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[QUOTE=Surfer500;2402924]Saturday night at 7:30 PM I was with one of my regulars in Poblado. The street was deserted as there was nobody else out because of the heavy rainfall, and all of sudden a motorcycle pulls up with two guys on it, one guy gets off, put's a gun to my Chicas head, and say's give me your handbag or I will kill you.[/QUOTE]Got damn Surf. What you doing in Poblado? You better take your ass back downtown where it is safe.
[QUOTE=Surfer500;2402924]Saturday night at 7:30 PM I was with one of my regulars in Poblado. We were walking on the sidewalk along Carrea 46, about a block and a half away from the Poblado EXITO. We got caught in an unexpected downpour, and it was raining very hard as we were headed to Calle 10. While we were walking I had an umbrella to cover us and we had are heads down trying to figure out how not to step in the deeper puddles while we were walking. The street was deserted as there was nobody else out because of the heavy rainfall, and all of sudden a motorcycle pulls up with two guys on it, one guy gets off, put's a gun to my Chicas head, and say's give me your handbag or I will kill you. The guy takes the handbag, hops back on the Motorcycle, and they take off. This all happened in less than ten seconds and there wasn't much I could do about it. We were sitting ducks on a deserted street during a heavy downpour, and were unaware of our surroundings as we were walking with are heads down trying to figure out where to step. I was surprised that the thief didn't ask me to empty my pockets which I asked my Chica about, and she said for some reason women with bags seem to be targeted versus the men. I suspect that's because the thieves assume that a woman may not put up a fight, versus a man might. Regardless, if any one has a gun, I'm not going to put up a fight. So my Chica got her bag stolen, she had 40 Mil on her, a cheap cell phone, and some clothes in her bag, and her Cedula as well taken.[/QUOTE]And Poblado area to boot, wow good thing you handed everything they ask for over.
These thugs always target the lamb and weakest among the bunch, that's why they always rip off the chicas. They are not stupid and will almost never mess with a big tall guy like me, why? Because there is always weak / small / frail guys or a woman that are easy targets.
I can tell you all with certainty that just in the past 2 or 3 months I have had 3 friends (all Colombians living in Medellin) that I know personally get held up. But again we are close to x-mass and holidays.
Never ever let your awareness down, as you see it does not matter if your in Poblado or centro, if your a target then your a target.
Never become confident and complacent.
Good thing you only lost some physical items and a part of your ego.
The Tall Man.
[QUOTE=Nounce;2403083]Surfer, glad you are ok. These types of robberies are not uncommon. There are many reports that people are robbed in taxis by robbers riding motorcycles. I don't think there is any easy way to predict when and where it will happen.[/QUOTE]At a stop light in a taxi, you're an sitting target. Nothing you can do if someone points a gun in the back window. Walking with a chica IMO is also an inviting target.
These delinquents know what they're doing!
True that, I feel a lot safer driving myself or sitting in the front seat of an uber. In the back seat of a taxi I keep my phone out of sight.
[QUOTE=Combo;2403115]At a stop light in a taxi, you're an sitting target. Nothing you can do if someone points a gun in the back window. Walking with a chica IMO is also an inviting target.
These delinquents know what they're doing![/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Surfer500;2402924] Regardless, if any one has a gun, I'm not going to put up a fight. So my Chica got her bag stolen, she had 40 Mil on her, a cheap cell phone, and some clothes in her bag, and her Cedula as well taken.
[/QUOTE]Glad you are okay, sorry that this happened to you. Only a fool would put up a fight in that situation. Those guys are scum. I am shocked too that they targeted her instead of a gringo.
[QUOTE=MojoBandit;2403184]Glad you are okay, sorry that this happened to you. Only a fool would put up a fight in that situation. Those guys are scum. I am shocked too that they targeted her instead of a gringo.[/QUOTE]Sounds to me that speed was important to them. It would have taken more time to ask the gringo to empty his pockets, etc. They did not want to get off the moto, just grab and go.
