bopenyan has left 50 comments

bopenyan comments on Tengo 26 años y voy Rumbo a Colombia despues de 22 Años!!

If you love landscapes, you would probably prefer Providencia to San Andres. San Andres is pretty built up with your typical Caribbean resort hotels on the beaches. Providencia is a short flight from San Andres and is pretty and far less developed. Parque Nacional Tayrona, which is about a day's travel from Cartagena is really beautiful too. Its not far from Santa Marta, which in turn is the jumping off point for excursions to Ciudad Perdita. Its a bit of a hike...not to bad in the dry season but slippery and strenuous in the wet season. You should also consider flying to Armenia, and hike/horse around the Eje Cafetera and Valle de Cocora. Valle de Cocora is spectacular and the palmas de cera, which look like they could have been drawn by Dr. Seuss, lend an ethereal feel in that mist swathed valley. The regulars here can tell you about the party scenes in the various urban Zonas Rosas. Cali used to be notorious for its clear dawn closing hours but now the local government has imposed a 2:00 a.m. closing time, strangely called Hora Zanahoria. Do what the locals do and go to Juanchito (across the Rio Cauca from Cali).

bopenyan comments on Por fin! A real ceviche in Colombia!

Real ceviche....YES. I introduced my novia to the real thing, and she was pleasantly surprised. Almost all Colombians have no idea what real ceviche is. They take it as a matter of course that the '50s style retro-shrimp cocktail (complete with 1000 Islands/Russian dressing) is the only type of ceviche available. There are two Peruvian restaurants in Cali, both run by family members from Huanuco (a bit odd as Huanuco is a bit out of the way and is by no means a major Peruvian city) but these restaurants are by peruvian standards below average. I am going to have to make it to Taganga.

bopenyan comments on gripa

Propoleo....una cuchera tres veces cada dia. That should do the job.

bopenyan comments on Cali and Palmira

If you fly in to Cali, the airport is closer to Palmira than it is to Cali. Campina is right in saying that there is not a whole lot going on in Palmira. For a decent restaurant to take your girlfriend in Palmira, there is one across the street from the bombero in downtown Palmira. I forgot its name but it is set in what appears to be an old one storey hacienda type house. For a structured Spanish lessons environment, Univalle has a comprehensive programme (or so it appears from their website). Univalle is in the centre westerly part of Cali, a few minutes walk from Calle 5, one of the main roads through Cali. If you're going to be in Cali for a while, taking up campina's suggestion of staying at his place would be a good idea. He knows his stuff about Cali.

bopenyan comments on ATM's

In Cali, my choice is Davivienda. Bancolombia not only does not work, it appears to process the transaction, but then no money comes out. I had to phone my bank to confirm that funds were not debited from my account.

bopenyan comments on Still fishing for zip lines...

Oh yes, Finca de caracoles is on a turnoff just before you arrive at Montenegro from Armenia. You can hike from the road to the finca in about an hour.

bopenyan comments on Still fishing for zip lines...

Finca de caracoles is great. Not only do they have more zip lines, some of which are longer than Panaca's, its a neat little farm. One starts off on an ambling hour plus tour with one of the farmhands, and you eat fresh fruit off the trees, wander by this little stream with helliconias blooming everywhere. Panaca was fun, delightfully cheesy, but finca de caracoles is better.

bopenyan comments on TRIP REPORT...(yes,another).............Los Lomas Finca Hotel

Thanks RAAAY for the post. Can hardly wait to check out Antioquia.

bopenyan comments on India Colombia trade target set at USD 2 bn

Ahhh.....chicken jalfrezi and chapatis in every barrio. Bajajs scooting around the streets.

bopenyan comments on **Great New Hostel in Cali**

Does the room include private bath/shower or are those shared? I really like the locale, if it is where I think it is, which is facing the little park just before the rise leading up to the church.

bopenyan comments on Once again colombianos are #1 in latin america ;)

In Cali, on Calle 6, by Carrera 7, there is an AA. - right next to a liquor store. If you stumble on any one of the 12 steps, solace is next door.

bopenyan comments on San Agustin

Both routes are going to be slow. From Popayan, the highway runs through a beautiful stretch of montaine forest in a national park, but the journey itself takes 8 hours plus. The highway had been under the control of FARC until 2-3 years ago. Heavy military presence on the highway. The faster route with the significantly better highway is from Neiva, but that is in the direction opposite from where you are coming.

