durito has left 495 comments

durito comments on medellín to cartagena

500,000-600,000 round trip sounds about right for the flight per person i flew aires yesterday and they had some adds in their magazine for 3day 2night trips including airfare, hotel, some food for around 500,000 per person, medellin to cartagena.

durito comments on Quito hostels emptier?

In the week I was in Quito I saw 20x more foreign tourists than I have seen combined in the last 5 years in Colombia. It seemed exactly the same as a few years ago.

durito comments on ROBBED AT KNIFE POINT IN BOGOTA! THIS COUNTRY IS DANGEROUS!!

i just spent a great week in bogota without a single issue. i must be really lucky ;)

durito comments on Need some information to Colombia

"Durito: I lived in Guatemala for two years, my husband was directing a project for Health and Nutrition, and we were not allowed by the US Gvmt to be out in the streets or on the roads after 500p due to heavy crime, robberies and assaults. One time, my hubby was attending a seminar at one of the top Hotels in Guatemala City and some guys came in with AK47's and robbed, attacked and shot some people. We were, almost everyday, informed of such happenings all over the place" I believe the US gov't still has similar prohibitions on it's workers in Colombia. And yes, as I said, Guatemala City is best avoided.

durito comments on HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY !!

Solo los estadounidenses. y solo me di cuenta de que hoy es el 4 de julio cuando lei aca. probable no haré nada para celebrar.

durito comments on Betancourts Previous Run for President - Was She a Front Runner?

As far as I can tell she is WAY more popular today in Colombia. It´s been virtually 24 hours non-stop news coverage of her for two days now. Everyone in Bogota is talking about her (all positive). That´s a far cry from less than 1% of the presidential vote.

durito comments on Bogota - Culture Capital of the New World!

beautiful day in bogota today

durito comments on Hostages NOT Rescued, Exchanged For $20 Million U.S. Dollars

Of course we (the us govt) have done far worse. My point is that it´s been official US govt policy to not negociate or pay ransom for kidnapping victims for quite some time. They go as far as not permitting familes to pay either. You´ve seen this in Iraq and Afghanistan -- where S. Korea and Italy have paid ransoms to recover their citizens, the US has not. It´s a policy I´m not sure where I stand on. Paying the ransom only encourages more kidnapping, but if they had a family member of mine I´d sure want them to be paid. My question then, is who did they pay? The Colombian gov´t was allready offering FARC commanders millions to turn over the hostages, but that would be different than paying a ransom, as they´d presumably be turning themeselves in as well. If that was the case, I´m not really sure why lie about it. Otherwise, a ransom doesn´t really make sense. The FARC was never holding these particular hostages for ransom (as they´ve done with so many others). I find it hard to believe that their leadership would give them up for $20 million. They were the only bargaining chips they had. $20 million isn´t going to do anything for them.

durito comments on Should I postpone my trip in late august to Medellin, Colombia???????????

Yes, it´s terrible here right now. I´m dodging bullets as i write this.

durito comments on Hostages NOT Rescued, Exchanged For $20 Million U.S. Dollars

The US gov´t would not under any circumstances permit a ransom to be paid.

durito comments on looking for budget hotels in santa marta

backpackers budget of $50-70 a night for a hotel? i guess i lot has changed in 4 years since i was backpacking around south america on $14 a day

durito comments on Is it safe to stay in El Getsemani in Cartagena?

is not the perfect timing for visiting colombia! buuut i wish you good luck and please stay in the cities !! hope you manage to return back home at all :-) its a great time to visit colombia. i dont think this is the right site for you i`ve stayed in getsemani before and was fine. just be careful.

durito comments on Were the FARC tricked or did Ceaser et al give them up?

^A helicopter on the ground for 22 minutes and this is not confirmed by leader Cano? How would Cano confirm anything? It`s become quite clear in recent months that the FARC is having extreme difficulty in communicating with each other: --Reyes tracked and killed likely after talking on radio/sat phone --FARC doesn`t even know it has not held the boy Emanuel for several years --Karina and others surrender and says she has not had communication withthe secretariat in years Allegedely the military had infiltrated far enough in that Ceaser believed he was recieving messages from Cano.

durito comments on Visa extension question finally cleared up....Bogota DAS

180 days is per calender year. You can stay 360 straight days if it´s the last 180 of one year and the first 180 of the next. It´s actual time in the country.

durito comments on World's happiest place Denmark, followed by Iceland, Colombia slips to third place....

