pedro has left 2535 comments

pedro comments on Room to let in Belen La Mota Medellin

You seem kind of deluded. You and GIB should hang out some time.

pedro comments on Room to let in Belen La Mota Medellin

Perhaps you don't understand the meaning of price elasticity of demand. Suggest you look it up.

pedro comments on Room to let in Belen La Mota Medellin

You may consider it a rip-off. But there's definitely a market at that price point. A certain brand of gringo traveller will happily pay the "extra" 5mil per day for brand new furniture, convenience of dealing with someone in their own language and culture, no contract and drop in/out of the rental situation whenever the mood strikes them. Since you prefer to look at supply and demand, you'll also observe that he only needs to rent two rooms at that price for his offer to be fully taken up, and the price elasticity of demand between 500k and 700k is not that much if the renter is only staying for a few months. Might as well price it a bit higher to compensate for periods when it's vacant. And yes, I do take into account what the person's costs are, because it seems like incredible chutzpah to accuse the guy of ripping people off if in fact he's renting at below cost. I didn't bother looking on compartoapto.com, as I'm not in the market for a room, myself.

pedro comments on Room to let in Belen La Mota Medellin

BTW, if you do a search for compartoapto.com on here, you will find I'm the one who's posting that link to previous enquiries on PBH.

pedro comments on Room to let in Belen La Mota Medellin

OK, so you think the intrinsic value of this guy's room rental is half the price, which is 335,000 pesos. Correct? You yourself said the going monthly rate for an apartment in La Mota is between 900k and 1.2 million, so let's assume that rate for now. Plus utilities for three people, say 280k pesos. Now let's say you spent upfront 1.2 million per bedroom on a brand new mattress, bedside tables and bedlinen. How much do you want to add per month to the rent to recoup that expense? Or do you just give that away for free? So now we're pushing 1.5 million per month in total cost for the place, divided by three people. And we haven't accounted for the fact that the room will occasionally be vacant for a fraction of a month, and the time involved in dealing with "rent by the month" types, collecting from them etc. Maybe he had to insure the contents, maybe he dropped 15 million on the common area furniture and electrodomesticos, and amortisation and depreciation of that needs to be costed in. Please give me your intrinsic value for the rental and how do you get that figure?

pedro comments on Rio or Colombia?

I could be mistaken, but I think the Caetano bi thing is so commonly known that Djavan references it in his song. "I'd devour you like Caetano (would) to Leonardo DiCaprio".

pedro comments on Rio or Colombia?

Eu Te Devoro - Djavan Composição: Djavan Teus sinais Me confundem Da cabeça aos pés Mas por dentro Eu te devoro, Teu olhar Não me diz exato Quem tu és Mesmo assim Eu te devoro... Te devoraria A qualquer preço, Porque te ignoro, Te conheço, Quando chove ou Quando faz frio, Noutro plano Te devoraria Tal Caetano A Leonardo DiCaprio... É um milagre, Tudo que Deus criou Pensando em você, Fez a via-láctea Fez os Dinossauros, Sem pensar em nada Fez a minha vida E te deu, Sem contar os dias Que me faz morrer, Sem saber de ti Jogado à Solidão, Mas se quer saber Se eu quero outra vida Não! Não! (Repetir a letra) Eu quero mesmo é viver Pra esperar, esperar Devorar você...(2x) Viver, viver Pra esperar você, Quero viver Pra esperar você, Quero esperar você...

pedro comments on Rio or Colombia?

Never mind Johnny. I suspect Caetano has sucked more **** than Shakira and Juanes put together.

pedro comments on Room to let in Belen La Mota Medellin

Sweet. Please post the contact details and exact prices on PBH so that people can benefit from that lead. All I get from your comments is that to you, "girlfriend" must be the same as "prostitute". Because I said girlfriend and you understood it as prepago.

pedro comments on How can I get a Colombian Drivers License?