bopenyan comments on Preparing for the Inca trail

The Peruvian authorities require that you use an agency. You will be hiking iwth a group of other tourists. The cost in the high season (the summer months) is over $300.00 and climbing. There are other trails which lead to Machu Pichu which do not require a guide. The trail is closed each February (the height of the rainy season) for maintenance, repairs and garbage removal. The trail is not particularly hard, but it is at a high altitude and can be steep (especially up Dead Womans' Pass). With respect to the charges, they usually do not cover the entrance fee to Machu Pichu nor the entrance fee to the trail itself. In the guided trek, there is never more than six hours of hiking each day, there are porters to lug your stuff, meals and tents are set up by the guides and porters...so you are not exactly roughing it.

bopenyan comments on Servientrega update

It may be costly but at least it is reliable. I relied on Canada Post to send a letter by airmail - it reached Cali one month after I had posted it.

bopenyan comments on What's Good or Better in Colombia?

The meat is definetely better in Colombia than the US or Canada. My guess is that most of the beef is from grass-fed in the pasture animals, as opposed to corn-fed feedlot stuff you get in north america. There is probably much less of a factory type environment for chickens and pigs as well.

bopenyan comments on where can someone obtain an affadavit in Colombia?

Notaria...that is what they are there for.

bopenyan comments on "Colombia: the Genocidal Democracy"

Looks like the El Tiempo reporter was summarizing the DOS Human Rights Report 2007 that was released a day or two ago.

bopenyan comments on Colombia this summer

Cali Plaza is a decent hotel, but for two problems. One, it is across the street from the Viejo Barril - where the max volume music continues until 4 or 5 am. The other is that inside the hotel sound travels. My buddy stayed there and was either kept awake by the Viejo Barril or by prepagos arguing. For about $70.00 US a night (significantly less for a two week stay) you can take a suite at Aparthotel Ave. 4. These are really nice suites, large and with a great kitchen.

bopenyan comments on Colombia could be 'very good gold frontier' in near future

Pedro Newmont's operations and dumping of waste in Buhart Bay (reported in the New York Times and by many environmental activist groups) is just one. You may also want to google Cajamarca, as the New York Times has reported on unrest, demonstrations and barricades initiated by local villagers protesting the devastation caused by mining operations there. For further information on the devastating impact of large scale mining, google "environmental impact large scale mining". Also, in British Columbia, a proposed large scale goldmine using heap leachate process was sidetracked after environmental and first nations groups were able to provide convincing evidence that the proposed containment of tailings ponds was insufficient and would release toxins into rivers that provided an important source of food for the First Nations peoples residing there.

bopenyan comments on Colombia could be 'very good gold frontier' in near future

Colombiangringo is right. Gold extraction now basically involves the heap leaching process, in which vast parts of a mountain are blasted out, the ore (usually a 1/10 oz. per ton or less) is crushed and then a cyanide-arsenic wash is poured over a small hill of the crushed ore. The leach is collected and then electrochemically treated to extract the gold. Then, somehow, the cyanide-arsenic leavings are disposed of...er, safely. Usually the children of the locals suffer from this "safe" disposal, while the royalties go to the benefit of the children of those well connected. Gold is almost as bad as oil for its adverse impact on both local and national social norms. Colombians have suffered for centuries as a result of the lust for gold, from conquistadors to unrepetantly greedy politicos - time for the Colombian people to say no.

bopenyan comments on What's Happening In Your City?

Pampero is a great restaurant. Their baby beef, done "azul", is great. And the shops in the new plaza in Centenario are way overpriced by any standard.

bopenyan comments on

As I am totally new to the idea of buying real estate in Colombia, i have a really basic question. In Peru, one does not buy deparmentos (except to live in) as they depreciate over the years. Is that the case in Colombia?

bopenyan comments on I had posted on here looking to see if any english speaking colombians might be

jinksmiester is right. He probably used the Provincial Nominee Program. In BC, the PNP is handing out authorizations for business owners looking for sales clerks. Yes, sales clerks.

bopenyan comments on Before you buy an expensive emerald in Colombia READ THIS FIRST.

Beisbollover - Thanks for your post. Its kind of nice, although not in the best possible way, to have one's suspicions confirmed.

bopenyan comments on THE COLOMBIAN DREAM.....

