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[QUOTE=SouthernOcean;2510606]DAWN. Is it a time thing or a sex thing.[/QUOTE]The only place I've noticed the use of "dawn", "la madrugada" is at love motels which often have a rate for 1-6 hours, a rate for additional hours and a rate to stay the rest of the night. I think that's for weeknights when business drops off after midnight.
I would assume it's basically a girl giving a rate for Toda la noche, all night.
[QUOTE=Rzrfl69;2510795]I am here now. Pretty much everything is open. Just everything closes at 12.
...
They take covid very serious down here! Mask 24/7. Temperature everywhere. Even wash your shoes![/QUOTE]Just to compare for those looking at other destinations:
[B]Mexico[/B]: In Cancun and Playa Del Carmen everything stayed open pretty late. Temperature checks at some entrances. Masks were mostly worn by locals and for tourists it seemed optional. Welcome mats had liquid in them which I would assume was disinfectant. No need to reserve ahead of time. Things were just open.
[B]Brazil[/B]: In Rio everyone pretty much wore masks. I got taunted by a local when I had mine down, outside, smoking a cigarette. Everything closed at around 11 PM (including taxis off the street). In Sao Paulo there was no night life to speak of. That city had deep COVID scars on its edifice. Some buffets were open in both cities which I found hilarious. No need to reserve ahead of time.
Enjoy Cartagena. From what I'm reading and hearing from friends there is that a lot of shit is closed and you have to do ridiculous things like go on the Internet to reserve seats on the beach or in certain restaurants. Colombians are taking more precautions which is good but it also makes for a shitty vacation. I'm going to wait until post-vaccine before heading down.
[QUOTE=Detwing1;2510534]I'm in the same boat with a use it or lose it airline ticket (actually have 3 separate credits, but one expires mid-January 2021).
Planning to take off first of January and stay for 2 months more or less, but still looking for a temporary apartment that is lady friendly.
Based on what I'm reading, not all apartments allow visitors.
I've always worked virtually and literally got used to spending 80% of my time in Asia (Thailand, Philippines, China, HK, Indo, Malaysia).
Came back to the land of no pussy during Chinese New Year last January and have been stuck here ever since.
Balls are swelling up to the size of a grapefruit and can't get back to Asia anytime soon, so I spun the bottle and decided to hit up Cartagena.
Will be my first time setting foot in Colombia, so I'm reading a shit ton of posts here to try and get a feel for it.[/QUOTE]I'll be following you adventures closely as I'm going to get jabbed in February and be ready to take off again by August. If Thailand doesn't want to welcome my money by letting me come and go, there are alternatives. The air is bad in Bangkok again already too.
[QUOTE=Nyezhov;2510377]The part about the chicas was tounge in cheek based on years on the Asia forums.
How would you compare Cartagena in October to Thailand. I never really found it unbearable, I just sweat like a pig. And I'm sure the infrastructure in Cartagena is well ahead of where I just spent October, Siem Reap. I usually like to get out of the USA in September.[/QUOTE]The infrastructure in the tourist areas of Cartagena and the immediately surrounding neighborhoods are the same you would find anywhere 1st world so to speak. Some buildings show more decay than others but that ahs improved recently too (in the past few years) I would even say that Cartagena has less buildings by percentage that show decay than Venice. These buildings are old, Spanish colonial old.
One of the main issues regarding infrastructure is just a real lack of storm drainage so when those short downpours happen the streets overflow with water fairly quickly.
Transportation wise Taxis as ratio to other cars can rival NYC, not a problem finding a taxi and even when you get ripped off you get a good fare LOL. They do wonder through the old city but really there is not a lot of traffic on the narrow streets of the old city they can be found thicker in places like Bocagrande and El Laguito.
Tips on Getting Around.
Speaking of infrastructure some things to understand about the old city; In the old city there are basically two terms for the streets; Calle and Carrera.
In the old city Calles run basically and with some exceptions east to west. The are numbered sequentially and the lower numbers start in the south and a higher number means you moved north. Carreras run basically and with some exceptions north to south. They are numbered sequentially and the lower number starts in the west and the numbers get larger as you move east. The signs are are on the sides of buildings at the corners.
