Anyone familiar with this apartment? [url]http://youtu.be/LNcNMTrg4m8[/url]
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Anyone familiar with this apartment? [url]http://youtu.be/LNcNMTrg4m8[/url]
[QUOTE=Orgasmico; 1472371]Anyone familiar with this apartment?
[url]http://youtu.be/LNcNMTrg4m8[/url][/QUOTE]There are many apartments like that one in Cartagena. Is that one being offered for rentals or something?
[QUOTE=TheShadow2;1472389]There are many apartments like that one in Cartagena. Is that one being offered for rentals or something?[/QUOTE]Not sure. It seems like this guy rented it for the weekend. I haven't been there yet, but I guess I could check airbnb and some of the other sites as a reference point. I liked the fact that it was spacious and came with a private pool in the apartment.
In a phrase, I like Medellin for living and Cartagena for visiting. That is, Cartagena is a big-time tourist destination. In mid-September, tourism is slow. Sometimes it seems the touts and vendors outnumber the tourists, haha. I'm told it's often much more crowded.
Coming from Medellin, Cartagena is a totally different deal. I should say, Bocagrande and the old city are totally different. Maybe the rest of Cartagena is less touristy. But I only know the tourist areas. I wish I could take the charm of Cartagena and mix it with the beautiful water in Cancun. That would be a world-class tourist destination. As it is, the beach in Cartagena is nothing very nice, and the profusion of locals selling massages, sunglasses, hats, miscellaneous tourist crap, beach food, and who knows what else, makes it less enjoyable. Actually, the beach-side bars are kind of nice. In a down-and-dirty way. No credit cards accepted, hehe.
Before coming to Cartagena, I RTFF'ed a lot about La Dolce Vida. My expectations have been exceeded. Two nights I have made quality pulls with excellent service for 150K ST. I think it's a buyers market right now. Last night there were 30-40 chicas there and less than 10 men. That is, until a group of about 10 guys came in together looking like lost sheep. I think they were business guys from the same company, or military guys from Europe. They crowded into a corner, turned inwards on themselves, while the girls in the room waited expectantly for some indication they wanted company. It was hilarious. Some guys have so little game they can't pick up prepagos in a target-rich club like LDV.
I've been disappointed in the beach (though I'm heading out to Hollywood Beach again shortly, it being Sunday afternoon). It's just so f-ing hot out there. And the place is filled with families. Maybe I'll find something today.
The food and drink here are good, especially if you stay away from the tourist places. Last night I treated one of my LDV chicas and her roommate to evening cervezas (beers). The bill was 6mil, or $3 USD, for three beers. It can go the other way, too, as I got socked for a 30mil (USD 16) mojito at Casa del Mar.
The way to deal with taxis, I've learned, is just to get in. You don't have to ask the price. You know the price. From 5mil to 9mil depending on day / night and how far. Hand them a 10mil bill and they'll give you change.
I tried Babar disco last night, with no luck. Almost all couples and just a few stray girls, no lookers. It was Valentine's Day here in Colombia so a bad night to be looking.
Tu Candela was okay a few nights ago. The girls were friendly if older and not-so-hot. I really haven't given non-prepago places a fair shake as LDV is always waiting, with sure success for not a lot more than I'd spend on drinks for non-prepagos.
Most of the girls here are dark-skinned, though one of the two I pulled from LDV was quite fair. She said she can't go to the beach at all for fear of burning. I believe it. That girl was a lesson in how to choose well. She was not the best-looking woman in the room. In fact, she was flat with a bit of a pear shape. But from the moment I sat down at the bar, she smiled at me like she had been waiting a week for my arrival. Sure enough, after I bought her two whiskies, she delivered awesome service. She mentioned being away for 3 months for school. You would have thought she hadn't had a man for 3 months. 2 hours of great sexo and she was in the taxi for 150mil plus 10mil taxi money. Also, this chica's sexual desire is centered in her ass. Squeeze and she moans. Lots of fun!
Okay, time to hit the beach. Wish me luck. It's Sunday and if I strike out at the beach, I might have to. Dread the thought. Repeat one of my LDV girls. Oh, the horror! Hahaha. I love Colombia.
On the beach in Bocagrande I spotted a very cute girl sunbathing. This was not Playa Hollywood, where the prepagos would be expected, but a few breakwaters up. So I didn't know if she was a prepago.
