parilla "Dejame que te cuente".
During downtime, we played 3 cushion at a nice 3 cushion pool hall right there on La 70.
Here's an article that discusses this area La 70:
[URL]http://www.medellinliving.com/colombian-story/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A[/URL]+MedellinLiving+%28 Medellin+Living%29.
We had a great time.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=SBeach25;1744708]Is that 2 tickets for $300 or each? When did you search for flights? Trick is to log in in spanish and from a location outside of US. Not sure why but as soon as you choose english, it adds gringo tax. I do this on a couple of my trips while in south america.[/QUOTE]My last visit to San Andres was on Copa from El Dorado in Bogota, I forget what I paid but I remember it was too much. Best way to get to S. A. (IMHO) is get to Colombia first, then go on [URL]http://www.vivacolombia.co/[/URL] the equivalent to our Spirit air, you can get flights for as little as $50/60 each way to San Andres. In fact they probably have the best fares of any of the domestic airlines in Colombia.
[QUOTE=LatinaLover#1;1744959]My last visit to San Andres was on Copa from El Dorado in Bogota, I forget what I paid but I remember it was too much. Best way to get to S. A. (IMHO) is get to Colombia first, then go on [URL]http://www.vivacolombia.co/[/URL] the equivalent to our Spirit air, you can get flights for as little as $50/60 each way to San Andres. In fact they probably have the best fares of any of the domestic airlines in Colombia.[/QUOTE]It is always my first choice while in Medellin. I compare them a little better than spirit. I really hate them but they are cheap until you add all the little extra charges so I just avoid them. Southwest, I love. Wish they fly to MDE soon!
[QUOTE=NCal2014;1744721]The price was for 2 tix.[/QUOTE]I just looked at a flight out from MDE with 2 weeks advance and looked at some days. Each way was 139900 K COP. Which is $52. Either way, its still reasonable. Have fun in San Andres.
[QUOTE=SBeach25;1745020]I just looked at a flight out from MDE with 2 weeks advance and looked at some days. Each way was 139900 K COP. Which is $52. Either way, its still reasonable. Have fun in San Andres.[/QUOTE]My plans changed last minute and I kept comparing flights to CTG and Santa Marta. In the end I bought tix with less than a week in advance. So it was a little higher than normal I guess. Still a great price in my opinion. Happy to be heading to San Andres for the first time.
[QUOTE=Chesscat;1744661]Spent a week in Medellin with a young friend. I am 58 he is 27 so we had different experiences. Spent the first few days in El Centro at the Nutibara. If you stay there just make sure to get a room towards the back, away from the discotec. That's what we did and it was quite nice. $65 k per day. After arrival in a van from the airport, went to Mondongos on the other side of the river. Very nice, but a little pricey. That same first night he took a girl out of Fase 2, she wanted to drink, at Charlee's, quite expensive. Finally they went to a love hotel, and then she got a taxi for them to come back to the Nutibara. Nice intro to Medellin, glad he survived. That same night we had a few drinks at the disco at the Nutibara, there were some locals dancing, it was amusing. Then about 3 am walked down to Conejitas. Not very nice at that hour. Then walked around the block. Bad idea, but interesting and we lived. Approaching back to the Nutibara, entered a "casino", there were about 10 people around the roulette table. I bet it up with $10 k worth of tokens. People were very nice.
Next day had breakfast near that same casino, right across the street from the Nutibara. En El Centro the young locals can be seen drinking at breakfast time, they haven't been to bed. Nice "bandeja paisa" for about $5. Took a walk down towards "La Minorista", it gets dicier and dicier. Bought some fresh-squeezed orange juice from this lady on the corner, she warned us, but we kept on. It is a sight to see. My young friend had never been to Central or South America, it was quite the wake-up call. Finally got so dicey we had to cross over to a sort of median area. Police put on their plastic gloves and searched two guys right next to us. We got a pass. Walked back, they seemed to have some sort of complicated whistling warning system to protect their drug sales.
