LaloG has left 41 comments

LaloG comments on Real Gringos/Fake Latinos

What a dredful black and white world Morgus lives in. Just wish maybe he could start to see a little color. . .it´s so much more interesting.
Best,
LaloG

LaloG comments on Baffled by the current crisis

Could it be that Uribe is a Bush puppet, and Chavez has seen, as has the world, that Bush ignores soverignty of other nations. I think he has to appear strong in the face of this incursion because he knows he´s already on the Bush´s hit list with an "S".
Best,
LaloG

LaloG comments on Are U.S. TV's and DVD Recorders Compatible with Colombian System

We brought our DVD/VHS player, and have had no problems with non pirated media. Even some pirated media works fine, but not always. A friend bought a bunch of pirated DVD´s here when he was visiting, but not a single one worked on our machine. But when he got them back to the US, they seemed to work fine for him (or so he says. He may be lying because we warned him there could be problems, but he spent several hundred USD buying pirated versions, and may not want to hear "I told you so".)
What Tinto says is true. It may be cheaper to buy everything here because of the cost of shipping. We brought only my kitchen equipment I can´t live without, and the new DVD/VHS player which was a Christmas gift just be fore we left the states. There will be customs charges for importing even used items. I think all my kitchen appliances cost us about $5,000 pesos each to import. Not too bad considering the brands don´t seem to be sold here, and would not have been replaceable.
If you need other questions answered, please feel free to email me privately.
Best,
LaloG

LaloG comments on Do people go hungry in Colombia?

Sorry for the multiple posts of the same comment. We had some sort of glitch occur. It kept telling me it hadn´t gone through.
LaloG

LaloG comments on Do people go hungry in Colombia?

While there may not be sufficient internal agencies to deal with the hunger here in Colombia, there is a more human generosity among the people. I see it all the time, in the gift of pesos, and or food to the homeless. Also, I think (This is my opinion guys) that Colombians have no tolerance for the homeless who are that way because of drugs, alcohol, or glue sniffing. Those down and outs are often maltreated by the public as well as the police. Their addictions are not aceptible.
While there are plenty of homeless who go hungry, I would say there are thousands more who are just too poor to afford more than one meal a day. However, there are plenty of cheap and or reasonable foods available. As some one else in this thread has pointed out, most vegies are usually cheap, and rice is cheaper, but you need a way to cook it. As in the US, the cooking is often the problem with the poor. Remember the stories of frozen turkeys handed out at Thanksgiving to people with no gas or electrictiy to cook them? Short sighted to say the least, but it is just like a well to do American not to be able to imagine poverty of that depth. Think Bush.
We do see people going through the garbage bags on the curbs at night, but we saw the same thing happening in LA, Hollywood, San Francisco, Phoenix, New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale, in the US, and I´m sure it goes on elsewhere in other cities in the US as well. Poverty of this nature is a world problem, not just a Colombian problem. The shame is that the richest country in the world has it in larger proportion than a Country like Colombia has with a supposedly more "humanistic" attitude toward the poor.
Best,
LaloG

LaloG comments on Do people go hungry in Colombia?

While there may not be sufficient internal agencies to deal with the hunger here in Colombia, there is a more human generosity among the people. I see it all the time, in the gift of pesos, and or food to the homeless. Also, I think (This is my opinion guys) that Colombians have no tolerance for the homeless who are that way because of drugs, alcohol, or glue sniffing. Those down and outs are often maltreated by the public as well as the police. Their addictions are not aceptible.
While there are plenty of homeless who go hungry, I would say there are thousands more who are just too poor to afford more than one meal a day. However, there are plenty of cheap and or reasonable foods available. As some one else in this thread has pointed out, most vegies are usually cheap, and rice is cheaper, but you need a way to cook it. As in the US, the cooking is often the problem with the poor. Remember the stories of frozen turkeys handed out at Thanksgiving to people with no gas or electrictiy to cook them? Short sighted to say the least, but it is just like a well to do American not to be able to imagine poverty of that depth. Think Bush.
We do see people going through the garbage bags on the curbs at night, but we saw the same thing happening in LA, Hollywood, San Francisco, Phoenix, New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale, in the US, and I´m sure it goes on elsewhere in other cities in the US as well. Poverty of this nature is a world problem, not just a Colombian problem. The shame is that the richest country in the world has it in larger proportion than a Country like Colombia has with a supposedly more "humanistic" attitude toward the poor.
Best,
LaloG

LaloG comments on Do people go hungry in Colombia?