The lounger beside her was empty, so I scanned the water and saw another girl in the waves. Figuring there was a good chance that girl was the lounger-owner, I made my approach.
I had little difficulty striking up a conversation. Soon I was sitting in the sand and we were chatting. I asked where she worked. She answered,"un club." Ahhhh, this is good. Which one?"Pleyclub." Ahhh, this is good but maybe bad, too. Pleyclub is the club where the Secret Service fiasco originated; one can only assume that notoriety has made them more popular than ever.
Carolina was young and slender with a tiny swimsuit that showed off her perfect natural curves. In fact, her bottom was so small that had she not shaved, it would have been indecent. When my eyes accidentally wandered there once too often, she caught me and moved her coverup over her lower body. Busted!
Yes, she was working tonight, together with her girlfriend. They had to report to the club at 7pm. The no-show fee was 250mil. Yes, she was interested in skipping work to have dinner with me. When I acted surprised at the size of the no-show fee, she said it was the best club in the city and if I met her there and wanted takeout, the fee would be 600mil. Yikes! I didn't know if this was all true, but she was a hot Paisa from Medellin, there for two months to work in a top club, so it may well have been.
I got her digits then walked her and her girlfriend (not nearly as hot) to a cab. We made plans to meet at the clock tower (Torre de Reloj) in about two hours.
As I walked back to my hotel, I realized this could be super-costly. I would pay the 250mil no-show fee, maybe 250mil propina to her, plus dinner and drinks for two. We're looking at 600mil. Compare to my trusty LDV girls at 150mil plus 50-100mil in drinks. And I was more confident in their level of service.
One thing I've learned doing this is that there are no sure things. The Pleyclub girl at 600mil might give much worse service than a LDV girl. Or better, but who knows? She was a 9+ in looks, but the level of service was unknown.
I traded text msgs with Carolina over the next two hours. She got off work at 4am = too late. No, she didn't want to go to Playa Blanca the next day, though she says she loves Playa Blanca, because it would mean missing a day of work. She was here for two months to make money. No days off. Or, if she takes days off, not with me. I can respect that. Plus this attitude meant even if we had a great night together, it would be tough to repeat.
I cancelled. Not easy to cancel on this quality of chica, but I think it was the right decision. The rule is: GFE with hot chicas can be found at all price levels. Only pay the highest prices if you have tons of money and little time to hunt. For me, LDV is a much more economical hunting ground, so I chose to save my dollars.
Maybe I can connect with Carolina in Medellin during my next trip, when she is back to "student" mode and 100mil-150mil seems like a lot. Or not. No worries.
[QUOTE=Archimedes; 1472890]On the beach in Bocagrande I spotted a very cute girl sunbathing. This was not Playa Hollywood, where the prepagos would be expected, but a few breakwaters up. So I didn't know if she was a prepago.
The lounger beside her was empty, so I scanned the water and saw another girl in the waves. Figuring there was a good chance that girl was the lounger-owner, I made my approach.
I had little difficulty striking up a conversation. Soon I was sitting in the sand and we were chatting. I asked where she worked. She answered,"un club." Ahhhh, this is good. Which one?"Pleyclub." Ahhh, this is good but maybe bad, too. Pleyclub is the club where the Secret Service fiasco originated; one can only assume that notoriety has made them more popular than ever.
Carolina was young and slender with a tiny swimsuit that showed off her perfect natural curves. In fact, her bottom was so small that had she not shaved, it would have been indecent. When my eyes accidentally wandered there once too often, she caught me and moved her coverup over her lower body. Busted!
Yes, she was working tonight, together with her girlfriend. They had to report to the club at 7pm. The no-show fee was 250mil. Yes, she was interested in skipping work to have dinner with me. When I acted surprised at the size of the no-show fee, she said it was the best club in the city and if I met her there and wanted takeout, the fee would be 600mil. Yikes! I didn't know if this was all true, but she was a hot Paisa from Medellin, there for two months to work in a top club, so it may well have been.
I got her digits then walked her and her girlfriend (not nearly as hot) to a cab. We made plans to meet at the clock tower (Torre de Reloj) in about two hours.
As I walked back to my hotel, I realized this could be super-costly. I would pay the 250mil no-show fee, maybe 250mil propina to her, plus dinner and drinks for two. We're looking at 600mil. Compare to my trusty LDV girls at 150mil plus 50-100mil in drinks. And I was more confident in their level of service.
