Cartagena Reports

[QUOTE=Tom 33]Claudia hangs out with Alba and Sandra mostly. They are all good performers, but Claudia is the star.

Rocio and Yusleides are also regulars on the streets of Laguito. I recommend them both.

The weather actually eases a bit from Jan. through Mar. It almost seemed a little on the cool side a couple of nights.[/QUOTE]Yusleides is a cutie. Very nice. Fun girl.

Anyway to get decent seats for the Pagent shows? That would be cool!

[QUOTE=Junkyard]I've been browsing the Cartagena reports for the last few weeks, and decided to take a trip down! My primary concern is November 9 - 18th a good time to visit? I see that there is a Beauty Pagent from November 1 - 13, and independence day is the 13th as well. I don't mind all the people being around. But will it affect mongering? This date works well because I can take time off of work. If this isn't a good time, should I try something earlier or wait until the next year?

I have several other questions, but I plan on going through every single post with a notebook to find them. I'll re-post with the questions and answers that I found, and the questions that I couldn't find answers to. Thanks for your help,

Junkyard[/QUOTE]

There are many events over 2 weeks leading up to the finals. Some of those events require no tickets. I found a website for the 2005 contest but nothing for 2006. The contestants stay at the Hilton in Laguito. The Hilton will have an events calendar available closer to the contest. The major events are held at the Convention Center in Centro. A stage is constructed on the beach in Bocagrande for some events.

I have been in town for the last three contests but never really went to any events.

Medellin's entry to the Miss Colombia contest last year.

Miss Colombia

she is hot. But Miss Choco, who was the runner-up was smokin hot.......

Now for you guys going to CTG, during miss colombia a few things to know:

1) There are hot looking chicas everywhere, however many of them are not working girls, so use some smarts when approaching them. But oh my, all shapes and colors....

2) If you go to the parade, be ready to get hit with Water balloons, Ink ballons, shaving creme and other projectiles... I learned the hard way and got hit right in the chest with an ink balloon, staining my #5 reggie bush jersey. I got pissed and grabbed the guy who threw it and had to be restrained from beating the shit out of them. One guy explained to me very apologetically that it was custom, but understood my anger. I then said " fuck it", and then went and bought 3 cans of the silly string and a huge soaker and got right into the fray. Only bad thing is my novia got sprayed in the face, and we had to wash her eyes out. It stung her like hell...

3) The Boat parade was even crazier. Not recommended unless you want all out war on the high seas. I was surprised no boat capsized or sank.I saw shit that I could not believe. That time I just had to listen to a drunkin colombian ***** about me and my friend calling us "rich gringos", "putas" etc... Now, this time I kept my cool and let the buffoon carry on. Then the Colombian coast guard boards our boat and makes us pull up to a dock. It turns out our boat did not have a permit, or was overcrowded. Now, I am starting to get nervous, thinking of a colombian jail, having my blue eyes harvested ( a rumor about this happening to a guy in rural colombia), but after about a 45 miunte delay. The captain of the Coastguard points to me, my friend and our novias and says to me in English
"you can go, the boat will be released soon" After that, No more boat pararde for me....

Advice: Make sure if you go to the boat parade, get there early and get a ticket on one of the bigger boats... Our boat was a pirated boat... Live and learn.

make sure you have reservations in November, the place is packed..

I have always stayed away, but I have been told that they like to throw shit as well. I don't mean figurative shit. It's the real stuff. Be thankful that it was only ink.

I just happen to have one of Miss Choco as well.

Tom

thanks for the picture of my negrita princess. she looks better even in person..

Since my last trip to Medellin was much less then what I had hoped, I have decided to return to good old Cartagena. It has been about a year and half since I have been there. I have been visiting the "Playground" of South America for about 7 years or so. so I am not a newby at this.

I will buy my airline tickets in the next few days. First ticket will be a roundtrip Avianca flight from Miami (MIA) to Cartagena (CTG). I want the 2 hour and 45 minute direct flight from MIA to CTG. Do not want the one that goes thru Bogota. As I recall they only do this like 3 days a week. Anyone remember which days?? When I was looking before, the best deal I could find was about $445 total on Expedia. Any suggestions for other places to look or travel agents to contact?

