pedro has left 967 comments

pedro comments on CHILE - The plight of the Anonymous Coward ???

That name / signature is a reference to a geek site called slashdot.

pedro comments on dear kat i truely apologise ( formerly american )

Lame. No edit feature. Try again with that picture:

pedro comments on dear kat i truely apologise ( formerly american )

Kat's uniform is inspired by the BBC classic, "The Avengers"

pedro comments on La Boquilla

La Boquilla... not really all that fun for a longer stay. Right up against a slum. Not sure the beach is even clean enough for swimming. It can be interesting to go there for an afternoon, drink beer and listen to vallenato. You could maybe stay out on Tierrabomba... there are some all inclusives out there where you could easily spend $200 per night. This is one of the more economical options, the only one I've personally stayed at: http://hotel3banderas.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=7&page=1 There are other options.. Cocoliso etc. The Decameron has an all inclusive outside the city.. maybe in Baru.. not sure.

pedro comments on

Robi, you must have arrived too late. I was there. When I saw this post on PBH, I put on a pair of capri pants, a blonde wig and some knee high boots that I keep for just such an occasion. I am a man of small stature (I look just like the photo in my avatar), so I can easily pass for a woman. Anyway, I arrived at the Mayorista and sure enough Medo was there and handed me my 50 note. My voice cracked as I was responding to him "dios le pague, mi amor", but I don't think he suspected. Thanks, Medo!

pedro comments on The downside of allowing new members.

Aw damn Billy, I already replied to her, telling her in graphic detail exactly what I wanted to do to her. If she's your girl, I'll back off then. ;o)

pedro comments on Updated the rules

OK, maybe I should rephrase to "great Colombian urban legend". But please don't deny that you'll hear about this all over the costa. They are selling T-shirts about donkeys, figurines of guys loving up donkeys...

pedro comments on Updated the rules

Actually Kat, I'm just flagging this question myself as a public service. It's a gap in the rules. If you check the rules by clicking Peter's original post, you'll see it's not covered under any category. I hope a sense of humour is not outlawed under the new rules? And you will hear about the burra thing all over the coast. It's not something out of Elmo's imagination.

pedro comments on COLOMBIA, 2 completely different people under one flag

Paisa's girlfriend: Costeno's girlfriend:

pedro comments on Updated the rules

Peter, quick question. If someone wants to talk about the great Colombian tradition of sex with donkeys, is that still permitted? How about where to find donkeys?

pedro comments on i am allowed back (formerly pow wow and american)

Welcome back, big fella.

pedro comments on Announcing Kat1 as a new moderator

Congrats Kat1. And cheers in advance for taking on what is sometimes a controversial and thankless task. Your new PBH mod's keyboard will be arriving any day now in the mail. You can't miss it -- it's the one with an oversized red delete key.

pedro comments on Pow wow deleted again

May I ask -- who decided this and why? ¡save pow wow!

pedro comments on Safety of Cartagena-Medellin and Medellin-Pereira buses?

When you go to book your ticket, each company's ticket counter has a panel displaying "accidents, killed and injured" statistics. It usually reads zero... I don't know if that strictly represents reality or not. If you travel Medellin - Cartagena, only the first few hours is mountains, the rest is flat.

pedro comments on sending money to colombia from usa and vice versa

Deposit it into your USA account, and then draw it down via ATM.

pedro comments on Laureles - 33 Nightlife Area / Property

The 33 is a nice part of the city. Like grimace and Ray, I appreciate it being flat and walkable. It has more "soul" than Poblado. I guess you could say some of the bars have gone upmarket, but it was starting from a pretty low base. I don't think the nightlife will ever reach extreme heights... it will always be a collection of smaller bars that are kind of niche. Many of them fun, in their own way. It will never host the kind of drive-up megaclubs like Mangos. One possible appreciation play is to buy a house, with a view to eventually letting it be knocked down and develop, say, 10 apartments. There is a steady stream of new apartment construction in Laureles and Conquistadores, and new supply of sites will have to come from somewhere. Bickerss, PM me if you want to compare notes. I'm currently planning to buy in that area, and will be looking at properties next week.

pedro comments on

Rikito, welcome to my ignore list. Pow wow usually stays resolutely on topic. You, on the other hand, are disrupting the flow by trying to shout down another poster who has a legit topic.

