Medellin Reports

[QUOTE=Surfer500;2615612]Well if a guy similar to Chavez in Venezuela gets elected I don't see things boding well for tourism, but that's just my opinion.

And a lot of the voters are sick of Duque of the right who can't run again, so there's a good chance somebody from the left might be elected.[/QUOTE]Surf makes a great point.

Venezuela was rockin' back in the day.

Similar to Colombia today actually.

I had an apartment in downtown Caracas.

To me it was the best place on earth, for girls and fun.

Then along came Chavez, and the place went to shit.

Anti-American, economic disaster, high crime, etc.

I had to literally run out of there.

[QUOTE=Knowledge;2615592]An anti-American is highly unlikely. Both the left and right are keen to deal with America, albeit in different ways.
Guys on the right like Duque favor the large corporations of the US and other wealthy countries. They have consistently given multinational industrial companies a free hand to exploit land and natural resources.
[/QUOTE]Good to see someone talking sense here. The issue is that a country is labelled as "anti-American" by the US govt and in the US media if they stop allowing USA companies that free hand to plunder all the resources. Just look around the world. Every country that is rich in resources around the world is either a US-sychophant or an enemy of the state. If Colombia were to elect Petro as the next president, he would need to walk a fine line not to upset the apple cart. His party is called "Humane Colombia". Sounds like trouble brewing to me. How dare he put the needs of the people before the needs of the wealthy?

Right, time to get back to playing my new fave game, Mafia City. Haha.

[QUOTE=FunLuvr;2615862]You have to buy a sim card from one of the carriers in Colombia. I think Claro and Tigo are the largest carriers. Ask them to register your phone when you buy the sim card. Take a copy of your passport with you when you go to buy the card. Some people have posted ways to buy a cell service here in the US that works internationally, but I don't have any experience with those. If you plan to buy a phone in the US, I recommend you look on Ebay. I bought one like this and it works fine in Medellin: [URL]https://www.ebay.com/itm/174373371985[/URL].

Be careful picking up chicas around Parque Lleras. Do not pay more than 250,000 COP even for the best looking ones. Don't leave any valuables where a chica can get to them. One from Parque Lleras stole my eyeglasses, of all things. The eyeglasses were old and not worth much. Even the case was cloth.

It is usually best to use ATM's to get cash. If your card issuer charges too much in fees, exchange dollars at a cambio. You can search the internet for "Money exchanges Medellin" to check their websites for their exchange rate. Check [URL]xe.com[/URL] for the current exchange rate and use that as a guide. At the cambios, you should receive within 100 COP of the current rate.[/QUOTE]I just ordered that exact phone. So do you buy a sim card in the states, do you just register it under a different name? Did you have to go to a phone store for this, or can you buy it at a Walmart or something?

Back in college I used to buy burner phones from CVS little virgin mobile flip phones. This is a lot more complex haha!

What's the guest policy at dam Carlton? Are they a real pain about it?

[QUOTE=ColomboAnthony;2615911]I just ordered that exact phone. So do you buy a sim card in the states, do you just register it under a different name? Did you have to go to a phone store for this, or can you buy it at a Walmart or something?

Back in college I used to buy burner phones from CVS little virgin mobile flip phones. This is a lot more complex haha![/QUOTE]Claro has like 50% of the market in Colombia, so that's your best option. Take a look around the Airport, you might be able to find a kiosk where they can set you up, or the gift shop might be able to do it, otherwise you'll just have to go to any shopping mall and visit one of their stores. You're going to need to show your passport and give them address to register the SIM card- your hotel or Airbnb will work.

What you actually need is just the mobile internet and a phone number to bind some services to. Any communication you're going to be doing in Colombia will be through WhatsApp (at least most of it). You can just setup a Google Voice or some other VOIP service provider that will give you a phone number and setup your WhatsApp to use that number. It will give you an extra layer of privacy.

[QUOTE=RamDavidson84;2615615]His mindset is his business. Like I said, bless him and wish Osteo the best. The point of my post is, members don't need to write about every fucked up self destructive thing they do and post it on the forum for every John, Joe, and Mike to read. Then the readers go down there and act in a similar manner. Eventually its going to have an impact on our travels to the city of Eternal Spring. Osteo seems like a tough guy to say the least, I am sure he could careless about one members suggestion, and I apologize if it seemed like I singled him out to make my point.[/QUOTE]I have several reasons why I disagree.

1. A blister is worth 1000 words. No that's not a typo. It doesn't matter how many times you tell someone they're going to get burned, they won't listen until they get that first blister. People doing inadvisable things and dealing with the consequences is helpful for others.

2. Equal opportunity. I don't recall you suggesting people don't post about BBFS, other drug use, using testosterone shots, or any of the other potentially risky behaviors. Osteo has as much right as all of us to screw up.

3. Those posts are more useful than many. How much useful information is in one of the "had one of my non-pros come over last night, fucked for 5 hours and she didn't ask for anything?" Too many of the posts boil down to "Worship me because I got laid." While his posts also contain that, there are also lessons to be learned.

