Medellin Reports

[QUOTE=JohnnieCash;2797564]Where to get a good beef burger in Centro? (with meat that's not an overminced bland patty of suspicious contents which make you wonder what is it exactly that you're actually eating).[/QUOTE]El Corral.

[QUOTE=JohnnieCash;2797564]Where to get a good beef burger in Centro? (with meat that's not an overminced bland patty of suspicious contents which make you wonder what is it exactly that you're actually eating).[/QUOTE]El Corral is a chain restaurant that has been mentioned a several times. You should be able to find one iaround El Centro.

[QUOTE=Knowledge;2797397]Rhetorical question. What would the "Medellin elite" do in a re-claimed Parque Lleras? Anyone who knew the place as recently as 5 years ago knows the upscale establishments are long gone. Personally it would not make a difference to me if the whole thing were sealed off inside a concrete barrier like a time capsule, I've been there maybe ten times in the past 15 years. Mayor Quintero is going to make a show of Lleras and Botero for the remaining 10 months of his administration in the hope of getting re-elected. The guy was recalled less than a year ago so it's likelhy to be an uphill battle. Some may remember he put a curfew in place for people under the age of 18. It was not effective. Maybe the barrier will make Lleras an exclusive nightlife venue people will be willing to wait on line to enter. Whether or not that happens it's safe to say the providers and punters will move the party somewhere else.[/QUOTE]I think the days of Lleras being the gringo spot are numbered. It's attracted the worst of the locals that the upper class Colombians can't stand it. I see Laureles as being the next hot spot for gringos.

For example the buildings next to Energy Living are all upper class Colombians living there and now it's being bombarded with hoodrat girls from Bello Manríquez Popular on a daily basis. It gets worse and and worse and it's been like this for a while. I think the breaking point will be when the other buildings finish construction to compete with energy.

The druggings and robberies are a daily occurrence now in that area.

But hey what do I know? I'm a gringo too but in the past 6 years I can clearly tell a big difference.

[QUOTE=JjBee62;2797596]I've never had a burger in Medellin like you describe. Where did you find that?

I've had a lot of burgers, many different places and most have been good, although unless you like them medium rare you need to tell the waiter "tres cuartos" when asked how you want it cooked. The fat content tends to be low. So overcooked patties are really dry.

There are a couple places near Aranjuez that are supposed to be good. I don't know of any in particular in El Centro, although Google Maps shows a few. In Poblado and Laureles there are some good places. Usually can't go wrong with Chef Burger or Barbacoa, Burger and Beer. Firehouse are decent as well. Classic Diner in Envigado is worth a visit. I don't know if it's still the case, but Jack and Roll in Envigado used to be the best burgers in Medellin.[/QUOTE]Hamburgers are not really a Colombian staple but they are catching on with the locals. In the last couple of years in Laureles I've seen half a dozen new places open up, just in the areas I frequent.

Are any of them good? I'm a vegetarian so I can't opine. But I've heard from some of my cronies that Chef Burger is very good quality and at a moderate price.

[QUOTE=Anthony2023;2797484]I got a hot one from lleras park bar...I actually like the concept of going to a club and not having to guess who's down to go home with you and who isn't. At gustos and lleras if you got the bread or decent looking you are guaranteed pussy....At least there you don't have to hope the girl looks like her pictures, not to mention it's better than picking up a street hooker or at least feel like you're not.[/QUOTE]I fucking LOVE Lleras Park bar. We all have varying opinions, but that's my favorite bar on planet Earth and I've been all over the world. The 2 girls I took back to the Mansion from there were Angels sent straight from Heaven for me.

[QUOTE=Cm6363;2797395]Went to Luna Lunera a week ago and they wanted 30 K entrance and a 3 beer minimum at 25 K each. .[/QUOTE]When I went it was 30 k, no beer requirements. I had 1. There were only 8 chicas in there and my friends and I were the only dudes. 3 of us. But I will say the girl I took upstairs was absolutely incredible, hot asf and did everything I would have wanted to without even having to ask. I believe it was 275 k or 250 k and I tipped an extra 50 k. Cost more than I wanted it to, but I didn't regret one bit. Little sexy chick Valentina, highly recommend her.

[QUOTE=Viracon13;2797391]The Medellin forum is a strange one. I've used ISG in several cities and the Medellin forum is the only one that I can't find any reviews. It seems like a lot of you guys just enjoy talking and arguing with one another rather than sharing info LOL. Why??

I'm heading to Medellin for the first time. Looking to get in touch with independent escorts rather than going to one of the Casas or street walkers. Nothing compares to just calling a girl to your room. Is there any site that anyone recommends? Any contacts you can share?

Gracias.[/QUOTE]First of all there are reviews on here, but this is such an active board that you will have to go thru pages and pages to read some of them. I wrote a very lengthy review on about 5 places and about 8 chicks back in mid-late Jan.

