maraca has left 91 comments

maraca comments on Download our travel guide, first edition!

Here is a better one... Should have googled more before posting! Here are some better links:

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivales_en_Colombia
http://www.turiscolombia.andes.com/ferias_festivales_fiestas_colombia.html

monica

maraca comments on Download our travel guide, first edition!

great job! Hello Peter
Just found this link today when looking for the dates of the "Copa internacional de Coleo". The information is quite uncomplete, but i thought it could be the basis for a new link where to list all the interesting festivals. Hope it is useful.

http://www.nuestracolombia.org.co/colombiadefiesta.php

Monica

maraca comments on Help me!!! Indian national wanting to marry a Colombian national in Colombai

I married in the notaria 41 in bogota. It was one of the few that could do it just a few days after giving them the documents. Most of the other notarias required at least 3 month to process the documentation.

maraca comments on Availability of counseling services and/or anti-depressants in Bogotá.

Many anti-depression drugs are available but you will need to get a prescription for them. And as Don Gringo said, even if you can get them without, is better that you see a doctor. But of course, if you have suffered from it before you already know this.

I beleive that the universities have a department where you can look for advise on this matter. Even if you are not a student you may try to check with them to ask for orientation on where to go or what to do. Otherwise ask people around you, there is more people suffering from it than you always think. There will be always one having a cousin or a friend under treatment and they may be able to give you some hints.

If you go to a private dr. you will have to pay around 70.000 pesos. That is kind of a normal rate for it. Im not sure if the EPS have a good service in this area. I personally dont think they are that commited so i wouldnt trust them to treat me on such a serius thing as it is depression.

Hope this is useful.

maraca comments on Availability of counseling services and/or anti-depressants in Bogotá.

Many anti-depression drugs are available but you will need to get a prescription for them. And as Don Gringo said, even if you can get them without, is better that you see a doctor. But of course, if you have suffered from it before you already know this.

I beleive that the universities have a department where you can look for advise on this matter. Even if you are not a student you may try to check with them to ask for orientation on where to go or what to do. Otherwise ask people around you, there is more people suffering from it than you always think. There will be always one having a cousin or a friend under treatment and they may be able to give you some hints.

If you go to a private dr. you will have to pay around 70.000 pesos. That is kind of a normal rate for it. Im not sure if the EPS have a good service in this area. I personally dont think they are that commited so i wouldnt trust them to treat me on such a serius thing as it is depression.

Hope this is useful.

maraca comments on How good/bad is Amazon.com's shipping to Colombia?

The same happened to me THe only time i ordered i got the books almost 7 months after i ordered them. I never ordered anything else again.

maraca comments on How good/bad is Amazon.com's shipping to Colombia?

The same happened to me THe only time i ordered i got the books almost 7 months after i ordered them. I never ordered anything else again.

maraca comments on Anyone know if the Colombian movie "Sumas y Restas" is available on DVD?

Indeed illegal copies are already available. I saw them at San Andresito some months ago.

maraca comments on ELECTION SAFETY

wedding might not be safe... isnt it illegal to drink alcohol during that weekend????? Or is it only to buy it, what you cant do?

maraca comments on Notary requires a Translator for our wedding - Anyone volunteer? (free food!)

just checking do you know that it has to be a certified translator?

maraca comments on the best beach/sea

Tayrona is a great suggestion but why not considering a trip to la Guajira up to the Cabo the la Vela. There are lovely beaches as well and the hammock experience at the rancherias, the salinas, chirrinchi... interesting experience as well.

maraca comments on Apostille in UK - Confused? need help? I understand now ha

I remember your post from long time ago. Im sure you got some help from people at that time, but maybe i am wrong. Sorry you had to struggle that much. Any way, according to my experience, getting the necessary docs for the marriage was just one side of the story, getting the appointment for it was a simmilar problem.

So just in case that you have any problems with it, the Notaria 41 gave us an appointment for five days after we presented the documents. An amazing record, considering that most notaries were giving appointmets for many months later.

I just remember also that when we presented the documents to the notary they told us that the apostilles should be translated as well. We freaked out. But it was easy and simple to solve it. If the same happens to you, you just have to go to the "Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores", get it translated by any of the many people that offers translation services, and then just go inside the "Legalizaciones" office and get it legalized for free.

