p0gue has left 31 comments

p0gue comments on The people's guide to Mexico

A curse upon that book! Causually picked it up off a friends bookshelf one day many years ago and...poof!...there went 15 years of my life! Like a hit of crack for the innocent youthful vagabond. So yeah, great book. :) Carl and Lorena have a nice website as well: http://www.peoplesguide.com/

p0gue comments on Mexico vs. Colombia -- Need advice

Good lord, $500US a week would be a fortune to me in either country. Though I travel quite cheap. If you have an adventurous spirit and dont require constant luxury youll be fine. Colombia was less than half the price of Mexico when I was last there a few years ago, Im sure the Colombian peso has closed the gap a bit. There are AMAZING, GREAT low-budget beach options in both countries. Look into the previously-mentioned Oaxaca coast in Mexico and in Colombia the previously-mentioned Tyrona park has to be the most beautiful pristine piece of coastline Ive ever seen. Mexico's got food, pyramids, and the best sense of humor. Colombia's got the untouristed stunning geography, and...the Colombians, the most welcoming people I know. Flip a coin, you are loving life either way.

p0gue comments on $78 -- Fly to Bogota from Miami on American Airlines

Lan Chile has the same price on their site. $100 w. taxes OW. Gotta book by the 11th.

p0gue comments on whats with all the bombings lately??

Why? Why the f*** did they have to hit Tierradentro? I love that tiny place and the people there...quiet, friendly, peaceful. Nothing up there but some old tombs. To think of them getting bombed all night...I just cannot comprehend. And they were just starting to get some foriegn visitors in there.

p0gue comments on Is this close to the archeological reserve?

If they attacked the town of
If they attacked the town of Tierradentro itself, then yes, very near the park. This really sucks. TD is one of the sleepiest, nicest little places you can imagine and the people are the best. Fantastic scenery, nice ruins. What the f*** did the FARC want with them? Doubly tragic cause they were just starting to get some tourists in there after years of tranquil safety.

p0gue comments on Bogota to Ecuador by motorcycle

San Agustin If you have the time, try to check out San Agustin...great taste of small town life with ancient statues and gorgeous geography. Straight shot from Bogota, but not on the interamericana.

p0gue comments on Easter in Cartagena

Easter is a huge holiday everywhere in Latin America, and sure everyone goes to the beach. But the question was about special observances, and no, they really dont do anything too elaborate in Cartagena.

p0gue comments on Walking from Panama to Colombia

People talk alot about trekking the Darien but I havent heard of anyone outside of the region doing it in quite some time aside from that earthtrekker guy. Considering the fact that people used to do it fairly regularly, Id guess that the trek itself probably isnt too outrageously tough...on the main trails. Its just the fact that everybody in there knows who is walking those trails, and so if there are unfriendlies in the area (as it appears certain there now are) they will know you are there. And that is probably not a good position to be in.

OTOH, if you know how to navigate for days, off all the trails, through some of the densest bush on the planet, without being seen, then hey, youre good to go.

p0gue comments on Uribe: Colombia Faces Battle vs. Rebels

hmm..
Anyone know the circumstances surrounding the FARC roadblock and the burning of the bus in Tolima? There is no information available on the net other than the story posted here. CNN put some horrid alarmist headine on the story like "Rebels Unleash Massive Chaos Across Colombia." Ugh. Im sure my Mom will be forwarding it to me soon.

p0gue comments on A great book for learning spanish

my all time favorite! I carried that book with me all over Mexico for a year...helped me immensely. And the guy is quite funny to boot. I showed it to a friend of mine who is a university spanish prof in the states, now she assigns it to her students.

p0gue comments on Easter in Cartagena

I was in Cartagena for Semana Santa last year and it was nothing special. There are a few religious preocessions throught the old town, but nothing very eloborate. Basically, they just get a bump in national tourism for their beach resorts.

From what Im told, Mompox and Popayan are the places to be in colombia to see special Semana Santa observances.

p0gue comments on London to Cartagena

check into Santa Barbara to Venezuela. The last time I looked they had some crazy cheap fares between Madrid and Caracas...like 200USD RT.

p0gue comments on electronic handheld translators

translator
the device you require is called the human brain. Comes standard inside most human heads. Or you could rent someone elses.

p0gue comments on cocaine use in Colombia

el perico Considering how habit forming coke can be and that it is cheaper than the cigarettes in Colombia, Ive always found it pretty amazing that more colombians arent using the stuff, especially the more desperate folks living on the street. But mostly they arent. Generally the callejeros seem to prefer to get high on the cheap aguardiente (rum) that costs 3 times more than a gram of coke. I ran into some young folks here and there who liked it, but use is far less than in the states or europe. The average colombian's only connection to coke is the pictures of the drug busts in the papers.

As far as the law is concerned, Im told that possesion of personal use quantities of all drugs (heroin, coke, pot, opium. etc) is not a punishable offense in Colombia. There seemed to be some differences of opinion about how that worked out in practice among people I talked to however. Anyone know the real scoop?

p0gue comments on Apartment available in Cartagena

so how much are you enting it so how much are you renting it for?

p0gue comments on More travel scams

street scams


They just tried a new one on me yesterday (though im in Merida VZ)

I was in a crowd taking a picture of a parade (thus distracted) and strangely a bunch of candy landed right at my feet NOT thrown from the parade. Simultaneously, some very adult voice yelled "caramelos!" and suddenly there are about 4 people scrambling madly around at my feet, and grabbing at my pant legs. Im pretty alert to this sort of thing so I instantly fixed my attention of my bag and my pockets...especially when I noticed that all of the people going for the candy were middle aged men! As they scattered I saw that one guy was actually yanking on both my pant legs trying to pull me off balance. shouldda kicked him in the face!