In regards to your question about independents, there's a few websites but TBH just roll on down to Lleras Park bar in the evening and you will have more than you can shake a stick at and they aint street walkers. It's like going to bar and picking up a hot chick, except it's a slam dunk.

Hello all just an FYI, I have RTFF, and my questions are about the current situation and FB, SA thoughts / opinions.

Going to Medellin in May for 5 days and the question is, with all the recent developments, what area do you suggest for a first timer.

I was leaning toward Poblado and was wondering if I pick up a lady from the park lleras area, and have a hotel about 4 blocks away, is it still not safe to walk back to hotel with chica or is Uber the best way to proceed.

I have also created a FB account and have a few ladies who accepted my friend request and also been working SA with a age range of 21 to 45. I am 54. Already have 2 of the younger ones telling me they need help with school and rent. I had to laugh to keep from telling them to GTFOH. I been communicating with three 40+ yo woman and the tricky part is how to keep them from thinking they got a potential SD and not just a five day friend willing to compensate for their time.

Hello all just an FYI, I have RTFF, and my questions are about the current situation and FB, SA thoughts / opinions.

Going to Medellin in May for 5 days and the question is, with all the recent developments, what area do you suggest for a first timer.

I was leaning toward Poblado and was wondering if I pick up a lady from the park lleras area, and have a hotel about 4 blocks away, is it still not safe to walk back to hotel with chica or is Uber the best way to proceed.

I have also created a FB account and have a few ladies who accepted my friend request and also been working SA with a age range of 21 to 45. I am 54. Already have 2 of the younger ones telling me they need help with school and rent, I had to laugh to keep from telling them to GTFOH. I been communicating with three 40+ yo woman and the tricky part is how to keep them from thinking they got a potential SD and not just a five day friend willing to compensate for their time. LOL. I know I am not the first, all responses appreciated.

[QUOTE=Sangnyc21;2797686] For example the buildings next to Energy Living are all upper class Colombians living there and now it's being bombarded with hoodrat girls from Bello Manrquez Popular on a daily basis. It gets worse and and worse and it's been like this for a while. I think the breaking point will be when the other buildings finish construction to compete with energy. [/QUOTE]I love it. I hope to see lots of hoodrats on my next stay there.

LOL! No, El Corral is too upscale for Centro. The nearest one would be Premium Plaza. That is closer to Poblado than it is to Centro. There isn't even a McDonalds on Junin any more. I can tell you where to find arepas and chicken gizzard chuzos in Centro. LOL!

[QUOTE=Nounce;2797674]El Corral is a chain restaurant that has been mentioned a several times. You should be able to find one iaround El Centro.[/QUOTE]

First off the good. Someone said there isn't enough reviews of Medellin. It is an amazing place and most of the advice you will find is spot on. Here are some things I'm going to add I don't see a lot mentioned but likely go along with the same general theme. These are all just my opinions and I could be completely 100% wrong. But probably not 100%.

Spanish. I can't say enough how much better your experience will be if you are comfortable with basic conversational Spanish. If you don't know Spanish very well, wait 6 months to come and spend an hour or two each day working up your Spanish skills. Do a lot of listening because despite me having some Spanish skills, it is hard to understand when people speak it and you must be able to understand them to respond. Learn enough so you can be expecting what questions they may have when you purchase something. There is almost nothing you can ask for to purchase that there is not a follow up question. A simple one you will get a lot is they will ask you if you want a bag. They charge for plastic bags here. And there seems to be an infinite number of ways they can ask you if you want a bag. The last thing they will do is point to the bag or hold it up.

Most people are pretty polite when you can't speak well ordering food or trying to get into your accommodations. But even the nice people become clearly frustrated and it makes their jobs more stressful. The ones that want to please will keep trying to ask questions in spanish about every little thing. Then a few will outright show their displeasure, roll their eyes or their fellow workers will be laughing at their friend trying to accommodate the 'idiot' gringo who came to Colombia knowing no Spanish. It's just bad for our future as gringos showing up here with no knowledge of their language. You can get by. Don't get me wrong. You will still have a good time. But you are leaving so much more up to chance.

Now specifically with street women and freelance bar girls and Spanish. The ones that know English enough where you can actually communicate to them in english are the worst performers and worst value for your money. They speak half broken terrible english because they want more money from you. They use your lack of Spanish to re-arrange the table anytime they choose and prey on your ignorance of their language to shake more money out of you. It tells them in 3 seconds you don't know what you are really doing. They will charge you more than the colombian men for less services. Not all women of course. But on the street especially the one yelling out to you in english and trying to call and chase you down are the ones to ignore. The ones that are aggressive. Just ignore them. They will always be less value in my opinion and will try to charge extra for everything.