According to a video posted two days ago by Passport Dog, the local government wants the area to become more family oriented and the working girls banned. In the video it seems to be indeed the case. I am suspicious of his claims for I suspect this is something they are doing for Halloween and once that has passed, everything back to normal. I did not see any other news or comments about this. Any updates would be apricated. I am planning on staying in the area beginning at the end of this year.

Video link: [URL]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcB3jAdDrmE[/URL].

I see your point. There isn't anyone like Chavez or even Maduro with national support. Gustavo Petro is the closest Colombian equivalent but in spite of his rebel guerilla past he doesn't support radical land reform or expropriation of corporate assets. I don't honestly think the tourism sector is on Petro's radar because it is such a small part of the economy compared to agriculture, mining, and manufacturing. Over a four year term of a far left administration I would not be surprised to see the cost of chain lodging and airfares increase because of the likelihood of tax increases. I agree there is quite a lot of Duque fatigue. Mayor Quintero had a viable path to be a liberal President but he self destructed with a series of head scratching moves with the public utilities. As a political figure he is a dead man walking.

[QUOTE=Surfer500;2615612]Well if a guy similar to Chavez in Venezuela gets elected I don't see things boding well for tourism, but that's just my opinion.

And a lot of the voters are sick of Duque of the right who can't run again, so there's a good chance somebody from the left might be elected.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=ColomboAnthony;2615911]I just ordered that exact phone. So do you buy a sim card in the states, do you just register it under a different name? Did you have to go to a phone store for this, or can you buy it at a Walmart or something?

Back in college I used to buy burner phones from CVS little virgin mobile flip phones. This is a lot more complex haha![/QUOTE]You have to buy a sim card in Colombia and any other country where you plan to use the phone. A card with some minutes and data is less than $5 in Medellin. You have to register it under the name on your passport. I think the Exito on Calle 10 in Poblado sells sim cards on the second floor. Exito is similar to Walmart.

The phone you ordered looks like the back doesn't come off to gain access to the sim slots. Looking at the front, around the lower right corner there is a little slot where you can use your thumb nail or something similar to separate the back from the phone.

Has anyone used Pasion Prepagos? Any thoughts?

[QUOTE=FunLuvr;2615986]You have to buy a sim card in Colombia and any other country where you plan to use the phone. A card with some minutes and data is less than $5 in Medellin. You have to register it under the name on your passport. I think the Exito on Calle 10 in Poblado sells sim cards on the second floor. Exito is similar to Walmart.

The phone you ordered looks like the back doesn't come off to gain access to the sim slots. Looking at the front, around the lower right corner there is a little slot where you can use your thumb nail or something similar to separate the back from the phone.[/QUOTE]In the states then, where did you buy the sim card?

[QUOTE=FunLuvr;2615986]You have to buy a sim card in Colombia and any other country where you plan to use the phone. A card with some minutes and data is less than $5 in Medellin. You have to register it under the name on your passport. I think the Exito on Calle 10 in Poblado sells sim cards on the second floor. Exito is similar to Walmart..[/QUOTE]The Exito on Calle 10 in Poblado sells lots of cell phones with representaives of the vendors such as Samsung and others working there as well. The phone section is located on the first floor by the main entrance from the parking structure. I know there has been a lot of talk about guys buying phones in the States and than buying a SIM card in Colombia.

I advise against this. The phones are just as cheap in Colombia, and if you buy a phone in Colombia it should be glitch free and the vendors will totally set you up. And the data plans like you mention are cheap.

And you can buy a very basic cheap smart phone for as low as 200 K in Centro all set up with Whatsapp ready to go.

I bring this up for some to consider, especially for guys like me who are not technically savvy.

[QUOTE=CageMonkey;2615935]According to a video posted two days ago by Passport Dog, the local government wants the area to become more family oriented and the working girls banned. In the video it seems to be indeed the case. I am suspicious of his claims for I suspect this is something they are doing for Halloween and once that has passed, everything back to normal. I did not see any other news or comments about this. Any updates would be apricated. I am planning on staying in the area beginning at the end of this year.

Video link: [URL]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcB3jAdDrmE[/URL].[/QUOTE]That video is garbage. He is trying to discourage people so they will pay him for a tour.

He should try harder to pronounce the park's name correctly because it would make him seem more credible as a guide or observer if that is what he is trying to do. It doesn't much matter to me personally whether or not the park is "over" as he said. For those who are interested in the Lleras scene, I don't think you have much to worry about. The worst case scenario is the vendor tents and police restrictions will only move the scene and the bars that support it a few streets away. Most of the Lleras businesses have been shuttered since the pandemic anyway. Wherever the punters go the bars and girls will follow, and wherever the bars and girls go the punters will follow.

Mayor Quintero doesn't seem to be a very strategic decision maker based on his history since he was elected. In this case, I wonder if the idea is once the girls and punters are gone restaurants and craft shops catering to families are going to line up to pay Poblado rents. If that were to happen, and I highly doubt it will, how would these business fund their expenses selling bandejas paisa and coconut lemonades to families?

[QUOTE=FunLuvr;2616125]That video is garbage. He is trying to discourage people so they will pay him for a tour.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=FunLuvr;2616125]That video is garbage. He is trying to discourage people so they will pay him for a tour.[/QUOTE]You k ow what my amiga told me the same thing. She said they were cracking down as well. Maybe some truth to thus as well.