While there may not be sufficient internal agencies to deal with the hunger here in Colombia, there is a more human generosity among the people. I see it all the time, in the gift of pesos, and or food to the homeless. Also, I think (This is my opinion guys) that Colombians have no tolerance for the homeless who are that way because of drugs, alcohol, or glue sniffing. Those down and outs are often maltreated by the public as well as the police. Their addictions are not aceptible.
While there are plenty of homeless who go hungry, I would say there are thousands more who are just too poor to afford more than one meal a day. However, there are plenty of cheap and or reasonable foods available. As some one else in this thread has pointed out, most vegies are usually cheap, and rice is cheaper, but you need a way to cook it. As in the US, the cooking is often the problem with the poor. Remember the stories of frozen turkeys handed out at Thanksgiving to people with no gas or electrictiy to cook them? Short sighted to say the least, but it is just like a well to do American not to be able to imagine poverty of that depth. Think Bush.
We do see people going through the garbage bags on the curbs at night, but we saw the same thing happening in LA, Hollywood, San Francisco, Phoenix, New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale, in the US, and I´m sure it goes on elsewhere in other cities in the US as well. Poverty of this nature is a world problem, not just a Colombian problem. The shame is that the richest country in the world has it in larger proportion than a Country like Colombia has with a supposedly more "humanistic" attitude toward the poor.
Best,
LaloG

LaloG comments on Do people go hungry in Colombia?

While there may not be sufficient internal agencies to deal with the hunger here in Colombia, there is a more human generosity among the people. I see it all the time, in the gift of pesos, and or food to the homeless. Also, I think (This is my opinion guys) that Colombians have no tolerance for the homeless who are that way because of drugs, alcohol, or glue sniffing. Those down and outs are often maltreated by the public as well as the police. Their addictions are not aceptible.
While there are plenty of homeless who go hungry, I would say there are thousands more who are just too poor to afford more than one meal a day. However, there are plenty of cheap and or reasonable foods available. As some one else in this thread has pointed out, most vegies are usually cheap, and rice is cheaper, but you need a way to cook it. As in the US, the cooking is often the problem with the poor. Remember the stories of frozen turkeys handed out at Thanksgiving to people with no gas or electrictiy to cook them? Short sighted to say the least, but it is just like a well to do American not to be able to imagine poverty of that depth. Think Bush.
We do see people going through the garbage bags on the curbs at night, but we saw the same thing happening in LA, Hollywood, San Francisco, Phoenix, New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale, in the US, and I´m sure it goes on elsewhere in other cities in the US as well. Poverty of this nature is a world problem, not just a Colombian problem. The shame is that the richest country in the world has it in larger proportion than a Country like Colombia has with a supposedly more "humanistic" attitude toward the poor.
Best,
LaloG

LaloG comments on Do people go hungry in Colombia?

While there may not be sufficient internal agencies to deal with the hunger here in Colombia, there is a more human generosity among the people. I see it all the time, in the gift of pesos, and or food to the homeless. Also, I think (This is my opinion guys) that Colombians have no tolerance for the homeless who are that way because of drugs, alcohol, or glue sniffing. Those down and outs are often maltreated by the public as well as the police. Their addictions are not aceptible.
While there are plenty of homeless who go hungry, I would say there are thousands more who are just too poor to afford more than one meal a day. However, there are plenty of cheap and or reasonable foods available. As some one else in this thread has pointed out, most vegies are usually cheap, and rice is cheaper, but you need a way to cook it. As in the US, the cooking is often the problem with the poor. Remember the stories of frozen turkeys handed out at Thanksgiving to people with no gas or electrictiy to cook them? Short sighted to say the least, but it is just like a well to do American not to be able to imagine poverty of that depth. Think Bush.
We do see people going through the garbage bags on the curbs at night, but we saw the same thing happening in LA, Hollywood, San Francisco, Phoenix, New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale, in the US, and I´m sure it goes on elsewhere in other cities in the US as well. Poverty of this nature is a world problem, not just a Colombian problem. The shame is that the richest country in the world has it in larger proportion than a Country like Colombia has with a supposedly more "humanistic" attitude toward the poor.
Best,
LaloG

