First day on the ground, No Spanish.
Just wrapped up my first day in Bogota, I'll keep reporting as I have time and interest to do so. I speak minimal Spanish so that gives you some context. Much thanks to the forum and specifically Woodman, Global and Trombone for their specific help. Most of the first day is just logistics, which is also important for newbies.
I'm staying in an AirBNB about 6-7 minutes walk from Santa Fe since that's my main area to explore during this trip. It's girl friendly, a few problems here and there, like no hot water in the shower, but it's cheap. My original plan was to ask girls to walk back to my hotel with me but I learned later that even a 6 minute walk is too far for them so I didn't bother ask. Next time if I come back to Bogota I'd stay in Ibis if I was targeting the Santa Fe area. This AirBNB is also a few minutes walk to the closest ATM and shopping areas. If all these problems don't bother you and money and proximity to SF is #1 then you can message me if you want to know the place.
ATMs are easy to find so no issues there. Schwab card works great and I believe Banco Colombia doesn't charge a fee, which would be reimbursed in any case. First thing out of the airport was to buy a SIM card. There's a small tech accessories store on the second level (departures) that sells them. It was open at 6 am which is when I landed. I wanted 2 GB for 2 weeks and they sold me a 77 k COP plan from Claro. A bit expensive but I couldn't really explain what I needed and don't need. At first I didn't get internet on my phone but the store person later added an APN in my mobile data settings which fixed the problem, so make sure they add that APN info for you.
For transportation to my BNB I originally contacted a driver who offered 32 k to go to Santa Fe from the airport. However during my layover I got a message from him saying he can't make it. Actually I know Uber is cheaper anyway so that's what I opted for as his replacement. However finding the Uber was a bit troublesome. Uber drivers don't have a specific place to pick you up. Apparently there's a parking lot across door 6 on level 1 where drivers go now. Walk out of door 6 and cross 2 car lanes and you'll see the lot. My first Uber tried to tell me about the lot but I was confused by his instructions and he canceled. Second driver was more patient with me and described the lot in more detail, he found me and all was good. Final cost was 25 k COP, a bit cheaper than the private driver.
I didn't feel any altitude sickness but I did kind of feel the air was a bit thinner, making it marginally harder to breathe. Adding lower oxygen and chilly weather to a long flight can make you tired the first day. Now this BNB isn't very conveniently located as I said but I know about the [URL]Domicilios.com[/URL] app which was helpful. I think there's no English interface but the words are short and you can punch them into your translator.
My first impressions about Bogota people, I think they're more used to seeing foreigners, so for me as an Asian guy I appreciate not getting as much attention as I did in Medellin. Maybe also Medellin people look more European and I stand out more. Colombians are friendly in general but I think Medellin has Bogota beat in terms of friendliness.
I wanted to try out both the websites and SF street girls on my first day. Now Medellin has Photoprepagos and Mileroticos as well but I got most of my contacts through FB. So the FB girl experience gave me a certain expectation of service which I hoped to also find in Bogota. I spend a morning looking through PP and ME ads. I don't like doing incall so that limited my options for me. About half the girls don't do outcall at all so I started filtering on "domicilio". I also inquired about BB and as expected most of them don't do it. I know this is a taboo subject but at least know that I did get tested for the most common / dangerous stuff prior to coming. Anyways PP and ME was a lot more work I think than the FB game in Medellin. First you have to ask some girls for their face pictures, then make sure they do outcall to Santa Fe. All the FB girls I added in Medellin do outcall and show their face so that's two things I didn't have to do there. Second, for me at least, the Bogota girls on these two websites were less attractive than the MDE Paisas so that ended up filtering out even more girls. Each to their own of course.
I did find a girl who met all my requirements. Her face was hidden in the ad but she sent a face pic when I asked for it. She came on time, unlike the girls in MDE who are nearly always 1 hour or more late. But when she came it was clear she was using someone else's body photos in her ad. She weighed probably 20 lbs more than I expected. But she was at least friendly. 120 k was her standard quote and 200 k for BB which I neg'd down from 400.
