colombian tours

[InSanDiego]

Hi everyone, I've been reading the posts for the last few days and have already gotten some good info...I'm a 40 year old white male, never married, no kids, speak a little Spanish but just ordered an audio program and plan to work at it.... I am considering a Colombian tour for later this year. I have looked at Jamie's website, Ilovelatins, latin life mates, and colombian sweethearts. Just off the websites and posts on this site: my impressions are as follows:
Jamie's: appears very legit but costly, and alot of great tips from him on his website, but after a 20 hour trip, I think more than anything I'll need a good night's sleep instead of meeting all these beauties while half awake...
Ilovelatins: clearly selling a party atmosphere and looks like a good time, but I wonder if the girls are just there to party or are they actually serious about finding a long-term partner?
latin life mates: individual intros, not really a tour, and I wonder again, are these women in Bogota and Medellin looking for a partner, or expecting to be wined and dined by a "wealthy" american
colombian sweethearts: based in Medellin, seems to cater to upscale male clientele. Again, are the women looking to be wined, dined, and dated only?
 
Please feel free to challenge my observations which have been made not through personal experience but only through info gathered online. My purpose in traveling to Colombia would be to find a wife, first and foremost. I can  have a good time by going to a salsa club here in San Diego but my chances of finding a good wife in this country are very slim. I'm in shape and look younger than 40 but I've found through online dating that I can only get the attention of women OLDER THAN ME, when I'd actually prefer a woman no older than 32 (I still want kids).So, if I'm going to spend thousands of my hard earned dollars and precious, earned vacation time from work to travel to Colombia, I want to feel like I've made a very informed decision about what city to visit and which agency to use. Thank you in advance for any feedback...

[InSanDiego]

forgot to mention I've also looked at videos from AFA (Barranquilla and Cartagena) and amolatina (medellin). A little underwhelmed as they get positive reviews by the customers on their sites talking about the beauty of the women, quality of the hotel, wanting to come back for another tour, etc., but not talking about having accomplished the goal of finding a wife...

[utopiacowboy]

forgot to mention I've also looked at videos from AFA (Barranquilla and Cartagena) and amolatina (medellin). A little underwhelmed as they get positive reviews by the customers on their sites talking about the beauty of the women, quality of the hotel, wanting to come back for another tour, etc., but not talking about having accomplished the goal of finding a wife...

There might have been other goals that they notched, er I mean accomplished.

[InSanDiego]

that's alot of money to spend just to get laid...

[Gato4Astrid]

that's alot of money to spend just to get laid...

True!  Lots of money and long way to travel just to get laid!   Some men do that unfortunately!

[Gato4Astrid]

InSanDiego
 
First of all, how well do you know about Colombian women?  Are you a newbie to the country?   Different cities = different type of women.    You need to know what type of woman do you want? 
 
Colour of skin - does it matter to you?  In general, lighter skinned women can be found in Bogota and Medellin while darker skinned women can be found in the Coast (Barranquilla, Cartagena, Santa Marta) while medium darker skinned women can be found in Cali
 
Education?  Important for you? 
 
Physical?  Important for you?
 
And so on .......... many things to consider.
 
If you know which type of woman you want, then look for that particular city.
 
You can also join dating sites such as colombiancupid.com to get to know them in general, before making a big decision.
 
Good luck
 
 

[Jeff S]

Hi In and welcome.


Agencies themselves have been in major decline the last decade. With internet dating sites, boards like this and even TV shows like No Reservations, more and more serious wife seekers are striking out on their own. If you confine yourself to agency girls, you are limiting yourself to a small fraction of the available dating pool while subjecting yourself to a huge percentage of those out to take advantage of rich gringos in one way or another.


Anyway, hang around and you'll learn plenty here.


Looking forward to your participation.


- Jeff

[dennislevy]

Hello in SJ
I ve writtena about this theme umpteen times.
 
When men make comments aobut agency women and they are all lookigjn for a rich gringo...I have to laugh YOU or any nman are responsible for the dating decisions that you make.....and to understnad what may the motivations of any women.   If youa re a newbie to Colombia and maybne you need help with your Spanish, try a personal intros agency,,,and I would suggest an agency as opposed ot an AFA tour or ilovelatins in BQ.
 
There are two good agencies in Colombia where the owner cares aobut the details and the client usullay gets verty good service, in other words the agency workers make efforts to  keep the male client busy with dates.
 
International Introductions in BQ...jamie Morrow is the owner
Introductions by Consuelo in Bogota. Consuelo Romero is the owner.
 
LLM in Bogota has a very good worker Margoth Hererra,,,but there arent a lot of women, and LLM in Medellin is a waste of time and money
 
LAI in Bogota is good at selling women memberships...but usually their help  isnt that good  But, call the American number of LAi in Bogota and ask to talk with Jim Gillette, if he is still there.....and let him pitch you.
 
If oyu can get on the plane and you have the ability to chat and write fluenly in Spanish.....colombian cupid is a very good site
 
But you ve got to come to Colombia..... and if I were you I wouldn t put a lot of effort into anything more then 60 days, at most 90 days BEFORE your arrival. Some women will  chat with a man for more then that..but I wouldnt blame any woman for talking to a lot of men...because the majority of men who say they are going to come to Colombia.... dont do it.
 
 
 
 
 

[Colgando]

Hi In and welcome.


Agencies themselves have been in major decline the last decade. With internet dating sites, boards like this and even TV shows like No Reservations, more and more serious wife seekers are striking out on their own. If you confine yourself to agency girls, you are limiting yourself to a small fraction of the available dating pool while subjecting yourself to a huge percentage of those out to take advantage of rich gringos in one way or another.


Anyway, hang around and you'll learn plenty here.


Looking forward to your participation.


