Has anyone traveled to Colombia?

OP is a Chaturbate addict.

I assume you missed the "I'm female by the way" part?

A friend did. She got grabbed by a guy in the street who pulled up her dress and pulled down her panties, that's how the street robbers disorientate women so they can rob their purses more efficiently.

Had a friend who was a priest, sent there as part of a mission outreach program. His room was broken into several times, every single piece of mail sent to him was opened, money was stolen that was sent to him by relatives, and he was even robbed and beaten on two occasions. The Church denied him permission to return early, but he came back anyway. He said it was the worst experience of his life, and would never do it again.

Most people , no matter how corrupt,at least respect the clergy. But not there. I'd think twice, seriously, before I'd ever go there. In fact, I'd never go there.

OP, why waste all of that money taking your life into your hands when you can sit home alone and take the gas pipe?

Traveling TO is easy. Traveling FROM, not so much. Stay home.

Unless you want to be raped, robbed and who knows what else, maybe even killed.

Are you retarded? Geez...

Two words, OP: NATALIE HOLLIDAY

Oh, DEAR, R8. Wrong name (both first and last) and wrong country.

Colombia is absolutely beautiful and quite safe nowadays. I don't know what everyone is prattling about.

OP, who would you be traveling with? What is the opportunity?

I'm actually with you OP; I live in WDC and there are also cheap flights to Colombia so I've been wanting to go (and I'd go anywhere with cheap flights).

I've heard the same things as you (use common sense, not as bad it used to be, cities are safe) but I've also heard that like Mexico, kidnappings of foreigners (particularly easy target Americans) is not that uncommon and that local law enforcement is sketchy at best. Maybe if you're traveling with a group, but going alone sounds like you might be an easy target for the criminal elements. I've also heard that about Argentina since their economy is in the toilet.

What about that "if you offered them (the police) money it was enough to let it go" do you not understand?? What exactly were these Americans crimes? Just being American? And you want to travel there???

R11, I'd be going alone and the "opportunity" is really just extra time off of work in December that I wasn't expecting.

R12, yeah it's hard to tell because very few people have actually been to Colombia. So most of what we hear is hearsay and rumors passed from person to person. Interesting that you brought up Mexico because I've also wanted to go to Mexico City, and everyone goes on and on about how dangerous it is. Yet, I haven't met anyone who has actually been there. Plus, it's hard to get a gauge on what's truly dangerous for tourists vs. what's dangerous for people in the drug trade/folks who are already mired in sketchy shit. Obviously, someone traveling with the intent to smuggle drugs or get in any way involved in that is going to run a high risk of trouble. But an American Joe or Jane Schmoe that sticks to touristy areas and isn't stumbling out of bars late at night? I'm not seeing how it could be THAT bad for us unless Americans are getting kidnapped and beaten in broad daylight.

R13, have you not been anywhere outside of Western Europe? Giving the police a few bucks is hardly the worst thing that can happen in a developing country and a small price to pay. I'm concerned about violent crime--not handing some cops $5 because they catch me walking outside at night.

If it were me, and I really wanted to go, I would find a group and go with them.

Wow, r15, those cops sound just fine, don't they? Someone has to pay cops just because they are walking by? I really want to trust them and travel there...NOT.

I'd hate to think what they would be like if they were really needed.

Someone on my list on fb went to Vietnam and was robbed by the cops there. The banks were closed for a few days due to some holiday and he couldn't get any money (wire transfer from his parents. He had to sleep in the park for 3 or 4 days with no food. Strangers gave him some water and food.

He was just a tourist, he wasn't doing anything. Cops in these 3rd world countries are the worst.

[quote] Cops in these 3rd world countries are the worst.

The way things are going with shootings and civil forfeiture, we're heading that way.

There are American towns where the cops pull everybody over on a stretch of highway and ask them if they have money. They then confiscate the money, claiming the person was going to buy drugs with it. The person would then have to hire a lawyer to try to get their money back. It's totally legal and it's America. The cops mostly keep the money and they supposedly fund the local police department with that money. You KNOW some of that money is going to put in a swimming pool and a deck and a 2 car garage and an extra bathroom on a cop's house.