Go to any driving school or driving tramites office. There is probably a cluster of them all around the "Transito". There are very few documents required. You used to need your blood type certificate, but that may not even be required now. A copy of your cedula. Fork over about 150k and come back in 5 days or so. You may or may not be required to pass a quick check of your senses, depending on the office. There is no practical test of driving competency. Search previous posts as I may be forgetting something. They have recently introduced RUNT (national registration), and the IT implementation was a complete clusterfuck and paralysed all vehicle transfers etc. So you may need to check if licenses are being issued right at this point in time. Edited to add: You need passport sized photos too, of course.

pedro comments on Dar(n) PBH is a Yawn the last few days

I'm confused. Is Darloup going to be appointed as a moderator? I hope not!

pedro comments on

I've heard good things about the Barranquilla Interamericano Colegio, too. Though I don't know if they offer Spanish classes, and I hear their hiring standards have hit rock bottom recently.

pedro comments on A nation is obsessed as Miss Colombia beauty pageant comes to a big end

Is it just me, or does Miss Bolivar have a freakishly small waist compared to the rest of her body?

pedro comments on Dar(n) PBH is a Yawn the last few days

It will get more interesting again. We just need someone new to step up and have a public meltdown in the great PBH tradition.

pedro comments on Room to let in Belen La Mota Medellin

NTAP, you missed the point, regarding the estratos. What I wrote was clear. If you can't understand it, I won't spend any more time explaining it to you. The whole ethos of the rental is different. A gringo apartment sublet is like a college pad, off campus. A Colombian room rental is like church camp, with many house rules involved. It's not the same product.

pedro comments on Room to let in Belen La Mota Medellin

Until you've been on the provider's side of a real estate rental transaction, you have no clear idea of costs. GIB has lived in Colombia quite a long time, but can't read/write Spanish and has never owned property here AFAIK. He's been calling a Colombian real estate crash for the last 4-5 years I've been a member here, hence he never bought anything. You may regard GIB as smart just because you happen to agree on this issue. But I don't rate him at all. I repeat, it's not the same product, so the prices can't be compared exactly. If you want to be taken seriously, you should at least admit the product is different and then suggest what intrinsic value you give it and why.

pedro comments on Room to let in Belen La Mota Medellin

Yes, obviously location has a bearing, but that is only one factor of many, and is already considered in determing the overall estrato. So, estrato 5 is estrato 5. A gringo apartment is an apartment leased by a gringo who then sublets the rooms. You never responded to my point about being able to have guests over whenever you want. That is a material difference, is it not? He's not charging double the going rate if the product on offer is different.

pedro comments on PBH member names

I have the handle Gringa/Inglesa/Luver available for sale. Never used, best offer.

pedro comments on Obtaining a Home Loan in colombia

Alternatively, you could maybe get a local or two to go guarantor on the loan?

pedro comments on Room to let in Belen La Mota Medellin

You guys are not comparing like with like. Those rooms for 350k a month: are they a room with brand new furniture, including a double bed? Can the renter have his girlfriend to stay whenever he feels like it? Does he have full and equal rights to use the common areas of the apartment? Does the apartment have fast wireless broadband, like gringo apartments usually do? Edited to add: maybe I shouldn't say "you guys" without even seeing what GIB wrote. I just saw his name on the forum page showing he posted, but I have him on ignore. But it's almost a given that he wrote something saying the room is a rip off price. NTAP, estrato 5 is estrato 5. Doesn't matter what the surrounding area is, that's already taken into account when calculating the estrato.

pedro comments on Obtaining a Home Loan in colombia

Colombian banks tend to lend based on salary or wages and not on assets. If you can show a carta laboral with a few million a month in income and no major credit incidents, it should be OK. If your income comes from outside Colombia, it may not be impossible but many banks will say no to you. You can also do a person-to-person loan in Colombia, secured by a mortgage on your property. The going rate is 1.8% to 2% per month, 3% commission upfront to the broker and borrower pays all legal costs to establish the mortgage.

pedro comments on Tipping in Colombia

Greg Yohn's extended family? http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local-beat/Time-In-Prison--70426052.html

pedro comments on Apartment wanted in Poblado/ Patio Bontio/ Manila area

How about this one? http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/post/room-to-let-in-belen-la-mota-medellin/

pedro comments on Good Conduct Letter From DAS/POLICE.