LaloG comments on Moderation

Hi peter,
I agree he was offensive, but then some people don´t know how to have a conversation without those words.
Best,
LaloG

LaloG comments on Questions re: USA citizen buying a residence in Colombia

Hi Philip,
Send me a private email and I´ll answer any questions you may have. We purchased an 11 room house on the oldest street in Bogotá, and have at least some insights as to how the process works. It wasn´t particularly difficult, but there are a few necessary steps to take before you begin the process.
Best,
LaloG

LaloG comments on Help Me

Hi Jajay,
My partner and I have been here for almost one year, and we have never felt more welcomed in any place we have ever lived. We bought a house in the oldest street in Bogotá. We find oodles of stuff to do, Concerts, museums, galleries, (a lot of the culture is free or so cheap as to be embarassing) as well as movies, flea markets, shopping. Shopping can be great here. I don´t speak Spanish well, but my partner took a one on one course and speaks it better. We get along. We have basic cable, and get several US import shows and movies in English, but we also enjoy watching several shows in Spanish to help with the language acquisition. I find my own Spanish improving just by interacting with the people, and watching shows on TV. Also, there are several radio stations playing Rock music in English. Mostly oldies, but one or two play current hits. We think we hear a better selection of musical history here than we did in the US. There, the stations tend to play only a select few of an artist´s hits, whereas here, they don´t seem to distinguish one song from another, and play a lot more of an artist´s work. We even hear old blues songs from the pre rock era here that would never be played in the US because all those old records are too scratchy for American ears.
Send me a private email by clicking on my orange handle, LaloG, and we can stay in touch. Perhaps I can answer any specific questions you may have along the way.
We chose the old part of the city, because I am a painter (artist) and my partner is a composer and pianist, and this part of Bogotá is very bohemian, with lots of parallels to Greenwich Village in New York. We have a wonderful Spanish style home, with 11 rooms and two patios. We love it here, and make friends easily with the natives.
Best,
LaloG

LaloG comments on Personal Safety in Colombia

Thank you all for the positive feedback. I understand Peter is going to use this post as the basis for a guide on PBH on personal safety in Colombia, but really the advice applies in any city in the world. The intent was to get these thoughts out there for all to use or pass on. Please feel free.

LaloG comments on Colombia is a very, very dangerous place.

Yeah, those bloodsuckers are after everything they can get!

LaloG comments on Has Colombia made you healthier?

Absolutely!!! When I arrived here in Bogotá last Feb. I weighed in at 285lbs. Yesterday I checked, and I am right at 200lbs now. No diet, just eating healthier food, and walking.
I´ve developed a theory as to why I couldn´t lose the weight in the states. The big difference in the food I eat here, and the food I ate in the states, is that here none of the vegetables have been dipped in preservatives as they are in the states. I don´t and didn´t eat a lot of animal flesh, but when I do, it is usually chicken or fish—never beef or pork. It was the same in the states, but there again the majority of an imal products there have been fed a diet of growth hormones, and the once killed, drenched in preservatives.
LaloG

LaloG comments on Clothing Shopping in Bogotá

I stopped buying the collapsable kind, because they are left in cabs or on buses too easily. The big ones usually come with a nylon sheith with a strap for throwing them over your shoulder to keep your hands free for other things, like fending off the kidnappers etc :-)

LaloG comments on Food Shopping in Bogotá

Sorry I haven´t. Bascally, it´s too far to schlep groceries. I´ve certainly heard of it, and a good friend does her shopping there, but also has a preference for Paloquemao, but likewise finds it too far to schlep.
LaloG

LaloG comments on APOSTILLO QUESTION

Yes, They are the State´s or governments method of certifying that the notorized documents are notorized by an official notory. The can cost a bit if you have a number of documents.