In fact I had already had several experiences with women coaxing me and targeting me and then trying to have a fun time with them. In all of the instances it wasn't 'terrible'. But they were all at the bottom of the list. Then after I already knew better and SWORE I would not go with a woman targeting me. Along came one who had the perfect ass, perfect tits, amazing face. That ass just took away my judgement. 50 k she said. Fair enough. This 'hot woman' was easily the worst of my mongering exploits. The combination of not being able to speak Spanish well and her being a straight up hoe bag made it just not so good. The sex actually wasn't that bad and she gave great eye contact giving head. But Every little thing. She wanted to charge me to not use the condom. Then when I told her to use it, she wanted money for the condom. The root of the problem is most easily cured by leveling up Spanish skills so you lead everything and are in control. You can't be in control if you don't know the language.

Aggressiveness goes into a general rule I now have. Ignore the aggressive ones. Many of the women are shy and reserved. Those are the ones you want. Because they are shy they will do what you want without asking for more money, asking for a tip, and endless stupid little things that for me was not about even the money. It just annoys the F out of me. It isn't always about paying more money. It's about not having to deal with the inscent begging and nagging for a dollar here and a dollar there. And trust me if you gave them $100 US dollars the women that chase you down and are aggressive on the streets will not let you go until they ask you if they can get another $10. Paying more or extra up front. The worst idea ever.

My advice is look for eye contact and a smile. If they don't come to you and can let you walk past a few times without losing their mind and trying to drag you into the building they would be a good one to approach.

Cleanliness. Get your teeth whitened. Get your nails manicured. Trim or shave you underarm hair. This applies mostly to women that are not street prostitutes. But even in those instances, since I have gotten my teeth whitened (they were pretty bad) it has made an absolute difference with every woman I've met here. I've avoided the women that just would not care I expect.

On paying more vs less and all that. I've got strong opinions as I've had many stripper girlfriends and lived with women that have pay to play dates. Even though women are charging money does not change the fact they have lust, fall in love, and have a lot of sex where they don't charge anybody anything. Most of the strippers and prostitutes I've dated, I would take them to swingers clubs and they would have sex for free with dozens of couples. That let me have sex with their hot wives and girlfriends. No money exchange at all. How do these strippers and prostitutes I know and lived with treat guys that pay them? Well it never would have anything to do with the amount the guy was paying and any guy paying was always at a huge disadvantage to having the best times with them.

Because when they are fucking for money it is a job. It completely changes their enthusiasm and more money I believe quickly moves them ALL into thinking "how much money can I get out of this guy? Every stripper and prostitute I've been friends with and lived with and had lots of sex with I never got them because of money. I was the guy that was cool with them doing their thing and judging them. There were with me because I was more fun, more interesting, and more exciting. All women want to be with the fun exciting guy when it comes to great sex. The guy that gives them money is a paycheck.

I pay to play in Medellin but very little. Most women I meet now are off of Colombian Cupid and then sometimes seeking. I've got women here buying me dinner, letting me stay with them, and several are literally in love with me and would have me move in. Not because I'm great looking or have money at all. They just want sincere attention. They have all been extremely sexual. More down with oral for extended periods than the street prostitutes. And super easy to talk to. Because they are not on the clock and actually like you they also are for more tolerant of your Spanish skills and will help you learn. I still monger for the variety but I know I'm not going to get the best of them by paying anything. Certainly not by paying more or extra.

Finally I would make sure to get a few dozen phrases down that tell people to leave you alone that are trying to beg or sell you stuff. Particularly in Pablado I've had a few physical encounters over overzealous street men (all have been men that get aggressive) trying to get me to buy weed, cocaine, or some stupid candy of some kind. Saying "No gracias" the first time is fine. But there are small minority that literally get their money from gringos through harassment. So saying no just once isn't enough. Their game is to keep hounding you until you give them money or get agitated enough to scream at them.

So I'll say along with this incident that knowing basic self defence and grappling is not a bad thing in an environment like what you will most come across in Medellin from my experience. Most of the problems are with single individual men that are poor and and rather desperate. They are more annoying than anything but they will put their hands on you sometimes and for me that crosses a line. Now I would be first to say always de-escalate and you need to judge the situation. I've had over 20 years of marital arts training so I don't scare easy particularly in a rather crowded area. In one incident I had a rather smallish street guy about 25 had asked me to buy weed or cocaine. I said 'no gracias' and kept walking. He then came up behind me and grabbed my arm and tried to stop me from walking forward. With that I grabbed the top of his hand and quickly just flipped it over and put him on his knees with a wrist lock. Very simple. I leaned down and yelled "tu comprendo No Gracias. I don't want your fucking cocaine" or something like that. Not my best moment. But when I have someone actually physically grab me in the street after they have already been told to leave me alone I typically am not going to let that go.

