Feliz Navidad todos!
I was asked by UtopiaCowboy to post a recent trip report here on PL. So FWIW, here is my trip report on the lovely Colombian city of Pereira.
I recently visited Pereira and traveled there by bus from MedellÃn. This has been the third time I visited this lovely city and each time I go there I like it more. Surprisingly, very little information has been written about this city on the forum so thought a trip report would be in order.
To be honest, MedellÃn has lost a little of the luster it once held for me and I've given some consideration of relocating elsewhere. I dislike many things that are normally associated with large cities and very few of these frustrations are in Pereira. The weather is very nice, maybe slightly warmer than MedellÃn. It is very clean with little air pollution and traffic jams, something that plagues Colombia’s second largest city. The people are friendly and helpful and the women are just as beautiful as in other Colombian cities I’ve been to plus all that lovely coffee grown there.
It's my impression since there are no direct flights from the States going to this city there are few Gringos that visit or live there, a positive in my book. Apparently Avianca used to fly directly to Pereira but most likely discontinued it. Now one has to make connections from other cities such as Bogotá, MedellÃn and perhaps Panama City.
I've traveled to most of the major cities in Colombia and really enjoy the coffee zone area that includes Armenia, Pereira and Manizales. Pereira is my favorite out of the three but each of these cities has its own unique qualities to offer. Pereira is the largest out of the three (population 380,000) but feels larger with its many modern amenities. Wikipedia lists the population as being larger (576,000) but that might be counting inhabitants in and around the city limits.
I checked out fares for a round trip ticket flying to Pereira from MedellÃn and it was about 485.000 COP while the bus fares are very inexpensive at about 25.000 to 30.000 COP one way. Since it isn't too long of a journey I opted to go the cheaper route and with the money saved I invited a Colombian bilingual amigo to go with me. I wanted Juan to travel with me not only for the company but to use him as a "wingman". This was a good decision because he assisted me in being able to rent a nice apartment, not an easy feat for an "extanjero" in a foreign country (more on this later).
We were supposed to ride on the larger buses that go daily to Pereira but ended up on one of the mini buses. One wouldn't think that a smaller bus would make that much difference but if you have the unfortunate combination of getting a tad bit car sick and have a Kamikaze style bus driver you can get a little woozy on the trip. These smaller vehicles travel faster and all the customers get tossed side to side with each turn in the road. Unfortunately I rolled snake eyes and ended up with both.
The scenery is very nice once you get out of Medellin but the road is very windy and dangerous in certain sections. We came across many small to medium sized mudslides with little if any warning signs. It appeared that the bus driver was aware of most of these life threatening hazards and dodged them all. Some of the slides looked rather old and blocked entire lanes. Even though there are toll booths along the way there was very little work being done to clear them. I even saw a couple young kids with shovels taller than them trying to dig out one such slide. To be fair, we had to stop on the return trip waiting for a bulldozer to fill a dump truck but this is not the norm in Colombia. If you travel by car and aren’t familiar with the road keep a sharp eye out!
Close to Pereira we descended the mountain much like you do in MedellÃn when coming into town from the airport. The scenery is equally breathtaking and you can see for miles. This last section of road is congested because of road construction below but once inside the city it clears up. We arrived some six hours or so after leaving, having stopped only once for twenty minutes at a road side restaurant for some grub and take a pee. Needless to say it was nice to get out and stretch our legs. It’s too bad that the Colombian buses aren’t as nice as the ones in Brazil and Argentina but who can complain with these inexpensive fares? At least the ride back to MedellÃn in the larger bus was more comfortable.
We didn’t make advance reservations at any hotel as we were traveling on a weekday and did not think it would be a problem finding one once we arrived. A couple hotels that we called at the bus terminal were full but we decided to walk to the nearby Hotel Anvamar just outside the terminal entrance. It is a new hotel, probably a three star that was clean and affordable. Renting a double room cost about 105.000 COP per night which included a nice breakfast in the morning. The staff was friendly and helpful and some wanted to practice their English with me. They even let me borrow a small laptop when I wanted to check my email. The hotel has free Wi-Fi and local phone calls. The only drawback was that the rooms were very small but that didn’t concern me much as I was just looking for a comfortable clean place to stay a few nights and Anvarmar worked for me. Their address is Carrea 21 No. 14-20 an easy walking distance from the bus terminal entrance.
I did look at other accommodations the second day just for comparison sake at an appealing looking “hostel†that offered private rooms but they were completely booked. I might check them out next time as it looked like a nice alternative. They are called the El Cortijo Hotel-Boutique (
burgosrosario@hotmail.com), also located within easy walking distance from the bus station at Calle 14 No. 23-61 B in the nice neighborhood of Los Alamos.