LaloG comments on scare mongering

Good point Don, your point is well taken. And you are wise not to name names. All that accomplishes is to set the ignorant ones off and they can be very pointed in their comments.
My partner and I left the US because of the fear being promoted by the government. We hated living in such cercumstances. To see the same mentality doing it here (where it´s uncalled for), is a bit sickening.
Colombia has problems of course, but so does the US, Britian, France, Spane, Italy, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Isreal, etc. etc. Oh I left out Germany. The point is that every country has some problem with crime, and now that the Bush Administration has stirred the kettle, terrorism has to be included in the problems.
If there were no WMD´s, then what other reason was there to open a second front in Iraq? Could it be the oil, and the billions Bush´s cronies are making on the war through non competitive contracts? You bet.
With the dollar sliding like it stepped on a Colombian banana peel, how long will it be before the average American can´t afford the things they have grown used to having in their cocoon of ignorance about their government? What will happen then? Is the tide of American consiousness changing? When Ferenhite 9/11 was voted the most popular film of 2004 by a people´s vote, will the population now begin to wake up to the tragedy of the Bush adminstrations manipulation of their minds using fear? We have to wait to see. . .
Can you believe the administration is actually proposing to ignore the Geneva convention treaty regarding human dignity and torture? I´d never imagined in my life time I would hear that especially of an American president. He´s no better than Saddam if they go that route. Well, actually we already know that they have gone that route. Don´t we.

LaloG comments on Move to Bogota: Shipping Stuff

We shipped via container, and it took two months to get the 7 boxes of personal stuff, but not one thing was stolen, although it had been obviously gone over pretty extensively, we assumed by customs here in Buenaventura, then just dumped back into the boxes helter skelter. Through it all only one item was broken, a small ceramic watercolor palette. We paid about $3.000 USD to ship 1,700 lbs, but had to pay about $55. USD in customs fines for importing my small kitchen appliances. Glad I did though since I´ve seen nothing like mine here. Other than that, we paid about $500. USD in customs fees, and shipping costs to Bogotá from Buenaventura. The worst of the "ordeal", was the waiting, and having people who suposedly knew what was going on not telling us the truth about arrival dates and times.
We bought beautiful mostly custom made furniture here in nice woods, and leather coverings for less than what we would have paid to ship even one bedroom set. We now have a house full of beter quality furniture for less money.
Good luck in your move.
LoloG

LaloG comments on LaloG´s POV

Texas Well, does it count that my partner grew up in Houston, and that he lived there until he was 42 years old, and still has family living in the state in several different cities. Or that my ex wife has close relatives that own two large parcels of land (ranches) along the rio near Brownsville, and that we spent several months there researching a book? I´ve said, I don´t know everything, but to flat out say Texan´s love illegals, and help them along the way is just too big a pill to swallow. Makes me feel like a toad that´s swallowed a stinkbug, and the stinkbug hasn´t got sense enough to let go so the toad can spit him out. No, I don´t know nuthin´.
Best,
LaloG

LaloG comments on LaloG´s POV

paisa29 If there is an original place, it would be Oklahoma. But I was taken to AZ at 3 weeks by my parents. My dad was an engineer on the Southern Pacific RR. After a divorce, my mother took the family sans dad to Denver, and I graduated form H.S. there and then spent 4 years in Kansas City, MO, attending the Art Institute. From there, I moved to NYC where I lived and worked for 30 years. (I´m a painter, and have had several exhibitions in the Big Apple). I started a consulting business with my second wife, and we ended up in New Jersey for 17 years consulting to AT&T and Bell Labs. From there, to LA where we consulted to Southern California Edison, and I began to teach fine art again. There were several side periods, like Rochester, NY where I taught at the Univ. and RIT. Also some time working for an non sectarian orphanage in Mexico. Ultimately, my partner and I ended up in Phoenix, just before come to Bogotá last March.
I certainly don´t profess to know all the dangers this thread has brought to light, I just object when someone tries to scare an ernest traveler with made-up horror stories. I guess, since Peter has weighed in about freedom of speech, we all have to allow the Assholes to yell fire when there isn´t one.
Best,
LaloG

LaloG comments on LaloG´s POV

Learning to read Any number of the above posters might do well to do it. Most of what´s being said is still from lack of understanding about what brought about this thread in the first place.
What I said, was: Any large city in any country can have problems with crime, and Bogotá is no different if you act stupid or don´t pay attention. In my considered opinion, Bogotá can be, and probably is, just as safe to a hick from the corn fields of Iowa as say New York, London or Rome. I´ve heard plenty of horror stories about those cities as well. Can´t say I´ve experienced any horrors in them, but then neither have I experienced any in Bogotá. LaloG