Bought some phones. In this regard I will say that things have changed - 3 years ago you could get mugged for a smartphone, but nowadays everyone has one. So you might consider bringing your own phone, it's not the big deal it used to be.
Then not long past noon time went to "Parque del Periodista". That place is crazy fun, particularly if you like to smoke. Never made it back, but it would be awesome at night.
I did continue to take some walks during the daytime back behind the Nutibara. It is quite crazy. It would be good to study for a sociologist, but even though it's interesting it really is just too dangerous.
The next day after another good breakfast, went to try to buy a lighter. The little store didn't have one, but this guy there took us around to find a lighter, the whole time telling me that we needed to get out of there, too dangerous. This I took as a sign, and we got a taxi to head for La 70. (in hindsight it would have been easier and cheaper to take the metro). The cab driver took forever, because he was looking for a hotel that would pay him a commission. It's actually a pretty short ride. Finally I told him to just let us out, and we were on the best part of La 70 in any event.
We sat down to get some food, and there was a little park behind us. We ended up getting a room in a newly-refurbished Hotel Parque 70. This hotel was super. This area is just a few hundred yards from the metro station El Estadio and it is a great location. La 70 is infinitely more authentic than Parque Lleras, and you walk out your door and you are right there. We went to a soccer game, La Verde versus Cali. Happened to sit right next to this group of about 300 crazy kids, sometimes referred to as the "Porra Brava". Amazing experience. Fortunately La Verde managed to come out with a tie game, so no actual violence. Next time I will sit at the other end of the stadium with the people who have shirts on.
We found Energy after some searching, and went there every day. You can walk from La 70, or take a taxi. They do the little parade for your selection, and there are beautiful women there. I couldn't remember their names, so I called out a name and got a lady I hadn't really requested, but she turned out to be quite complaisant, and I was a happy camper. There were 2 "10's" there, one from Medellin and one from Venezuela. It was $140 k for an hour, money very well spent.
There are many restaurants on La 70, and also there is food on the street. You can get steak, slaw and fries on the street, with a drink for about $5 US. Or you can get a more upscale delicious meal at the parilla "Dejame que te cuente".
During downtime, we played 3 cushion at a nice 3 cushion pool hall right there on La 70.
Here's an article that discusses this area La 70:
[URL]http://www.medellinliving.com/colombian-story/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A[/URL]+MedellinLiving+%28 Medellin+Living%29.
We had a great time.[/QUOTE]Hey! Energy have Perfect 10's from time to time, and if you are a long-term stayer in Medellin and have chemistry with a girl there; visit her some times and then ask her to be your novia; it is perfectly possible; you are already great in bed so half the battle is alreday won! I was to lame my first time in Medellin when 2 babes at Energy asked me if we should be "novios", since I was staying 6 months and recurring. That's the magic Medellin when best!
I think which that parilla is; La 70 con Circular 2 a; most of the employed are black girls; the owner is a tall curvy lady, we became good friends when I was there 2014 for 5 months since I lived only 200 m away. Very much a MILF and a with lot of carisma, she invited me over to her table a few times and she is a very beautiful and interesting person, if you are into a serious friendship with a mature lady.
Senior Sparrow,
Hate to do it this way your mailbox is full. I sent you a couple of messages. I am leaving for Medellin in three days. Info requested.
Chesscat: Very good report. Thank you.
There is some talk on this thread about taxis in MDE. After being here a while here is my take. Tonight, for instance, I got into a cab where the meter was already on from the previous customer at 7500. I ask the cabbie once to restart back to 2700, he ignores me. He finally resets it after one block and me asking him three times.
The point is if you are firm you will not get fucked over. If you behave like a pushover you will be taken advantage of. This is more so at night than at day.
I have the impression that Colombians are always observing you to see if you are drunk or weak. So don't be either or you will get screwed over unless you have someone who's got your back.