This third trip to Pereira was to confirm what I previously thought about the city and if so to look for an apartment there. If you don’t have a Colombian cedula (ID card) or a Colombian bank account it might be somewhat difficult finding an apartment to rent (at the local going rate). If you have a friend that will vouch for you and can qualify as a cosigner on your rental application it might be easier securing a place to rent but one never knows dealing with the many rental agencies in Colombia. Most of the rental market goes through agencies rather than private ownership.
After a few weeks of being frustrated trying to secure a rental in Medellin I thought it might be easier in Pereira. Fortunately we met a helpful Colombian named Ivan associated with a rental agency and he took us in his private car to numerous apartments for rent. None of the apartments we saw through him were as nice as the one I came across walking around in two of the nicest barrios in Pereira, Los Alamos and Pinares. Unfortunately his agency wasn’t the listing company but he would contact the owner and see about a multiple listing.
I met the owner of the apartment earlier with Juan and she seemed to take a liking to us and showed us the apartment. After expressing an interest in renting the apartment and explained that I didn’t have a cedula or owned property here she was willing to accept a two month in advance payment along with one month’s deposit and a six month lease. Juan was invaluable as a wingman in this situation because my Spanish is nowhere fluent. It was also helpful having him give a good recommendation and vouch for me. The owner suggested we contact the rental agency but discovered she wasn’t as flexible as the owner. She told us that if I, being an extranjero, entered into a rental contract she would have to report this to DAS (think Colombian FBI) and she also said I would need a cosigner. She even suggested that my cosigner be the one to sign the contract and I “rent†from him which would eliminate Big Brother knowing about me more than they already do. I didn’t confirm this DAS requirement but in any case I wasn’t really pleased with having to secure a qualified (no bad credit and owning property) cosigner to get this nice apartment. A previous apartment in MedellÃn that I rented required a cosigner and six months rent in advance!
Ivan however came to the rescue and put the owner of the apartment and a smaller rental agency in touch with each other. After meeting with the owner of this rental agency he decided to do a private contract in house and agreed to the two months in advance and one month’s deposit with Juan being a cosigner. They didn’t do any background check on Juan because had they done so I doubt if they would have found him to be “qualifiedâ€. After the rental contract was signed I was then told about a 30% fee of the first month's rent (in addition to the rent) that I would need to pay as a commission to the agency. At first I was thinking they pulled a fast one since they failed to mention this little detail either verbally or in the contract but when Juan assured me that this was a common practice with many agencies I wasn’t about to complain since I knew they were being so helpful extending a contract to me in the first place. I shook my head walking away from the agency after all was said and done thinking, this isn’t Kansas anymore Toto. Still, I was pleased to secure a lovely apartment in the best sector of Pereira for less than comparable apartments in Medellin.
Hopefully in the upcoming months I will have some interesting reports about Pereira and offer assistance to those wanting to visit there.
So far so good! It has only been a short while since I've been living here but as expected, I'm enjoying Pereira.
I think I may have been incorrect about Pereira being slightly warmer than Medellin. As both cities are about 4500' above sea level and situated in a mountainous valley the weather is pretty much the same. Like I mentioned before, there is a noticeable difference in the air quality most likely due to the smaller population. Driving or walking around town is a breeze compared to Medellin as there is very little congestion. There are a lot of people out and about downtown or as the locals say, El Centro, but I think that has a lot to do with the Christmas season and all the shoppers.
The city is large enough to have all the amenities of a larger city which is one of the reasons why Pereira appealed to me. There are numerous name brand stores like in the larger cities such as Exito, Carrefour, Home Center and a few I haven't checked out yet. Speaking of Home Center (similar to a small Lowe's in the States) I've been there a couple times buying necessary things for the apartment and it surprises me how expensive things are as compared to the States. I'm sure that a hefty import duty plays a major role with most of the goods entering Colombia but even products that are made here are more expensive. With the relatively low incomes here it amazes me that these stores are as busy as they are. There is definitely money in Colombia but a much bigger gap between the rich and the poor with many more "have-nots" than "haves". It's funny that you can see an expensive Mercedes or BMW whizzing by a horse drawn cart in the street.
The cost of living here is much less than in Medellin. I remember looking into a relatively new cable provider called TelMex. They have much faster speeds than the other cable provider, UNE and it was no surprise to find out they cost more for their services. I can't remember the exact monthly amount for "Triple Play" (internet, phone and TV) but it was about 120.000 COP in Medellin. I went up to a TelMex kiosk in the mall the other day and was delighted to find out their service here was about half, and that isn't their basic TV plan but the next level up, digital, with 180 channels or something like that.