[QUOTE=MojoBandit;2403184]Glad you are okay, sorry that this happened to you. Only a fool would put up a fight in that situation. Those guys are scum. I am shocked too that they targeted her instead of a gringo.[/QUOTE]Thank you and others (except Mr. E of course) for their concerns. It's an interesting question you ask as to why I wasn't targeted. My theory is, that since there were two of us, that it was easier for the ratero to just take my Chicas bag and run, versus telling me to fumble around and empty my pockets. My Chica told me that way more women get ripped off than men here. So I suspect as to what happened to me, they may have just decided to get the bag, versus having a potential confrontation with a male. Additionally, I am not an obvious "gringo" looks wise as I don't have blond hair and blue eyes, and have been told by Colombians that I can pass as a Colombian, at least with with my mouth shut. So perhaps in this situation, if it had been an obvious gringo, the Ratero might of said empty your pockets, etc. As one might assume a gringo may have more things of value on them. I really don't know as it happened so quick.
[QUOTE=Surfer500;2402924]Saturday night at 7:30 PM I was with one of my regulars in Poblado. We were walking on the sidewalk along Carrea 46, about a block and a half away from the Poblado EXITO. We got caught in an unexpected downpour, and it was raining very hard as we were headed to Calle 10. While we were walking I had an umbrella to cover us and we had are heads down trying to figure out how not to step in the deeper puddles while we were walking. The street was deserted as there was nobody else out because of the heavy rainfall, and all of sudden a motorcycle pulls up with two guys on it, one guy gets off, put's a gun to my Chicas head, and say's give me your handbag or I will kill you. The guy takes the handbag, hops back on the Motorcycle, and they take off. This all happened in less than ten seconds and there wasn't much I could do about it. We were sitting ducks on a deserted street during a heavy downpour, and were unaware of our surroundings as we were walking with are heads down trying to figure out where to step. I was surprised that the thief didn't ask me to empty my pockets which I asked my Chica about, and she said for some reason women with bags seem to be targeted versus the men. I suspect that's because the thieves assume that a woman may not put up a fight, versus a man might. Regardless, if any one has a gun, I'm not going to put up a fight. So my Chica got her bag stolen, she had 40 Mil on her, a cheap cell phone, and some clothes in her bag, and her Cedula as well taken.
Lessons learned, if I had been asked to empty my pockets, I would of been totally hosed as I had my USA I phone with me, versus my Colombian burner phone. As far as money in my wallet, well a couple of hundred mil which means nothing to me versus losing my USA cell phone. So not only do we have to worry about the Chicas ripping us off, here's just something else to be concerned about. It's not safe anywhere in Medellin. Carry as little as possible with you, and always be aware of your surroundings, even when it's raining. There's some very cleaver thieves here, and they know what they are doing.[/QUOTE]I can't remember how many times I posted that Poblado was the most dangerous part of MDE for tourists. Not only the ripoffs by thugs. But also murders { tourists } occur there more than any other part of the city. I don't know why I preach about this as I should just let the new fellows just go there to be over charged for everything while they think they are safe from the harm they think is worse in other parts of the city.
[QUOTE=MrEnternational;2403100]Got damn Surf. What you doing in Poblado? You better take your ass back downtown where it is safe.[/QUOTE]Your'e right as always Mr. E.
[QUOTE=JohnGault;2403266]I can't remember how many times I posted that Poblado was the most dangerous part of MDE for tourists. Not only the ripoffs by thugs. But also murders { tourists } occur there more than any other part of the city. I don't know why I preach about this as I should just let the new fellows just go there to be over charged for everything while they think they are safe from the harm they think is worse in other parts of the city.[/QUOTE]I was there eight days in November and did not experience any problems. Then again I don't go out late at night preferring to hole up early with my chosen chica for the evening.
Stories like this is why you should never walk on any deserted street, it doesn't matter if it's in Poblado, Centro or anywhere else. The silver lining to this story is that nobody was injured & it seems that most of the stick up kids are cowards who only prey on the weak so we men will generally be less of a target, I feel bad for the Colombian women though.
[QUOTE=Surfer500;2402924]Saturday night at 7:30 PM I was with one of my regulars in Poblado. We were walking on the sidewalk along Carrea 46, about a block and a half away from the Poblado EXITO. We got caught in an unexpected downpour, and it was raining very hard as we were headed to Calle 10. While we were walking I had an umbrella to cover us and we had are heads down trying to figure out how not to step in the deeper puddles while we were walking. The street was deserted as there was nobody else out because of the heavy rainfall, and all of sudden a motorcycle pulls up with two guys on it, one guy gets off, put's a gun to my Chicas head, and say's give me your handbag or I will kill you. The guy takes the handbag, hops back on the Motorcycle, and they take off. ......... So my Chica got her bag stolen, she had 40 Mil on her, a cheap cell phone, and some clothes in her bag, and her Cedula as well taken.
Lessons learned, if I had been asked to empty my pockets, I would of been totally hosed as I had my USA I phone with me, versus my Colombian burner phone. ...... [/QUOTE]Appreciate your sharing. I wonder if Laureles is much safer or not. I often carry everything around in a slash proof, zipper locking pacsafe shoulder bag. I'm 6' tall, with light hair, blue eyes and I do not blend down here. I have long thought pick pockets are the greatest danger. Guess I got to rethink that. I have taken to leaving my ATM debit card in the room and only taking it out when I got to do an ATM run.
[QUOTE=MojoBandit;2401456]I have to say that on my next trip I might stay in Laureles because a person can save some serious money by doing so, but that being said, if money was not an object than it still depends on other factors. Which means of mongering are you going to be most likely to partake in? I primarily used FB and some tender and picked up some SWs in Parque LLeras. Energy was perfect for me. The building has good security which I respect not so much for my safety but for keeping me out of trouble if you know what I mean. For the square footage though you can probably find something for half the price in Laureles. But it definitely will not have the views that you get from the roof pool area of Energy,[/QUOTE]If you stayed in Laureles would you still go to Lleras Park and pick up SW and bring them back to your spot? (In Laureles) Is that doable, or can you find a short time spot right there near the park? I'm gathering intel, since I'm new to the Medellin Forum. I will go back about 6 to 12 months and catch up on the forum. I'm staying in the Laureles area. I'll be there almost a month late Jan until Feb. I also intend to visit Cartegena while I'm in Colombia. I hear it's a short flight from Medellin.
[QUOTE=Surfer500;2403265]Thank you and others (except Mr. E of course) for their concerns. It's an interesting question you ask as to why I wasn't targeted. My theory is, that since there were two of us, that it was easier for the ratero to just take my Chicas bag and run, versus telling me to fumble around and empty my pockets. My Chica told me that way more women get ripped off than men here. So I suspect as to what happened to me, they may have just decided to get the bag, versus having a potential confrontation with a male. Additionally, I am not an obvious "gringo" looks wise as I don't have blond hair and blue eyes, and have been told by Colombians that I can pass as a Colombian, at least with with my mouth shut. So perhaps in this situation, if it had been an obvious gringo, the Ratero might of said empty your pockets, etc. As one might assume a gringo may have more things of value on them. I really don't know as it happened so quick.[/QUOTE]I agree with your suspicions. These types of robberies are grab and go. Getting her bag probably took 2 seconds. Getting your stuff would have taken much longer. If you had been walking alone they may have passed you by. Or not.
[QUOTE=JohnGault;2403266]I can't remember how many times I posted that Poblado was the most dangerous part of MDE for tourists. Not only the ripoffs by thugs. But also murders { tourists } occur there more than any other part of the city. I don't know why I preach about this as I should just let the new fellows just go there to be over charged for everything while they think they are safe from the harm they think is worse in other parts of the city.[/QUOTE]The main reason why more gringos are murdered in Poblado is because 80% of the gringos are in Poblado. You'll almost never hear of a gringo being killed in Paris or Manrique, because gringos don't go there. That doesn't mean those are safe places to be walking around at night. In case someone is confused, Paris is a barrio south and west of Bello. Ask your favorite chica about it sometime.
Generally speaking Poblado is safer than most of Medellin. The people with money live in Poblado. Too much crime in Poblado is bad for business. That doesn't mean you're safe. Personal safety is less about location and more about behavior.
People get a false sense of security in Poblado and let their guard down.