¨but if every American had the opportunity to visit say a central or south american country...USA would be much higher than 16 on that list.¨ they all have that opportunity, most just chose not to take advantage of it. thus, the 25% or whatever low rate of estadounidenses that have passports

durito comments on Need some information to Colombia

¨Durito, Guatemala is very dangerous¨ That´s a rather broad statement don´t you think? While parts of Guatemala are most certainly quite dangerous, so are parts of Colombia, USA etc. Guatemala can certainly be visited safely (and is by exponentially more tourists/spanish students than visit Colombia every year). The town (xela) I recommended studying in is perfectly safe (i spent 4 months there and have been everywhere in guatemala without incident) and there are dozens of spanish schools with hundreds of foreigners studying there at all times. The biggest difference is that the schools are much better than those in Colombia. If one is serious about learning spanish, and wishes to do it cheaply, there isn´t a better place in central/south america. My advice was to learn there and then travel to Colombia.

durito comments on Need some information to Colombia

I´d go to Xela, Guatemala and study spanish for a month at a school there. You´ll spend 1/3 of what you would in Medellin and you´ll learn 4x as much spanish.

durito comments on ROBBED AT KNIFE POINT IN BOGOTA! THIS COUNTRY IS DANGEROUS!!

¨Its hard for me to say the exact area because I dont know the city that well yet. It was like behind Hotel avenida Jiminez (in the travel guide) about 6-7 blocks. Just south of The University of the Andes, about five blocks. It happened right near the soccer park where alot of young guys hang out. It was about 8:45 at night. ¨ This is still a relatively dangerous part of town after dark. Travelers have been robbed arround there fairly often for years. It´s safer than the mariscal in quito though. Be careful and you should be fine though.

durito comments on should I buy CO Pesos here in America before the dollar goes back down???

I´d just get a bank account with little or no fees for foreign ATM transactions and hope for the best ie the exchange rate

durito comments on Why Don't Colombians Know Their Holidays?

Well that is typical with USA holidays. At all of my jobs for the last few decades I receive 15-17. 15-17 holdays in the US or Vacation days? Certainly you mean vacation. My last job I was expected to work mon-sat everyweek of the year. the only holiday given off was christmas.

durito comments on Why Don't Colombians Know Their Holidays?

i don´t think i´d be able to remember 124 holdays either i remember several times now i´ve worked all morning on a monday only to go outside later and realize everyone else here is on a holiday

durito comments on villavicencia absent in the travel guide?

Anyone have any recommendations for hotels in Villavicencio, say 50,000 - 120,000 a night? Also, how hot is it this time of year? I will be there sometime this week.

durito comments on What happened to the guy that used to post his grocery bill from Colombia?

"durito: That's interesting! I go to Parque Lleras and enjoy a great steak dinner with veggies and potatoes including for around $23,900 COP. And that's for their best cut of beef!" "I love the places outside of Parque Lleras where you can get a great lunch with a beverage and desert included for $9,000 COP. To me those places are the best as they are typically smaller operations and the food quality is excellent." I pay 5.500 or 6,000 at the 3 places I frequent for lunch, all are quite good. Decent Pizza, however, is expensive (and not very good). You can get cheap bad pizza lots of places though.

durito comments on What happened to the guy that used to post his grocery bill from Colombia?

2 large pizzas at a good pizza place in colombia cost more or equal to that. good being a relative word here

durito comments on From Cali to Pereira & Closing Times for Bars/Discos in Pereira & Cali

I've never made it in less than 4.5 hours in 5 or so trips.

durito comments on From Cali to Pereira & Closing Times for Bars/Discos in Pereira & Cali

It takes more like 5 hours.

durito comments on Looking for a Home

air conditioning in bogota?

durito comments on What are the best 3 Hotel/Resorts/Casino's in Medellin, and why?

it is after all a holiday inn express never seen one before that looks that nice

durito comments on Help Please

What kind of visa? DAS might give you a 2 day extension without cost or doing all the normal requirements for an extension. But, you HAVE to take care of this at one of their offices. Do not just show up at the airport without taking care of it.

durito comments on ROBBED AT KNIFE POINT IN BOGOTA! THIS COUNTRY IS DANGEROUS!!