I purchased a nice little flat screen Sony a couple years ago but decided to splurge a little and purchase a large LCD for my new apartment. I went into Exito the other day and noticed they had a two day sale on many of their TVs and for an extra incentive gave a 10% bonus in the form of an in-store credit that can only be used for three days later this month. Why they limit it like this is anyone's guess. Perhaps they are hoping that some forget to use their bonuses.
It was an interesting sight placing that big box sticking out of the small hatchback taxi for the ride home. Some Gringos I know purchase these big ticket items in the States and bring them with them when they come to Colombia but with the tighter restrictions on air travel it makes for some expensive shipping. Has anyone used a shipping company lately to import these items that are less expensive in the States? I think I paid a couple hundred more purchasing that LCD here but with the shipping costs it may have been a wash, and certainly less of a hassle buying it locally. Anyway, I'm enjoying slowing pimping out the apartment as funds allow.
I've seen very few Gringos roaming the city when out and about. Pereira in my opinion is somewhat of a "secret". Not having any direct flights probably discourages most Gringos from getting on another plane for a connecting flight but I can see some definite advantages of the locals not being influenced (usually negatively) by the guys coming down looking for their other half (or more accurately, wanting to play around). When I first visited Medellin a few years ago people would look at you and notice that you were a foreigner and get an occasional smile from a pretty Paisa with that "come hither" look. In my opinion that is no longer the case in Medellin but I'm happy to report that it is in Pereira. I get noticed here as being a foreigner. One lady that that I saw working in a mall on my "exploratory trip†noticed me again today and gave me a big pearly white smile when I walked by. I was heading to grab a bite to eat but made sure I visited her on my way out. I faked an interest in the store's products long enough to start a very pleasant and long conversation with her. It's interesting that the normal mindset for many men in the States is to NOT go up to a beautiful lady out of fear of rejection but for those of you that make your way to Colombia don't let that affect your decision to go up to a lady and start talking with her. It would be very easy to think there's no way in Sam Hill you’d have a chance with such a beauty but you need to develop an air of confidence and get over any shyness because more than likely, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the reception you'll receive.
For those that are into naturally voluptuous women it seems that there are more ladies here with those proportions. It might just be my imagination but there have been some curvy stunners walking around. In any case, it is so nice to see women dressed so feminine and in high heels no less! When was the last time you saw an attractive woman walking in high heels doing some shopping in the States? Ahh Colombia, you gotta love her!
Juan Valdez takes second place in the Pablo cup competition! Yes, I thought that Juan Valdez had the best cup of joe in Colombia (besides mine of course ) but I found a very small coffee vendor that operates out of a 1971 Willy's jeep who has better coffee.
I walked by his little store the other day and noticed he had a small electric roaster along with all the other needed machines to serve tinto. Having run out of my Ethiopian Yirgacheffe a few weeks ago and needing to make daily pilgrimages to the Juan Valdez store to get my daily fix I was looking for a good source for some green beans. I stopped and introduced myself to the proprietor, Juan Carlos. I asked if I could purchase some green beans from him and he said sure but come back the next day. When I did he made me a nice strong complimentary cup which I eagerly sipped down. ¡Aaaaahhh, muy delicioso! Su café es mejor que Juan Valdez y mejor de todo es más barato. A young man standing by who had just order two cups looked and me and smiled then spoke in English saying that he worked for Juan Valdez and agreed that the coffee at Juan Carlos was better. I laughed in embarrassment, thinking what were the odds of that happening.
If you want to enjoy some of his tinto while in Pereira he is located near the Exito store on the other side of the pedestrian overpass. There are a lot of vendors selling handmade goods there as well and at very inexpensive prices. I picked up a beautiful coral bracelet for my daughter for 5 mil pesos.
It has been fun walking around town meeting various people. People in Pereira are very friendly and helpful and it is nice walking at times rather than taking taxis then finding little businesses like Juan Carlos. I needed an aluminum vent for my gas dryer which was no easy task. Each of the five or six small businesses that I went to told me that the next business they directed me to would have one. Fortunately they were all located within a short walking distance from one another and when I finally found it it was over priced. Everyone was very helpful but had a fun time at my expense listening to me describe what I needed as I forgot the word in Spanish for vent.
I found a couple malls that would be worth checking out if you come to Pereira. One is called La 14. It is like an Exito but it is larger and has a number of other businesses located near it. It seems to be quiet popular with a lot of people here. Another mall that was a surprise is the Pereira Plaza. It is rather unassuming from the outside but when you walk inside you can see that it is much larger than you thought with many name brand stores. There were lots of beautiful Latinas walking about and working as salesgirls. Dating women here is fairly easy.
Here is a beautiful downtown view of the city:
