Truer words have rarely been spoken here
I couldn't agree more.
[QUOTE=Artisttyp; 1132035]I think tours of the centro casas is a horrible idea. It screams "please rob me I know nothing". Any experienced traveler with some common sense can walk into any of these places and be treated fairly without a tour. Knowledge of spanish would be great but friendly hand gestures and a smooth attitude will take you a long way. The casas are very civilized and so are colombians. You will not be walking into a rat trap. These people are conducting a business.
When you dumb it down and offer tours things take a turn for the worse. If you won't go it by yourself then that's a sign that you shouldn't be doing it. I am not saying this to flame anybody but it does affect the future of mongering there IMHO.
As ricker mentioned this thread is loaded with info. Why would you want to make the first impression that you know nothing by being carted around? When and if you go back by yourself you will be the gringo that was escorted around. In those situations there are more chances that you will get taken advantage of.
The centro strip clubs are a little different. There is room for error in those places.[/QUOTE]
Join a Columbia P4P forum and have a Jr. High School Reunion!
Well, in reality the folks ganging up on the new guy are fatter & balder & maybe the neurons don't fire quite as fast. Basically can't make it at home anymore. :) You know who you are. It is always hard to be the new guy on the block. So bear with me for a minute post insult.
I've been lurking on the board for a few weeks & used it to get some basic info on Bogota & Medellin. The point of my few posts was to give back to the Hobbying community. I've actually had a pretty good time in Columbia. This was not a sex vacation for me. Not primarily anyway, though it's a nice bonus. This is pretty awesome place with great people (though undestandably many local don't seem to appreciate the gringos coming here for. As I've heard them say it "drugs and prostitutes"). Despite some very basic Spanish skills (& yes reasonably good Google / PC skills) I wasted a bit of time in Bogota trying to find casas that were listed but didn't seem to exist anymore.
The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over and expect a different result. Entonces. I chose a different approach in Medellin than I did in Bogota.
Bogota cost & benefit: Taxis $10. Time 2 hours wasted ($200). Sex = 0. A bit later in the day I got a girl off solitasparati. Com for $100 and got off twice. So my bottom line for Bogota was 2 wasted hours and $110 for 2 orgasms from a pretty hot girl or if we value my time at $100 / hr then I got 2 orgasms for $310. I do better than that back in the states.
Medellin cost & benefit: Taxis $30. Time 3 hours with Jake including visits to several casas, of which maybe 1 hour was sort of wasted going to casas that didn't deliver. $40 to Jake. 1 hour on my own for taxi & transportation visit. Casa payments $60 resulting in 2 orgasms with pretty hot girls. Bottom line $130 for 2 orgasms and a wasted hour. If we value my time as above, I paid $230 for 2 orgasms. This is better than I do in the states. If we expand the analysis to include the girl I got from [url]http://prepagosindependientes.com[/url], then the bottom line goes to $330 for 4 orgams and a wasted hour. Still better thanI do in the states.
I can also now get incremental orgasms for about $30 including taxi cost. The above analysis may not be rational from the point of view of a Sr. Member that has been in Colombia for years, feel free to critique, but it's perfectly rational to me. I am not Jake. I'm sure just as you guys do, I could find all kinds of fault with him but I'm not inclined to do so. He saved me time & was not difficult to hang out with. If I had been on this board a bit longer and had more time, maybe I would have met one of the Sr. Folks out for a cerveza somewhere and I would have saved Jake's $40. That's a lot of "would haves" and was not an option for me as I didn't have PM capabilities. I expected to have a similar, hard, time finding casas in Medellin as in Bogota and decided to try to save some time. It worked for me. I'm not suggesting that it's the right way for everyone.
I recognize this sounds a bit angry, but there is really no need to jump on the newbie. You might have thought about leaving that behind in Jr. High School. I'm pretty sure I didn't break any rules and for that matter, didn't have fun at anyone else's expense. Peace.
[QUOTE=Ricker; 1132022]Cracks me up.
I wonder how much Jake makes navigating the Central casas with guys.
Those Google maps, WT69 maps, etc are pretty difficult to follow. [/QUOTE][QUOTE=Ricker; 1132022]Cracks me up.
I wonder how much Jake makes navigating the Central casas with guys.
Those Google maps, WT69 maps, etc are pretty difficult to follow. [/QUOTE]
Re: Colombia Jake bashing
There is nothing wrong with someone charging money for their services. This is a market for this. Just keep in mind there are numerous alternatives. It is NOT recommended that a newbie pull up google maps and start looking on his own. You don't want to get lost etc. Also, it is different from some countries in that there are no signs outside the building saying "casa". You need someone to show you at least once how to read the street addresses and what to do when you get inside. If you stay Casa Blanca, Parcero's, Frank's, etc, they provide these services for free. You can also get a English speaking driving on the list for $10 / hour. You don't need more than an hour. The cheapest and best way is help from your fellow members! Just post your travel dates and someone is sure to wing with you!