If you feel that your taxista is ripping you off and you are scared to deal with him at night (which you should not be anyway) there is a solution if you are heading back to your hotel / apartment. If it is a nice apartment / hotel they will undoubtedly have a security guard at the entrance. When you get out of the cab you motion the security guard to come over and explain to him any problems. He will know how to solve the situation.
Nothing bad has ever happened to me in MDE, but I always see the security guard from my building looking carefully at the cab and at me to make sure everything is ok.
Also, it is better to go with an older taxi driver. The younger ones are less professional in my opinion and play more games. Old taxistas rarely play games.
For best results try and hail a cab that just dropped off customers.
I have also received good advice from taxi drivers with instructions on which roads to take depending on if it is rush hour or not and different tactics to employ for getting around the city.
The way to do this is to discuss routes with them so that they know you are not ignorant. Also give the impression that you might be a repeat customer. Pretend you live in the city.
Obviously it is an advantage if you speak the language somewhat.
[QUOTE=CJackSparrow;1745299]Hey! Energy have Perfect 10's from time to time, and if you are a long-term stayer in Medellin and have chemistry with a girl there; visit her some times and then ask her to be your novia; it is perfectly possible; you are already great in bed so half the battle is alreday won! I was to lame my first time in Medellin when 2 babes at Energy asked me if we should be "novios", since I was staying 6 months and recurring. That's the magic Medellin when best!
I think which that parilla is; La 70 con Circular 2 a; most of the employed are black girls; the owner is a tall curvy lady, we became good friends when I was there 2014 for 5 months since I lived only 200 m away. Very much a MILF and a with lot of carisma, she invited me over to her table a few times and she is a very beautiful and interesting person, if you are into a serious friendship with a mature lady.[/QUOTE]I ditto this. In past years I have visited many casas but always ended up at Energy knowing, albeit a bit more pesos, overall that they had the best set up and girls to fit my style and taste.
Yes I had mediocre visits but also from time to time would stumble upon a young, fresh girl who we would connect with afterwards and I became her novio for a few months.
Wow you were only 200 m away, that is perfect placement.
I have not been in a few years now, but do they have the currency under the glass top of the desk table where you settle up with before you leave? Wonder if my $2. Dollar US bills are still there.
The Tall Man.
Good advice, check the meter before your trip begins. I'm not so sure how much of the rest is borderline superstition. Old vs. Young driver, just dropped off passenger (less chance he is a serial killer?) . Medellin taxistas are not nearly the worst of Latin America. Their accident rate and courtesy level compare well with other places around the region in my experience. Anyway, if I were worried about taxista shenanigans, I would opt for uber. The drivers are checked outand always polite. You get a fare quote in advance and it is always cheaper than a taxi. You don't have to worry about having cash or the right amount of small bills or how much to tip or any of the other stressful nonsense. Don't get me wrong, taxis have their place and uber can be hard to get in certain neighborhoods but the convenience and security erases a lot of distractions.
[QUOTE=Onibmab;1745583]There is some talk on this thread about taxis in MDE. After being here a while here is my take. Tonight, for instance, I got into a cab where the meter was already on from the previous customer at 7500. I ask the cabbie once to restart back to 2700, he ignores me. He finally resets it after one block and me asking him three times.
The point is if you are firm you will not get fucked over. If you behave like a pushover you will be taken advantage of. This is more so at night than at day.
I have the impression that Colombians are always observing you to see if you are drunk or weak. So don't be either or you will get screwed over unless you have someone who's got your back.
If you feel that your taxista is ripping you off and you are scared to deal with him at night (which you should not be anyway) there is a solution if you are heading back to your hotel / apartment. If it is a nice apartment / hotel they will undoubtedly have a security guard at the entrance. When you get out of the cab you motion the security guard to come over and explain to him any problems. He will know how to solve the situation.
Nothing bad has ever happened to me in MDE, but I always see the security guard from my building looking carefully at the cab and at me to make sure everything is ok..[/QUOTE]