There were police not even 20 yards away that looked over as I still had him in the wrist lock and he was on his knees. I let him up and he apologised and went on his way. Cops didn't even move. But my next move was to leave the area. I think anytime you get into even a verbal confrontation with a local despite how it resolves best to not hang around and wait for them to get courage or find friends. I've actually not been back to El Pabaldo since that night. Not because I'm afraid it is just that you are constantly harassed for buying things or giving people money to the point I just don't enjoy being there anymore. Again knowing Spanish and not just saying "no gracias", but having something more meaningful to say to him in Spanish would have avoided the situation entirely. I would not handle it the same way again and should have stayed with a non-physical reaction to him putting his hands on me. But I think having some basic self defence skills in a place like Medellin goes a long way as it is very expensive to get quality training in martial arts in Colombia. I've read you can't carry a knife in Colombia as it is designated as a lethal weapon. Plus knives you have to pull out anyway. I'm sure there are better ideas, but I personally buy a bottle of coke in a glass bottle. Typically costs less than a US $1. I can drink the coke and I have that glass bottle which in a pinch would certainly make for a rather shocking melee weapon should the need arise.

That brings me to my final point. There are many fair skinned Colombians. One of the women I'm dating her son is as light skinned as I am. Many colombians are. So we get targeted as gringos mostly by how we act, how we dress, how we speak and where we are at. If you can speak Spanish well then with one sentence you will quickly be seen as someone to be respected and that has been in Medellin a while vs a gringo that just took the uber from the airport.

With all that said, you will have a great time in Medellin even if you just know Hola, con gusto, and Cuanta questa? But if you are coming to Medellin I implore you for our reputations as fellow gringos to learn as much spanish as you can before you come.

[QUOTE=JustTK;2797567]Not sure what that has to do w me saying the police behaviour in pqe berrio is racist.[/QUOTE]Apologies. I though you were implying that Colombian police were racist towards a certain group of individuals.

Thanks gents, I will try el Corral, I see there's one near San Antonio station. I just saw earlier another chain-looking place called Presto near Coltejer, will try it too.

I've tried a place that's in the same building as hotel Nutibara (behind it), that had a burger in its name. I got something that I thought they bought of the lowest shelf in supermarket, of "burger in microwave in 2 minutes!" variety (and, as if that wasn't enough, cold fries).

Tried another place on Carabobo and wasn't sure what kind of meat I got and, for a brief moment, I wondered; is it actually meat? Did they mince some arepas and painted it brown?

I can't complain about non-minced meat in Centro though so far, I just can't find place with a good burger near Botero Plaza.

As for non-centro places, many thanks for the list JjBee62. I've already tried Chef Burger before and it's one of my favorites, but didn't try the others you mentioned (yet).

The other day I tasted one from Home Burgers, pretty good too. I also got one in Buenos Aires Mercolanta store (which has the small restaurant & heladeria attached to it and they use their own meats) good as well. Oh and tried one from Qbano, not very good, although it did taste of meat, but the patty was very dry and had a strange consistency.

[QUOTE=Viracon13;2797391]The Medellin forum is a strange one. I've used ISG in several cities and the Medellin forum is the only one that I can't find any reviews. It seems like a lot of you guys just enjoy talking and arguing with one another rather than sharing info LOL. Why??

I'm heading to Medellin for the first time. Looking to get in touch with independent escorts rather than going to one of the Casas or street walkers. Nothing compares to just calling a girl to your room. Is there any site that anyone recommends? Any contacts you can share?

Gracias.[/QUOTE]To be candid, this is a bit rich coming from a guy that says he has used ISG on visits to several cities, yet only posted 5 times with most of those being questions. Perhaps if you actually 'give,' you will receive?

The above noted, the fact of the matter is:

1) You're so overwhelmed by women in Medellin, a metro with 4+ million people that trying to line up something with 1 particular girl is ridiculous so people more often speak in generalizations. If you do want a hot 'in call' independent girl I'd just use the photo prepagos or other Colombia prepago sites (there are 3-5, a list is in one of the other threads). Facebook is a second option, apps a third (not recommended), strip clubs a fourth, and Parque Lleras / Gustos a fifth. I could go on and on.

2) Despite recommendations, I think we all know YMMV based upon the girls day, your attractiveness, your fluency in Spanish, how 'weird' the stuff is that you request, and a hundred other female specific items.

3) Turnover can be really high here. Girls typically on do it for 3-4 years during their early 20's and will be working one month and totally off the next w / different whatsapp and FB profile shutdown.

4) Some guys are just hesitant as they've been burned after giving recommendations. I personally don't mind for the prepago site girls and must popular girls, but for others. Like the semi-pros I wait until I've at least met the guy in person. I've had a few completely weird the girls out in the past and learned my lesson.