That's good info, Gator. If it really is issued through the Extranjeria section of DAS, you're much better off and will wait less.

pedro comments on Good Conduct Letter From DAS/POLICE.

I have no personal experience with the Certificado Judicial. But if it's what I think it is, lines are out the door and around the block at the DAS to get this certificate. It may have gotten better since they allowed some people to apply for it online. But still, if you go to the DAS for this, make sure to bring any prerequisites first time around, and bring a good book or a fully charged MP3 player for the wait in line.

pedro comments on Changing Money, Pesos to Pounds Sterling

I exchanged a small amount of real with them at Oviedo, maybe 5 months ago. Don't know why they wouldn't be interested now.

pedro comments on Aren't there lovely flowers in Colombia

Web, GY had his account deleted on PBH. But who knows if it was really at his request? At the same moment, he was going back and editing out / removing his personal info that he'd previously posted on CBlog. Perhaps he asked for his old PBH posts to be deleted, and will reappear with a new name?

pedro comments on Rio or Colombia?

Nightlife is very different in Brazil. In Colombia you have table service and people stay in their group a lot. In Brazil, it mainly people standing and freely moving. Picking up at a bar is a lot easier in Brazil. Because women are more open to it, there isn't the separation of tables, and men pay a high cover charge where women pay less or nothing. So the bars and clubs have more women. In Colombia, it's nearly always evenly matched groups (eg 3 guys, 3 girls at a table). Nightlife in Brazil is pretty fun (my travel guidebook rated Brazilians as world champions at relaxing and having fun, and I tend to agree). The food is broadly similar. Meats and juices are well done in both countries. But the locals are not really open to international tastes (Sao Paulo excepted). The equivalent of Cartagena is Salvador da Bahia. Like Cartagena, it's good for a few days, then move on. Rio is great for a tourist and should not be missed.

pedro comments on Near Death Experience with Brasilia

Sounds good. If you resent any feedback other than unanimous agreement and congratulations, PBH is probably not the forum to be posting your personal stories on. People are pretty frank about giving their opinions here, like with the GY canned mushrooms incident.

pedro comments on Near Death Experience with Brasilia

Juepaje says on Nov 18, 2009, 13:14 (today): flag 1st Pedro, I do not have a cell phone. Obviously you are not from Colombia because those numbers that say Como Condusco are never in operation. I never threatened to sue him. I made a police report to protect myself against a lawsuit. As for the Colombians on the bus, I just may have saved their lives from a drugged out crazed bus driver. I made no threat to the driver. Read the story before you judge what I did. If you need help, get someone to translate it for you. ----------------- You say I should read the story. I did read it, in my native language. You should really read my PBH profile before making assumptions. You may not agree with my opinion, but no need to be condescending. If you want to, we could make a bet about whether the Brasilia "Como conduzco" number is operating, or not. I've never tried it, but I think there's a better than even chance that it works. I would win the bet if I can get it to answer.. it doesn't need to answer immediately or on the first attempt.

pedro comments on Near Death Experience with Brasilia

So now every passenger on that bus was late for their plans. And every one of them will blame it on the gringo to all their friends and family. If on the other hand, you'd called the policia de carreteras to make a report on the spot and made them wait there, they probably wouldn't have blamed you for wasting their time. You did the typical gringo thing of threatening to beat him up or sue him. Those are not really Colombian customs. Maybe he didn't respond immediately, and climbed back on the bus and drove on. But don't exclude the possibility he took down your license plate and will get information about where you live, etc for later use. Was there a "Como conduzco?" number on the back of the bus, and did you take down registration details? It might have been simpler to just pass the police report to the bus company. I'm glad you survived and took quick evasive action, and that nobody was injured. Question, if you regard passing in a no passing zone as negligent, do you also regard doing 170km/h on local roads as negligent?