A nightmare indeed, but after having done it its quite a simple process.


Good luck and congratulations.

maraca comments on always comes in threes

jajajaja Ohhh poor guy!!!!
well thats what i call a fun trip. Lots of stories to tell back home!!!

maraca comments on

Check previous messages on PBH this topic has been addressed many times.

maraca comments on Visiting Bogota 4/1-4/16

There is the Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro going on until the 16th of april. There are many plays that are worth it.

maraca comments on Dim Sum Anyone?

not chineese not prettey sure about chiseese food but you may as well try some japaneese at Hatsuhana on the parque de la 93 and korean at Biwon same street but on carrera 16th or 17th probably. They are both delicious and really traditional. Many people would reccomend WOK (asian food, not particularly chineese) but almost nothing there is the real way. Last week i ate some thai curry and when i took the first spoon i was completely disspointed.

Maybe you can ask at the first two places if they have one place for just chineese. Who knows.

maraca comments on Dim Sum Anyone?

not chineese not prettey sure about chiseese food but you may as well try some japaneese at Hatsuhana on the parque de la 93 and korean at Biwon same street but on carrera 16th or 17th probably. They are both delicious and really traditional. Many people would reccomend WOK (asian food, not particularly chineese) but almost nothing there is the real way. Last week i ate some thai curry and when i took the first spoon i was completely disspointed.

Maybe you can ask at the first two places if they have one place for just chineese. Who knows.

maraca comments on Train to Guatavita

http://www.turistren.com.co/turistren.htm
as far as i know this is the only train working around here, and it does not go to guatavita but to zipaquira, where the salt cathedral is.


unless ...
two years ago i went there and there was this small "train" wagons in wood pulled by a jeep that brought people from the new lake (not the real indean lake which by the way was closed at that time) to the town, but that s 5 minute ride on a toy train.

maraca comments on Foreign Nationals

heheh that was a sad joke!! :(

Paul, not the british consulate but the BRITISH COUNCIL. Just in case you misunderstood me: Calle 87 No 12-79 (very close to the zona rosa) tel 6180118/6103077.

In La Candelaria, on the same street of the "panaderia francesa", there is a very well known restaurant named El Cafe de Buenos Aires. The owner is a girl from Argentina and she is married to an Irish guy. MAybe you can head there for a very delicious lunch, in a really beautiful place, and you may get some tips from him, of course, if you find him there.

Have a nice day

maraca comments on Gringos with "novias" should read this

jajaja this sounds like a joke. It looks more like some kind of publicity for an escorts company.

maraca comments on Foreign Nationals

not really there are plenty other irish living here, but their favorite spot isnt for sure the "pub" at the zona rosa, they certainly prefer doing their saint patricks celebrations in a differnet way.

Try going to the british council maybe they can give you some hint on where to meet.

maraca comments on biking through colombia

doesnt sound like a very good idea There is a lot of common crime as well. Are you preapared to deal with that? Do you speak fluent spanish?

maraca comments on Plastic Surgery in Colombia

many good doctors will be fluent in english.

maraca comments on Notaries in Bogota

Notaria 41 Cr 12 N. 93-26
TEl 621 4431

They were quite helpful plus they were the only ones I could find that didnt give appointments for 6 month later after presenting the docs.

maraca comments on Should I go to School in colombia?

westlandlive, did you know that the Sorbonne is not really that respected among the french???

I agree that some research with specialist should be done, but if the options are studying at a not really good university in the states or not studying at all as opposed to studying at a very good university in Colombia. What would you pick?

There are plenty of colombian professionals that are doing great as master and doctoral students abroad. And as far as i can see, there are more chances of getting scholarships for graduate degrees than undergraduate degrees.

maraca comments on Required to renew cedulas?

true but... as far as i understand, these days the process has stopped and they are only doing the the cedulas for the people that have lost it or the ones that are requesting it for the first time.

maraca comments on First Time to Cartagena

Tom Of course living there is a different issue, there are plenty of thing to do. Cinema, literature, theater festivals, lots of nice restaurants, nice music, language schools, hundreds of custumers if you are are an artist or a handcrafter... etc, etc
It is very nice living there... but im sure you know what i meant.

maraca comments on First Time to Cartagena

I personally think that... a week in Cartagena is too much. After three days of wandering around you are pretty much done with it. To try to stay at one of the hotels at Islas del Rosario is a pretty good idea. Youll really have some relaxing days there, and you can profit do some diving.