There is no difference between cops in the US and cops in the third world because of civil asset forfeiture. See video

I'd like to go to Mexico City as well, but like R14, I'm kind of afraid. I don't necessarily think anything would happen, but if I disappeared my family would probably go on TV and say "well that dumbass when to Mexico City - what do you expect?" (though maybe the media wouldn't care because I'm not young and blonde). In any event, I've known other people who went to Mexico City and thoroughly enjoyed it and they weren't necessarily globe trotting-tourist types so maybe it's okay.

The Department of State has issued this Travel Warning to inform U.S. citizens about the security situation in Colombia.

Tens of thousands of U.S. citizens safely visit Colombia each year for tourism, business, university studies, and volunteer work. Security in Colombia has improved significantly in recent years, including in tourist and business travel destinations such as Bogota, Cartagena, Barranquilla, Medellin, and Cali. However, violence linked to narco-trafficking continues to affect some rural and urban areas. This Travel Warning replaces the previous travel warning released on April 14, 2014, with minor changes to the travel restrictions for U.S. government officials and their families in Colombia.

You wouldn't think of it because of their height but lots of HUGE cock down there.

R14, I know somebody who lives in San Diego and goes to Mexico every week on business. She's been going for thirty years. Over the last few years, things have gotten quite a bit worse. She is visiting factories that produce merchandise she sells. She's known these people and places for decades. She is a middle-aged, motherly looking woman, very plain in appearance. It's so dangerous now, her husband won't let her go alone any more, even though they are day trips and she knows exactly where she's going and comes straight back. She says she hopes to get out of the business eventually because of the danger, although that's how they support themselves.

They are both a very soft-spoken, ordinary looking couple, nothing flashy. She is constantly hit up at the border for bribes. If she didn't pay she would be locked up on some made up charge. She says the border cops are very frightening and could haul her in at a whim. Even a businesswoman she works with, someone who lives there but is either dual citizenship or Mexican but very Americanized, and speaks fluent Spanish, says it's more difficult than ever. She loves Mexico but security is an overriding concern for her. They go on vacation but even then it's always in the background. And she and her husband speak Spanish.

If love to go, but it's too high a risk for me. And it's not likely to get better.

South and Central America is such an ugly, icky place. Full of brown people who don't bathe way too many bean dishes.

Would go there over Venezuela but not eager to visit either.

For what it's worth, my best friend is down in Cartagena. He's an artist overseeing a huge installation of his sculptures at one of the city parks. His girlfriend is with him - she's an artist as well. Both moved down there from Brooklyn.

They say its awesome. That the crime isn't anywhere near what it was in the past. People are friendly. (and little). They love the food, beaches, vibe in general. Haven't heard a peep regarding crime or danger.

Apparently that city in particular is becoming a huge destination for artists and the globetrotting hipster set.

I'm going down for a visit next month. Quite excited.

This is part of what the UK Foreign Office travel advice page says about Colombia...

[bold]Main roads are generally safe within daylight hours. See Road Travel

The departmental capitals of Amazonas, Vaupes and Guainía are only accessible by air due to the lack of road infrastructure in these departments.

The security situation can change very quickly in many areas of the country. You should pay close attention to warnings issued by the Colombian authorities. In general, the more remote the area, the greater the potential threat to your safety. You should be particularly cautious and vigilant during any major events.

There is a high threat from terrorism. See Terrorism[/bold]

It doesn't sound too hopeful.

Yeah, I think Cartagena would be better.

Cartagena always sounded so mysterious to me. Alexis, from the TV show, Dynasty, would always mention it in relation to some dangerous, unknown "cartel".

God, I loved that show!

i worked on a cruise ship years ago and we stopped in Cartagena....ugly beach but interesting old architecture....was followed by some guys asking if we wanted to buy cocaine. Didn't feel very safe there. But we also stopped at Isla San Andreas- very beautiful but was intimidated by the throngs of military carrying machine guns. I hear Bogota is getting better as far as safety but the traffic is supposed to be horrendous. All of the Colombians that I know in NYC are dolls. Very sweet and gentle.