MM - you have really studied well the neo-Marxian school of historical analysis. I noted quotes - could you also post the sources for these quotes?

bopenyan comments on I had posted on here looking to see if any english speaking colombians might be

I think your post was deleted because you suggested that the worker work illegally in Canada. If he or she is caught, not only would they be deported from Canada, but the Canada Border and Security Agency shares its info with Department of Homeland Security which means that that person would be toast if he or she were to try to enter the US.

bopenyan comments on A New Term to Add to Your Vocabulary

"Electile dysfunction" was first used in the Florida count dispute in 2000

bopenyan comments on

Remember, if you put assets into a corporation, who owns the shares? If they are owned by you, she may claim 50% of your shares. In Colombia, there is the option of electing into a regimen patrimonial prior to marriage. Talk to a lawyer about this, and what documents need to be signed. My understanding of the law in Colombia is that unless such an agreement is entered into prior to marriage, the act of marriage automatically makes all property "comunal".

bopenyan comments on trust me I whispered, and do as I say, if I say jump you say how high,

Long time no see....just curious, is your handle named after the barrio just north of Chipi Chapi?

bopenyan comments on Girlfriend denied visa and was told she can not get any other type of visa!

Don Cherry also is notorious for his stiff high collared shirts and has a cute dog. His claim to fame is that he was a coach for a WHA hockey team (the Islanders ?) that scored a Stanley Cup win sometime in the 70s

bopenyan comments on

FARC insists as a pre-condition for talks that the army pull back from areas under FARC control or interest. The pre-Uribe government acceded to that demand, only to see FARC expand its activities and areas they were trying to control. You cannot negotiate with FARC.

bopenyan comments on Where can I get some information on Canada?

No English and no degree and no skilled job experience means that she will be shot down. She should give herself the self-administered test available on the CIC website, www.cic.gc.ca. She has to reach 67 points, and she is absolutely barred unless she can demonstrate that she has worked for a minimum of one year in a skilled job. Of course, she can always marry a Canadian and go through sponsorship. Visa posts have different rejection rates for spousal sponsorships - Chandigarh, India and Beijing, China have rejection rates of over 80%.

bopenyan comments on What does Canada have against pretty colombianas :))

The problems of Canada Immigration are manifold. One, they have local staff vet all visitor visa applications and often conduct preliminary interviews. If the local staff member is a little out of joint with the status of the visa applicant, they will not refer it on to the Senior Immigration Officer (SIO). Two, if the visitor visa applicant is a woman, and she has been invited by an older male, many SIOs are of the opinion that she is trying to enter Canada for the purpose of entering into marriage or a long term relationship and apply in Canada, and thus avoid the 1 to 2 year waiting time that out of Canada spousal applicants face. Finally, there are a number of unstated and undeclared factors that SIOs use to determine whether a visitor will get a visa. Has she worked at her present occupation for less than a year? If she has not, then she has insufficient ties to bring her back to Colombia. Same with respect to property and family (it is always a good idea for the woman, if she has a child, to leave the child behind in Colombia - SIOs beleive that the child back in the home country is an incentive to return). I could go on, but the kicker is that while one, in theory, may make unlimited applications for visitor's visas, unless the unstated concerns of the SIO are addressed, they will be rejected time and time again.

bopenyan comments on la campiña

Not sure how to contact you privately, but would like to hear about choice walks and trails. Thankyou.

bopenyan comments on English Lessons in Barranquila?

I am sure, if your fiancee is attractive, that Elmo will provide her with all the lessons she wants and can handle.

bopenyan comments on what is the worst/dangerous barrio in cali?

Is Barrio Santa Elena relatively secure, all things considering?

bopenyan comments on Flights Online

Try kayak.com - it is essentially a flight search engine that checks out a large number of ticketing sites, such as expedia.com, continental.com, cheaptickets.com...etc........

bopenyan comments on Tres Cruzes, boy scouts kind of thing ( Cali)

I will be in Cali in December. Could you post details of some of your favourite walks, especially in the mountains behind Cali?

bopenyan comments on Where to stay?

In Armenia you should stay at Hostal San Fernando (?) which costs about $30,000 for a queen-sized bedroom for one, with good hot water shower. It is only about two blocks from the alcalde.

bopenyan comments on The Taxi business in Barranquilla

Fantastico? Foque's?

bopenyan comments on I wish to invest in taxis in Medellin.