At around 10 pm I went out solo in Santa Fe. I've read all the warnings regarding doing that, but although it was kind of sketchy, I didn't feel it was outright dangerous. I made sure to look around my surroundings to see if people are sneaking up on me in some way. And yes I did pull out my phone to use Google Translate. Anyways, lots of girls ranging from fat to really cute 8's. I talked to 4 girls I think, one didn't want to go my BNB and so that stopped my negotiation right there. Two are willing to go but no BB. The last girl I had to convince for like 5 minutes before she accepted. She offered 100 k for the HR outcall and I offered 200 k for BB. Venezuelan girl from Maracaibo. Her face was decent but once she took off her jacket I saw her body wasn't that great due left over baby fat. Her attitude was friendly but, not GFE at all. She spoke zero English so communication was difficult. Still we made it happen and finished with her.
It's only 1 day but so far Bogota hasn't managed to match what the Mansion and FB girls have to offer in Medellin. Do be aware that I have specific requirements, specific limitations (IE no Spanish), and tastes so everyone will have different opinions. But if things don't improve this will be my first and last trip to BOG.
Sildenafil can be your friend in Bogota.
On the subject of altitude sickness, I came across something on the Quito thread that hit me as significant. Sildenafil (Viagra) is medically proven to be useful in dealing with altitude sickness. I'm guessing some of you might have already known this, but I expect others were not aware of that.
I was wondering if it was actually a bad idea to take Viagra / Sildenafil at if you have altitude sickness. But, when it was noted as beneficial on a different thread, I had to google the topic. To my surprise, the clinical evidence supported the idea:
[URL]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21962063[/URL]
WebMD had this article on how it was tested in extreme scenarios where elevation was hazardous.
[URL]https://www.webmd.com/men/news/20050201/viagra-may-help-severe-altitude-sickness[/URL]#1.
Iron supplements may be helpful with altitude sickness, as well.
[URL]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19809026[/URL]
Also this article alludes to the use of Nitric Oxide supplements. I am assuming they are referring to L-Arginine supplements. Myself, I take L-Arginine daily, specifically for cardi-vascular health and also because it boosts your performance during workouts. I took a L-Aginine stack with L-Cirtruline prior to hitting the gym this morning. Beet and pomegranate juices also release Nitric Oxide into the bloostream, as well. Technically these can assist with getting a hard-on though they are not going to completely supplant ED drugs. Be skeptical of the hype about pomegranate juice being "liquid Viagra". They work differently as far as increasing blood flow. And there is one caveat to that. Combining Sildenafil with pomegranate juice can possibly result in a dangerous drop in blood pressure. That's because you have two powerful agents that impact your blood flow in your system at the same time, though not necessarily working hand-in-hand.
And then there is the case of the guys who got the hard-on that wouldn't quit:
[URL]https://www.t-nation.com/supplements/tip-drink-this-for-stronger-erections[/URL]
[URL]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3355694/[/URL]
I guess they got the porn stud experience, the hard way (pun intended).
Grapefruit juice also can also impact the effects of Sildenafil:
[URL]https://www.health.harvard.edu/family-health-guide/grapefruit-and-medication-a-cautionary-note[/URL]
Although the article linked about ends with this note: "Sildenafil (Viagra) is of special interest to men. The clinical information is incomplete, but men who take Viagra should be aware that grapefruit juice might boost blood levels of the drug. That could be a good thing for some men with erectile dysfunction, but it could trigger headaches, flushing, or low blood pressure."
While I am off on this tangent, I came across this, as well. This might be of interest to those with diabetes or those who aren't responding well to treatments of Sildenafil.
[URL]https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/489367[/URL]
Apparently some who don't respond to Sildenafil can get a bit of help with Carnitine supplements. For those who are wondering, L-Carnitine is an non-essential amino acid that is still pretty good to have as a supplement if you are not eating much meat. I try to limit my red meat intake for health purposes. L-carnitine is a regular supplement I began to take as it is also linked to testosterone production (another important aspect of aging). Here another article talks about its practical usage with ED drugs:
[URL]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16286128[/URL]
So, while I'm off onto that tangent, here is an overview of what nutritional supplements do assist with erections:
[URL]https://www.consumerlab.com/answers/which-supplements-help-with-erectile-dysfunction/erectile_dysfunction/[/URL]