If you're a wimpy-weenie, just go to Cartagena on the coast. It's very, very safe. You can stay in a beachside resort cocoon & pretend you're in Miami Beach.

Bogota has great museums,shopping,restaurants,bars & hotels. Yes, you have to be careful where you go, just like any other big city. Of course, if you speak Spanish, it helps tremendously.

It's also at a very high altitude, so its climate is more like London than the tropics, despite how close to the equator it is. Eat very lightly until you're used to the altitude, or you'll get really sick.

Colombian people are friendly & the wealthier classes are very sophisticated & educated.

Medellin is in the Antioquia region, which looks alot like Switzerland (minus the snow). The city's OK, not great. You're better off in Bogota.

Op, you are going to get kidnapped.

Please be stupid and go. We will hear about your unfortunate demise on the telly and we will start a thread about your demise on DL then.

My sister was kidnapped in Cartagena. I went done there to ransome her but was kidnapped myself, but a crocodile ate my kidnapper. But my boyfriend got a huge emerald out of it and bought a sailboat.

Pretty much a good time and the food was excellent.

Scary shit down there.

Idiot birdwatchers used to go down there and get kidnapped. Sit in a tree fort for a couple of months waiting to be ransomed just because you wanted to see some feathers.

Been to Columbia and Mexico City. Neither is dangerous.

Mexico City is a world class city with plenty of tourists, there's no danger that I saw and I have been there plenty of times. There are some bad neighborhoods, but a tourist would have no reason to go there unless they were looking for trouble. It's an Excellent place to spend some vacation time, they have amazing museums, tons of art museums, history, fabulous hotels that are pretty cheap and excellent food.

Bogota is safe as well. But it is kind of butt ugly and there really isn't a tourist infrastructure there. No English spoken anywhere, so know a few words of Spanish. Everyone I dealt with was pretty friendly. They do have some fabulous museums. I did get my drink spiked in a bar one night. Not sure what it was, but I was "loopy" all of a sudden and my phone went missing. Slept for 12 hours and almost missed my flight home. (I left my beer sitting out while I went to the rest room, so kind of off m guard)

Cartagena is a world reknown tourist destination. It's pretty but nothing essentially Columbian. Very touristy.

How did you make it back to your hotel, r37? Did you figure out who did it?

R37, did the bartender attempt to fuck on the sofa after the bar closed?

[quote]How did you make it back to your hotel, [R37]? Did you figure out who did it?

Through sheer will and damn it was an effort, I managed to walk back to my hotel. (About a 10 minute walk) I think I know who did it, one of the patrons was trying to chat me up and when I told him no Espanol, he took out his phone to translate, so I took out my phone as well. I vaguely remember him waving goodbye to me as I started to get a little dizzy.

This was my lastnight in Bogota and I don't hold anything bad against the city, I feel stupid for leaving my drink unattended. Also a cab driver tried to rip me off, but nothing makes me more pissed off than a dishonest cabby, so I morphed into a VERY angry black woman when he tried to charge me more money and started taking pictures of him and his license and he got scared and just took off.

You sound fierce, R40. I would gladly travel with you anywhere.

It would be helpful R40 to share when you were last in these cities. Things can change very quickly.

I've been to Bogotá a couple times, i've also visited the Santander region in the East. I have a couple friends from the country so I would always go with the native.

The country is very large and the people are extremely hospitable. Most of the country is extremely rural in a fairly rugged beautiful way. I'll happily go back but probably with my friends.

R27, do you even know where amazonas or vaupas are? REALLY REALLY far from anywhere you'd travel to as a foreigner, seriously.

[quote]It would be helpful [R40] to share when you were last in these cities. Things can change very quickly.

Both cities within the last year. Would go back to either place in a heartbeat. Mexico City is especially a hidden gem.

Looking into a trip to Medellin right now.

Bogota is a surprisingly sophisticated city. Great coffee culture, naturally, and they sure love malls. If you like to shop, tons of malls to do that. Great street food too.

By the way I meant to say, I had been out every night in gay bars and straight bars without incident in Bogota before the night I got spiked

Mexico City has some of the most fun gay bars on Earth as well.