One thing I've learned doing this is that there are no sure things. The Pleyclub girl at 600mil might give much worse service than a LDV girl. Or better, but who knows? She was a 9+ in looks, but the level of service was unknown.
I traded text msgs with Carolina over the next two hours. She got off work at 4am = too late. No, she didn't want to go to Playa Blanca the next day, though she says she loves Playa Blanca, because it would mean missing a day of work. She was here for two months to make money. No days off. Or, if she takes days off, not with me. I can respect that. Plus this attitude meant even if we had a great night together, it would be tough to repeat.
I cancelled. Not easy to cancel on this quality of chica, but I think it was the right decision. The rule is: GFE with hot chicas can be found at all price levels. Only pay the highest prices if you have tons of money and little time to hunt. For me, LDV is a much more economical hunting ground, so I chose to save my dollars.
Maybe I can connect with Carolina in Medellin during my next trip, when she is back to "student" mode and 100mil-150mil seems like a lot. Or not. No worries.[/QUOTE]First, thanks for the ongoing reports. Us guys stuck in the USA have to live vicariously through the guys lucky enough to be in Colombia.
Food for thought considering your experience with "Carolina":
First, you absolutely made the right decision to pass on her. She told you with words and actions that she is a hard-core pro. Her goal is to extract the maximum amount of dinero from her work in Cartagena in the two months she will be there, nothing more, nothing less. She's not looking for a boyfriend, friends, relationships. She's there for money. Having said that, there is no reason to take a girl like this out to drinks and dinner. Why do that? You're just adding to the amount it's going to cost you. She will not give you better service after dinner and drinks. It will be the same, so no reason to go there. You said you estimated it might cost you 600mil, but I can see scenarios that would actually cost you more. You think her going rate is 250mil? What if she told you it was 400? 500? 600? After all, she is skipping a complete night of work at Pleyclub. Who knows what absurd price for the night she would have come up with. What I wish you would have done, is when the conversation on the beach went to dinero, and she started to quote the 250 no show fee, etc that you would have just politely declined right there. The only way we can keep the prices down, is be willing to walk away from the high prices, no matter how hot they are. In her mind, she almost had you paying it, so probably the next guy will. Now, one thing you could have tried, was to offer her 150k at the beach to walk across the street to your apartment, take a quick shower and bang you for an hour. She's already there and would not have to skip work so maybe she could see the value in that, although with "Carolina" it's probably a long shot. But at least that gives her a dose of reality. 150k is what this guy is willing to pay, and if she asks for more, she ends up with nothing.
Just my thoughts amigo, we're all in this together, keep up the reports and enjoy your time in Cartagena.
Winding up my first trip to Cartagena, I have a number of thoughts to share.
This is the number one vacation destination in Colombia, by a wide margin. That is, many many Colombian families and couples come here, especially in December. The P2P scene is available (thanks Hillbilly69 for your excellent map) but not a large part of the overall scene.
Due to the demand, hotels are relatively expensive here. I don't know about apartments, but I suspect the same. I paid about 110 USD / night for the Hamption by Hilton Hotel. On the plus side, it has a swimming pool. A rarity. On the negative side, the place is sterile sterile sterile. I won't stay here again.
Is the Hampton girl-friendy? Yes, with mandatory registration at the 16th floor, and with no extra charges. After a ST session, it's a nuisance for the girl to exit, as in the wee hours of the morning the hotel's front door requires a room key to open. That means walking her down to the lobby. Which sucks.
A girl told me the Hilton won't let girls in at all. Super-girl-unfriendly. And she told me other high-end hotels either don't allow girls at all, or have entrance fees.
On the plus side, the Hampton is located smack in the middle of Bocagrande. Perhaps some prefer Laguito which is about a mile away. I liked being within walking distance of Isabellas (breakfast or coffee) , Juan Valdez (coffee) , a couple of casinos, Crepes and Waffles (excellent Colombian chain restaurant) , San Marino restaurant, and half-a-dozen Colombian and American fast-food restaurants. There are several ATMs nearby as well as small drug stores on about every block. As long as you are not out when the sun is strongest between 11am-4pm, it's an easy walk from the Hampton to dozens and dozens of places.
After dark in Cartagena police are to be seen everywhere. That's good, except when they do their routine searches for drugs. I underwent my second one (the first was in Medellin) a few nights ago after leaving LDV with a girl. Our taxi was stopped, I was asked to step out of the taxi, and the policeman went through my pockets very carefully. The girl was not searched.