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

b bruce -- "Gentlemen! America as in the United States of America, needs to begin drilling it's own oil and natural gas, tapping it's own resources." What exactly do you think is happening in Louisiana, Texas, offshore Gulf of Mexico, California, Alaska, ...? Needs to begin drilling... WTF? Newsflash -- the USA has a buoyant oil and gas industry... has had one for about the last 100 years.

pedro comments on GET WELL GIB

http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/post/message-from-gib/

pedro comments on

Medellin... it's just after 10 in the evening.

pedro comments on

pow wow, you're up late.. or early?

pedro comments on Wow Peso up a bit

Simon, did you not get called a beaner even one time while living in the US? How many times? Do people ever approach you and offer you construction or lawn mowing work?

pedro comments on Wow Peso up a bit

Hmm Simon, well if we're talking in those terms, I guess you would be called a broke ass campesino who has to come to the US just to find a job. Simon, how many times per week do you get called "beaner" and mistaken for a Mexican?

pedro comments on Taxi from Cartagena airport to El Centro - Costs?

Yep. Now if you walk out from arrivals and stand with your back to the airport building, the road would be located a little on your right. But if you're standing at the entrance to the big check in hall, it should be straight in front. I think that's correct, it's been a while since I've been there myself.

pedro comments on Taxi from Cartagena airport to El Centro - Costs?

Start from the entrance doors that lead into the airport's main check in hall. Walk outside, and with your back to these doors, look for a small road that goes straight ahead the same way you're facing. Say "no, gracias" a few times to the taxi guys that approach you. Walk 100m up this straight ahead road (one block) and you'll hit the main road. You'll know when you hit the main road, as you'll see plenty of traffic, including buses and taxis.

pedro comments on Medellin to Santa Marta...

Maybe head north on the first day, stopping somewhere like Covenas or Tolu on the Sucre coast. Stay 2 nights, one day, then head on to Santa Marta.

pedro comments on

Rikito, you should be the one that gets deleted, if you can't let other participants have their voice without trying to shout them down. I put you on ignore once before. Although my ignore list is very short, you were on it because your comments are always so mean spirited and I disagree with your politics. Must be time to add you back to the ignore list again, you don't contribute any useful info, anyway. There is a PBH rule against stalking across various topics... why can't you just accept that a decision has been made, and stop stalking pow wow?

pedro comments on Robi said wierdness yesterday.............

Hmm, what about Medellin's own Fat Fany. Did you point out those PBH threads to the DAS guys? They would have been impressed by her high profile status on the site. She may even have earned "Employee of the Month" once they found out.

pedro comments on Problems with Ray?

On another note, sorry to hear about the misadventures of the GIB. Wishing him a complete and speedy recovery. That burundanga in the street seems like a Bogota specialty. Every story I hear is always Bogota, and usually ends (begins) with the victim waking up in a hospital.

pedro comments on Problems with Ray?

Looks like a fun trip, Ray. Did you hit Venezuela? Glad to hear all is well. Sigas siendo el RAAAY.

pedro comments on Best rum deal in Colombia

Great tip, thank you!

pedro comments on Cartagena Airport to Cartagena Terminal de Pasajeros?

The terminal de transportes is all the way on the other edge of town. In a taxi, it would maybe cost you about 13k, assuming you walked the 100m out of the airport and caught the taxi on the main road. If you walk out, start from the entrance doors to the main hall at the airport. With your back to these doors, you will see a road directly in front, it's one short block and you're on the main road. What time of day are you arriving? In case you're going to Barranquilla on arrival. There are colectivo vans leaving for Barranquilla on the Crespo side of town, very close to the airport. There's a Metrocar that goes to the terminal (airconditioned bus service at a cost of 1500 pesos that takes a more direct route). I'm not sure where/if it passes through Crespo, though.

pedro comments on What is an contrasena?

The contrasena is a receipt, certifying that the issue of your cedula is pending. Because of the primitive quality of the contrasena, many entities don't trust it as ID. It's too easy to counterfeit or procure a real form and fill it in as you like. Some people don't accept it as a matter of policy. Some do. It's the same problem for citizens... if you lose your cedula, it may take a long time to receive a new one. You will have problems getting refused entry at discotecas when carded, and many other day to day things. You can't vote in an election without the proper cedula. I was able to open my bank account with just a contrasena. They did request extra sources of proof. I gave them a photocopy of the visa page in my passport, plus they sent me on a wild goose chase to the DAS, looking for extra certification which doesn't really exist. Tomtom and Robi posted reliable info above. Rubito, you have several mistakes in what you posted.

pedro comments on Colombian holidays

18 public holidays sounds like a lot. But if you consider that many regular jobs are 5.5 or 6 days a week... It's really turning a 1.5 day weekend into a 2.5 day weekend. Not to mention the people who "work" 7 days per week because they live hand to mouth, and people like apartment doormen who work crazy hours. I once asked a doorman what hours he worked. He told me something like 12 to 15 consecutive days, 12 hours per day. Then a 3 day break. Then repeat.

