How about you deal with Colombia yourself? ;-)

eywed says on Oct 6, 2008, 21:21:

First trip to Medellin I would set on the front porch of my family's house and watch what happens around the neighborhood. Day 1 woke up by the sound of Vallenato music playing in the street. Then the buses started , Really could have done without them. Looking around things sure are diffrent but then came the coke Cola delivery truck. Wow thats a truck just like the ones in the U.S.A. but then the driver got out and stood watch over the truck. The front passenger got out and opened the first storage door and took out two guys who were standing in there in the dark. These three guys started grabbing cases of Coke products and would carry them to the stores fast too, No playing with these guys. No dollies in site. Hmph.
When they finished the two guys were put back in the dark and off the truck went.

Ay Hombe!!!!!

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eywed says on Oct 6, 2008, 21:28:

Day two , Back on the porch , many a looks from the neighbors, who is this gringo and why is he sitting out front. Here comes the meat delievery guy in a small flat bed truck with a tarp. No cooling for the meat. This big burley guy starts throwing fresh meat over his shoulder and carries it in the store. The meat was not wrapped or nothing. The guy was covered in blood. Back in the truck and off he went. A look in the meat store , That sure was not like in the U.S.A. . But that was ok cause I was not in the U.S.A. . By the way great meat came from that little store and cheap too.

Ay Hombe!!!!!

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eywed says on Oct 6, 2008, 21:34:

Damn I can't wait to get back to Medellin. On my first trip there I found many a good front porches or steps to hang out on and watch the days or nights activities go on. Folks out talking to one another having fun or just saying hello to their neighbors. Here in the U.S.A. I sit on my porch and see nothing. Seems folks in the U.S.A. In many a neighborhoods dont spend no time on the porch no more.

Ay Hombe!!!!!

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Terry2 says on Oct 7, 2008, 05:13:

Maybe not excactly along the same line but... on food.... eggs... in Canada, the eggs must be constantly refrigerated. All stores maintain this refrigeration as per Canada's food safety guidelines. In Colombia. I see even the major stores stock the eggs on ordinary shelves, no cooling at all. Even along the highway or at intersections, many people selling eggs in plastic bags... no idea how long these have been kept at ambient temperature. Can't help but wonder what the consequences of this are...given that Salmonella and eggs go hand in hand.
In Barranquilla, in the Los Olivos neighborhood, the local meat store ( simply someones house) the meats were simply hanging from a tree out front, open to the insects and the road dust.Maybe the rest of the world is too germ conscious?

Terry

Terry

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dwmte7 says on Oct 7, 2008, 05:39:

the meat story from hell.....years ago when we were still manufacturing in colombia, we had a taller that did our wrought iron work and our bronze casting. it was down town near the metro, south of nutibara... one of the no life zones.

one morning waiting til the workers had finished something for me, i was out front smoking a cigarette and watched this tarped, flat bed truck pull up the the carniceria on the corner. the driver got out, climbed in the back and started tossing sides of beef and pig right into the dirt street. 'KAFLOP'...right into the muddy slop that was the street.

aghast, i watched until workers from the meat markiet finally came out and retrieved the sides from the mud. my first introduction to hygiene in colombia.

as any/all know, the meat in colombia is fantastic...i never experienced getting sick for the lack of cleanliness, nor, did i ever hear of anyone else getting sick. LORD, right into the mud!

dwmte

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tomtom33 (☼Travelguide writer) says on Oct 7, 2008, 06:19:

Bill Turley (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Oct 7, 2008, 06:34:

mariacvetanoski says on Oct 7, 2008, 06:35:

yeah, saw some fish just like that in the barrio just sitting there in a pile right on the street and it reaked something aweful!!

Save the street children of Colombia Now!!

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t-wiz says on Oct 7, 2008, 06:35:

I live in a mountain town and every weekend the willys come into town from the fincas to buy their food for the coming week. The most unusual thing is stacking a dozen flats of eggs onto the front cowling next to the passenger window tied with some string. How they manage the mountain roads with no broken eggs is a mystery to me.

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Bill Turley (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Oct 7, 2008, 06:36:

Colombiareports.com says on Oct 7, 2008, 06:43:

Excellent feedback! I'm on it

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tomtom33 (☼Travelguide writer) says on Oct 7, 2008, 07:59:

pedro (☼Travelguide writer) says on Oct 7, 2008, 08:14:

Noelito40 says on Oct 7, 2008, 09:08:

One thing that really perplexes me here is that if you fill out a form here and have the slightest hint of a correction of change, (and God forbid that you should scratch anything out!!) they will refuse to accept it. I had a contract of sale from back home that I sent to a bank here, and because the contract had a price change, in biro, they wouldn't accept it here. The change was initialed by both myself and the buyer and stamped by my solicitor, so perfectly legit back home, but here!!