I found the beach to be too hot until after 4pm. After 4, I would walk from near my hotel to the far end of Hollywood Beach, hang out there for half an hour or an hour, then stroll back shortly before 6pm. I didn't swim at the beach, but wading was pleasant, as the sand bottom is smooth and pleasant-feeling on the feet. I didn't have a girl to go with so I never rode the boat to one of the nearby beaches which are reported to be prettier.
The Bocagrande beach is beset with vendors and massage ladies. I only bought a cap (the sun is strong) and a few waters. I never met the infamous Tony. Nor did I see many prepagos at the beach. Admittedly, I didn't spend a tremendous amount of time there, but the entire "meet girls at the beach for an afternoon romp" was missing for me. Those who are in-the-know can point out what I missed.
Most of the girls I encountered in Cartagena were relatively dark-skinned. For me, Cartagena was not a good place to meet non-pros or tourist girls. They just aren't that hot, and there aren't that many. I don't like the darker-skinned girls as much.
As mentioned in a previous report, I found the LDV girls to be excellent. I got low pricing and great service. Both girls I chose (on different nights) were semi-pros who offered good GFE. One gave the best BBBJ I've had in a long time.
After three weeks in Colombia, I'm a little tired of the P2P scene. I long for some real connection. I think if I stayed here a while I'd make that connection. I've seen a few gringo guys around with super-hot girlfriends. It just takes time, which my 5-day visit did not afford.
I found the girls in Medellin to be much more beautiful than the Cartagenitas. Unlike Cartagena, Medellin is not a tourist city. Yet a growing number of gringos are living there for one reason: Paisas. There's nothing like them elsewhere, from what I've seen. Maybe others who know Colombia better can point out where in Colombia you can find girls to equal the Paisas.
One guy I met told me if you get into the small towns near Medellin, you can find girls that are as beautiful as the ones in Medellin, but with the huge advantage that they almost never see a gringo. So girlfriends are just a smile and a meal away. With perhaps a little "buy yourself something nice" money thrown in.
One caveat: I speak decent Spanish. Colombia P2P would be much more difficult without Spanish. Lots of guys do it, but I don't think they get nearly the service I've gotten, and they probably have to pay more. So start practicing those Hola's before you make a trip here.
[QUOTE=Archimedes; 1472890]On the beach in Bocagrande I spotted a very cute girl sunbathing. This was not Playa Hollywood, where the prepagos would be expected, but a few breakwaters up. So I didn't know if she was a prepago.
The lounger beside her was empty, so I scanned the water and saw another girl in the waves. Figuring there was a good chance that girl was the lounger-owner, I made my approach.
I had little difficulty striking up a conversation. Soon I was sitting in the sand and we were chatting. I asked where she worked. She answered,"un club." Ahhhh, this is good. Which one?"Pleyclub." Ahhh, this is good but maybe bad, too. Pleyclub is the club where the Secret Service fiasco originated; one can only assume that notoriety has made them more popular than ever.
Carolina was young and slender with a tiny swimsuit that showed off her perfect natural curves. In fact, her bottom was so small that had she not shaved, it would have been indecent. When my eyes accidentally wandered there once too often, she caught me and moved her coverup over her lower body. Busted!
Yes, she was working tonight, together with her girlfriend. They had to report to the club at 7pm. The no-show fee was 250mil. Yes, she was interested in skipping work to have dinner with me. When I acted surprised at the size of the no-show fee, she said it was the best club in the city and if I met her there and wanted takeout, the fee would be 600mil. Yikes! I didn't know if this was all true, but she was a hot Paisa from Medellin, there for two months to work in a top club, so it may well have been.
.[/QUOTE]The 250k no show fee sounds about right. She will probably expect 400k+ too. The only way to make PleyClub chicas work is to see them during the day before work. When you can probably get them for 150k-200k. Otherwise, it is just not worth it.
[QUOTE=Archimedes; 1472510]In a phrase, I like Medellin for living and Cartagena for visiting. That is, Cartagena is a big-time tourist destination. In mid-September, tourism is slow. Sometimes it seems the touts and vendors outnumber the tourists, haha. I'm told it's often much more crowded.