pedro comments on

Pow wow usually conducts discussions inside his very own threads. If you put him on ignore, you won't even see those threads. It's not like he's spamming other threads on PBH and diverting the discussion. I think you guys just enjoy bitching about something... anything. I sometimes disagree with pow wow, but I also find him to be insightful on many occasions. He creates interest and stimulates discussion to a degree that few other posters have managed. He doesn't typically launch personal attacks on other forum members, something vicshere is often guilty of. He also never threatened offline violence against anyone on PBH (he only ever expressed violent intentions towards the anti-socials chavs outside his house). His major vice would be defying the mods by reposting his topics after they got deleted. But if defying the mods was a banning offence, vicshere would be the first one to walk the plank. ¡save pow wow!

pedro comments on Ecuador to enshrine a woman's right to sexual happiness (but no orgasm guarantee)

Ah, now I understand why the Ecuadorian government is passing out a free snorkel to every man of age.

pedro comments on Cheaper Taxis - Medellin to Airport (Rio Negro)

I mostly take the shared taxi. It costs about 10.000 and you're usually on your way within 10 to 15 minutes of showing up. Leaves from the corner of calle 49 x carrera 42. You will hear the guy shouting "Rionegro!" and approaching anyone with luggage.

pedro comments on Colombia To Seek Oil Off San Andres Island With Jamaican Company

Ctg, I think that Repsol article is talking about Cartagena, Spain. The Glencore joint venture in CTG, Colombia is Glencore 51%, Ecopetrol 49% I think.

pedro comments on is it possible to open a bank account without being a resident?

Tomtom, I know it's possible to get a first passport issued while waiting for a replacement cedula. My girlfriend has done exactly that.

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

I guess "Fuck" is the theme word for your stay in Cucuta. Check out that yellow number plate at the top of photo #2. :o)

pedro comments on

Sweet. It's all coming together. Pow wow is going to adopt kat1, and kalder is set to take up residence at pow wow manor. This has all the makings of a good sitcom.

pedro comments on IN-N-OUT OR HAMBURGUESAS DEL CORRAL?

Someone told me that they used to make a bumper sticker that said "IN N OUT BURGER". They had to change it to say "IN N OUT" and a picture of a burger. People kept cutting off the letters so that it read "IN N OUT URGE". True, or not?

pedro comments on

You've got to admit it. Despite the doubts and naysayers, Desi has always been awesome as a moderator. Pow wow -- what's the latest on the anti-social behaviour near your house? Have you had any police response on that?

pedro comments on Banks and bank accounts

Noel, which city are you living in? It may be most efficient if you have a personal introduction through another PBHer, and go to a branch where they already have opened accounts for foreigners. Make sure you mention to the bank employee about the CDT, and that you want to open it immediately for x million pesos. I'm with HSBC at the moment... they have internet banking at no extra cost. There is a bill paying option online, which has so far turned out to be a damp squib. I tried paying a couple of different bills with valid references, and it gave an error that wouldn't let me do the payment.

pedro comments on Colombia: a frontier market that might surprise?

Yeah, I always thought it was the second largest in South America by population, too. Perhaps it's the fourth largest in land area? That comment about removing the capital controls is pretty huge for the peso exchange rate.

pedro comments on SEXUAL HARASSEMENT (WORK)

Would be important to know what kind of contract she has, and if the job is really indispensable for her. Is her boss the ultimate boss of the whole company, or can he get shat on from above by his superiors? Who knows, a quick letter on a lawyer's letterhead might put a stop to it. Or it might make things worse. I don't know how commited you are with your girlfriend. Let's say you get involved in this situation, even just by advising her, and her employment ends. You may very likely be asked to underwrite her financially until she starts working again.

pedro comments on Avianca treats barranquilleros like second class citizens

If you feel safer, then good for you. But statistically, you probably aren't.

pedro comments on PLEASE DO NOT INSULT OUR INTELLIGENCE (MY ENGLISH TRANSLATION

I'm curious to know how the Colombian soldier died that night. Has it been reported? I find it extremely hard to believe there were no FARC weapons.

pedro comments on Avianca treats barranquilleros like second class citizens

Terrorism central? Well, enjoy New York and Colombia then, where terror attacks would be unthinkable.

pedro comments on Avianca treats barranquilleros like second class citizens

For the tourist, damn right Colombia is more dangerous than Israel. I've been to both places within the last few years, so my comparison surely counts for something.