LaloG comments on LaloG´s POV

At last some reasonable dialogue To Utopiacowboy— Rumors about vigilante groups are not just rumors. I´ve seen photos published in both California and Arizona newspapers of the groups posing with their rifles and other weaponery. To be striaght forward about the problem, there are also groups trying to help the illegals in the deserts by placing water bottles and I believe even cell phones for illegals stranded in the desert. I´ve also read stories of those water bottles being shot to pieces, and the cell phones crushed. In my mind, that is tantamount to muder when you know the heat in the desert can reach 115 degrees Farenheite in the Summer months, which can, and does kill. As far as Texas being exempt from this vigilante phenomenon, more power to the state, but I personally don´t believe Texas is all that welcoming to the illegal emegrants. I have a very close friend whose family has been in Texas (Houston) since before Santa Ana did his thing at the Alamo, and he has told me stories of their problems with non Latino Texans. So crow if you want, but I firmly place Texas in the ranks of the problem states. Discovery Channel produced and aired a program about the illegal problem, and somehow their cameras were able to visit vigilante camps along the Texas border as well as in the other states I´ve mentioned. I try not to make things up to scare people, because the stress levels, especially since 9-11, in the US are rising to astronomical levels as it is.
All I´ve been trying to do here on PBH, is bring some level headed dialogue to the issues. Scaring people is the modus operandi of the Bush administration. We don´t need more of that from know nothings.
I never raise objections to actual reportage of events that actually happen, but when individuals start laying dire warnings on inocent posters about dangers that only might exist, I have to voice my opinion.
I have a friend, a 22 year old South African woman who has just completed a bike (non motorized) trip from Patagonia to Bogotá which included trips to the major cities in Colombia in all parts of the country, and she was entirely ALONE. I guess she was lucky to have never been kidnapped or raped, or murdered. Her feelings were that everyone she met on her trip, was welcoming and gracious. Her one difficult problem was to get Colombian families to let her get on her way after she had been invited to spend the night or a day or two with them. She took only pleasant memories back to Johannesburg with her. Seems to me her blond, blue eyed, innocence would have made her a likely target for the bad guys along her trail, but they seemingly didn´t exist.
LaloG

LaloG comments on LaloG´s POV

Safe cities I lived in Manhattan for 30 years, and the number of times there were bombs exploding that were not reported in the press was phenominal. Once I was in Bank Leume on Madison Ave. in the GM building, when a bomb went off in the lobby. Over a dozen people were injured in the blast, fortunately, I don´t think anyone was killed, but the press ignored the incident. Why? I haven´t a clue, except that it may have been directed to from higher athorities.
Living in LA, we were located not far from where the LA Bomb squad was headquartered, and hardly a week went by that they were not called out to do something about a suspicious package or an actual bomb. Little of their activities were reported in the press. I came to believe there was and is, a tacit agreement that if all the terrorist activity is actually reported, then the typical US citizen would live in terror to the point of affecting public moral, which in turn would affect the economy as people became too frightened to go to work. Look at the incidence of road rage killings in the US. Really what is that about other than some gun toting nut asserting his superiority because he has the fire power, and can.
Additionally, in Phoenix, where we were living just before coming to Bogotá, there were massive numbers of hit and run deaths on the streets. Even the Catholic Bishop killed a man with his car and ran. Police caught up with him as he was trying to have the damage to his car fixed. It has become an epidemic of the haves thinking they can get away with murder, because the murdered are low class individuals who don´t count. This is not a single instance. In another case in Phoenix, a young upwardly mobil attorney ran down an decapitated a young woman walking along a street. He got the minimum sentence, and will resume his career when he gets out of jail, not prison, in 9 months. He was drunk, and fled the scene. Do these stats count in the acknowledged muder rates Tinto talks about in his post? I think not.
Here in Bogotá, we seldom see car accidents even though the traffic is what I personally would describe as frenetic. When we have seen them, they are usually fender benders, and don´t involve injuries.
So I may be living in a fantacy, but from my POV my fantacy is more comfortable than it was in the US.
I haven´t even mentioned (yet, but here it is) the deaths by shooting of untold numbers of illegal emigrants in the deserts of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and California, by vigilante groups that have taken the law into their own hands. Do these count in the stats? Probably not, because they are illegals. What about the wild west aspect of people smugglers driving down the highways shooting at each other with van loads of illegals? It has happened. I suppose I could go on and on, but I think there is a lot of fantacy in people´s minds that the US is a safer place than Colombia. I personally think that is a crock of the worst kind.
LaloG

