Cali Reports

Damn. Today could very well have been the busiest day I’ve ever had in my life. I had a lunch date then another lunch date with my non-pro girl then I just spent the past 3 hours with the amiga of this dude from WSG. One thing is becoming very evident to me. Don’t come here for the pro girls or to hobby. Come here for the normal girls. This is THE place to come if you want to fall in love with a normal, beautiful girl. The hobby girls aren’t the ideal ones to fall in love with. It’s too difficult dealing with their past.

Dude from WSG, your girl is amazing. I talked you up a lot! You can’t meet that kind of girl in America. Hell, you can’t meet that kind of girl anywhere in the world. She is so beautiful on the outside but more so in the inside. I’m so proud of her for learning English. NO ONE here speaks English. There are not many tourists here so people in restaurants, taxi drivers, stores don’t have a need to learn like the other countries I’ve been to. The only one that speaks English that I came across is Rigo. I really think you’re foolish if you don’t try for something with this girl.

I can honestly tell you that I was in no way hitting on her. In fact, I constantly kept talking about you. I also told her that I met a girl that I really liked and was meeting her family tonight. Still, I gotta admit it was pretty damn romantic looking back. Again, please know I'm not the type of guy to hit on another guy's amiga/novia. I wasn't so know that.

I would have talked to her longer but I looked at the time and I noticed I have a date with my non-pro girl. I just got out of the shower and I’m waiting on my taxi. I’m meeting her family tonight. The amiga of the WSGér is learning English. It was so cute how we were doing English lessons. I was so impressed by her wanting to learn that I gave her my $100 English/Spanish electronic dictionary that conjugates words too. She loved it! She couldn’t believe that I gave it to her as a gift. Then she asked me about music so I whipped out my Ipod and we listened to songs in English while I translated. We were sitting at Reggae Pop (a little bar stand that usually a younger hip crowd goes to). One earphone was in my ear and the other in hers and she wanted me to translate songs so I was translating Dido and Sade songs to her.

I really have no desire to hobby. The normal girl scene is what’s great about Cali. I think I could fall in love every day here. The normal girls are so nice. Hell, I don’t even have a desire to hang out with the hot Flores Fresca girl. Why hang out with a pro girl when you can hang out with a sweet flower. The girls here are amazing. I can’t say enough great things about the people here.

Guys, if you can speak Spanish and you want to meet a nice, untarnished flower then I highly recommend you visit Cali. After experiencing it I just think there is no better place in the world to fall in love, meet beautiful and genuine girls. Now I know why Antifreeze moved here.

Anyway, I gotta run. The only dangerous thing about Cali is it WILL make you settle down. If it makes me have the desire never to hobby again. Imagine what it will do for you?????

Guys, and especially you Saint, there is an American Airlines office in the Hotel InterContinental building (around side towards the casino) if you need to extend your trips :)

Colombia has some great Bargains,

Today I was at ChipiChope near the Reggae Pop bar and this hot Calena comes up to me. She offers to sell me a English/Spanish electronic dictionary for $25.00, I offered her $15.00 and she took it! That must be over $100 in the States!

Just messing with you Saint. Keep up the reports, At least hit a casa for 30 mins :)

My oh my,
Yes I was there when the other forum member met this wonderful girl at the ice cream stand . Has he been back to see her in the past 9 months, I don't know. I hope so if she is as wonderful as Saint portrays.
The same holds true for the girl Saint met at the Estetica. Beautiful girl, meeting the family, gorgeous, intelligent, so what next ? Commitment, Retirement from the hobby, Denial, Rejection, who knows ? The board members I have personally met while all well heeled and professional, run the gamut from the true hunter to the hopeless romantic.
The aforementioned questions remain to be answered, for it is a fine line, or merely semantics, that separates us from the local men that have screwed these girls over in the past. As one who leans toward the romantic right wing, I can say it's not such a bad dilemma to be in, but I think I'll sit back and watch this one play itself out. It is a wonderful thing to recognize the innocence , charm and immense beauty in these Colombian women, but as Sean Connery said to Kevin Costner in The Untouchables, " What are you prepared to do about it ?". Only time will tell.
As for me, I'm checking airfares and schedules to Medellin for the upcoming weeks. My memories have been sufficiently rekindled.

Later,

Slick

Ok guys. I'm just home to grab more money then I'm out the door. I just went to dinner with my new novia and her family. I was a big hit at dinner. Damn it helps that I could talk to them. I was cracking jokes and I have another date tomorrow and I invited her younger brother to come with us with his girlfriend. Her family was so blown away by this gesture. Her brother loved me. She loved the flowers I sent her today. Her mom commented to me that she thought I was perfect for her daughter.

