Cartagena Basics 2008 - Part 1/3: Language, Laguito or ElCentro?, Safety
these 3 reports (parts 1/3, 2/3, 3/3) are the updated version of 3 reports i posted here about one year ago, which i believe feature good pieces of information. i was back to ctg 3 days in the first week of december 2008. therefore, i thought to update my reports with recent info, still leaving all text that is not outdated. i believe this may be very useful to many. please do not blame me if i repeat.
in these 3 reports, i will try to summarize a bit of *my* experience in cartagena (3 days in 2008, 1 week in 2007, 1 week in 2006) for the benefit of those who will follow. i will not talk only of mongering, since even the most excited mongerer needs some rest and to look at other things, i believe.
i understand that this is my personal point of view and that not everyone will agree with everything i will write, but on the other hand i am sure that many others will share my thoughts.
warning
this report is not suited for you, if what you seek in a vacation abroad is, first, a sport bar where to watch football on a megascreen, in company of many other tourists of your same country, and then a club with girls and beers. just skip this post.
also, i believe this report will not find much appreciation by those who find laguito the most exciting destination of cartagena, or that do not see anything interesting in the area within the fortification walls of el centro. the world is good because varied and everybody finds something most suited to personal taste.
do i speak spanish?
basic spanish-speaking skills are definitely recommended. without spanish, you have to deal only with those who are well used to treat tourists. this is a not good-promising, especially if she is a chica. or not?
in any case, not speaking spanish will limit your possibilities too much here, whatever you want to do.
most people in ctg does not speak english. also, their spanish is actually "costeño" in most cases, rather hard to understand and different from other spanish dialects spoken in latin america.
should i stay in laguito or el centro?
this is the first question for all newcomers. i have been in ctg 3 times, the first (2006) i was in a hotelito of bocagrande (the one you find on expedia), the 2nd and 3rd (2007, 2008) in el centro.
bocagrande is a modern area, full of skyscrapers, tourist malls and restaurants, and all the like. being there, you will not notice you are in colombia, unless you don't talk to somebody or watch the look of most people.
hotels and restaurants, for the same level of service, are on the average more expensive than in centro. for example, compare the prices of hotels like hilton, almirante or caribe with those of 4/5-stars colonial-style luxury hotels of the centro (which non surprisingly are not quoted on expedia, hotel.com, etc). prices do not differ much, but what a difference of service, accommodation and atmosphere! if you stay in bocagrande, tough, you'll have the beach 5 minutes from your room. i understand this is not of deprived of value.
almost all restaurants in bocagrande are very tourist-style, with standard menues and service, more tending to a fast food than to a restaurant where to taste delicacies to remember (there are exceptions, see below).
el centro is on the unesco's world heritage list. it exhibits an impressive fortification system (walls and a castle). all houses are in spanish colonial style. there are hotels among the most charming ones of latin america (best roooms or suites may cost from 300 to 1000 usd per night, though). i found a little but charming hotel (3 stars maybe) in san diego, which cost about 60-70 usd/night (same price in 2007 and 2008). i went back on 2008.
there are also very-low-budget accommodations, good for youngsters who travel in group.
if you like to take photos, you'll be lost in el centro. it is so nice to walk and just look people there.
there are countless good and excellent restaurants (they may cost up to 70 usd per person, warning! ) for all budgets, to taste authentic costeño, criollo or caribe food (comida paisa is also available everywhere here and in bocagrande). moreover, best places for hunting or just dancing at night are in el centro. in conclusion, i suggest to stay in el centro and forget bocagrande.
safety issues?
you can walk at any time of the night at bocagrande, even if you are a blonde gringo-looking.
in el centro, i'd say *almost* the same. the situation has improved a lot in these years. it is full of police at any time. however, some care should be taken anyway. if you don't feel confortable, or you are exhibiting a big wallet and expensive watch, it is better you avoid going out of the fortification walls at night or walking alone at night at getsemani (i did it happily more than once, but i understand it may be problematic for others).
