Cartagena Reports

I am a very experienced monger with conversational spanish skills who will be in Cartagena for the first time from November 20th thru the 28th. Please feel free to PM me if you are going to be in town and want to get together to hit the circuit.

[QUOTE=Player2]I prefer hotels over apartments. Please suggest a hotel in Laguito around $ 50-75 range.

Thanks,

For your help[/QUOTE]There are 2 hotels in Laguito:

The Hilton starts at about $270 USD plus tax per night.

Dann Cartagena starts at about $200 USD plus tax per night.

[QUOTE=Player2]I prefer hotels over apartments. Please suggest a hotel in Laguito around $ 50-75 range.

Thanks,

For your help[/QUOTE]Bro, once you do your homework you will find that in Cartagena and in most cities in Colombia you can get much nicer apartments for less money than you can get a hotel room. Juan Ventura has some very nice apartments right in the center of the action. You might want to reconsider unless you are just bound and determined to "pay more for less".

my experience was somewhat similar to tom powers although this one is with a supposed "non-pro" (a term that imho has dubious meaning in colombia).

i will say, i got my own bathing suit for 5k cop as opposed to your girl getting hers for 100k. next time, go to the old city. there's a commercial area there, where you can get stuff for reasonable prices, even non-electric toothbrushes!

1. 2 million cop for dinner for 4 is insane. i don't care if it's at santa clara hotel. that's $150/person, more than many restaurants even in nyc where i live.

as for studio f dresses, my girl arrived from bogota with a piece of luggage larger than mine and it was packed with studio f dresses that a former gringo bf had bought for her; most of them, she hadn't even worn yet! plus a very expensive perfume, can't remember the name but it was almost $200 usd.

that relationship should have been a major warning sign for me to back off. i dated this girl in sept. of '07 when i visited bogota. she seemed a bit flaky but nothing out of the ordinary. we made out a few times and she accompanied me to the airport and kissed me for a loooong time at the security gate before letting me go.

i think this fling she had with the other gringo (which happened between my trip last year to bog and this one to ctg) really spoiled her and screwed with her mind.

not a good thing, because i've come to the conclusion that despite all the hype about colombianas making good wives and affectionate companions, the reality is a whole other story! too many are both flaky in one way and manipulative in another way. and that's before getting spoiled by clueless gringos with too much money to throw around!

back to my story. i decided to "try something different" and "go non-pro" and take a chance with this girl i dated in bogota. i ignored my misgivings about her involvement with another gringo and invited her to accompany me in my vacation to ctg. i figured she was 29 so she couldn't be too immature or much of a problem. i used up 15k avianca ff miles, plus 200k cop in taxes to fly her crazy ass round trip bog/ctg.

long story short, this vacation i just had in mid-sept. '08 was a disappointment. the heat and humidity was bad, at one point, i thought my girl, who's used to the cool weather of bogota, was going to pass out from heat exhaustion! the touts and vendors never left me in peace; even in the rosario islands they were there! and then my crazy "non-pro" girl.

we went out to tu candela as well. we had befriended some venezuelans (many come to ctg for vacation) on a chiva ride we signed up for, which i didn't really care for but she did seem to enjoy the experience. we all decided to check out tu candela and we shared a bottle of absolut and oj. we got a bit hammered at the club, and i was getting annoyed by her attitude, plus she didn't really want to dance with me. told her i wanted to leave, she can tell her new friends i wasn't feeling well. she got mad, said she was leaving also. speaks with the other 2 venezuelan girls and the whole group decides to call it an early night, so we all step out and say our goodbyes.

got in a taxi, and a huge argument breaks out. she's screaming that she's never been out in a club with putas/prepagas and blah, blah. i just laugh at her and tell her she's full of it, this is the most common thing in colombia.

i don't say it to her, but the irony of course, is that i'm a foreigner paying her way for a free vacation in ctg plus a nice evening out payed for by yours truly while she's wearing a dress purchased by an ex-bf gringo. but she's the one acting offended by hanging out with prepagas, wtf?

