PBH / colombia (travelguide, pictures) / post

Back from Bogota

My trip to Bogota last week was awsome. I arrived at the BOG airport at 8:30 pm. I was off the plane from Atlanta, picked up my luggage and through customs in under thirty minutes. I was greeted by my girlfriend, her two sisters and her brother. All three girls were in black mini skirts. I felt like I was in a Peter Gabriel music video. I have to elaborate here on something. I have never really seen my GF dress in provocitive clothing before this day. I was totally unprepared for the fact that she had been hiding from me her kick ass freakin killer body! I think she had purposly been keeping this a secret from me so she could determine that my motive was based on WHO she was rather than WHAT she was. At the airport she KNEW I would be pleased. Boy... is that an understatement. This girl has men in every direction drewling over her beautiful body. I am a VERY lucky guy! We left the airport and I was handed a shot glass and we all commenced to toast one another. I have no idea what we were drinking. It reminded me of pepermint schnaups. I am glad they were thoughtful enough to bring some alcohol with them, because I was unprepared for how they have to drive in Bogota to survive, well... that and also after seeing her body, a toast was definately in order to help calm my ummm nerves, yah that's it nerves! Their driving techniques would put a New York cab driver to shame! We traveled to the FAR south side of Bogota to the home of my GF. The next morning I awoke to the smell of cooking. My GF and her family had a meal plan for the entire week prepared. Each girl had a traditional meal planned so I could try ALL of their specialties. I think I gained 10 lbs. while I was there.
The women cooked and the men all sat around and took turns handing me beer. The children all got a kick out of trying to teach a dumb gringo some spanish. My GF and most of her family speak pretty good english.
I got to see a part of Bogota that most travelers avoid. The men all drive but the girls all rely on public transportation. I spent a lot of time riding on public transportation. We were all over bogota from the north to the south and everywhere in between day and night. I prefered some of the less traveled areas we visited that might not have been listed on any travel guide and only a local would know about. I had no problems at all, well except for the fact that a 6'2" 225lb American sure draws a lot of attention from the girls. I have decided that my GF is part pitbull based on her actions when other women got too close to me for her liking.
I had a wonderful trip and my GF and her family went out of their way to make sure my time with them was beyound compare. Her family was wonderful to me. I think I have been adopted! I will definately plan another trip to bogota in the future. The worst part of the trip was saying goodbye!

By StateSide on Mar 24, 2007, 07:24 in Friendly Talkzone.

StateSide says on Mar 24, 2007, 07:36:

Thank you butthead! I need to add here a comment to one of my friends from PBH. He knows who I am referring to. Thank you for taking the time to call me while in Colombia and give me ocasional advise. It was nice to hear a familiar voice from the US during this time!

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xmjhx says on Mar 24, 2007, 07:44:

one question... what is her hotmail address?

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nbenjamin says on Mar 24, 2007, 09:58:

I am confused... She is your girlfriend . . . and you never saw her body or met her family? That is peculiar. But a great story nonetheless. Did you meet her on the internet? Is that why you never saw her family or her body?

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goin_south says on Mar 24, 2007, 11:32:

photos of her 'seeesters', with email addys. por favor. (Oh, I'm assuming they were her equal or better.)

nbenj... you are catching on, to the brave new world (the one Orwell skipped, I think); consider yourself fortunate.

Ciao! Gustav. Bienvenitos, Ike.

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CaptainHowdy says on Mar 24, 2007, 17:25:

Nice description.. You made Colombia and its people sound wonderful. I can only hope I receive the same treatment from my friend this summer. I have only seen her on webcam but I know what see looks like....

Teaching preteens the things they need to know!

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StateSide says on Mar 24, 2007, 22:03:

CaptainHowdy I thought I knew what my GF looked like too. I had seen her in pictures and we spend at least an hour daily on webcam. The one thing about pictures and webcams is they are two dimentional and do not show off roundness very well. I thought I knew exactly what to expect but I was wrong. My GF turned out to a lot better than the webcam and pictures portrayed. Hope you find the same...good Luck

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utopiacowboy says on Mar 24, 2007, 23:04:

I can relate to how you felt about seeing your girlfriend in person the first time after seeing her in photos and on the webcam. When I saw my wife in person for the first time I felt like I had won the lottery - she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

The thing that really kills me about your report is this - "My GF and most of her family speak pretty good english." That absolutely amazes me because I've never met anyone in Colombia who could speak more than a few words of English. How did they learn English? How are they able to practice? I am really curious about this. Even my stepkids who came here after taking English in school for many years could not speak any English when they first arrived.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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StateSide says on Mar 25, 2007, 09:26:

Details Clyde17: I met my GF on the internet. I am not one for trouist trap places. Like here in the US, Bogota has it's share of them also. I prefered to visit less crouded places. We did go to Central Bogota a few times when I was looking for some specific things like a new memory card for my camera or a usb cable to download photos to her pc, but Central Bogota was too crouded with street pests! The few places I went to and enjoyed that are popular with Colombians was the Bogota Museum of History (interesting) and Catedral De Sal in Zipaquira, which was pretty cool with the exception of the freakin uphill walk for what seeped like miles!