the fame of getsemani as a dangerous place is however exhagerated: many us youngsters take low-cost rooms there and stroll at night with no problems.
my choice, in 2007 and 2008, was lodging at el centro, in san diego close to santa clara hotel.
a taxi ride from bocagrande to centro or back costs the standard fare 5000$ (at any time night and day! do not pay more).
more safety issues
in addition to the above, be prudent, but do not be afraid to walk at day outside the walls. for example, go to the castle (el castillo) on foot, to see something different than the central square of the town. people is good and if you stop to drink in a bar they will talk to you very friendly.
obviously, you should not go walking in a poor barrio wearing a rolex, but this is common sense also in usa, and not only in colombia. be prudent and you'll be safe. make a stroll also in el mercado or getsemani. you'll see people and situations very different from what you are probably used at home. this is why we travel, in most cases, right?
cross all small streets of getsemani, day time, to enjoy the atmosphere. in the central square of getsemani, there is a nice place for almuerzar.
i went a couple of times to have a beer at the bar california at the beginning of calle media luna in getsemani, in front of the garden. i watched music videos with noisy people there, i chatted with guys and girls. none of them is dangerous for sure. at night, just avoid to walk outside walls, especially if you are wearing expensive clothes, except the arsenal (core of nightlife for many good-family young cartagenians). dangerous places, to be avoided at night and even at day if you are alone, are the roads outside the walls where there are bushes and trees. i was told that it happens that criminals hide there, waiting for single persons to robber. it is a well-known problem of security.
the infamous case of the couple of elderly italians robbered (and the man killed) 2 years ago happened this way. they were walking in the late afternoon on the road out of the walls, close to parque apollo. a teen jumped out from the bushes with a gun.
basic precautions and common sense will avoid problems, here like anywhere else. consider that ctg (centre! ) is one of the safest towns in colombia, due to the high pressure by the police.
(end of part 1/3) (part 2/3 follows...)
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Cartagena Basics 2008 - Part 2/3: Beaches, Restaurants, Bars and Discos
(. follows from part 1/3)
beaches
basically, i am sorry to say so, but the beach in ctg (bocagrande and laguito) sucks. it is wide, with good sand, bars, women that sell good plates of fresh fruit (salada de fruta: 5000$ in 2007, 7000$ in 2008! i think too many tourists have visited), sexy girls at times. but, on one side there are the skyscrapers of bocagrande, on the other the water of the ocean, which is not transparent and not very appealing. beach bars asks variable prices, depending on how you look. basically, their principle is to squeeze as much money as possible from the tourists. if you show you can pay higher prices, then they remember you and you'll be their gold mine throughout your stay.
price for a beer is 3k. if they offer you a seat, ask the price before sitting.
avoid tony, touts and all the like. frankly, i don't see the reason to pay tony for the same girls you can meet at night in clubs of el centro. i admit i tried tony and another tout (2006, 2007), of course as everyone, and i wasted my quota of money as others. now, thanks, i learned and i don't repeat.
avoid also massages on your shoulders (30k? ), live music and fresh (fresh? with that temperature? ) crabs and raw clams sold on the beach. want to try crab legs? hmmm guess how much they will ask you to pay? 5k? 10k? more! i did the mistake to accept one, as it was offered "just to try". then, the guy asked my 15k. i did not pay, but a long discussion started. since we go to the beach to relax, i don't advise you to accept to taste it.
to have good sea, you better head to nearby islands by boat (e. g. , islas del rosario, playa blanca, tierra bomba, etc.).
if you go to the beach to meet sexy girls, weekends offer best opportunities (semi-pro have more free time).
restaurants
in bocagrande, if you are tired of fast-food, burgers or arepas, try the restaurants on the last beach before the beach of hilton. you go there from the little alley (a) that begins at laguito where there is the police station, or from the previous alley (b) just 50m before coming from centro.