There will almost always be two street signs posted, an old sign with just the old name and newer sign that has the two differing street names. In days of yore the streets had different names than now but Cartagena has since modernized and simplified the grid. The new signs are brown the old signs are multicolored mostly blue, gold and white with only he old name look like a tile work with fancy blue border and the city coat of arms painted in it. If you only see an old sign check the corners of the other buildings for a new brown sign. The actual name of the street that corresponds to the new numbered grid is in small letters so be careful to just read the small print. One sign will have the old name and one will have either the new name or both. Cartagena likes to keep a hold of its heritage so the old names are not going away. When I first started going to Cartagena these were not marked with the new names, only the old names and the old names change every couple of blocks or so. I stayed lost LOL.
I am going to attach some photos I snipped from Google Street Maps, the two photos of new brown sighs show the street that La Dolce Vita is located on the street is Carrera 6 , The old name when you first turn onto Carrera 6 coming from the Plaza de Les Coches (inside the wall next to the clock tower) is called Calle de Colegio but than as you cross the intersection just before La Dolce Vita it changes to Calle de Prevnar. Then a photo of just an old street sign. Again I repeat the actual name is in small letters so be careful to just read the small print. The other photo is one I took in El Laguito to demonstrate how many taxis are on the roads.
While I do truly enjoy the food at La Cevechieria. It's the epicenter of annoying people trying to sell you stuff.
[QUOTE=Rzrfl69;2510864]While I do truly enjoy the food at La Cevechieria. It's the epicenter of annoying people trying to sell you stuff.[/QUOTE]Welcome to Cartagena, La cevicheria or Cancha Cevicheria is a very good restaurant I think they have the best ceviches in the city, I hope you can enjoy the city, and of course the beauty of our Latina women.
[QUOTE=Nyezhov;2510861]I'll be following you adventures closely as I'm going to get jabbed in February and be ready to take off again by August. If Thailand doesn't want to welcome my money by letting me come and go, there are alternatives. The air is bad in Bangkok again already too.[/QUOTE]I'll definitely type up field reports after arrival.
Haven't yet booked my accommodations, as I'm still researching it and have a little bit of time.
As far as Latin America goes, my only experiences were in Mexico a few years ago and were generally mixed, but I have higher expectations here.
My personal preference would be to get back to Bangkok or Makati (due to familiarity), but that doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon.
Looking at youtube videos of the clock tower, it sort of reminds me of the Greenbelt scene near the Havana Cafe in Makati, so we will see.
Any women on Twitter and is so, could you pass along the #s. Also how do I access Tinder anonymously. Or can I rent a Tinder account from someone.
[QUOTE=OnFireBoy;2510865]Welcome to Cartagena, La cevicheria or Cancha Cevicheria is a very good restaurant I think they have the best ceviches in the city, I hope you can enjoy the city, and of course the beauty of our Latina women.[/QUOTE]Are these places in centro? I'll be there in 2 weeks! Haven't been in Cartagena since 2011. Looking forward to getting to know the city!
[QUOTE=MojoBandit;2510863]The infrastructure in the tourist areas of Cartagena and the immediately surrounding neighborhoods are the same you would find anywhere 1st world so to speak. Some buildings show more decay than others but that ahs improved recently too (in the past few years) I would even say that Cartagena has less buildings by percentage that show decay than Venice. These buildings are old, Spanish colonial old.
One of the main issues regarding infrastructure is just a real lack of storm drainage so when those short downpours happen the streets overflow with water fairly quickly.
Transportation wise Taxis as ratio to other cars can rival NYC, not a problem finding a taxi and even when you get ripped off you get a good fare LOL. They do wonder through the old city but really there is not a lot of traffic on the narrow streets of the old city they can be found thicker in places like Bocagrande and El Laguito.
Tips on Getting Around.
Speaking of infrastructure some things to understand about the old city; In the old city there are basically two terms for the streets; Calle and Carrera.