Safety is also a relative issue and people always associate with it personal experience rather than general statistics. IE, all over the internet you will find people saying things like: "I did/went to place xyz with no problems, thus xyz is safe" Never mind xyz may actually be one of the more dangerous places on earth" Everyday all over the world people visit and live in dangerous places without anything happening to them. At the same time people are victims of crime in places everyone considers safe. If you are well informed about what you are doing and know how to handle yourself you can reduce your risks -- but sometimes people are just unlucky and happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

durito comments on Colombia: A culture of violence?

"Europeans are serious, they like to be left alone but no one would kill you for silly reasons just see the murder rates ." sure no one's ever murdered in europe for "silly reasons"

durito comments on ROBBED AT KNIFE POINT IN BOGOTA! THIS COUNTRY IS DANGEROUS!!

bogota is generally a safer city than quito for a traveler people are robbed all over the world every day

durito comments on Colombia, the disgraceful appalling truth

Anyone who thinks poor people in the US have it great should try to make a budget for a single mother with two kids on the US minimum wage. I did this exercise in an economics of povery undergraduate class several years ago and it´s quite tough. That said, what the US does offer is a lot more opportunity than you will find in poorer countries. During good economic times its not remotely difficult for an unskilled worker to find a job that pays 2 to 3 times the minimum wage. A skilled construction worker can make even more (even without speaking english). Additionally, the opportunities to go to school and get a much better job are tremendous. You don´t see too many people with business school degrees driving taxis in the US (probably none) , whereas in Latin America that is quite common.

durito comments on ¿ Cuánto costará y cuándo llegará el iphone 3G a Colombia?

I don´t believe they have announced when or how much yet, just that it will be this year.

durito comments on bogota to quito

It will be cheaper if you break up the trip and cross the border on your own.