(by the way, the prepagas do seem to prefer to hang out on the 2nd flr which is where we had gone, downstairs seems to be more of a normal crowd).

she storms out of the taxi as we approach our hotel, i stay in and tell the driver to speed away, and end up at ldv to complete the night the correct way.

after concluding my business at a love motel, i return to my normal hotel in the old city, i find she's gone. turns out she packed and left. i checked with the night manager and he says he's letting her sleep in another room nearby. the tension between us had been building for several days now, and it finally reached a breaking point this night.

this nightmare evening turns into a nightmare morning. she ends up coming back to my hotel room to rest. because she's getting sicker and sicker. in another hour, i end up having to take her ass to the hospital.

at first, i thought it was alcohol poisoning combined with some psycho-somatic bs but it was actually food poisoning according to the doctor. due to some crap seafood she ate earlier that day from one of those beach vendors; we had gone on this ridiculous trip out to one of the not-so-peaceful beaches at the rosario islands. the day before, i had let her choose the cheapest trip option to rosario, which for me was a joyless day-trip, and for her ended up getting an extra trip to the hospital from the unsanitary food these scumbag beach touts sell to tourists at ripoff prices (which i of course paid for the food and the hospital bill).

maybe it was better she didn't seem interested in the more romantic private boat option as that probably would have been a complete waste of money in her case (although i had told her i didn't mind paying extra for that experience).

so check this out: her health card was not accepted for payment outside of bogota! if it wasn't for my kindness, she'd be shit outta luck. the hospital bill was 85k cop, not a huge amount but she of course had absolutely zero. i was really pissed at this point, and i wanted to get rid of her even if i felt somewhat sorry for her in a certain way, since she did seem quite the pathetic sight by this time!

well, i had to endure her for one more day because it's hard to change a reservation same day on avianca when you got it with ff miles, but i was very glad when she was finally gone the next day. i enjoyed my final two days in cartagena without a single non-pro in sight!

so i finally learned my lesson. mind you, i speak fluent spanish and am half hispanic myself! but i'm sticking with the pros and the semi-pros. my vacations are usually quite short, so no more risking wasting my precious time dating or just plain dealing with the nonsense from these flaky, yet manipulative non-pros. i don't think i'd even invite a known good pro on these kinds of trips. i think even that could be asking for trouble.

tom powers, your girl was okay looking, very pretty face, sounds like she's a part time prepaga or semi-pro, not a non-pro. although that nonsense of needing every little thing is probably used by both pro and non-pro colombianas. she probably uses that trick all the time, has a whole wardrobe of studio f dresses that other gringos have bought for her, and a few rich colombianos as well.

tom, it's funny you mention the santa clara. a lot of colombianas seem to be obsessed with that place as well as the hilton in bocagrande and the false status it brings. we stepped in the santa clara to take a look and my crazy girl has the audacity to ask for prices, and look at one of the rooms, like she's planning to stay there. maybe it's my practical upbringing, but i have no interest whatsoever in forking over big bucks to these overrated and overpriced venues, they don't impress or interest me that much. whether it's a prestigious hotel or not, the line workers are pretty much paid the same, with the lion's share going to the corrupt proprietors and their political and paramilitary allies. i'll stick with the mid-range venues, as i have nothing to prove to anyone, certainly not a colombiana!

one last note: on my way back home at ctg airport, i saw a colombiana giving one loooong romantic kiss to her gringo bf at the security gate before he went off, which reminded me of the same thing my crazy girl did to me almost exactly one year before. i think you guys can now draw your own conclusions from that observation without me having to spell it out.

[size=-2][b][u]editor's note[/u]:[/b] [blue]i would suggest that the author or another forum member consider posting a link to this report in the reports of distinction thread. please [url=http://www.internationalsexguide.info/forum/announcement-reportsofdistinction.php?]click here[/url] for more information.[/blue][/size]

[QUOTE=Phunluv]As for Studio F dresses, my girl arrived from Bogota with a piece of luggage larger than mine and it was PACKED with Studio F dresses that a former gringo bf had bought for her; most of them, she hadn't even worn yet! Plus a very expensive perfume, can't remember the name but it was almost $200 USD.

That relationship should have been a major warning sign for me to back off. I dated this girl in Sept. Of '07 when I visited Bogota. She seemed a bit flaky but nothing out of the ordinary. We made out a few times and she accompanied me to the airport and kissed me for a loooong time at the security gate before letting me go ...

[/blue][/size][/QUOTE]Well, anyone with a bit of experience in Colombia has most likely learned the hard-way, some harder than others, how some of these chicas can be.