LaloG comments on Ignorant warnings

Thanks Isaac, I don´t doubt there are dangers here. I just wanted to point out the irony that posters stating this country is more dangerous that others, haven´t been living in the real world. The whole fucking world is dangerous for stupid people, or people making dumb decisions.
We had an older friend come down to visit us here in Bogotá for a six week period. He was in a daydream most of the time, and was shortly robbed, had his pocket picked 12 times, and was scammed by the phony police routine. (come with us, you need to register your passport) He left Bogotá saying it was the most dangerous place he´d ever been in his life. Well, we both (my partner and I) think he was directly responsible for what happened to him. After the first week, we wouldn´t let him go anywhere alone. It helped, but he still had his pocket picked on Septema, (8 more times) because he was buying stuff from the vendors and was constantly pulling out a roll of several hundred thousand pesos to pay for a two peso item. He lost over $500 USD to pickpockets while he was here, and seemed incapable of realizing the stupidity of his own actions. The same thing has happened to him where he lives in the U.S. So he makes my point. It´s stupidity, or simply not pausing to think about what you are doing, that gets one into trouble no matter where you are. Then there is always Papaya rules. eh?

LaloG comments on Ignorant warnings

You should read my post again. I DO live in Bogotá. I actually live in a barrio we have been told repetedly, by Colombians, is one of the most dangerous in the city. However, We don´t find it to be true at all, any more so than it was extraordinarily dangerous when I lived in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and after that on the Bowery. So I think, having survived this long (I´m 60) living in bad cities and bad neighborhoods, I qualify to recognize danger when I see it. Since I read your post, I´ve been looking at every bus I see, which is a lot, but I don´t see any evidence to support your contention. Regarding robberies at ATMs, it is a fact of life if you stand on the street in any major city and withdraw cash from the machine, you are a making yourself a target. All I´ve been trying to say is that Bogotá, is no different from LA, London, Paris, or Calcutta, in that regard. So if I made you angry, maybe it´s because you didn´t understand what I wrote.

LaloG comments on

I don´t know what it means, but I noticed in the terraced garden behind the Concordia market in Candelaria, someone has used pistacio shells as mulch. Either that, or somebody pigged out on about 50 kilos of the things.
I´ve yet to see any for sale here, but I don´t usually shop the bigger supermarkets. What I miss most are English walnuts. Ive seen them at Carefour, but in small very expensive amounts. I´d like to find a reasonable source here for my world class chocolate chip cookies. Also a good chocolate chip. I can make my own, but it is soooo tedious molding each little chip with my sticky fingers.

LaloG comments on Coffee

Coffee additions??? A Colombian friend who was born in the coffee region, tells me that a lot of the cheaper brands of Colombian coffee being sold already powdered for expresso machines, have a good deal of undesireable additives to stretch the beans for more profit. Among the worst he describes is beef and pig blood, dried and then added to the powder.
Sorry to turn your stomach, but with such a major export it is to be expected somewhat. Sort of brings to mind the stories a few years back when there was a grape shortage in Italy, the Italians began exporting wine adulterated with banana skins and animal blood. Of course it all went to the US because gringos couldn´t tell the difference.

LaloG comments on VoIP or Vonage phone adapters smuggled to Colombia successful?

What the Hell is VoIP Anyone like to tell an old guy what this is? If it´s cheaper to call international phone to phone I´d LOOOVE to know about it. Anything to save a little money and talk to MOM back in the states more often.
Thanks in advance for any info public or a private message please.
LaloG

LaloG comments on Acts of kindness in Bogotá

I find Colombians to be very thoughtful, and kind toward each other as well as strangers like my partner and I. As for talent, these people are amply supplied with that stuff.

Of course, there are always people at the survival level that will prey on their fellow men. I´ve witnessed one robbery of a Colombian getting into a taxi. The thief ran up and grabbed his wallet out of his hand and was gone faster than a speeding bullet. The robbed one, looked disgusted, but told the Taxi driver to go ahead and leave. Afterward I thought the thief had been very creative, watching his prey for the exact moment when he wouldn´t be chased. JaJaJa.

LaloG comments on How safe is it for a gringo to live in Bogota

Think of Bogotà as ANY large metropolitan center anywhere in the world, and the precautions that would be neccessary to be out and about and you will find Bogotà no different. Dark deserted streets after a certain time at night, is just asking for it. The city is safe if you aren`t too stupid about what`s going on around you.

