jonas has left 593 comments

jonas comments on big house cali with pool

and what activities would be allowed in this property ;-)

jonas comments on TRIP REPORT..........MEDELLIN TO VENEZUELA.........

Was that shoeshine guy in Cucuta Eye Talian?

jonas comments on Spending the night on the Rosario Islands

In my experience these guys come to the beach when the Rosario tour boats get there to make their time hell. Once the boats leave most of them are gone, too. Also when you arrive on a tour you won´t go too far from the boat, it´s pretty much all in one place. If you spend more time on the beach it is easy to escape from this circus.

jonas comments on Spending the night on the Rosario Islands

try playa blanca, the beach is actually nicer than rosarios beaches but safety might be an issue.

jonas comments on Buy a Business...Ecuador or Colombia

wetdreamer: you really think if someone opens a business here they would actually feel much of that "Emerging economy Market" ? Maybe if your name is Jean Claude Bessudo or if you own a bank but the general public doesn´t really have more spending power than they did before.

jonas comments on Buy a Business...Ecuador or Colombia

Now it looks like you are looking for the place that bears the best economical options for you. Don´t look any further, if it´s about making money stay where you are. You simply don´t come here to make money, you come here, you learn and you may find something that may work for you. You are not the first one with your dream. There have been many before you selling everything at home. Most had one advantage over you: They wanted to do what they were doing at home, many times a business they saw a need for here. After a year they pack again and go home. Things here work differently.

jonas comments on I want to Learn How to Cook Sushi

all this talk makes me remember when I bought some fresh caught Bonito off a boat in Parque Tayrona and we made the finest sashimi right on the rocks at cabo...it doesn´t get any fresher

jonas comments on Tourist VISA Requirements - US Citizens

yes you can get an extension. Costs 60some mil. Yes, you could buy the full fare return ticket at the airport.

jonas comments on Tourist VISA Requirements - US Citizens

You could try to buy a multi point ticket. I.e. getting into Bogota, leaving from Lima/Quito/etc. might be cheaper than buying two one way tickets.

jonas comments on to live in Colombia ?

Take into account what school you plan to send your kids. This can get very expensive for quality education and might limit your options on where to live. How do you plan to make an income? Are you rich?

jonas comments on $40,000 to invest, Hate Uk, Want to live in colombia, Barranquilla or Cartagena

forget about internet. How much money do they rake in even with say 15 computers at 1500 Pesos an hour? With that you have to pay off the computers, pay rent, power (big with A/C), ISP, employees etc etc. Not much left over to live off in my opinion.

jonas comments on Tourist VISA Requirements - US Citizens

There is a trick: You can buy a full fare return ticket wich is very expensive but you can have it reimbursed once in Colombia (pay with your credit card so the reimbursement comes right back onto that. Just make sure the ticket you buy is fully refundable without any penalties. But I give you another tip: Buy a roundtrip ticket to Bogota or which ever city you prefer. One way tickets cost pretty much the same. It should be cheaper for you to return from Quito to Bogota for your return flight than having to buy another one way ticket. Good luck.

jonas comments on Porqué en USA la gente tiene tantos problemas de sobrepeso?

Y lo peor es que exportan esta "cultura" chatarra a los demás países que anteriormente han tenido una cultura sana en la forma de alimentarse. Como era, ahora llega Burger King a Colombia... Y miren en los threads sobre comida aquí en PBH lo que hablan los gringos... solo hablan de Hamburguesas, Pizzas y mantequilla de maní.

jonas comments on El Dorado airport issues. What gives?

There is a trick to get the 90 days ;-)

jonas comments on Americans Living in Bogota

brush up on your Spanish first...

jonas comments on Announcing Kat1 as a new moderator

Colombian moderation....QUE CHIMBA! Que viva kat1 que viva!

jonas comments on PBH women roller skating race

and now watch this 6 year old Limbo Skater:

jonas comments on Making changes

bump

jonas comments on Bogota Police advises of a new scam targeted at gringos

I know of one costeño who has ;-)

jonas comments on 13 cocaine labs destroyed in Colombia

Big deal... have you ever seen what these labs look like? It´s not like a pharmaceutical plant or something. I bet the destruction of the 67 tons of chemical products hurts the manufacturers a lot more. This is more like propaganda news.

jonas comments on U.S. base is no longer welcome in Ecuador

But as chelesupercoño suggests a Foreign country´s Military base would employ locals jaja now here we really start talking politics...

jonas comments on Chavez and Recession in Bolivia

I guess someone mixed up recession with secession. Shows what´s on people´s minds these days...

jonas comments on Dollar hits 2-month high vs. euro

nbenjamin says: "Americans - have much more than they did just 40 years ago. I would be interested, however, in a study that suggest otherwise" I assume you are talking about public and private debt? For you dollar longs I recommend you take a look at todays www.dailypfennig.com to find some numbers that maybe you have not been taking into account. what is it with a rising Dollar, rising Oil and rising Gold prices at the same time?

jonas comments on PBH unreachable from Medellin UNE

A Rubito se le sale lo indio ;-)

jonas comments on Gasoline from Venezuela better and cheaper than in Colombia,

pero quien dice que es de mejor calidad ?

jonas comments on Bogota Police advises of a new scam targeted at gringos

The trick they apparently use a lot is that when you hesitate to hand over your passport and money they will stop another "foreigner" who speaks perfect Spanish and hands over his passport and money which they will promptly return to him. The other foreigner works with the gang. Now most tourist will be convinced that this is all legitimate. Always ask to walk to the next CAI.

jonas comments on Is "dengue" "west nile virus"?

sorry, are you saying that the book is to blame for all this loss of human life or that DDT is to blame?

jonas comments on Schengen Visa in Medellin - don't want to go to Bogota!

could you please lift your arm in the next picture. ;-) we need some proof

jonas comments on Is "dengue" "west nile virus"?

