muchacho_escondido has written 13 posts

Continental service to Cali is no more.

Here's the link: http://www.click2houston.com/travelgetaways/16586542/detail.html?rss=hou&psp=news I have the feeling that the recent talk of expansion of service to Colombia was much ado about nothing. After New Year, I've flown twice to Bogota, 4 flights total. Only one of them was completely full while one was about half full and the remaining two were probably about two thirds full. I am disappointed-- I hoped that it would become possible to go to Colombia for cheaper and more ...

New Colombia flights: what happen, man?

As a result of a recent flight frequency fight, Spirit got FLL-BOG, JetBlue got Orlando-BOG and Delta got JFK-BOG. All to commence by or during summer. "Battle for Colombia", they even called it. Well, there's still nothing that shows up in the ticketing systems of these airlines! The glorious future of US-Colombian air travel hasn't materialized so far. Did the high fuel prices kill it? Hope Continental and Delta don't pull out to leave us with American and Avianca as the only options :( ...

Les pedi unas canciones...

hace varios dias: http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/post/whats-the-most-touching-heart-piercing-colombian-song/ Solo esta noche pude escuchar todo lo que ustedes han compartido. Muchas, muchas gracias, pues. Que riqueza cultural tan escondida. Me siento un poco mas grande por haber conocido todo eso, es como el alma sea un poco mas abierta. Aunque yo naci un gringo y morire un gringo, sin abrir mis ojos a lo que hay en el mundo, mi vida seria muy pobre y no tendria sentido. Tratare ...

What's the most touching, heart-piercing Colombian song?

I am a bit of a fan of Spanish-language music in general. And, since I'm here, there's something special in Colombia in particular for me. So far I know two songs that I think are really great, make-one-cry kind of great. One is "Pajaro Amarillo" and another is "Hola Soledad". Know any other? ...

Why low-cost airlines won't quite cut it

It's certainly great hearing about the proposed service to Bogota by Spirit and JetBlue. I hope that really does become reality, despite high fuel prices. However, I personally wouldn't be helped much by the new services from Orlando and FLL by these airlines. Even though I live near a very big airport (in the top 20 in the US), neither JetBlue nor Spirit offer direct flights between that airport and the proposed points of departure to Bogota. Therefore, if I were to use the new services, I'd ...

Cheap card to call Colombia from the US?

Hello, What would be a relatively cheap way to call Colombia from the US? My phone company charges 18 cents a minute. I wish I could go lower than that. I bought a card on Nobel.Com recently and it looked promising-- 4 cents a minute. But in reality it's more like 16 cents so basically they didn't tell the truth :( Now I've heard many times over that using phone cards to call Colombia isn't a great idea, unless you know exactly which card to buy. So no hard feelings there since I just ...

AA 'been cancelling Colombia flights?

As I'm going to Colombia pretty soon, I've been checking flight statuses online-- to see if travel is at all affected by this latest "crisis". Anyhow, while Continental and Delta seem be doing a good job these days, something crazy is going on with American Arirlines. Yesterday, one of the two flights to Bogota was cancelled. Today the morning one is delayed for a few hours. Also today a Medellin flight was cancelled. Both cancelled flights are the earlier ones-- guess these passengers will b ...

FARC scandal: the actual situation on the ground?

Hello, all of you currently in Colombia! What's the situation there like? Are many people concerned that their lives will be directly affected by what's going on? Or is the perception that it's only muscle flexing on the part of Ecuador and Venezuela? Is anyone seriously considering the possibility that the populated parts of the country (Bogota, Medellin, Cali, The Cost etc) can experience military confrontation any time soon? I find that crazy to believe but I ain't there so I ...

Booking Bogota Hotel via Expedia

If I book a hotel in Bogota using Expedia or similar internet service, how does the payment work? Do I just pay Expedia so that after that it's totally between Expedia and the Hotel? Will I still need to show my credit card to the hotel clerk or will my passport be enough? I have two fears: that a reservation so made will not go through and that if I give my credit card to the hotel they'll charge me in addition to what Expedia charged me (third world fraud/mess). If anyone has done t ...

Will Avianca actually get me there?

Hello all, Maybe going to Bogota soon. My previous journeys were on various US airlines (American, Continental etc) but this time I'll have few days and a certain Avianca flight has a very convenient arrival time. Well, I'm being a bit paranoid about giving my money to any entity outside of my cozy gringo world. Basically I have two fears: 1. If I book through the web (say, the Delta website or maybe Expedia), is it likely that Avianca is going to screw up so that when I show up at the ...

Good Stuff: Detailed Violent Crime Stats

Found the following link recently: http://www.derechoshumanos.gov.co/observatorio/departamentos/2007/ No bullshit analysis and statistics for every single municipality in the country. A real shocker to me was the murder rates in Eje Cafetero. In 2006, Risaralda, Caldas and Quindao respectively had the following murder rates (per 100,000): 75, 51 and 43. The idyllic mental picture I had of the coffee region was shattered...Valle Del Cauca is also insanely high at 75 but it is known for ...

Airline tickets for Christmas

I want to go to Colombia in the middle of December for a few weeks. I'm in North America. I know that airfares for that season are sky high, especially on this route. Now the question: should I hurry with buying my ticket? Does it matter if I get it in September, October or November? Can I end up in a situation where there are NO tickets at all? I'm just not sure what my schedule is going to be exactly so if I could wait with buying for a month or two I would. Thanks! ...

Late night arrival: safety

Dear PBHers, After following the fun for a couple of years, here's my first very own post. I'll be coming to Colombia pretty soon. I'll be landing in Bogota at 8-9PM. I will be staying in a hotel. I do not know anyone in Bogota who owns a car. Now the question is: what is the safest way to leave El Dorado and arrive in my hotel? Does a very safe option even exist? I've landed in BOG before but during the day-- I have no idea what to expect that late in and around the airport and in ...

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