In the old city Calles run basically and with some exceptions east to west. The are numbered sequentially and the lower numbers start in the south and a higher number means you moved north. Carreras run basically and with some exceptions north to south. They are numbered sequentially and the lower number starts in the west and the numbers get larger as you move east. The signs are are on the sides of buildings at the corners.
There will almost always be two street signs posted, an old sign with just the old name and newer sign that has the two differing street names. In days of yore the streets had different names than now but Cartagena has since modernized and simplified the grid. The new signs are brown the old signs are multicolored mostly blue, gold and white with only he old name look like a tile work with fancy blue border and the city coat of arms painted in it. If you only see an old sign check the corners of the other buildings for a new brown sign. The actual name of the street that corresponds to the new numbered grid is in small letters so be careful to just read the small print. One sign will have the old name and one will have either the new name or both. Cartagena likes to keep a hold of its heritage so the old names are not going away. When I first started going to Cartagena these were not marked with the new names, only the old names and the old names change every couple of blocks or so. I stayed lost LOL.
I am going to attach some photos I snipped from Google Street Maps, the two photos of new brown sighs show the street that La Dolce Vita is located on the street is Carrera 6 , The old name when you first turn onto Carrera 6 coming from the Plaza de Les Coches (inside the wall next to the clock tower) is called Calle de Colegio but than as you cross the intersection just before La Dolce Vita it changes to Calle de Prevnar. Then a photo of just an old street sign. Again I repeat the actual name is in small letters so be careful to just read the small print. The other photo is one I took in El Laguito to demonstrate how many taxis are on the roads.[/QUOTE]Good post! I'll be there in 2 weeks. Can you recommend a couple of places to eat good and not pay tourist prices? Any good places for fish and cerviche? Gracias!
[QUOTE=BrotherP;2511034]Good post! I'll be there in 2 weeks. Can you recommend a couple of places to eat good and not pay tourist prices?...[/QUOTE]It is a tourist town, so any fancy place in Bocagrande, the walled city, Getsemani is going to charge tourist prices for tourist food. However, it's still, even with the recent decline of the USD, very inexpensive compared to US or European prices. The most expensive entree at a white tablecloth, foreign restaurant is going to be $10 to $15 max.
[QUOTE=Detwing1;2511022]I'll definitely type up field reports after arrival.
Haven't yet booked my accommodations, as I'm still researching it and have a little bit of time.
As far as Latin America goes, my only experiences were in Mexico a few years ago and were generally mixed, but I have higher expectations here.
My personal preference would be to get back to Bangkok or Makati (due to familiarity), but that doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon.
Looking at youtube videos of the clock tower, it sort of reminds me of the Greenbelt scene near the Havana Cafe in Makati, so we will see.[/QUOTE]I have been to both and pulled girls from both the Greenbelt near the Havana Cafe in Makati and the Clock Tower in Cartagena. Yes very similar just replace the pinoy's for Latin American girls with curves.
I love them all.
The Tall Man.
Just walk around Boca grande and you will see places where locals are eating. In my opinion it's better to pay the tourist prices. And not just tourists wealthy Colombians.
[QUOTE=BrotherP;2511034]Good post! I'll be there in 2 weeks. Can you recommend a couple of places to eat good and not pay tourist prices? Any good places for fish and cerviche? Gracias![/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=JohnClayton;2511039]It is a tourist town, so any fancy place in Bocagrande, the walled city, Getsemani is going to charge tourist prices for tourist food. However, it's still, even with the recent decline of the USD, very inexpensive compared to US or European prices. The most expensive entree at a white tablecloth, foreign restaurant is going to be $10 to $15 max.[/QUOTE]I understand. Thanks! I'm just going to enjoy and not be cheap. I'm thinking of retiring there in a few years so I plan to try to see a lot. I have a few solid contacts. Should be a fun trip!
[QUOTE=Kafka;2511074]Just walk around Boca grande and you will see places where locals are eating. In my opinion it's better to pay the tourist prices. And not just tourists wealthy Colombians.[/QUOTE]Ok, thanks! 10 or 15 bucks for a good meal is fine!