That was probably DDT, nasty stuff. DDT was subsequently banned for agricultural use worldwide, but its limited use in disease vector control continues to this day in certain parts of the world and remains controversial.

jonas comments on se incrementó visita de extranjeros a Colombia

Bogota is #1 because most international flights arrive here.

jonas comments on Spirit Airlines -- My First (and maybe last) Experience

maybe I did not express myself well: What I wanted to ask is that on some tickets the $ 32 tax (which as Gator correctly claims is for tourists without visa that have remained less than 60 days in the country) is already included in the ticket. Now if I as a visa holder and eligible to the $ 64 tax, buy such a ticket, would I have to pay the extra $ 32, or nothing at all because it is presumably included, or the full $ 64, even though I have already paid $ 32 on the ticket?

jonas comments on Malaria Pills for Leticia - where can I pick some up in Medellin?

but that is a very "theoretical" risk. When there are no actual cases of malaria reported in the place you are going then I would not recommend taking them. I have seen people suffer severely from the side effects, especially when returning back to altitude. I have never taken prophylaxis myself. I have friends who have had malaria but will not take the pills if there is no acute risk. So the best is to call ahead and talk to the local clinic at the place you plan to visit.

jonas comments on Spirit Airlines -- My First (and maybe last) Experience

So does anyone know how they treat visa-holders on exit if the exit tax of $32 (which is half) is included? Would we have to pay $32, the full $64 or what? It would kinda suck to pay the full amount if you have already paid for the reduced tariff. That would be almost $100. Anybody know?

jonas comments on Malaria Pills for Leticia - where can I pick some up in Medellin?

Yellow fever certificate has been mandatory in Puerto Inirida. They checked every single passenger arriving and leaving. What really annoys me sometimes are tourists that will take their malaria pills even after learning that in the area they travel there is NO malaria. The reason: They paid a lot of money and don´t want to see it wasted. Wooohaaaaaaaa. Malaria spreads out during the rainy season, so it also depends on the time of year. Then it can be present in one town but not in the next, only a few miles away.

jonas comments on Bush Touts His Record(?) On Latin America--Serious,,,LOL

I guess he can go back to drinking and snorting soon. He will even believe that consuming illegal substances produced here will help some poor people...

jonas comments on What do you think is the best schedule for Ciclovia in Bogotá and elsewhere??

I believe he died from a heart attack. Good exercising can help prevent such terrible event.

jonas comments on Dollar hits 2-month high vs. euro

This is a "technical" move, look at the charts. The fundamentals are as bad as they were. The dollar might gain more for the moment. Trends are no one-way-streets, never.

jonas comments on Bogota Police advises of a new scam targeted at gringos

people have been falling for this one for many years. Should any of you be approached by "police" in such manner always assume they are not. Keep walking. If they are insistent and threatening tell them you will only show documents in a CAI. Don´t get into a car with them, insist on walking. When you see a uniformed official, make a move to call his attention. This scam happens a lot in the centro, too. Caracas, Venezuela is another famous spot for this scam.

jonas comments on My trip to Chiclayo and I am now a Novio..I got sick and thank you PBH members..

un-fogin-believable!

jonas comments on Malaria Pills for Leticia - where can I pick some up in Medellin?

In that case may I repeat what the Queen Mother recommended: Gin&Tonics, plenty.

jonas comments on What's your reccomondation for calling a colombian cell from the U.S.?

so nobody is using voip service for their phonelines ?

jonas comments on Terroristas Arabes, 9-11 y Colombia

;-)

jonas comments on Spell check on PBH

and they are coming out with a new version of Firefox that is supposed to be a lot slimmer and faster.

jonas comments on PBH unreachable from Medellin UNE

Ray, try a proxy. Go to www.youhide.com and see if your page opens from there.

jonas comments on Safety factor not often spelled out. Mor on numbers

"For example the Locals in large cities in the US have lots of money - in Colombia the locals are poor." Green Go Home!

jonas comments on cheap flights to either Venezuela or Ecuador

what culture ? ;-)

jonas comments on cheap flights to either Venezuela or Ecuador

You should first check how strong her ties to Colombia are. Number One reason for visa denials is the lack of strong ties to Colombia. They like to see them leaving a kid back here and owning property or business. So, if she cannot prove this you would be wasting your money for the tickets just to get stamps that I agree wouldn´t do any good. I guess the friend who told you about this referred to the fact that if you apply for a US visa and you have visa for Europe, UK, etc. that show you have traveled to the "first world" and returned to Colombia it sure helps. Stamps from Venezuela, Ecuador or Peru wouldn´t help in this way.

jonas comments on What is this, and what shall I do with it?

my liver is much bigger

jonas comments on Robi said wierdness yesterday.............

I might be weird but some people here are definitely wierd.

jonas comments on Cartagena Airport to Cartagena Terminal de Pasajeros?

if time is not money....you might have enough time to consider spending one night in CTG and then continue on. I would....but if time is poes then maybe you wanna get to some paisa as quick as possible....