the best restaurant is known to be "el muelle", with terrace on sea, left side at the end of alley b. fresh fish (pescados) and seafood (mariscos). open at night too. the terrace is very good. one forum member reported that he had stomach problems after having eaten fish there. personally, i did not have such problems. also, some local friend took me there for dinner, so i guess it has good reputation among locals. at daytime, you will enjoy also the small cheap restaurant called dona marciana (at end of a). i love it! it is the last one and offers fresh catch-of-the day fish (but do not look at the kitchen. ! ). in 2006 and 2007, there was a nice beach in front of it. in dec. 2008, the beach was non-existent, all eaten by the sea. one waiter is called manuel and is definitely a good person.
in el centro, it is simply a gastronomy feast, even for high-demanding gourmets. if money is not a problem and you want to impress a high-end chica, try la vitrola (70usd) near cafe del mar or the famous la casa del socorro (arsenal). la vitrola is too formal for my taste, but it is a high-end restaurant where you can enjoy high-quality dishes, prepared very well.
however, good restaurants are countless in el centro! i tried more than once "juan del mar" and "santisimo" in san diego (in range 40usd), stilish and good. better these ones than la vitrola, for price/quality ratio. all are famous for fish.
in short, forget fast foods in bocagrande and go to el centro for a rewarding dinner, if gastronomy has some value for you. (if you just look for burgers, then you better have skipped this section).
bars for drinking, eating and listening to music
these two are very classy bars of el centro, where to enjoy the view of cartagena in good company.
1) cafe del mar, on the walls of el centro.
spectacular breathtaking view of the sea and bocagrande, fresh wind from the sea, good cocktails. the music is very good and well selected: ambient, electronic and trance. stunning girls on display (many rich tourists, also colombians, like to bring there their stunning beauties for a drink).
2) casa de la cerveza, on the walls at the end of arsenal road. similar to cafè del mar. it is possible to eat well and drink beer made by them. high-end ambient. the amazing view is on el centro, bocagrande and el castillo.
and don't miss:
3) donde fidel, aside tu candela, almost in plaza del reloy.
it has tables outside, on the square. in spite of the place, it is inexpensive and good. there, they play the best salsa music in town. inside, a thick crowd of local and some tourists exercises dancing, mixed all together.
discos (primarily) for music
these places are not primarily meeting points for chicas (forget the ldv style). they are places where people go to dance and have fun.
1) (visited in 2007) joy slava, in el centro, close to walls, not far from cafè del mar. good disco, well known in ctg, where "normal" people go to dance. two rooms. it is certainly possible to meet also pro's, semi-pro's and non-pro's here.
2) discos along the calle on the arsenal. this road is the "zona rosa" of el centro. it starts from the big square in front of the reloy (outside the walls) and goes till the casa de la cerveza (near the bridge to la manga and el castillo).
completely safe to walk at any time of the night.
if you go to walk along this road on any friday or saturday night, after 12am, you'll probably have severe problems when you'll be back home and you'll compare to the girls of your home country. it is unbelievable how many beautiful girls live in this country and how sexy they like to dress. !
(i am speaking about normal girls that hang out with friends)
the most famous club here is mister babilla (visited 2008, great! ). pay a cover charge 10k on weekends. pay up to 14k for cocktails. the girls dancing on tables will cause you psychic problems, probably, once back home and you compare. there are also a couple of pure discos, very well attended.
one night, the chica i was walking with pointed my attention to a stunning blonde walking on her high heels with a friend. she was a famous tv-news reader, very well known in colombia (i forgot her name). many were stopping her to take a photo with her.
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(end of part 2/3) (part 3/3 follows...)
Cartagena Basics 2008 - Part 3/3: Hotels where to bring girls, nightlife & mongering
(. Follows from Part 2/3)
HOTELS
Why so many guys are worried to know if the hotel is chica-friendly or not? Are you all so willing to bring somebody you don't know in your room, where you keep all your private things?
There are so many cheap and satisfying alternatives in CTG.
1) For the lazy one in Bocagrande.