Coming from Medellin, Cartagena is a totally different deal. I should say, Bocagrande and the old city are totally different. Maybe the rest of Cartagena is less touristy. But I only know the tourist areas. I wish I could take the charm of Cartagena and mix it with the beautiful water in Cancun. That would be a world-class tourist destination. As it is, the beach in Cartagena is nothing very nice, and the profusion of locals selling massages, sunglasses, hats, miscellaneous tourist crap, beach food, and who knows what else, makes it less enjoyable. Actually, the beach-side bars are kind of nice. In a down-and-dirty way. No credit cards accepted, hehe...[/QUOTE]That is the worst way to deal with taxis. Know the rate and confirm before getting in. If they see you as a tourist, they will try to gouge you.
[QUOTE=Orgasmico;1472395]Not sure. It seems like this guy rented it for the weekend. I haven't been there yet, but I guess I could check airbnb and some of the other sites as a reference point. I liked the fact that it was spacious and came with a private pool in the apartment.[/QUOTE]The guy is trying to teach you how to day trade. This looks like the apartment though: [url]http://www.cartagenafirstamericanrealty.com/en/property/rental/La[/url]%20Casa%20Del%20Toro
Hi all.
Time ago (May 2013) there were some comments about Hampton, new hotel in Bocagrande. Best feature to my eyes was that the reception was at 17th floor, and thus no walk of shame, request of I'd, surcharge for additional guest, etc, on coming back at night or day with some company. 1 or 2 or whatever. Is it still like that? I am planning to try it next time.
I am looking at its photos. It looks terribly cold and impersonal compared to cozy small hotels I am used to go in CTG, but at least I am free to do what I want.
Any recent visitor may comment on it?
Thank you!
BP, the Hampton Hilton now requires you to check the girl in at the front desk. They post a hotel employee outside who instructs you to go and check her in at the 17th floor lobby. There was no fee.
The hotel itself is super-sterile. Very American-style with almost no flavor of Colombia.
The big plus for the hotel is the rooftop pool. I used it several times. The views are great and you might get lucky and find some freebie targets there.
I won't stay here again. There are dozens of smaller hotels in this area, no doubt less costly, plus I like apartments. Next time I'll try an apartment near Laguito.
In Bocagrande, while hotels seem a little expensive, restaurants are not. There are lots of low-end choices and some good mid-tier choices. In the mid-tier restaurants, the menus look similar (fish, beef, chicken, a little pork, salads) , but the food is well-prepared and tasty.
I even ate lunch twice at the small outdoor restaurant directly across from the Hampton Hotel. For about 15mil (USD $8) I got a large carne asada (skirt steak) , french fries AND rice, and a tomato slice / lettuce mini-salad. Even better was the lemonade, which seems a Cartagena specialty. Everywhere I ate I ordered lemonade, and it was always delicious.
For great food and atmosphere at dinnertime, I took a 7mil cab ride from Bocagrande to Centro Vieja. Besides the appalling Hard Rock Cafe, there are seemingly dozens of romantic restaurants serving excellent food. My favorite was El Balcon de San Diego. If you have a date, try this restaurant then wander the small but beautiful Plaza San Diego afterward. It's what the French Quarter of New Orleans would like to be, if only it were not filled with drunks and idiots (sorry if I am offending the drunks and idiots in the French Quarter).
There is some interesting prepago action in the Centro Vieja, though I did not partake. After approaching one good-looker, I realized she was a he. Retreat, retreat! With more time, I'd probably search around for some gems.
I didn't visit the casas here in Cartagena. Though I like the format, with the ready availability of La Dolce Vida girls and the high level of service I got with them, casas just didn't seem necessary.
Bottom line: IMHO, rule one for Cartagena is bring a novia (gf) or at least a chica (prepago) you really like. It's a couples place. If you fail to comply with rule one (as I did) , you can't go far wrong renting an apartment near Laguito and visiting La Dolce Vida each night about 11pm. The beach is nearby for as much or as little sun as you can handle. If you find a LDV girl you like, and you have the time, take her to the better beaches that are a boat ride away.
The above will be my plan next time I return. Since air fares from Medellin are under $200 USD round trip, I'll make Medellin my base for a while, then occasionally take novia-of-the-week to Cartagena for long weekends.
Remember to skip December in Cartagena as that is when it is crazy-crowded.
Sorry there's not more info about P2P in this post, but I've often benefited from general travel info on this site, so I'm giving back. Also, in response to one of my earlier posts, someone commented that he appreciated the post since he was stuck in sex Prison aka the USA. I want to politely remind everyone that the purpose of this site is NOT to provide vicarious thrills to stay-at-homes. Buy Penthouse and read the letters if that's what you're after. The purpose of this site is to assist those who travel in finding P2P action. The site proved immensely helpful to me during this, my first trip to Colombia. So I'm just paying it forward.