I'm going to try to hit some other clubs in the name of research. Damn I wish my girl was here with me now but I guess it was tough leaving with her since her family was there. I didn't dare ask her to come back with me. A meal with tip for me, her and 4 of her family members was 220,000 pesos with a generous tip. I had the restaurant call 2 taxis. One for me and one for her family. I paid the taxi driver 20,000 pesos and told him to take out a 3,000 tip and give the change to her family when they got to their destination. They were also blown away by this gesture.

Anyway, I'll try to hit Tangas and some other places. If they suck I'll go back to Flores Fresca.

Definitely practice your Spanish before coming here. If you can speak spanish and are respectful with these girls I can't imagine not getting a girlfriend. I've been getting phone numbers left and right from non-pros and I really stopped trying after I met my non-pro girl. I'm going out. Please don't get the wrong idea. I'm not saying it's automatic. You have to know the kind of guy I am. I think I'm charismatic and a dynamic person (at least that is what everyone tells me), I'm very outgoing and I'm not shy in the least. I communicate and read people pretty well so I can see what makes them tick. These have served me very well in business as well as life.

I've always had good luck with girls outside of the hobby and in the hobby. Still, I haven't felt like how Cali is making me feel before. More later.

___________________________________


Sh*t! I guess there is a first time for everything. I just got done sessioning with a girl and I was closing my eyes thinking about my non-pro girl. Is that equivalent to going to a pro and thinking about your wife???

Oh well.. I went to try Tangas Club and it sucked!!! That Ramone guy told me that it was good. You can scratch it off your list. It's in South Cali about a 15 minute taxi ride. The area looks kind of rough so I wouldn't walk around at night in this area. I'm a pretty brave guy but didn't do any walking around in this area. Most of these types of clubs have 1-3 guys sitting downstairs shooting the shit. They will all frisk you to see if you have a gun (I guess in itself tells you something about Columbia??). I'm not sure. Also, I will mention one of my girls I met her boyfriend was murdered so that was a first for me too.

Anyway, Tangas has all fat girls. There is no cover fee and there shouldn't be. You walk up 2 flights of stairs and you see a bunch of locals. The girls are sitting around and the manager yelled for them to introduce themselves to me. I told him he didn't have to as all the girls were slobs anyway. I ordered a coke just to see how much it was. It was 2,000 pesos. I took one sip of it then left.

This is an area I didn't see a lot of taxis in. Always ask them to call you a taxi. I forgot upstairs but I paid the guys downstairs to flag me one down.

I was going to stay home. I can't really get my mind off my non-pro girl. Anyway, I went to Flores Fresca. There were a few cuties there. I ordered a Red Bull but was still thinking about my girl so I left. Then I was going to come back home when I asked myself, "what the hell are you doing??". I decided to go to Kaliente to see if that would change my mood.

I went to Kaliente and there must be a HUGE pool of girls because they had 12 girls working and every single one of them was different than all the girls I've seen the previous days. There was a cute girl in the line up. Not gorgeous but she had a cute face. I paid the 180,000 pesos to pull her out for 3 hours. After two hours I told her she could go because I was tired. She didn't appear to want to leave. You have to understand all they do at Kaliente is all share a room with other girls. It's not the best of circumstances.

Also, remember this ain't some places like Brazil and Argentina where these girls are making a fortune. Even the hottest Flores Fresca girl will max out at $1,000 US per month on her very best month working 6 days a week. Some of the girls in Buenos Aires or Rio can make that in a few nights. Cali isn't a high volume place and I doubt if it ever will be.

Anyway, as I mentioned the entire time sessioning I closed my eyes and was thinking about my girl. I didn't even kiss this girl. She tried a few times. What does that say about me?? Sh*t.

Oh well. I have another lunch date with my girl and then a dinner date with her. FLHobbyer's girl asked if I would stop by and say hi to her tomorrow. I'm not sure I'll be in that neck of the woods but I will if I'm there.

It's been an interesting few years and a multitude of countries for me. This is the first time I've felt quite like this. We will see what happens. I did find it interesting that these Columbians need a visa to visit practically everywhere. No countries trust them. They can't even go to Costa Rica without a visa!! One of the countries they can visit without a visa I heard tonight is Peru. But then again...who would want to live in Peru right??

Anyway, I asked my novia in front of her family if she wants to go to Peru with me next month to see Machu Picchu. She said, "Si!" I'm not sure how much a ticket costs from Cali to Lima but I figure it can't be that much. Her family laughed when I joked in Spanish if her parents didn't trust me I would get seperate rooms. Surprisingly her mom said that she trusts me a lot and that she thought I was perfect for her daughter.

I've dated a lot of girls in the hobby. Hell, I dated one last year for almost a year. I flew her in to my house several times...the whole nine yards. I had geniune feelings and all that stuff. The one thing though in the back of any guys mind is having to deal with their past. I guess we can't judge them too much because of the girls we see but honestly I think I may have seen more girls than some of these pros. Ooops!

Stay tuned...I'm seriously thinking of extending again but I think I wouldn't have a job so I won't push it. I'm already leaving for the French Riviera in two weeks for one week but I might fly from there to Cali. Am I nuts?

P.S.

What Slick just posted couldn't be more true. I think if you are coming down for the amateurs don't be afraid to be honest with them. If you aren't looking for anything serious just tell them you're having fun now but if you meet the right one you'd settle down. My girl asked me if I met other girls here. I said, Yes, in fact many of them. (of course I didn't tell her I phucked them).

You have to be careful with the non-pro girls too. With the roses I sent her I included a very sincere letter, part of which said that I will only ask you for one thing. Honesty. Not love or respect (because I will earn those things). That in ANY relationship you had to have honesty. I mean, sh*t. I have to admit the letter was damn good. I sure can write sometimes.

Sometimes you find love when you're not looking for it. I'm not saying I'm in love but I think this could blossom into something great if I wanted it to. I have to ask myself what I want. I knew there would be a day when I'd get tired of running around the world seeing pretty girls. Who knows if this trip is heading me go in that direction. I do know that I've never felt like this on one of these trips. Most of you that know me or have seen my pictures know my taste. I like pretty girls and have had more than a provider relationship with some of them. But they can't compare to how I feel now.

Time will tell. If you don't have Pimsleur Spanish get it. If you need help getting it cheap my buddy Juan has them. PM my message box here and I'll shoot you his email address and he can get it to you. I was an idiot and bought them for $1,000+ for the 3 series set then he told me he has them. Oh well.

Damn this is a wonderful Country. My goal is to see more of it like Medellin and Cartagena and maybe some other cities. Cali is a dump but the people are GREAT...

Leo, I did see that American Airlines office when I passed the IC Hotel. That IC looks damn nice for Cali. I might use it the next time. I think the next time I came here though it would only be to spend time with my chica. Not sure. Who knows. I'm a bit confused at myself now. I already changed my ticket once and might extend it again. The sad thing is that I have extended almost every single one of my vacations and it gets expensive after doing it 15-20 times a year. Ouch.

Stay tuned...


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Well after reading Saints and plenty other reports I am finally going to Cali. I will be there march 16th to march 21st if anyone wants to get together to hang out, send me a message. Anyhow great reports Saint, keep them coming. Oh and another thing, whatever job you have is MY dream job considering it allows you to travel so much! Just in case anyone wants to know. I am currently in Panama City. A roundtrip flight from here to Cali cost 290 flying with Avianca.

Happy Hunting.

Saint, did you experienced or did you heard about some of the regulars spots already mentionned on the thread (Mystic K, Academia de Cerveza, ect ...) : is the crowd there old enough for that a 30's gringo could feel confortable and not out of place (unlike Rio where some good spots in Barra or Leblon are packed only with teenagers), are there some unaccompagned groups of girlies partying in the discos and in the bars, what are the currents hippest spots to hang for happy hours, dining and partying for the wealthy 20/30's crowd (and the sexy 20/30 girlies !) , you already mentionned Reggae Pop but i think it's in the mall ? ...

Thanks for the reports, have a good time ...

PS : same kind of infos about Medellin should be welcome too, thaks in advance to any reply ;

Pro,

I went to very few clubs. I did try Casa de la cerveza but it's a restaurant not a club. There are "beautiful girls" there. Many are with other dudes. I haven't had a chance to hit the other clubs. I've been on dates almost every night. I much prefer to go to nice restaurants or a pub with my dates and talk. I don't really dance although I'd love to learn. I had a lesson the other day but I was on a date and I missed it.

As far as the best place. I'd say it's ChipiChope mall. Go there on a friday or saturday night. It's unbelievable how many gorgeous girls there are. Many are with their friends. Many are with their dates. It's amazing how the girls even with their boyfriends will stare at you almost to say, "if I wasn't with my boyfriend I'd give you my phone number".

It should be pointed out that scoring with the non-pros isn't automatic. Just like in any country these Calenas aren't going to cream in their jeans just because you have a US passport. You have to at least be presentable. I'm not saying you have to be young, Brad Pitt, etc. Do the best you can. Focus on other things. If you're not in the best of shape, go out and get some nice clothes, groom yourself the best you can. Practice up on your Spanish. That is the biggest skill I can tell you. Speaking Spanish is the biggest key here. It's impossible to score a non-pro hottie girlfriend here if you can't speak Spanish. I wouldn't even recommend coming here unless you speak at least a little Spanish.

I think part of the reason why the locals are so friendly with me is because I start off by telling each new person I meet how wonderful the people are here. I joke around with them. That right away puts people at ease. Imagine a guy from Haiti going to Chicago and not being able to speak English. Do you think the locals are going to treat this guy that nice. Imagine if he got in a taxi, went to the grocery store, went to the mall. What kind of reception will he get in OUR country?? Exactly. Learn some Spanish.

I'm amazed that Americans don't have the desire to learn foreign languages. I've met so many guys that go over and over to Brazil. I'm talking every other month yet they can't or don't want to learn basic Portuguese. The same thing goes for other countries. Speaking Spanish in Cali is vital to having a good and arguably a safe trip. Again, my Spanish isn't great. I mean I can understand maybe 80% of everything. I've never had a difficult time getting across what I want to say and I'm able to speak as fast as most locals. I just have to improve my vocabulary. I think I'm up to about 25,000 words or so.

As much as I love any one city I just feel it's important to see the world. I absolutely love Buenos Aires and I hit it over and over and over. Some of you know I even got an apartment there I liked it so much. I broke away and forced myself to visit other cities and countries and I'm glad I did. I feel like a better person for doing it. People need to visit cities for other reason besides girls.

For instance, visiting Germany really touched something inside of me. I had no real knowledge of what the Jewish people went through during the war until I visited Germany and read some articles. Now I'm really fascinated and I'm reading the Diary of Anne Franke now. When I hit Amsterdam in May I'm really interested in visiting the museum there.

Every city has good things and bad things. Cali truly isn't a city I could find myself living in. The people are great but I live a good life. I don't give up living in a great house or driving a luxury car to travel. I have those things. However, if I lived here I'd have to give up so much. As nice and friendly as the people are here there is very little to do during the day. The guy I met from WSG that has been living here for 6 years seems content but I can imagine a little under pressure to make money since he has a kid and another on the way.

Even Rigo here at the hotel seems happy but money seems like it is a problem. He mentioned since interest rates are so high here he is forced to take lower interest loans on his credit cards. Yikes!

I doubt Cali will ever be a high end destination. A few dudes emailed me telling me that I shouldn't post such good things for fear of it turning into a Costa Rica. I don't think that will ever happen. Americans are too scared and lazy. And as I said, most of the guys on these message boards are only looking for sex. If hobbying is all your after, there are lots of better cities around the world. As much as I make it sound like Cali is safe keep in mind I've only been here about 9 days so far. Columbia obviously has a history of violence. I just don't see it here in Cali.

I probably will come back in a few weeks but I won't give up my other trips around the world. I'll see how this relationship goes but i know that I may be incapable of a committed long term relationship. I have to accept certain truths about myself. I always think the grass is greener on the other side. I was married to about the perfect woman (gorgeous, smart, gorgeous, from a wealthy family, etc.) and I didn't want to be in it anymore and was cheating around. I had a lot of guilt from the actions that I did during the marriage and I'll be really careful about getting into something serious again.

Something I love now is being able to go wherever I want to go, sleep in on the weekends without being asked to go run an errand, eating out every night, eating on the couch or the bed in front of the TV. Being single is the ultimate freedom. Still, the institution of marriage is so great. The idea of marriage. About having someone there to take care of you and love you for the rest of your life. I have a soft spot in my heart that will never give up on the idea of getting remarried again.

Sometimes I think to myself do I really want to be hobbying and alone when I'm 35, 40, 45, 50? Guys are stupid sometimes. We think about today or tomorrow whereas girls think about next year and 5 years from now.

Sorry to get so philosophical on you guys. I just have been doing a lot of thinking while listening to my Ipod walking around various cities like Paris, London, Nuremberg, etc.

Anyway, I woke up really early. I didn't sleep much. My hottie girl called and wants to meet up before work for a drink then I'll go out with her on another date tonight to the movies at ChipiChope mall. FLHobbyer's girl called me too. She noticed I had no Salsa music on my Ipod so she said she wanted to give me a gift of a Salsa CD. I have a busy day planned but I thought that was a nice gesture and will stop by and pick it up later in the afternoon after I visit my girl.

Later.

Saint thanks for the reply ;

BTW i think the evening consacred to take your GF's family diner will stay long in their heart and in your memories ;

I personnaly like acting nice with regulars in undervisited Brasilian towns of Goias or Minas and always had a reward with dating some of them, sometime with a horizontal reward but sometimes also with just the high pleasure to have a geniune and big hearted girl as a companion for a perfect night's out .... some still e-mail or call me after years and years ...

Cheers anyway

It´s funny but "Mojo Rasing" must have just been to this internet cafe here at ChipiChope mall recently because I logged in to WSG and his sign in was still on. I guess that will remind me to log out..ha, ha.

Anyway, I´m here at Chipi Chope. I just finished having lunch with Antifreeze. Damn. This is probably one of the most intelligent, philosophical guys that I´ve ever met not only in the hobby but outside of the hobby as well. We think alike on almost all universal issues. I hope to keep in contact with him in the future and I´m sure I´ll meet up with him on future trips. It´s evident that this guy has his sh#t together and will go far in life.

Pro,

I agree with you about doing nice things. I never do nice things expecting something out of it. I´m the type of guy that does nice things for the sake of doing it. It makes me feel good and I know the people appreciate it and that is good enough for me. For me, being nice pays so many dividends. I always come across guys that say not to tip X% but you can´t measure life in dollars and cents. I´m a happy guy and I like the way I do things. I also think people can sense that about me and I think that´s half the reason why I´ve been so lucky with girls. Girls like a guy that always has a smile on his face. What the hell do I have to complain about?

Anyway, I´m going to meet my novia for a drink before her work then I´ll go say hi to that other girl and pick up the CD she wants to give me. Crap I don´t want to go home tomorrow. I still might extend but I doubt it. I have to make some money to pay for future trips.

Antifreeze, Saint,

I am planning on bouncing around S.A. for a few years and I am interested in keeping a longterm apartment in Cali. Do you know of a website with apartment photos and info. Also what part of town would you reccomend living for a gringo.

Thanks,
Eddie

Saint, God bless you ;

thanks pro!

this is probably my last update this trip. sadly, i'm leaving tomorrow morning. i had another good day. it's been interesting getting to know the people and the city of cali. the nicest group of people i have ever known.

i met my novia for some drinks before she went to work after i hooked up with antifreeze. i think i could sit for hours just staring into her eyes. physical attraction is important but the thing about these calenas is they are genuinely sweet. (ellas son muy carinosas y muy dulces!) i laughed a few times because when i was in cuba with my buddy seaman our theme chant everyday when we'd get together that we'd all say is, "una chica muy linda, con una cara muy bonita, un buen cuerpo, con un corazon grande y muy carinosa!" (a very pretty girl, with a very pretty face, a good body with a big heart that is very affectionate).

those guys razzed me because every time a girl asked me what kind of girl i liked i would dole out that answer. every single time so he and tad would chant that every day. pretty soon we'd be in our rental car and just chant out those words. it was pretty funny. seaman, if you are reading this you'll be happy to know that i'm finding all those qualities in these girls.

some generally interesting things i noticed is that places like mcdonald's, subway, etc. are here. and you know what? they are making a fortune. you have to understand that the price of an extra value meal here is not cheap. in fact, it's just a little less than one in the usa but these people don't make much. i've met lots of non-pro girls that work 6 days a week and only make 600,000 pesos a month (about $225) yet they are eating at mcdonalds. you know what? i think it's sort of a status symbol thing. they want to be able to say to their friends or other family members... "hey, i took my family to mcdonald's last night". it's really strange to see all the mcdonald's packed.

the other thing is do you think all these us businesses would be doing business here if it was as dangerous as people portray columbia to be? while i will admit that columbia statistically is a dangerous country and antifreeze threw out some statistics to me that weren't too good, i find it a little gem.

i can honestly say that most hobbyist probably shouldn't come if they are only looking to score with the pros. there are way better cities like buenos aires and rio. i seriously doubt cali will become a mainstream destination.

some guys might be worried about "getting ripped off" here. the thing they don't realize is there is no big tourism industry here so the locals probably wouldn't even know where to begin.

there are private casas in many many many sections of towns. just ask a taxi. the selection might not be that good but it doesn't hurt to go. there is no entrance fee and you don't have to do the "walk of shame"past the girls if you don't pick them since they do a line up one by one then leave the room.

i even have a few of the pros calling me daily. the hot ff girl called today but i couldn't pick up the phone because i was with my girl. if you rent a bell south cellphone you can buy rechargable cards all over the malls at the bell south stands or in most major supermarkets. they come in 10,000; 20,000 and 30,000 peso refills. they might have higher too but just get a little at a time. i find the cell phones to be expensive here. you dial *611 to add refill credits and to check your balance. it's all in spanish. just dial 1 to add credits and 2 to check your balance.

if you're calling a local non-cell phone from your cell phone you need to dial 032 before the local # or it won't work. if you speak spanish definitely rent a cellphone so you can talk with the chicas.

remember what i said about first impressions. these girls like guys that dress well. to them it's a signal that you have your sh*t together and can take care of yourself. they take good care of themselves and even in the malls like chipichope you'll see free big industrial scales that have a sign that say, "watch your weight". sh*t... the american girls could sure use those, huh?

anyway, i'm waiting on my girl. she is coming over to pick me up then we're going to the movies at chipichope. some of you pméd me asking where i went to dinner last night. it was a place in the south of cali called, rancho de jonas. her family picked it out. it was ok. outdoor patio type place with a mariachi band. food was pretty decent but not fabulous.

also, i wanted to point out that i type extremely fast. i type what i am thinking so my posts are genuine. i hope i don't come across as arrogant jerk because i'm really not that kind of guy. a few of you on the board truly know me and know what kind of person i am. one of my buddies told me that my posts come across as arrogant. i told him i'm not going to change the type of person i am. i've always tried to help people and i've never asked for anything in return. just my 2 cents.

if you come to cali, please respect their culture, respect their citizens and importantly respect these precious flowers that are the girls of cali. if you are a sicko that is into chasing **** girls or some other form of dengenerate i'd stay away from cali if i were you. antifreeze told me he has come across a few. i have a feeling if you are an ass here you could get yourself into a lot of sh*t quickly.

good luck all.

saint

I'm really glad you're leaving Saint. I don't think I could stand much more of your reporting. I'm going to BA in 4 weeks, and yet you're making me almost cry that I'm not going to Cali. Bad, bad, Saint!

I seriously doubt that the McDonalds and Subway are US owned. Even in the US, about 80% of all stores are just franchisees. They pay the 200k or 500k to get a location, and then pay a certain advertising cost, and percentage of sale. They usually have to buy certain supplies (napkins, bags, food containers) that are marked up also.

McDonalds makes big bucks off of them, and the locals get to get a Big Mac. In Bangkok and SJO recently I ate at Subways there and was amazed that people would pay so much money for a mediocre sandwich.

In Thailand a Subway 6" sub was $3.50 on Sukhumvit. In Kuala Lumpur I passed one and the same sub was only $2.00. It's weird. In Thailand the KFC's don't have corn on the cob, but they do in Malaysia.

I’m sitting here at the Miami airport. Damn I hate connecting through Miami. It’s always a zoo. I thought I’d give details of departing Cali’s airport. Damn, it’s a zoo. My flight left at 8:15 AM so I was told to leave my hotel at 5 AM. I had to get up at 4 AM. I only slept two hours so I’m dead. Everyone told me it could take a while to go through the airport so I took their advice and left by 5 AM. If you are flying First/Business or you’re Platinum/EXP you don’t have to leave so early since you avoid the long lines. The regular line was long but I zipped through the First Class line.

You should note that before you go through the ticketing agent you need to go upstairs to get a waiver form so you don’t get socked with extra taxes. Your airline should have already taxed you the $25 however, if you don’t go upstairs and get the waiver form and your passport stamped you must pay extra money. Go upstairs then go to your left and there is a small window with a guy working. He will ask for your passport and will stamp it and fill out a form then hand it back to you. Go back downstairs and get in line and you’re set. The airport was the only place I went where a few people spoke English (only the American Airlines employees).

At the entrance of the door to say goodbye there were all these people crying. You have to understand that Columbians have it extremely tough. They need visas for just about every single country except Peru, Argentina, Brazil and maybe a handful of other countries. The ones that are lucky enough to go to the USA take it, sometimes even if it means leaving family members behind. I’ve never seen so many people crying at an airport before and I’ve been to quite a few airports. It broke my heart to see what these family members were going through. Imagine your mom leaving alone with your sister while you’re standing there with your dad and your other sisters and brothers. That’s what I saw. The father looked at me and I just gave him a kind of “I’m sorry amigo look”. I was also sad to leave my new novia behind but I can’t even compare it to these people.

Seeing this scene made me realize just how damn lucky we are as Americans. It just doesn’t seem fair to me that we have it easier just because we are born just a few thousand miles north of these people. Unfortunately the majority of these people will never have the opportunity to improve their life too much. No one wants to loan them money even if they have a good idea or they are intelligent or have a good business sense. Kind of like in the US where banks only want to lend you money if you already have money except much much worse.

I did meet a few people that were lucky to get visas but they stayed behind because of almost the exact situation as the family above. In one case the father and mother and 2 of their kids got visas but 2 didn’t. Rather than split up the family members they all stayed behind. There is no rhyme or reason to the decision making process of giving out visas.

I also met others here that lived in the USA before and came back. They made it through the difficult process of getting a visa but they found life in the USA disenchanting. Everyone thinks the USA is this easy place where great jobs are falling likes leaves off a tree. Where money is easy to make. The reality is the USA is one of the easiest countries in the world to make a little bit of money and difficult to make a lot of money. These people were working 2 or 3 jobs just to pay for their rent, food, kid’s clothes, medical bills. They came to the USA to improve their lives but they were slaves working daily to break even.

Another person that I met that fell in that category was my taxi driver back to the airport. He was a cool guy. His name is Felix Franco. Younger at 40 years old and his English is perfect. He is easy going and I just really got a good feeling from him. If you speak little to no Spanish or even if you do he is a good guy to call to use as a driver or translator. Most of these guys in Cali charge about $10 - $15 an hour. I told him I know some guys that might come to Cali. I got the price down to $8 an hour for you and if you use him more than 6 hours a day he’ll drop it down to $6. Just tell him “Santo” sent you and he’ll take good care of you. His cell phone number is (315) 573-4849. His home number is 3250302 or 5140287.

I’ve been fortunate to meet good people. I’m a good judge of character and this guy will take good care of you. It’s funny in the taxi we were talking about how hot the Caleñas are and he told me I’d like the Paisas too. He married one. I asked him how in the hell he can be married here with so many hot girls. He told me honestly he wakes up and the first thing he does is pray to God that he can be strong and not give into temptation. Ha! Talk about a strong guy. He also told me that sometimes he feels lucky not to be wealthy here because there would be too many temptations with the opportunities it would bring.

The ironic thing is even if you had a ton of money you probably couldn’t spend it. I mean, you don’t want to stand out too much. You can’t have too nice of a house; you can’t buy a nice car, etc. I was surprised to see not even one convertible in a town with perfect weather for a convertible but it’s just too dangerous I’m told. I only saw American and Asian cars. I only saw one BMW the entire 10 days I was there. Cars are expensive here.

I originally was only staying 5 days so I just had a back pack and a Travel Pro 22’ suitcase. You can actually pack a lot in those Travel Pro’s. I went through customs which was easy. Here is where I made my mistake. I went into the Admiral’s Club which is immediately to the right after Passport Control. The airport is hot and humid with no air conditioning. The Admiral’s Club isn’t that nice here but the air conditioning is extremely strong. There was no one at the front desk so I imagine anyone can use it since no one checked if I was a member. There is only coffee and orange juice. They didn’t even have bottled water. They did have CNN though in English.

I was dead tired and fell asleep. I woke up and it was 7 AM. Perfect… so I thought since my plane didn’t leave till 8:15 and boarding started at 7:30 AM. I go out and I see this long ass line. I think to myself sh*t! To make matters worse there is only one x-ray machine, a drug sniffing dog and they were frisking everyone so the process is slow. If you come here skip the admiral’s club and just go to your gate. I waited there one hour. Yes, you heard that right. The only comforting thing was that many in line behind me were on my flight too so I knew the plane wasn’t going anywhere.

So I finally get to the front of the line. The guy decides to open up my suitcase and take out EVERYTHING. It took me a while to pack since I bought some stuff and it was jam packed. They even checked the lining. They made me turn on my laptop. It took forever. If you use drugs I highly advise to leave them at home or don’t do them this trip. This isn’t the country you want to get locked up in. Also, in Miami the first thing you see is drug sniffing dogs. I’ve never done any drugs in my life and glad after hearing some of the problems they caused some of these people.

I’m on my plane now and missing Cali. There is a guy sitting next to me on the plane and I told him I went to Cali and he looked at me like I was out of my mind. He told me how dangerous it is. I asked if he’d been there and he said no. I do realize that statistically Columbia is a dangerous country. I was only there 10 days. I can honestly say that I felt as safe in Columbia as I did in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In fact, I’d say I saw more shady characters in the Copacabana area than I saw in all of Cali.

I will definitely be back here. Maybe in as few as 3 weeks. Good or bad I started some sort of relationship with my girl here. Guys should realize with the sweet innocent girls you’re not going to jump in bed right away with them. It may take a few dates. There is a reason they are slaving their asses off making nothing rather than sleeping with tons of guys making a lot more money. These girls are sweet and many are innocent. I’m ok with the courtship phase. It’s been a while since I’ve gone through this with a non-pro girl. When I’ve dated “working girls” I’ve always justified it’s ok to sleep with other girls since she is working anyway. I guess I can’t make that excuse anymore.

It was sweet at the movies my girl told me that she is breaking up with her boyfriend tomorrow. I was pretty honest with her. I told her that I’ve really met a lot of girls all around the world and in my life. I also told her that I haven’t been able to forget her which is true. I asked her how much she makes working at the salon 6 days a week (sometimes 7) and I was floored when she told me only 350,000 pesos a month (less than $150). I couldn’t believe it. I know her family struggles but they seem like they have a happy life.

They are so wonderful together and love each other so much. You should have seen them at dinner that one night. I’ve never seen a stronger bond and a better relationship. I was actually envious and wished I had that kind of family growing up. I had the things that most would consider essential: living in a nice house in a nice neighborhood, went to the best private schools, didn’t lack for food or clothing etc. but I can’t remember a time when I experienced what I witnessed that night at dinner with her family.

Anyway, after the movie it was late but I asked her brother if I could walk around with her a bit alone and talk. I gave him some money to buy a drink but I didn’t see anything open. I’m not sure if this was a right move or not but I gave her some money and I told her that I wanted to help her. I told her not to work so hard and to take more English classes. She is only taking English classes 2 nights a week but has made very little progress since she can’t study too much. She wouldn’t take the money at first but I reasoned with her and by the end of the conversation she had tears in her eyes and was thanking me. She told me she couldn’t believe she met me. I told her that I’m not a wealthy guy but I will help whenever I can and I’ll be there for her. We kissed and we just held one another for a while. Neither of us really had to say anything but we both had the same look in our eyes. It was a bittersweet moment.

Maybe some of you that live in Columbia can tell me if this was an OK move or not what I did. I didn’t want to offend her and she certainly wasn’t offended. She never asked for anything from me. Sometimes I just like helping out a little. I’m not expecting anything in return for this. I did it in Buenos Aires too where I met a girl working in a restaurant slaving her ass off. I had no romantic interests in her even though she was cute and expressed interest in me. I gave her about $150 (500 pesos) a month for several months. I opened up a US bank account and added her name and added money in it. It helped her get a tourist visa and she now is living in Europe. We keep in touch from time to time and she always tells me that she will never forget what I did for her and will pay me back someday. I’m not writing this to hear what a great guy I am. I don’t think it’s anything special. I just think sometimes in life you have to do nice things for the sake of doing them. I feel so happy that my friend is happy now in Europe. She would have never gotten anywhere in Argentina. Some of you have met her. She handed out flyers at one of the restaurants on Junin street in Recoleta. I hope this in some way inspires other guys to help others in some small way.

Even if I don’t stay with this girl I’m thinking of telling her that I’ll give her 600,000 pesos a month (almost double her monthly salary) if she agrees to take English classes full-time. It no doubt will help her have a happier future. Her best friend lives in the USA and she doesn’t seem to have a big desire to live in Cali. She has no friends in Cali and is kind of a home body. She doesn’t go out much. I asked her mom at dinner if she would miss her daughter if she moved to the USA and her mom had a tear in her eye and told me that her daughter is her life. She loves her more than she loves herself. She told me though that if knowing that her daughter was happy and had a legitimate chance of a good future she would be happy. It was a Hallmark moment. I know some of this sounds gushy. If so, stop reading. No one is forcing you to read this.

Many emotions and thoughts are going through my head right now but I’m so happy that I went to Columbia. I didn’t know what to expect but it was a very enriching experience if you couldn’t tell from my diary. Sometimes you just have to do something impulsive. I just got a ticket on a whim with very little notice. Life is short and you have to take advantage of the time you have. I truly hope some of you were able to gain some valuable information from my diary. Whether it was hobby info or just normal everyday life stuff in Cali, I hope you could take something positive out of it.

Good luck. I hope people visit this city full of amazing and wonderful people.