pedro comments on Renewing TS visa at the MRE

I would just give them the previous year's declaration de renta. Just say you haven't declared yet for the 2009 year, and are not required to or able to until April. So your declaration for 2008 is the up to date document as far as your company is concerned. If you are renewing in Lima, you're less likely to require the balance and estado de resultados, as I don't think they figure on the official documents list. They only have to make a half assed effort at verifying your business is legit, and in my experience they don't care that much. But obviously, my experience is at MRE, and not at the Lima consulate. I would bring along anything else you have to hand that shows legit activity, such as INVIMA or DIAN customs receipts or something.

pedro comments on Renewing TS visa at the MRE

You could always try showing up without the balance or profit and loss, and see what happens. I was travelling from Medellin to do the renewal, so it seemed safer to have them, just in case.

pedro comments on These bureaucrats don’t let CAUCA progress

JGD (☼Travelguide writer) says on Nov 17, 2009, 03:46 (today): flag I must be mistaken, I was under the imppression that Bureocracy was a byproduct of a socialism goverment ... ------------- The post's title is quoting the paramilitaries, if you'd bothered to read it.

pedro comments on Renewing TS visa at the MRE

I'm pretty sure the financial year is January 1st - December 31st, and you file the income tax declaration (companies) in April sometime (or sooner if you like).

pedro comments on Renewing TS visa at the MRE

Yep, you will have only declared once during the year, they will need to see a copy of that form. I think balance de prueba translates literally as "trial balance"? And "estado de resultados" would be a profit and loss statement? I'm a rank amateur at accounting, and I know even less when it's done in Spanish. But your accountant should be able to produce those for you easily enough. At MRE in Bogota, I always seem to get the guy in the baseball cap. The one who insists on speaking English to you, no matter your level of Spanish.

pedro comments on Renewing TS visa at the MRE

I phoned ahead before my first renewal. I was told to bring a "balance de prueba" and an "estado de resultados", as well as the usual documents. I think the accounting stuff only warranted a quick glance. You'll need to show the declaracion de renta, too.

pedro comments on Taking the time to write a thread or post a comment on PBH.......... WHY BOTHER ???

Darloup (☼Travelguide writer) says on Nov 16, 2009, 09:38 (today): flag But, since you asked: Yes, openly stating that Desi's kindergarden experience is a sine-qua-non requisite to be a mod on PBH could be construed as being "slightly' insulting. But then, I'm sure Desi can answer for herself. -------------------- Hmm, now you also misunderstood sine qua non. I never stated or suggested that having kindergarten experience was the *only* way to be a PBH mod. Merely that it was one way to qualify.. there may be others. It seems you couldn't wait to use the phrase "sine qua non" and in your haste, misused it. If I remember rightly, you claim qualifications and professional experience in Information Technology. It shocks me to see you screw up something which should be bread and butter for someone with IT studies(logical inferences). Please take more care before misquoting me, in future.

pedro comments on Taking the time to write a thread or post a comment on PBH.......... WHY BOTHER ???

Darloup, it's not nasty at all. You just misunderstood, and are too quick to attack without properly understanding something.

pedro comments on Taking the time to write a thread or post a comment on PBH.......... WHY BOTHER ???

Clyde, it's been noted that Desi's kindergarten experience made her a walk up starter for a PBH mod's position.

pedro comments on Medellin Help

cra 50 and cll 50 is the original centre of the city of Medellin. Calles count down in number as you go south as far as cll 1, and then continue as cll 1 sur, cll 2 sur etc.

pedro comments on 2-way ignore

LOL, RAAAY! We all know that's exactly what will happen! :o)

pedro comments on Travel in Colombia Passport or only Student Visa

Passport required for international flights. Within Colombia, your cedula de extranjeria is fine (for me at least). I have a new style plastic cedula -- I don't know if there are or will be restrictions on the very old fashioned cedulas.

pedro comments on Cartagena rightfully celebrates - a few thoughts...