Good scam, very natural. I can see this working very well. but I watched my stuff, didnt get pulled off balance and didnt go for the candy, so they got nada. Gringos 1, ladrones 0.

Anyone else got a good one?

p0gue comments on Passport Expires Feb 10 --Deaprt Colombia Feb 9 --Is This a Problem?

All the above is true...best to get the thing renewed, but if you are a gambler I would bet that the person at immigration in Bogota isnt going to look at the expiration date on the passsport. Risky though.

p0gue comments on More tourist visa questions..... plus a rant

student visa
Thats kind of interesting. So I could sign up for a course, get the visa and ignore the course after that? Would any course do? What does DAS want to see? All student visas are a year?

p0gue comments on Travel agents in Barranquilla

about $180 US earlier this year.

p0gue comments on Tourist visa

DAS The whole DAS thing is a bit different with different hassle levels depending on where you do it. Earlier this year I did one in Medellin, two in Popayan and one in Bogota. Medellin DAS was the least friendly, Popayan was OK...the first time, and strangely Bogota was the easiest of all. I had no plane ticket out (usually required) so I forged a printout of a web page and said I had an electronic ticket. The conversations about this got a bit surreal, but it worked. The most fun is getting fingerprinted!

p0gue comments on

wow

That is beautiful. Where is the Sierra de Macarena? Easy to visit?

p0gue comments on More tourist visa questions..... plus a rant

yea the above is correct. You get either 60 or 90 days when you first enter (ask for 90) and to extend your time past that you must report to a regional DAS office with about $20US, photos, proof of air ticket out, and many copies of all your documents. they will ask you a bunch of questions and fingerprint you. extentions last 30 days. You can keep extending for up to a max of 6 months in any calander year. I think you can exit and re-enter the country as well, up to the same 6 months.

Technically you are supposed to have a RT ticket to get into the country, but from my experience and other Ive talked to, this is laxly enforced at immigration in the airport. You will need a ticket out to extend your visa however, unless you do what I did -- forge an electronic confirmation and show them that.

What does one have to do to get a year-long student visa? Any chance of getting one without actually being a student?

p0gue comments on VoIP or Vonage phone adapters smuggled to Colombia successful?

or..

If youve both got broadband just use this...free. Better than telephone quality audio.

http://www.skype.com/

Im not sure I understand how vonage is better that this. why all the adaptors and such? Cant you just use a computer and a headset?

p0gue comments on 2 chicas in distress!

Are you crazy?

You are crazy to miss Tierradentro and San Agustin...so close! And Popayan..a very pretty and relaxed city. You are on the edge of some of the most spectacular scenery in all of South America, a real shame to fly over it. Day busses, and you'll be fine.

p0gue comments on Travel deals from or within Colombia

los buses Yeah, Caracas to Bogota is a long bus trip. Best to break it up. Merida, Venezuela is nice. If you've got the scratch you can fly it, or part of it, pretty cheap.

p0gue comments on AIRLINE TICKETS TO COLOMBIA

The cheap way
If you want to do it as cheap as possible and have the time, you can get from Miami to Bogota for about $150. Lan Chile and a couple others fly Miami to Caracas for an amazing $115, all taxes incl. Bus Caracas to the border, border to Bogota, about $40 or so. This works in reverse as well, Bogota to Miami.

p0gue comments on Travel deals from or within Colombia

USA I just figured out that its quite cheap to get from Colombia to the States via Caracas and Miami. The absolute cheapest way to do this is bus to Caracas, and flight to Miami. The CCS-MIA flight goes for as little as $110, making the whole trip about $150. there was a fierce fare war out of Fort Lauderdale when I flew back to the states a month ago, and so by transfering Miami to FLL, I was able to get from Bogota to NY for about $200! Pretty incredible.

p0gue comments on Who has posted pictures on this site?

Ive got my colombia photos on another site:

http://www.pbase.com/p0gue -- or just click my name and then the link in my profile.

p0gue comments on Safety Tips for Medellin Trip With Gringo Boyfriend

Dont worry about it...
I recently stayed in Medellin a couple weeks and found it quite safe, friendly and relaxed for how big and bustling a place it is and I very much appear to be a tall blond blue-eyed Anglo. I publicly mentioned my US citizenship in public on several occasions and even got out my video-unit to tape the Botero bronzes right in the heart of the city. I encountered nothing but general acceptance and goodwill. Walked everywhere in the center, day and night, never once felt threatened. Nice folks the Paisas.

I wouldnt worry too much about your boyfriend's American-ness.

p0gue comments on My friend is stuck in Colombia

bullsh**

The whole story is nonsense, but its an entertaining "what if."

I would assume, given the nature of your friend's Colombian associates and the "travelling under another name" bit, that she doesnt want to deal with the govt of either the US or Colombia.

So, normal methods of transport are out and you are going to need help smuggling her out of the country. Getting her cash isnt a problem, as others have pointed out, so all you need is a smuggler. She could go to Cartagena and start making discreet inquiries of yacht capitains there, or someone could fly to Miami or Key West and start asking around for the required service on her behalf. no sweat getting her on the boat in colombia, and it shouldnt be too hard to drop her in the States either if you pick a nice relaxed place to take her ashore -- assuming you dont get stopped by the Coast Guard. But thats why you are hiring a smuggler.

To hire the boat you need for a job like this is gonna cost something fierce. If you don't have much money to play with, all I can think of would be for her to go to Cartagena and try to charm her way aboard some yacht headed to the US or Mexico.

p0gue comments on camera use and calling attention

likewise
Just got done shooting hours of video in cartagena. There is plenty of poverty and people are living on the street, but shooting in the old town is pretty safe. Just keep your eyes open.