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StateSide says on Mar 25, 2007, 09:43:

Utopia My GF worked at one of the Universities for 10 years and also helped a private teacher that lives next door to her mother teach spanish after hours. One of her other sisters spent years traveling and speaks three languages (english, spanish and mandarin of all things). They hava a diverse family, one is a network engineer, one a digital graphics artist and one a nurse. I guess some of the english language wore off on the rest of the family.

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utopiacowboy says on Mar 25, 2007, 11:59:

Wow, I'm impressed! My wife's family are all professionals, engineers and lawyers, but none of them speaks a word of English.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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Colombiano_81 says on Mar 25, 2007, 13:32:

you gotta be kidding UC you havent met anyone that speaks good english in Bogota? There are many ppl that do in the north of Bogota. You must have been staying in the poorer barrios.

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utopiacowboy says on Mar 25, 2007, 13:40:

Very rarely am I in Bogota. Medellin and Monteria. Always Strata 4 and above with hot water everywhere I go. Of course in Medellin I never go to El Poblado usually staying in Belen and Laureles.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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goin_south says on Mar 25, 2007, 14:31:

"hot water everywhere I go" is that figuratively, or literally speaking? ;)

Ciao! Gustav. Bienvenitos, Ike.

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utopiacowboy says on Mar 25, 2007, 15:52:

Con todas las brujas y la brujeria hay agua caliente siempre. Pero con pelo pubic y sangre de menstruacion.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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StateSide says on Mar 25, 2007, 19:25:

Way South I was on the south side of the TransMileno main terminal. Like Calle 60 something south. No specifics...sorry.

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rocinante says on Mar 25, 2007, 22:29:

nbenji "I am confused...
She is your girlfriend . . . and you never saw her body or met her family? That is peculiar. But a great story nonetheless. Did you meet her on the internet? Is that why you never saw her family or her body?"-nbenjaminnbenjamin - you must not really read this board. The next time he goes down he will propose and the year long "marriage/visa to get her to gringolandia" will start. Get with it mate!

just kidding - well, sort of...

stateside, sounds like you had a good time. I wish you could call your novia and ask her what dishes were prepared while you were there. Was all the food good? Did you eat mondongo, rellena/morcilla or anything crazy (I love rellena), Bog not as big on the arepas like Medallo.

How many times a day did you eat? Did you have cafe con leche in the AM and tinto in the late afternoon? (This always amazes me, but that's a different thread). What fruit did you sample and did they serve you blender juices? What beer did you drink? People generally lose weight in CO as there's not much processed food served , the portions are smaller, meals more frequent and the heavier meals are earlier in the day.

Chicharon? Si o no?

How was the weather?

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

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goin_south says on Mar 26, 2007, 00:43:

I think he ate once a day... ALL DAY LONG.

But, I am curious if he was able to sneak that cup of coffee in, in the late afternoon, somewhere in the middle of that bottomless bottle of beer being handed down by the bro's.

"just kidding - not really"
...was what I think he meant, Stateside.

Stateside might have gotten that Mecca Trend started and had his 'Unknown Girlfriend' strollin him around the barrios & malls in a Big Texas-sized Baby Buggy,...; Hence, the 10 pounds.

Stateside, I think some narrow-minded know-it-alls are a lil celoso, of uno gringo, who can have such a damn good time ON-THE-SPOT!

Congratualtions on a successful trip!

Ciao! Gustav. Bienvenitos, Ike.

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aztec says on Mar 26, 2007, 06:35:

I have never been... ...in any social gathering in Bogotá where there was not at least half of the attendees able to speak some English. Of course that was in North Bogotá and the Chia area. Obviously, we simple run in different circles in Colombia than some of my gringo friends.

For example, I have no desire to visit the barrios of South Bogotá.

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Kem says on Mar 27, 2007, 03:50:

Did I get this right? You fell in love with a girl who you never met before? Am I the only one who finds this odd?

Stateside, can you share your and her age? And her socio economic status. Just wondering like...

Btw my gf speaks fluently English too, there is a fair amount of Colombianas who studied abroad.

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goin_south says on Mar 27, 2007, 05:03:

did I miss something? I didn't read where he said he fell in love?
You are trying to write his story for him?
Hey Stateside? WTF? I think someone is trying to make sure the hole and the peg fit exactly right. or, not.

Hey kem; ever hear of 'love-at-first-sight'? I ain't saying it's a norm, or happened here, but... jeeze, open your mind and don't expect everyone has to fit into the biggoted PBsH or any other stereotypes.

I THINK HE "TRIPPED-OVER-HIS-COWBOY-BOOTS" IN LOVE...while he was there. Well, I mean, right after touching down in Bogota. lol

Hey! How 'bout the photos of her seeesters?

Ciao! Gustav. Bienvenitos, Ike.

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