Plenty of almost-sleazy hotels offer their rooms by the hour (ask: "por un rato"). They ask about 20k. I do not recommend them, unless you are on the hurry with a SW met on a street of Bocagrande late at night. Safe, but do not expect luxury forniture and service. I don't want to mention their names here, to avoid them possible problems.
2) For the lazy one in El Centro.
Here, hotels that offer rooms by the hour are really not attractive. Lower quality, worse cleanness than in Bocagrande. I do not recommend them. I tried one in 2006 and it was like a hotel in Santa Fe Bogota.
3) WHERE I GO AND I RECOMMEND TO GO
The place where to go, if you have a good classy chica met at LDV or other discos at ElCentro, is a motel specialized for this business. There, you will relax in a good environment, at any time 24h/24h, for a very cheap rate, without worrying about your stuff or what the personnel of your hotel may say.
Try:
- JAIBA (pronounce: "haiva"), a motel in an barrio just after Crespo (the way from El Centro to the airport, at right), 5-10 minutes by taxi from the Clock Square (Reloy).
Rooms from small and cheap to luxury suites. Cost is about 14k or 20k (2008 price) per 2 hours minimum (YES, 7-10 USD! ). Time is counted automatically, so you can stay all time you want. Different types of rooms are available. Usually, they take you to the cheapest available, unless you don't ask differently.
You arrive by taxi, the car enters the slot, you walk up and nobody sees you. At the end, you call the bill by phone and it is delivered on a small window in 5 minutes. The rooms of medium quality are large, very clean, with glass shower box, well furnished, even a "sex chair" for trying multiple positions (see it to believe). It is a deluxe environment, with privacy guarantee, even drinks and food available "a la orde".
I cannot believe it: I suggested Jaiba in a previous report in 2006, I repeated my suggestion in 2007, but almost nobody seemed to react. It is by far the best accommodation I could recommend for this business: cheap and good. Try it one time and you'll tell me.
- CANGREJO. On the same street of Jaiba, cheaper and less beatiful. I did not try it. Maybe if Jaiba is full.
- DUNES. Not far from Jaiba, in a near barrio. Deluxe accommodation, better quality than Jaiba, more expensive, but still very cheap for the service provided: 28k for min 2 hours (2007 price)!
Standard price to go there by taxi: 10k$ from El Centro (15k$ from Bocagrande), max 12k at late night. Ask before leaving, so you will be not overcharged. Leave 2000$ tip. I was asked also 15k from El Centro. It depends how you look and how greedy is the driver (and how willing you are to be overcharged).
A bit more the price to go back (15k). The motel will call you a taxi to return.
Don't worry to get lost: just ask the taxi driver "haiva" or "dunes". They ALL KNOW THEM. All girls also know these places. So, you may let her to talk to the driver, if you don't feel confident. The place is SAFE, clean and well attended.
DISCOS FOR GIRLS
Finally, we come to the point: Where to meet pro and semi-pro chicas?
1) "LA DULCE VITA".
It is close to the casino, at the first floor of the building near where the road after Caribe bends to left heading to Hilton.
It is the most acclaimed destination in this forum. Guys, don't jump on me, but I cannot agree with that.
LDV is the main destination of all tourists in Bocagrande who have money but are not willing to move their ass, even by taxi. As a result, if you go there you'll find yourself competing with several gringoes or other rich tourists from Europe. Girls are pricey, when stunning, and more used to USD than to Pesos. Here, the quality of girls is not better than in discoes of El Centro.
However, I understand that my taste is not necessarily the same as of others, so I am happy to see that others will disagree with me (at least, they go to LDV and we do not compete for the same resources in my favourite clubs! ).
2) Discos in El Centro.
The most expensive and advertised is ISIS, 1 block from the Plaza de la Aduana. I never went there (2007 and 2008), since I don't like to be pulled by all poor street boys who get money for bringing people there. As far as I know, it is pricey, but girls are high-end.
The best places that I suggest are TU CANDELA (visited 2007, 2008), XXXX and ELEKTRA.