There are several hotels at Islas del Rosario, the most famous is San Pedro de Majagua, which belongs to the Santa Clara Hotel. I stayed there a few years ago but it was not really that beautiful. Another one that is often advertised on this site is Isla Pirata, ive never been to it but have passed by. It was packed with tourists and it had no beach at all, there was just a cliff and a sort of pool stairs to get into the water. Right now I dont have the details of the place I stayed at, but ill send them to you later.

I would avoid Bocagrande there is nothing interesting there. Try to find a hotel within the walled city. The Tres Banderas, that often appears on this site, is nice looking, not that expensive and is located in a really nice street just around the corner of the San Diego square. Rooms at Casa la Fe, which is advertised often as well, are nicer and newer and it is also very close to the above two, but is on a not so nice square.

There are some eco tours to the manglares or to the volcano that may be interesting to go away from cartagena for a day after you have seen the city. For details contact Mundo Caribe Operadores in Bocagrande (cll 8 Cra 1 Esquina Local 1) mcoctg at costa.net.co ph 6651753.

As someone else posted before, if you in the touristic areas of Cartagena, youll be pretty safe. A good thing is to ask in the hotel or at the tourist information office in the airport for the prices for taxi rides (airport to cartagena, walled city to bocagrande, within the walled city, etc...) prices are fix so that info will be easy to get and youll avoid being robbed by the taxi drivers. Most of them will ask for more than it is.

maraca comments on Going to Los Llanos

lili Either you choose Granada or Puerto Lopez, I would make day trips to those towns instead of staying there. You will have much more to do staying around villavicencio. Live traditional music shows, horse rides at night, etc...

maraca comments on Needing help about getting married in colombia

same as Kat I asume you plan to do the course here???? Well, if so, I did a one day course around 15 years ago at Iglesia de Lourdes. Ask your wife to check if they still do it.

maraca comments on Danish giving money for the FARC

Juance Im quite curious about what you said: "they want to "challenge" Danish anti-terror laws, like in the previous "Rebellion" affair".
What are you talking about? Because if it is something like that, then the statement they are trying to make is completely different.

Any way, I visited the website it didnt seem to me they wanted to challenge anything at all. They just seem like the worse informed Amnesty International suscribers, thinking they have got an exceptional design "concept".

And do the 5 euro/piece ever get even closer to Colombia? I wonder.

maraca comments on Varicela Immunization Shoot

Every hospital and the red cross

maraca comments on

Doing a search for hotels in cartagena

maraca comments on Danish giving money for the FARC

Cant they be sent on payed holydays to Guantanamo for supporting terrorist groups?

maraca comments on Colombian Marriage Customs

that sounds like a lot of money... The usual is that the brides parents pay for the wedding, but this is nothing like a must. What is indeed very usual is that the boy offers paying the liquor, and that helps the bride a lot. Any way, an understanding grown up couple will agree in paying for it together.

If the bride doesnt have the means to do it well, and the guy has to pay for it, then im sure she will have to be a bit considerate and not make it to expensive unless you want it to be really big.

And about the tickets... well thats up to you how much you love her and how much money you have to please her. Many of us have got married without having our parents next to us and we survived.

If they are in Colombia, you can always come on holydays and re-marry.

maraca comments on Fiancee in Barranquilla

No matter if we are... rich or poor; boys or girls; americans, cubans or colombians; costeños, rolos or paisas... we will all take the chance of a better life if it is offered to us. Chances for a better life can appear to us in very different shapes. It can be a new job, it can be a scholarship, it can be a nice and hard working colombian partner or it can be a nice and good hearted foreigner. Who will say no to any of those? When does it become a crime to want something better than we have?

Any way, you should always keep in mind: "when the river sounds..."
Im colombian, I am a girl, and we can not deny that there is a lot of truth in the rumors about us colombians, BUT THINGS CAN NEVER BE GENERALIZED. Not all americans are silly, not all brits have loose screws, not all french are horrible, not all muslims are terrorists. Or are they?