durito comments on Taking a taxi in Medellin

3,500

durito comments on Colombia, the disgraceful appalling truth

Economists use the Gini Coefficient to measure income inequality (or wealth). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient It´s basically a ratio between 0 and 1. With 0 indicating complete income equality (ie everyone in a country has the same income) and 1 indicating complete inquality (1 person makes all the income, everyone else makes none) The Gini in the US has increased over the last 40 years, and is higher than most developed countires-- though it´s still below Colombia and much of Latin America -- which still has some of the highest rates of income inequality in the world. The following is a UN list from 2007 comparing the richest 10% of a countries people´s income to the poorest 10%. I don´t know how accurate this is, and it´s missing a lot of Africa. But, south america, colombia especially is extemely unequal no matter how you look at it. http://hdrstats.undp.org/indicators/145.html Japan 4.5 Czech Republic 5.2 Bosnia and Herzegovina 5.4 Hungary 5.5 Finland 5.6 Slovenia 5.9 Ukraine 5.9 Norway 6.1 Sweden 6.2 Kyrgyzstan 6.4 Pakistan 6.5 Ethiopia 6.6 Slovakia 6.7 Austria 6.9 Germany 6.9 Belarus 6.9 Viet Nam 6.9 Bulgaria 7.0 Albania 7.2 Croatia 7.3 Romania 7.5 Bangladesh 7.5 Korea (Republic of) 7.8 Indonesia 7.8 Tajikistan 7.8 Armenia 8.0 Egypt 8.0 Denmark 8.1 Belgium 8.2 Moldova 8.2 Mongolia 8.2 Lao People's Democratic Republic 8.3 Kazakhstan 8.5 India 8.6 Yemen 8.6 Poland 8.8 Switzerland 9.0 France 9.1 Netherlands 9.2 Tanzania (United Republic of) 9.2 Canada 9.4 Ireland 9.4 Benin 9.4 Algeria 9.6 Azerbaijan 9.7 Greece 10.2 Spain 10.3 Lithuania 10.4 Guinea 10.5 Uzbekistan 10.6 Estonia 10.8 Malawi 10.9 Sri Lanka 11.1 Jordan 11.3 Italy 11.6 Latvia 11.6 Burkina Faso 11.6 Morocco 11.7 Mauritania 12.0 Cambodia 12.2 Turkmenistan 12.3 Senegal 12.3 Australia 12.5 New Zealand 12.5 Macedonia (TFYR) 12.5 Mali 12.5 Thailand 12.6 Russian Federation 12.7 Trinidad and Tobago 12.9 Israel 13.4 Tunisia 13.4 Kenya 13.6 United Kingdom 13.8 Ghana 14.1 Portugal 15.0 Georgia 15.4 Philippines 15.5 Nicaragua 15.5 Cameroon 15.7 Nepal 15.8 United States 15.9 Uganda 16.6 Côte d'Ivoire 16.6 Turkey 16.8 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 17.2 Jamaica 17.3 Singapore 17.7 Hong Kong, China (SAR) 17.8 Nigeria 17.8 Uruguay 17.9 Rwanda 18.6 Mozambique 18.8 Guinea-Bissau 19.0 Madagascar 19.2 Burundi 19.3 Gambia 20.2 China 21.6 Zimbabwe 22.0 Malaysia 22.1 Papua New Guinea 23.8 Mexico 24.6 Swaziland 25.1 Dominican Republic 28.5 Peru 30.4 Zambia 32.3 Chile 33.0 South Africa 33.1 Honduras 34.2 Costa Rica 37.8 Argentina 40.9 Botswana 43.0 Ecuador 44.9 Niger 46.0 Guatemala 48.2 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 48.3 Brazil 51.3 Panama 57.5 El Salvador 57.5 Colombia 63.8 Paraguay 65.4 Central African Republic 69.2 Haiti 71.7 Sierra Leone 87.2 Lesotho 105.0 Namibia 128.8 Bolivia 168.1

durito comments on Lake titicaca very touristy?

It certainly can be, but that can be avoided. Copacobana is full of tourists. If you go to the Lake you have to go to isla del sol and spend the night or two (or a week if you have the time). The side of the island where the boat will drop you off is full of tourists and cheap hotels ($2-3), but if you hike to the other side of the island there are a few places to stay and almost no tourists -- actually none while I was there a few years ago. I´ll see if I can find some names of places. some pictures: http://www.goandleaveyourmark.com/isladelsol.html hoping to go back in the next couple of years

durito comments on has anyone travelled from Colombia to Ecuador

Yes, you can get anywhere by bus very easily in Ecuador. And the country is quite small so it´s a lot easier to visit lots of places than Colombia. Getting to the border and Ipiales would probably be your longest trip, unless you live in Pasto. South of Cali I´d stay on the interamericana and only travel by day (in colombia, once in ecuador night buses are fine). The border is very straightforward and one of the easiest I´ve crossed in South America. Check out the church Las Lajas near Ipiales while you are there, it´s amazing. You can take a taxi or minibus into the first town in Ecuador, I think it´s Tulcan. From there they´ll have frequent buses to Quito (5-6 hours), or you can get off in Otavalo and explore the northern mountains which is a really great area. Guayaquil is about 8 hours I think by bus from Quito and theres probably a bus leaving every 20 minutes all day and night. There´s numerous interesting places you can stop along the way if so desire.

durito comments on Is Ecuador a better dollar deal over Colombia?