I appreciate that they are concerned here about contracts being forged, etc, but this issue of "no tachado" is bordering on paranoic, and let's face it, it's hardly as if banks here are operating on the cutting edge of best practice...

Noelito

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kat1 (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Oct 7, 2008, 09:39:

this picture i took it from my way back from Caratgena, i was in the bus and the truck ahead of us was full of cilantro and there it was sleeping beauty, having a rest or passing the guayabo in our precious cilantro

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kat1 (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Oct 7, 2008, 09:48:

Another one that it took me by surprise was, my family some friends and I went to out for sunday lunch, we went to this place near my farm to eat sancocho the Gallina, but i didn't know you have to pick and catch your own gallina, and Hell! they are the faster gallinas in the world, it took my dad, a friend, the owner of the place and his son to catch our gallina, not without some of them tripping over their faces first, my friend gave up he got tired, but at last my dad and the owner got the damn chicken!

that's what i call sancocho sudado my dad said :))

if any of you fancy eating at pick your own chicken let me know jejeje

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Bill Turley (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Oct 7, 2008, 10:47:

tomtom33 (☼Travelguide writer) says on Oct 7, 2008, 11:50:

davidslc46 says on Oct 8, 2008, 05:29:

My own experiences mimics those above as far as the excitement and mild anxiety of experiencing people watching, and watching people in Medellin and Barbosa. I love most city parks because there is so much activity going on in them and usually bars and cafes with great little sidewalk tables in which just sit there relaxed and contemplate the culture you see before you. It is unlike anything I have ever experienced. It is refreshingly different after 50 some years in a rat race, ( with better hygiene ).

It's is for me, riding a horse on a moonlit / starlit Colombian night, drinking guardo, or rum, every so often as you ride towards little stops along the way where more drink, more music, more life awaits you. If you are lucky enough to have Colombian men along who believe " this is our life david " and they break out in song you may think it's about as close to heaven as it gets. So it maybe horse first, and women second, for these men, LOL I am not sure, I haven't quite figured that out. I am researching it now.


David

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dwmte7 says on Oct 8, 2008, 07:49:

david...you're the only other poster i've heard/read who mentioned barbosa...used to live up there.
douglas

dwmte

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davidslc46 says on Oct 8, 2008, 08:37:

As far as I can tell I am about the only recognizable north american walking around Barbosa these days other then there are a few north americans in fincas a little north. Some of the Colombian boys on the site like to talk sh*t, but in Barbosa for the most part, I have only met men that seem to enjoy meeting me. Of course I would not have ventured up there on my own, and now I have enough insight and friends to pretty well assure that as long as I don't do anything stupid, it will be pretty much conflict free living ( at least with men LOL! ) One of the things I had to learn early was throw all your conditioning for the most part out the door, as it can cause you problems. You also have to let some things slip by you as you really don't want to create enemies even if you happen to be right.

I happen to like it better then Medellin as far as fun and economics.

David

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arnold_kate says on Oct 8, 2008, 12:41:

I had to mention the mayo and other milk based salsas or the hot sauce here that people don´t refrigerate. I thought when I first got here that they were super chemicalized and didn´t require refrigration...then 3 months in I stopped and read the label. Oh My God this mayo is suppose to be refrigerated too. Our cook doesn´t keep any of that stuff in the fridge. She also cooks one big meal at like 11 in the morning and when I get home at like 7 or 8 it is still on the stove and that is what she wants to serve for dinner. I have yet to get sick. I just try and not think about it or else I get grossed out.

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dwmte7 says on Oct 8, 2008, 15:01:

yeah, david, you're right about barbosa,,,,it's a bit of the wild west. most of the fincas there are/were those of capos. so many are dead now. plenty of tough guys there. but as you said, you treat other folks business as secret, you're pretty much good to go. let them do the lead, pay attention, and don't make waves.

if you go further up the road, you run into the gold fields. really gets wierd there. they pan for gold in the river and there's several old spanish/mayan gold mines there. i went down in one about 400 ft and actually extracted some pretty impressive ore myself. still have it. the content is highly visible. but getting around up there is kinda touch and go. they make the rules.

douglas

dwmte

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