There are other bars too, e. G. Bamboo.
I liked DIVA in 2007 (is it still open on 2008? I did not go, so I don't detail here to avoid to supply outdated info).
TU CANDELA has doors on the Plaza del Reloy. Cover only on weekends, when there is a lot of people, not all necessarily hunting for a mate. Cocktails around 13k-16k$ or so.
XXXXX is very good (I forgot its name! Anybody can help? MAybe QUEENS? I am not sure, sooorrrry! ). It is in the same place of the old GIRO MATTO (closed in 2007). It is a good place, where I saw the best girls in 2008, with an excellent ratio males/females. Same prices as in TU CANDELA.
In TUCANDELA and XXXXX, in 2007 and 2008, I met many stunning girls, so sexy that are hard to believe they are real and not product of synthesis. Age range: mostly 18-25. They ALL ask from 150k to 200k, but since there were not many men hunting around (at least in these days), I always bargained down to 100k-150k, without discussing about time (I guess TLN was offered, although I prefer to be back home later to sleep). Provided that I cannot imagine how a girl could be better, in terms of body, sexy attitude, etc. , I am satisfied of what I spent.
My favourite place, in 2008, was this one. Too bad that I forgot its name. However, it is the one at the same place of GIRO MATTO. If anybody can help, confirming me that its name is now Queens. (There is a Queens, but I am not sure it is this one).
Another good place is ELEKTRA, 1 block from Plaza del Reloy.
It is the disco where girls go after all other clubs are closed (2. 30am). It took the role of Giro Matto, if you know what I mean.
It is the place where they try the last chance to have a mate for the night. I guess it helps bargaining.
It closes at 5am or so.
3) Other Casas
In 2007, I tried PLEYCLUB (written like that, yes). It is a well-known strip club, with rooms and standard legal full service. It is in El Bosque, 10 minutes by taxi from Reloy.
About 12 girls, not bad but really one step down compared to what I was used to see in Tu Candela and Diva.
I asked the price: 150k for 20minutes! She told me this is the regulated price of the club, including the room.
Since I did not like the price, and the girl herself was attractive but not a goodness as I was starting to be used to (now I am back home and I feel drepressed), I decided to leave.
STREETWALKERS?
Yes, there are also SWs here. The quality cannot be the same as in clubs, but not bad, after all.
A small group gathers each night at the corner of Plaza del Reloy, right-front entering the Plaza from outside through the Reloy door. Various kinds of, literally. A night in 2007, I saw a pregnant girl approaching 8 months or so. In 2008, no such sights.
Others may be met on the benches in front of Tu Candela and Diva. They are different every night. In 2008, I did not see many here.
The largest group meets all nights in front of Bar California, on the other side of the square of the Reloy, outside the walls, after the gardens, where Calle Media Luna begins (Getsemani). Along the Calle, there are others. At day, they are in the garden. Sometimes, they move to closeby streets.
They are not attractive, however. There are exceptions in this group, though: there are two black teens (18 and 19 are still teens) who are sexy and considerably above the others. I chatted a lot with the most attractive one (not only chatted actually). One evening, I even took her to have a drink at Donde Fidel. She was not used to "higher-class" bars, apparently.
Many SW can be met in Bocagrande, night and day.
At day, some were available on the street that goes from the Police Station to Hilton in 2007. I did not see anyone in 2008.
At night, many SWs along the beach road and along the main road of Bocagrande (where there are all main shops).
Quality is not comparable to that of clubs. Prices are lower, though (I was asked 50k-60k).
(end)
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What is the name of the club where GIRO MATTO was?
In my previous report, I called it XXXX.
It was my favourite club during my stay in Dec. 2008 in CTG, for the quantity and quality of girls I saw there all nites, not to mention the low men/girls ratio. It is in the same place where Giro Matto was, 2 years before.
Too bad, I forgot its name. GRRRR!
Anybody can help me? To complete my report.
I think it may be QUEENS, but I am not sure.