Dont fear more because she is poor, many upper class girls with expensive nose surgeries and no problems finding a good living here will happily put a hand on you, both honestly or lying.

As opposed to your girl, many of them would say no to your money offer either because they are not in such a need, or because that is the decent thing to do, or because it is part of their strategy. But im sure they will require high maintenance in different ways.

Be sure you always put a limit to the help you give in order to avoid being milked as ucb says. And just put your common sense into action, you soon will know if you are being fooled or not.

Hope you are not, cause it looks like you dont have any evil intensions with your "tests".

maraca comments on 2 types of arepas?

And of course the yuca arepas and the rice arepas from los llanos. So unique and rare that even most colombians have never tried them.

maraca comments on the best visa for a colombian going to the uk

Usually if all your docs are Usually, if all your docs are ok you get your visa the same day.
I dont think they give 6 months as a visitor your boyfriend should check that.

maraca comments on Weapons for Self Defense

Right... I am sure most of the time we just shut up and say to ourselves "there it goes, this is just another ignorant foreigner". So youre right, it doesnt worth the time. Just hope he has a wonderful time and comes back to his paradise with a bigger smile.

maraca comments on Weapons for Self Defense

Go back to sleep??? You are just completely out of your mind!

I totally agree with tinto. If you are going to be scared all the time and thinking that you need some kind of weapon to survive, you better stay where you are or pick a different place where you can really enjoy your days.

I wonder:

1. Shall we all buy guns if we are visiting NY?
2. Shall we think that everywhere in the US is as Michael Moore says?

La ignorancia es atrevida.

maraca comments on Weapons for Self Defense

I cant beleive some of you are this silly.

maraca comments on Best restaurants in downtown Bogota

You also have El Cafe de Buenos Aires and El Anticuario at the Candelaria
El Cafe de la Opera
The restaurant at the Museo de artes y tradiciones populares

maraca comments on travelone.net - supposedly they can guarantee a tourist visa

Little travel experience? For people with little travel experience it may be good to take the services of a travel agency. Very often people loose their chance og getting their visa due to a very silly mistakes.

The travel agencies are also aware of the more frequent causes of rejection and all the little things you can do and add to get your chances of getting it higher. However no travel agency can guarantee a visa.

maraca comments on Search: Cheap but nice Hotel in Cartegena

On that website tom sent you there is a link to Casa Tatiz. It looks like a lovely option for a family group.

maraca comments on Nose Plastic Surgery In Colombia

it will be safe
If you choose a good place to have it done, and a good surgeon (with reccomendations) it will be pretty safe.

However, most people I know that have gone through this kind of surgery, have lots of problems with breathing now. They got their nice pretty noses, but now it is like having spring allergies all year round.

Is it worth it? Maybe.
If you think your self steem will go up 100% just do it. And then buy some allergy pills. But choose a good surgeon. Dont save bucks on it.

maraca comments on If you had 16 days?

And Mompox...

maraca comments on help me save my holiday!

Felicity I found this other website today...
http://www.visitcartagena.com/accommodation-cartagena.htm

maraca comments on Four Family Members Assassinated In N. Bogota (Modelia)

Whats the point of this thread? I dont get it.

maraca comments on help me save my holiday!

check this I found this site last night. There is everything from usd 300 to usd 6 per night.

http://www.cartagenainfo.com/alojamientos/alojamientos.php?categoria=HOSTALES&lang=ESP

maraca comments on Travel to Villavicencio

for which dates? My family has a lovely country house in the Apiay area (20 min by car from Villavicencio, taxis and public transport are available). Its a very beautiful and safe area. Really quiet place and a nice pool. It is already booked for holydays but pvt me if you are interested.

There are various hotels in the city which are good, but I personally suggest you to stay in a country house. The city its self is crowded, noisy, and in my opinion it doesnt have much to offer. The real fun is in the landscapes and country side.

What to do...
try this website
http://www.turismometa.gov.co/index.php3


Capachos (best disco)
Pentagrama Llanero (live music and joropo)
Pozo Azul (a tasty and fresh mamona that you will never forget)

Just ask there for these places, everybody will tell you where they are.