How much research have you done on the licensing regimes in Colombia? The value of a taxi business in North America rests on the degree of control that the local or state/provincial governments have in issuing and regulating the transfer of licences. If the local government doesn't impose restrictive policies on the issuing of licences, then they have little to no value - but where the government does restrict their issue (New York City is a well-known example), a taxi medalliion will be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and leasing it to operators is a lucrative business. I suspect, from the abundance of cabs I saw in Bogota and elsewhere, that it is relatively easy and inexpensive to get a licence. Would it be viable to lease out your licence? Would the only way available to make money is to operate it yourself?

bopenyan comments on Bringing me amor to Canada

A work visa in Canada is employer driven. In other words, the prospective employer must offer her employment and then send a copy of the job offer, along with a completed 4 page form setting out the history and revenues of the business, number of employees and most importantly, the employer's efforts to hire or train a local, to Services Canada. If the employer can demonstrate that it made good faith efforts to find someone in Canada, and does not have the resources to train someone, and can show that it is paying the prospective employee a wage that is within the norm for that occupation, Services Canada will then "validate the job offer" by writing a letter saying that there will be no adverse impact to Canada's labour market if the foreign employee is granted a work visa. Generally speaking, unskilled or lightly skilled workers almost never get a positive validation of the job offer and that ends the work visa application process. If a positive letter is issued, it must be enclosed with the work visa application, which must be submitted in the consular post serving Colombia (likely the Canadian Embassy in Colombia). This application should include not only the job offer and the validation letter, but also copies of all education documents and letters of reference from at least one previous employer setting out relevant (i.e. to the job offer made) job skills, duration of employment, salary etc.... From what you have told me, I would say that it is very very unlikely that your novia will receive a work permit. If you marry her, or cohabit with her for one year or longer, with proof of cohabitation (records of shared bank accounts, or both names being on the lease), you can sponsor her. There is a huge amount of paperwork involved (including medical evaluations by a doctor on Canada Immigration's list of doctors, police clearance certificates etc.....), and usually an interview with a Senior Immigration Officer who will determine whether the marriage is genuine. If satisfied that the marriage is genuine, the SIO will advise her that she will get a permanent residence visa, subject to completion of INTERPOL and security clearances. The CIC website sets out average waiting times for spousal sponsorship visas. Expect to wait at least a year from the date the application was submitted to Mississauga CPC.

bopenyan comments on EasyFly, primera línea aérea de bajo costo del país, despega este viernes

Can anyone post EasyFly's web address? Puede poner alguien la direcion del red de EasyFly? Me fallta mucho, mi espanol.

bopenyan comments on Tourism Near Armenia

When at the Parque del Cafe (a theme park complete with rides, a dance show, a choo-choo train etc...) avoid at all costs the Orchid Show. It sucks on a truly awesome scale of pure suckiness. It is beyond bad, but it is not so bad as to be fun.

bopenyan comments on We should help Colombia

I really don't know the details of the proposed Free Trade Agreement with Colombia, but if it contains the bilateral arbitration clauses contained in NAFTA, any Canadian will tell any Colombian that US authorities refuse to comply with any and all orders made against them in a trade dispute. Ruling after ruling was made against the US in arbitrations under NAFTA as well as under the WTO, and the government fought to appeal, review and further appeal in the softwood lumber dispute, losing each one and still refusing to comply with orders made, and according to the Agreement, binding upon them. Colombians ought to pin very little faith in the Free Trade process with the US.

bopenyan comments on A room in Northern Bogota

Try Wonderfulhouse, which is near the corner of Ave. Suba and Calle 100. Pleasant neighbourhood (a film or TV scene was shot one block from the hotel) and very tranquil. For a large one bedroom with kitchen, the cost is about $50 per night. I think their web address is www.wonderfulhouse100.com...

bopenyan comments on ANCHOR BABY CITIZENSHIP

14th Amendment: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States...are citizens of the United States..." Any legislation that attempts to circumvent this provision, or defiantly contradict it will not withstand judicial scrutiny.

bopenyan comments on Bogota-Armenia route and bus advice

Armenia via Ibague is the swiftest route, and is very scenic when you go over the mountains, go under el Nariz de diablo (outside Ibague towards Armenia) and see the vistas. Didn't experience the dangers RJQuilla mentioned, but I could definitely see the possibilities of landslides given the steepness of the mountains and the twisty nature of the road.

bopenyan comments on The prick and his melancholia

I didn't even know that Diomedes had a heart.

bopenyan comments on coffee plantation for visiting: can anyone recommend something?

There was an excellent NY Times travel article in November 2006. Just search www.nytimes.com using "zona cafetera" and you should find the article. The writer discusses several fincas where he stayed, all reasonably priced (the most expensive one was about $55, and that was for comfortable rooms with a dramatice vista).