On those other points, I broadly agree with what you wrote in the OP. I've never been a big fan of Cartagena.

pedro comments on Cartagena rightfully celebrates - a few thoughts...

We already had PBHers on the spot, who have lived in Cartagena for years. They declared it was not an issue they'd encountered. These "tourist looking" people, occupying the tourist precinct ever day for years, had never been propositioned by people trying to pimp a child to them. You chose not to request further information from them or engage them. Instead you rejected their views out of hand, preferring to cite the existence of Google results. So if the discussion has been brought down to this level, it's only because you were unable to engage it on a more intelligent level.

pedro comments on Cartagena rightfully celebrates - a few thoughts...

My dear Darloup, The words "alien abduction france" give 141,000 Google results. So the problem is obviously very serious. What is your government doing about it? You've lost all credibility.

pedro comments on Advice needed, I want to hire somebody, but others member on PBH are against it?

What you hear in Barranquilla should not be extrapolated to all of Colombia. You haven't travelled much, so you wouldn't know the regional differences. You live in a more unrefined part of the country. Believe it or not, other words are common in the interior. I am disagreeing with you and respecting you, nothing's changed. But as I observed, you're still seething about being called out on something. So much so that when I look through your chain of posts, you switch from addressing the point at first, then you start furiously backpedalling and trying to justify post facto what you wrote. I find that funny.

pedro comments on Any Personal Recommendations for Salsa Clubs in Cali?

Tin Tin Deo is definitely not the bar you seek. It's a place for people who are salsa fanatics. They play a lot of old school music. You will see some great dancers there... the kind who only drink bottled water the whole night. Laid back, it's not.

pedro comments on Advice needed, I want to hire somebody, but others member on PBH are against it?

Darloup (☼Travelguide writer) says on Nov 12, 2009, 12:50 (today): flag "Empleada" is a generic term ("employed") which certainly doesn't describe the job. Try again. But then I guess all my Colombia friends are wrong to use the word "muchacha" and have much to learn about the "politically correct" Colombian terminology. So have I apparently. Still awaiting the "experts" point of view.... -------------------- Sorry to keep you waiting, Darloup. I was out paying some bills and picking up some Tres Cordilleras beer, so I couldn't reply to you immediately. My apologies. I just find that wording distasteful. But maybe that's because I "hear" it translated into English. To me, it has connotations of apartheid and calling your servant "boy". Speaking to someone like that in Australia would cause people to lose respect for you instantly. PCL is correct. Empleada is an appropriate word, and it will be understood as household help, usually without having to provide any extra context to make it understood. You can also use "la senora del aseo" (maybe applies more to a once-a-week type employee). As an aside to PCL, I will also observe that Darloup's weak spot is: he hates it pointed out in front of everyone when he's incorrect about something. In this instance, it was very hard for him to be civil, and he didn't quite pull it off completely. We are not really talking about what Colombians do. We were talking about what we are foreigners see as the correct salary and conditions for an employee. As an immigrant, one will take on many characteristics of his/her adopted country, but will also maintain certain values from his/her previous life. I am talking about a hybrid of cultures and values, not uncritically accepting every typical Colombian behaviour. You can point out what the typical Colombian behaviour is, and you may or may not be right about that. But it's completely beside the point of what we were discussing. You were talking about what should be done, and striving to do things right. Not just blindly adhering to the Colombian norm. So then I point out one area where you might try to raise the bar a bit. And then you get huffy and come back with "well that's what Colombians do". Why not just take the suggestion on its merits and stop trying to score points?

pedro comments on Advice needed, I want to hire somebody, but others member on PBH are against it?

Darloup, if you have mixed feelings about it and want to do the right thing, the first thing you might consider is to stop referring to your employee as a "muchacha".