I enjoyed Cartegena - was there for a week with several friends. The people were friendly. Great food. Interesting historic sights. Good shopping. The one time we didn't feel safe was in an outdoor cafe when another American heard us talking and asked if he could join our table. While chatting, he mentioned that he's a U.S. drug enforcement officer. Whoa! That guy sitting at our outdoor table was a target for drug cartels!!!! We drank up fast and said we had an appointment to get to.

Never had any problems with regular police anywhere in South America, Africa, or Asia.

It was the airport customs officers in Sierra Leone (West Africa) who wanted a payoff. They told us the government had just instituted a departure tax --- $20 each in U.S. money, not their local money. We figured $20 was a bargain to get out of that hellhole of a country. There wouldn't be another plane out for a whole week.

Did you read the whole thing R44? About half the country is in the don't-go-there-unless-absolutely-necessary category.

I mentioned to a gay Mexican bartender/waiter here in the States that I wanted to meet local nerds in Mexico. He suggested Monterrey for that, rather than Mexico City as I'd assumed.

Angry Black Woman should not be travelling alone. She sounds like a fucking riot, and should be travelling with me.

Best to hire reputable security to drive/ guide you. The only way to go to Brazil, Columbia or even parts of Russia. Cops never mess with you. Nor do local thieves. I'm an exec at a global company and our insurance requires that we have "guides/security" in many countries. Kidnapping of American business people is big business.

r49, I would think hiring security could draw attention to the fact that you are a wealthy American/European. How do you know the guide won't turn and tip off a kidnapper for a cut of the ransom? Do you ever think about this before falling asleep at night?

Thanks for your post, R40! I'm a black woman too, so it's good to know your experience wasn't so bad. Do you speak Spanish as well?

Oh, sorry, R40. I just re-read your post and you specifically said no Espanol. My bad.

Keep in mind something about being near the equator -- night falls very fast. We're used to twilight here, where there is a transition between day and night. Up here, twilight is shorter in winter, longer in summer up. You unconsciously estimate how long you have until it gets dark. Near the equator it's like BOOM, the curtain falls at about 6pm. So if you're in an area where it's best that you get off the streets after nightfall, get indoors by 6pm.

I had friends who got robbed in Nairobi because of this. They were walking in the city in daylight about 10 minutes from their hotel, thinking they would be there before nightfall. They weren't and as soon as it got dark, gangs of muggers appeared from around corners in virtually every direction.

Op-

Was there for about a week 8 years ago, liked it.

Went back 2 years ago and fell in love.

Go.

It has topped Costa Rica as my retirement home.

Colombia has two important exports and one of them is coffee.

Customs agent: "So, where have you been?"

White American traveler: "Oh ... Medellin"

(this episode will not end well)

R47, honey bunny, I've been there, even to the dangerous south. Yes, some regions I would not advice to going to without native trusted accompaniment. A lot of the country you'd normally see - not back roads like vaupas - is not super safe, but not dangerous like it was. Just be smart, read up, and you'll be fine.

It looks amazing. I've become obsessed with it watching Narcos.

My partner and I were there in mid-February right before the lockdown. We went to Bogota and Zona Cafetera and we loved the country. For a place that was in the headlines for primarily bad things for quite a long time, we were pleasantly surprised to find it quite sophisticated and tourist-friendly. To be honest, I felt safer walking around in Bogota than, say, Mexico City or even Buenos Aires (I'm not even going to compare it to Brazilian cities.) The only thing that was noticeable was that most businesses employed private security and, in some instances, such as when entering Centro Andino (an upscale shopping mall), you're asked to have a police dog sniff your larger bags. We had even rented a car in Zona Cafetera, wondered if it was a smart decision, only to turn out that it was perfectly safe to drive around.

My 64yo aunt went to a wedding in Cartagena a couple of summers ago (the father of the bride was from Colombia) and she loved it and had a great 4 days there. But that involved staying in a fancy hotel and most of the party consisted of locals so I'm sure that helped her feel more at ease.

I just stopped on a cruise. I wish I could have stayed longer.

Oh for God's sake, if you have to ask if it is safe, you know it isn't, but you will go anyway.