Arfgoblue - The disco area of Quito, Mariscal Sucre (know to locals as "Gringolandia"), is similar to Zona Rosa in Bogota or Poblado in Medellin, but on a smaller scale. It would be am estrato 3-4, in Colombian terms, but much safer.¨ The mariscal sucre neighborhood is (or at least was until recently) one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in south america at night (safe during the day) (at least among those frequented by gringos). The police are supposed to be cleaning it up, but i saw a tourist mugged directly in front of 2 cops a few years ago and they did nothing to help. A german tourist was murdered here a couple years ago. I cant speak for how it is now, though I was there yesterday and didnt seem much different than a few years ago. I´d rather sleep in parque bolivar in medellin than walk through the mariscal after 10pm. I wouldnt compare it to pobaldo at all as it´s also kind of a dump, despite the thousands of gringos. The old town is actually quite safe these days now that all the restoration is done and there are several top end ($200 a night) hotels around. I still wouldn´t walk around too much late at night. As to the question here, Ecuador is certainly much cheaper (in US dollar terms) than Colombia right now in almost every regard. A lot of that is because of the currency apprecation, but also the economies. As opposed to say Medellin (or many place in colombia, and peru) where there is construction on every block, there´s very little new construction here in Quito right now (as far as i can tell anyway). It´s pretty much the same as it was the last time i was here a few years ago. Cheap set lunchs are $1.50 (5,500 pesos in colombia). The ecovia (which is a bus like the transmilenio) is .25. Taxis trips cost $1-3 all over the city, where the minimum fair in colombia is over $2 now.

durito comments on Cuenca vs Vilcabamba - Ecuador

Villcabama is a great place to go relax for a little while (or forever) Good climate, very quiet, surrounded by small mountains. It´s a very small town so Im not sure how i´d compare it to Cuenca which is much bigger.

durito comments on has anyone travelled from Colombia to Ecuador

I´ve crossed it dozens of times. In fact I´m in Ecuador right now. Otavalo is only a couple hours from the border and its only 2 more hours from there to quito. where specifically where you thinking of going?

durito comments on French First Lady angers Colombia with cocaine lyric

"It's evidently that the French Lady is also a misinformed individual or she has been brainwashed with the biased media. ""Colombia produces more than 80 percent of the world's cocaine." I do not think so maybe several years ago." You are right. The number today is closer to 90%.

durito comments on Renewing a Tourist Visa

"I thought you could only extend for up to 6 months in any 1 year period?" The rule is 180 days per calender year. So, if it's the last 6 months of one year and the first 6 of the next, you can basically stay for a whole year. I got my initial stamp during the first visit after the fingerprinting and i had overstayed a few days. Fany was however, not there imposing her rein of terror as she seems to be right now.

durito comments on Renewing a Tourist Visa

"Then they'll tell you to come back in a week for the stamp." Really? I've never heard of them doing this -- though given what I know about that office, it doesn't surprise me at all. For the record I extended there once every 30 days for basically the past year without ever having an issue -- though they seem to be getting more inefficiently recently.

durito comments on Renewing a Tourist Visa

Keep in mind, DAS may have different requirements in different cities. It should be similar, but the bank may be different. Check with them first. (this procedure is easiest in Bogota)

durito comments on colombian honesty

You guys should get out of Bogota/Medellin sometime. The real average Colombian wishes they could afford to eat like and estrata 2/3 family from Bogota or Medellin -- which is certainly not that well, and no where near what Rubito alleges. For all the economic boom that's going on in parts of the big cities, Colombia has a whole remains a country where much of the population lives in poverty/extreme poverty. This is the case in most of latin america.

durito comments on Will the Fed really raise interest? (Causing the Dollar to be stronger against the COP)

The next move will certainly be up. When that happens is uncertain though traders are predicting a 61% chance of a 1/4 pt raise at the next fed meeting August.

durito comments on

You will have to pay for your extension by making a deposit into DAS account at a bank. In some cities the bank is GNB Sudameris, in some it's Bancafe, it may be another one in Barranquilla. That's why you need to check with DAS first. You will need the account number and possibly a code. The first time only you will need passport photos. There will certainly be a place that takes them on the same block as the DAS office.

durito comments on

They will give you a list of items you need. Best to check with DAS first as they sometimes require different things at different offices. Likely you will need 4 passport photos, 2 copies of the front page of your passport, and the page with your entry stamp, 2 copies of your plane ticket, a receipt from the specific bank for that DAS office for the approx $64,000 the extension costs. They will give you a form to fill out with your address in Colombia, name, phone # etc. You will also get fingerprinted. It's a pain in the ass the first time, but relatively straightforward the 2nd and additional times (though not necessarily). Just remember to smile, be nice, and thank them no matter what ridiculous thing they ask you to do.