Where to stay that first night?? I have a hotel I like but I do not remember the name. It is across the street from the country club. I will not bother to even try to make a reservation. I figure the odds are 99% that they will find a room for me. I have tipped the staff well in the past and I am sure that they will be thrilled to have me stay with them again. If you go to [url]http://www.zepelion.com/apartamentos/index.htm[/url] you can see the hotel in that top picture. See the swimming pool at the bottom about 1/4 of the way from the right. That is the pool at the country club. The red to the northeast are tennis courts. The black thing to the northwest is the country club building. A little more to the northwest are the top 2 or 3 floors of the hotel and is yellowish white. It is a nice hotel. Has AC, cable TV, a pool in the back, free breakfast, and HOT WATER. Also a restaurant in the bottom and you can charge your meals and drinks to your room. Also a bar. I rent the room for 2 people and have never had any problems with bringing chicas back, in fact I normally rent TWO room side by side so I have some place to put my extra chicas. As I recall rooms are about $50 a night.

I also went to [url]http://www.zepelion.com/apartamentos/index.htm[/url] and contacted Juan about renting an apartment from him. I have known Juan for years and he is a great guy. I have met Mery a couple of times and seems like a sweetheart but have not rented from her yet.

I am thinking about renting ATL1201 thru Juan. I have never stayed in that building but have looked at apartments there before. I am thinking about renting for 3 nights to start with. That will give me a chance to see if I like the place or not. Someone else mentioned in their report that they had stayed there and seemed to like it. This trip is for fun and I do not mind spoiling myself a bit with where I stay. CTG is HOT and HUMID and I want a place where I can be comfortable since I will be spending a lot of my time in my apartment during the day.

I will try to write reports as I go along so you can see how the Treeshark does his Cartagena vacations.

[QUOTE=Treeshark]As I recall they only do this like 3 days a week. Anyone remember which days?? [/QUOTE]From Miami to Cartagena? Everyday.

From Cartagena to Miami, Wednesdays and Sundays.

Unless things just changed in the last few months..

The flight goes on Wed. and Sun. Other trips are added for busier times. I generally go on Wed. because it is cheaper for me to get to MIA mid-week.

[QUOTE=Tom 33]The flight goes on Wed. and Sun. Other trips are added for busier times. I generally go on Wed. because it is cheaper for me to get to MIA mid-week.[/QUOTE]I'm a fan of the midweek flight as well, here are the numbers and times, which as far as I know remain static:

Wed. AVIANCA 0035 Miami DEP 13:10 MD8 Cartagena ARR 15:50
Wed. AVIANCA 0034 Cartagena DEP 09:10 M83 Miami ARR 11:55

Assuming a 7 day trip with between 1 and 2 months notice, this should be like $450; prices fluctuate wildly closer to departure date. With 30 days notice you can likely fly anywhere in the states to MIA for $200 RT. On flight legs in and out of CTG, be sure to allow 1.5hrs at least for connection to the next leg. MIA is a small airport and easy to navigate, but the customs officials are NOT. Nothing like a romantic date with a rubber glove AND missing your flight on top of that. The connection I usually make allows 1.5hrs exactly, and I find this allows very little room for error/food/etc.. so plan accordingly.

Avianca asks that you be at the airport 3 hours prior to international departures. I have never needed close to that much time, but I'm always there at least 3 hours in advance.

I need two legs to get to MIA. Thus I always spend the night at the Holiday Inn Express near the airport. Then do the MIA-CTG leg the next day.

[QUOTE=Treeshark]Since it sounds like towels would be problem at ATL1201 , I could bring some extra towels with me or buy some extra ones down there.[/QUOTE]BTW, you can buy towels on the main street where they have the flee market for about $2-3 each. Beside the hotdog shop called "Dogger".

[QUOTE=MJG Dogs]
2) If you go to the parade, be ready to get hit with Water balloons, Ink ballons, shaving creme and other projectiles... I learned the hard way and got hit right in the chest with an ink balloon, staining my #5 reggie bush jersey. I got pissed and grabbed the guy who threw it and had to be restrained from beating the shit out of them. One guy explained to me very apologetically that it was custom, but understood my anger. I then said " fuck it", and then went and bought 3 cans of the silly string and a huge soaker and got right into the fray. Only bad thing is my novia got sprayed in the face, and we had to wash her eyes out. It stung her like hell...[/QUOTE]

This kind of shit really pisses me off about Colombia. We had similar, though not so damaging problems during the Cavalgata (sp?) in Cali. Too many drunkards behaving stupidly is a recipe for disaster. And a real problem if you're there to take photos. Maybe I should invest in a waterproof case? :D