There are, however, some beautiful, wonderful, caring, non-pro Colombianas out there. Lots of them actually.

Chicas that wouldn't dare let you shop at Studio F or any similar store for them.
There are non-pros who actually watch your back to ensure you're not getting ripped off.

When you see and feel the warning signs of a shark-like chica, they are almost always right.

Walk away from her, and go quickly.

I have fond memories of the NON-Pro chica and her mother filling up a shopping cart in Barranquilla, one hour after meeting them, and ordering me to pay.

Also of the Venezolana, on a first date, stopping into Studio F, selecting a wardrobe and ordering me over to pay.

In both cases, I just quickly disappeared.

They played their cards, and I just don't deal with that.

Too many other chicas who are sweet and unassuming who I'd rather be generous and share my time with.

Good luck amigos.

Phunluv -- Great report. Welcome to exclusive club of those who find the whole Rosario Islands thing as boring as fuck.

fwiw the Hilton can be value for money if you get it on a Deskubra deal, though otherwise its more like a HoJo to my mind and not worth the rack rate.

Santa Clara's another matter though. Never had reason to stay there but have eaten and drunk there and love the place. With the right person for the right occasion that would be worth the money.

As I've mentioned before, one of the, admittedly few, advantages of being over-weight, balding, and middle-aged is that you don't have to fight off the semi-pros.

[QUOTE=Phunluv]Tom, it's funny you mention the Santa Clara. A lot of colombianas seem to be obsessed with that place as well as the Hilton in Bocagrande and the false status it brings. We stepped in the Santa Clara to take a look and my crazy girl has the audacity to ask for prices, and look at one of the rooms, like she's planning to stay there. Maybe it's my practical upbringing, but I have no interest whatsoever in forking over big bucks to these overrated and overpriced venues, they don't impress or interest me that much. [/QUOTE]I stayed there once.- I was with a nonpro girlfriend and wanted to keep her as far away from Laguito as possible. I agree with your assessment. The room is equivalent of what you'd pay 70% less for in a suburban hotel in the U. S. And there's no beach. I've stayed at Las Americas too, which was not quite as expensive, but rundown considering the price. Apartments are indeed the best option.

Everyone in our life learned the hard-way, some harder than others

These chicas can be very expensive if we plays that game. Not way.

Walk away from her, and go quickly.

I have fond memories of the Pro chica and Non Pro said me I need something. And Ok if you want ok and pay.

Then I said I want sex. Pay, not way.

I learned, I just quickly disappeared.

Now I play the cards, and I say if you want, I want to. Just don't deal with that.

Phunluv, I got a video of the girls getting ready.

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9k928XYjS8[/url]

When I read your story I realize were all in the exact same struggle. Can you re-explain why she got mad?

Tom

Thanks for an accurate and truthfull report Phun,it reminded me of my last trip to Ctg. with my girl from Medellin.She was a semi pro who tried to empty my wallet at every convienience.Starts with a bathing suit lol!!

O.K Guys :

I have set my mind on an apartment now. Thank you for helping in making my decision. That is why this forum is for "HELP" each other.

Now, Is Dec 15-Jan 15 a good time for CTG? Will there be any problem in finding housing/lodging during this period?

Regards to all,

Player2

[QUOTE=Player2]O.K Guys :

I have set my mind on an apartment now. Thank you for helping in making my decision. That is why this forum is for "HELP" each other.

Now, Is Dec 15-Jan 15 a good time for CTG? Will there be any problem in finding housing/lodging during this period?

Regards to all,

Player2[/QUOTE]High season.

Expensive with limited availability. Can you go late January instead?

From what I know that is the busiest time of the year so book now if you can.

[QUOTE=Player2]O.K Guys :

I have set my mind on an apartment now. Thank you for helping in making my decision. That is why this forum is for "HELP" each other.

Now, Is Dec 15-Jan 15 a good time for CTG? Will there be any problem in finding housing/lodging during this period?

Regards to all,

Player2[/QUOTE]I believe that will fall in the high season dates and the apts. will double or signifigantly increase in rate,It will be crowded with tourists, I do know that! I always avoid the high season for those two reasons

I would wait until February. As others have said.

Plus Tony the tout will charge you 6000 cop for a beer.