BTW, there are some bodacious pickpockets that work crowds here, especially on Septema on Sundays. Gringos are prime targets, because they stand out and usually have cash on them. Best not to carry important papers in a wallet there.
LaloG

LaloG comments on Acts of kindness in Bogotá

Hi ShazCas! I am one and the same. We are now living in our wonderful colonial style home on the oldest street in Bogotà. I´m teaching a free art class in drawing, color theory, color mixing, and oil painting, every Saturday morning. I´m busy writing a textbook to begin teaching English classes with in January. I´ve had so many requests for English classes, I thought I could earn a little money to help with our living expenses. Not much, because I don´t need to get rich, just survive comfortably. We are very happy here, so THANKS so much for the CANDELARIA Suggestion way back when.
LsloG

LaloG comments on Acts of kindness in Bogotá

Yes, Marìàngela, we just got back from a stroll to the Plaza Bolivar to see the National Christmas tree lighted. Everyone was there, and the streets of Candelaria are deserted, but we felt safe enough. Actually, I spent 30 years in NYC which was and still is a decidedly unsafe city at night. I also lived in LA for a dozen years and wouldn´t walk the streets after 8pm nearly anywhere there. Candelaria is usually a very active place at night, what with the bars, little theaters, and general street life. So again, yes, we find it safer than we have been warned it is, like most of what we´ve heard about Colombia in general.
LaloG

LaloG comments on Acts of kindness in Bogotá

My old neighborhood was Phoenix AZ, USA—not very kind. Lots of gun play in the streets and the church oriented food banks were out of food to give out to the needy. Stray dogs are caught and gassed after 14 days, and restaurants throw food away everynight, amounting to tons. Etc., etc. I could go on, but I just think what little I´ve seen of Colombians so far they have more humanity and concern for the needs of less fortunate people and animals. And just try to get a free ride on a bus in that burg.
LaloG

LaloG comments on Cirrus or Plus Logo- what banks besides BOA?

Banco de Bogotá We use a Wells Fargo card to withdraw up to $1,000USD a day (buying furniture, and this new eMac) and we have seen no fees charged at all. Either by Banco de Bogotá or Wells Fargo. By chance a few weeks ago, we had to use a Caja Social ATM and the fee turned out to be $8.00 for a $40.000 peso withdrawal. We also found you can open a substantial savings account at Citibank, (we transfered funds to buy a house), but US Citizens are not allowed to have checking accounts. US law apparently. We were also told that Colombian law prohibits any bank form holding more thna $5,000 for US citizens in savings. Hoe Citibank gets around this is unknown, but we had no problems except that citibank charges you fees if you breathe in their direction.

LaloG comments on Where are you from and where do you live?

How beautiful it is to live in Candelaria We agree with you that Bogotá has to be one of the worlds most beautiful cities. We just bought a colonial style house in Candelaria to which we have retired from working life in the USA. We love it.

LaloG comments on North Americans in Bogota

Already thought of that. They put out such negative vibes about Colombia we hesitate to bother them. Thanks anyway.

LaloG comments on Moving to Colombia and looking for American friends!

American friends We live in La Candelaria. . .email to garysmith at etb.net.co
LaloG

LaloG comments on American families living in Bogota?

We are Americans living in Bogota Anyone out there want to start a visit club . . .
LaloG

LaloG comments on Can an American own a house in Colombia?

Reality concepts about this thread You can buy a house if you are not a Colombian citizen. You need a valid passport, an extended visa such as a pensionado or retirement visa, a Colombian ID card called a cedula, and a bank savings account to purchase property. Colombian banks are not allowed to open a checking account for foriegners, but they can open a savings account. Also we discovered that most Colombian banks will not accept more than $5,000 USD in the savings account, but Citibank had no qualms about letting us transfer enough funds to pay for a fine old colonial home in La Candelaria, Bogota. If the house could be transported to Southern California it would be valued at $2,000,000.00 USD, but here only cost $55,000.00 USD.
We had an attorney to check all the paperwork, but the deal was handled with a handshake and the Notary uno established by Simon Bolivar himself on calle 16. That is not to say there were no problems, but most of them were related to our running on US time and the Colombians running on theirs. Eventually everything worked out and we now live on the oldest street in Bogota a stones throw from the house the founder of the city lived in when he was founding the city. Good luck. If you succeed in the move, and buy in Bogota, post to me, and maybe we can work out a meeting.
LaloG