This is my last post about Colombia until I can return again. Which I definitely intend to do. If you can speak some Spanish, it is arguably the premier country in the world for beautiful girls who can be enjoyed for reasonable amounts of money.
Good luck to all!
[QUOTE=Archimedes; 1473238]In Bocagrande, while hotels seem a little expensive, restaurants are not. There are lots of low-end choices and some good mid-tier choices. In the mid-tier restaurants, the menus look similar (fish, beef, chicken, a little pork, salads) , but the food is well-prepared and tasty.
I even ate lunch twice at the small outdoor restaurant directly across from the Hampton Hotel. For about 15mil (USD $8) I got a large carne asada (skirt steak) , french fries AND rice, and a tomato slice / lettuce mini-salad. Even better was the lemonade, which seems a Cartagena specialty. Everywhere I ate I ordered lemonade, and it was always delicious.
For great food and atmosphere at dinnertime, I took a 7mil cab ride from Bocagrande to Centro Vieja. Besides the appalling Hard Rock Cafe, there are seemingly dozens of romantic restaurants serving excellent food. My favorite was El Balcon de San Diego. If you have a date, try this restaurant then wander the small but beautiful Plaza San Diego afterward. It's what the French Quarter of New Orleans would like to be, if only it were not filled with drunks and idiots (sorry if I am offending the drunks and idiots in the French Quarter).
There is some interesting prepago action in the Centro Vieja, though I did not partake. After approaching one good-looker, I realized she was a he. Retreat, retreat! With more time, I'd probably search around for some gems.
I didn't visit the casas here in Cartagena. Though I like the format, with the ready availability of La Dolce Vida girls and the high level of service I got with them, casas just didn't seem necessary.
Bottom line: IMHO, rule one for Cartagena is bring a novia (gf) or at least a chica (prepago) you really like. It's a couples place. If you fail to comply with rule one (as I did) , you can't go far wrong renting an apartment near Laguito and visiting La Dolce Vida each night about 11pm. The beach is nearby for as much or as little sun as you can handle. If you find a LDV girl you like, and you have the time, take her to the better beaches that are a boat ride away.
The above will be my plan next time I return. Since air fares from Medellin are under $200 USD round trip, I'll make Medellin my base for a while, then occasionally take novia-of-the-week to Cartagena for long weekends.
Remember to skip December in Cartagena as that is when it is crazy-crowded.
Sorry there's not more info about P2P in this post, but I've often benefited from general travel info on this site, so I'm giving back. Also, in response to one of my earlier posts, someone commented that he appreciated the post since he was stuck in sex Prison aka the USA. I want to politely remind everyone that the purpose of this site is NOT to provide vicarious thrills to stay-at-homes. Buy Penthouse and read the letters if that's what you're after. The purpose of this site is to assist those who travel in finding P2P action. The site proved immensely helpful to me during this, my first trip to Colombia. So I'm just paying it forward.
This is my last post about Colombia until I can return again. Which I definitely intend to do. If you can speak some Spanish, it is arguably the premier country in the world for beautiful girls who can be enjoyed for reasonable amounts of money. Good luck to all![/QUOTE]Archimedes,
Another good report amigo, thanks for sharing. I do want to correct one of your assumptions though- I wrote I was stuck in the USA, but that's only a temporary condition. I was in Cartagena in September, and will be there again in November. I'm there several times a year, and I've been there so many times I've lost count. I look forward to many more trips there. Glad you enjoyed your trip, and hopefully you've got many more to enjoy in your future as well.
[QUOTE=Hioctane;1473101]That is the worst way to deal with taxis. Know the rate and confirm before getting in. If they see you as a tourist, they will try to gouge you.[/QUOTE]If you are taking a taxi from within El Laguito / Bocagrande and staying in the area (e. G Hilton to Olimpia 24 supermarket nearby) then there is no need to confirm although it can't hurt I suppose other than making them possibly think you are a tourist. Any longer trips should definitely be confirmed beforehand as you say. Had a bad experience with this 6"8 tall Colombian guy who wanted to charge 60k from Centro to Laguito. 60k! Luckily I speak Spanish and we went to the nearby police for mediation and a 20k fee was decided on.