- Jeff

Couldn't you switch agency dating and internet dating in your analysis and have the same valid argument in regards to encountering scammers and women with bad intentions? Everything I have read suggests that a man who uses only internet sites subjects himself to a huge percentage of scammers as well? Am I wrong? I suppose one could argue that more scammers join agencies because these men show up in country however, it does seem more efficient for a woman to use the internet and the law of large numbers to run her scam without every having to meet the man or leave her home. Seems like it should be harder to scam a man who actually shows up in person.

[AndyLee]

the OP and his suppositions, conclusions and questions/statements reminds me so much of vallanotaboy-corcolazon, remember him?
Here's what I'm reading in the OP:
1. Jamies's is a rip off, too high priced (compared to what? Have you really compared other agencies INCLUDING the extras they include or the ones they charge extra for?)
2. Agencies only care about wealthy gringos. (Get real, you don't have to be super rich to come up with a plane ticket and a couple thousand bucks).
3. Colombian women are scammers (all women are scammers, haven't you figured that out yet? And, so are all men for that matter.)
4. AFA endorsements keep saying "I can't wait for my next trip" which the OP assumes means "can't do it in one trip"


Jeff said it very well in another thread.....but I'm too lazy to look it up and copy it to this post so I'll paraphrase, with poetic license..
"Gringos compare notes endlessly on how bad the Colombian women are, then rush to Latin American anyway hoping to find their soulmate in the 2nd day"

[Jeff S]

Dating sites are accessible to your friends, neighbors and locals as well. Sure there are insincere people on dating sites. No firing up the AP teletypes on that item. I'm assuming some percentage, maybe even most, of the women on dating sites aren't specifically targeting gringos, but rather looking for dates from wherever, while 100% of those in agencies are targeting gringos. I'd say your chances of finding a sincere one are a lot higher if it's a group of women searching for love than a group of women looking for a gringo. I don't have any statistics on that - just a gut feel. Many of the successes here have spouses who weren't specifically looking for a gringo - they were looking for a sincere soulmate.

[AndyLee]

 Everything I have read suggests that a man who uses only internet sites subjects himself to a huge percentage of scammers as well? Am I wrong?

Yes, I think you are wrong.....nah, let me say that differently.....I know you are wrong. I've used 4 or 5 different dating sites over the past 10 years, in US and in Latin America, and during that time I've talked to hundreds if not thousands of women who want the same thing I want....namely a loving, long term relationship.
Very few - I can count probably less than a 10 out of 1000 women - has asked me for a nickel and it's pretty clear they aren't on Colombian Cupid just to hit up guys like me for money.
HOWEVER, I am NOT including the OBVIOUS scammers who you can spot a mile away and delete or block immediately. they are the ones who want you to come to their web cam site so they can show you their "fotos", or want you to send them money for ticket out of Ghana or some such BS as that. My hotmail email address gets more of those kind of scam emails in one day than I get on Colombian Cupid in one year.
I challenge you to go on colombian cupid and do your own taste test. Spend an hour or so searching in the age range that is 10 or 20 years younger than you are. Pick out your top 50 girls and then study their profiles and see if you can pick out more than 1 or 2 that you could definitely say are scammers. Try writing to the top 50 and expect 15 or so of them to write you back. After a few letters back and forth you can report back to the forum how many of them tried to rip you off in some way.

[Researcher]

       AndyLee, you have talked to or actually had relationships with hundreds if not thousands of these women? Sure, if you only talk to them they will say they are looking for a serious relationship, how many are going to come right out and say they are looking for a gringo to fleece?

          Researcher

[michaelb]

Yeah. What Jeff said. I met my wife on a local site that was particular to Cali. It's kind of a catch all place....has entertainment reviews, club and restaurant reviews, local events...who knows what all else....one of the sections was 'looking for friends' and that's where I met her. She wasn't looking for a gringo and was rather surprised when she was contacted by one.   

[AndyLee]

       AndyLee, you have talked to or actually had relationships with hundreds if not thousands of these women? Sure, if you only talk to them they will say they are looking for a serious relationship, how many are going to come right out and say they are looking for a gringo to fleece?

          Researcher

No Rese, you've got me confused with DL  
I've only had dates in person with a handful of these women, but most of the women  I've written to over a period of time, say I've exchanged a dozen letters with a woman, I can pretty well tell if she is sincere about wanting a relationship. If she is a scammer I can usually tell within the first 2 or 3 emails, sometimes even from first contact.
For example, if a gorgeous 20-something year old contacts me on chat (I'm 63 and it has happened a few times in the past year) I know right away she's looking for a gringo to fleece. But if a 45 year old woman sends me a dozen emails, nice letters talking about her kids and her life and her hopes and dreams, I can pretty much conclude she is not a scammer.

[Jeff S]

Way way WAY too much fretting and gnashing of teeth about SCAMMERS around here. If she isn't your cup of tea, move on. No need to try to justify your decision by attaching some label to her.

[michaelb]

Way way WAY too much fretting and gnashing of teeth about SCAMMERS around here. If she isn't your cup of tea, move on. No need to try to justify your decision by attaching some label to her.

Fox couldn't jump high enough to reach the grapes. Oh well, they were probably sour anyway.

[Researcher]

Way way WAY too much fretting and gnashing of teeth about SCAMMERS around here. If she isn't your cup of tea, move on. No need to try to justify your decision by attaching some label to her.

       I would say that unless you have been in the "game" of dating in Colombia you really don't know about scammers. They can fall into different categories.There is the immediate scammer out for a quick score(like the ones AndyLee has learned to identify) and then there are the more subtle ones that are out to make a bigger score whether it be for a green card or money.Simply saying move on if you don't like someone is not an effective way to deal with it. I was actively at this endeavor for many years and scammers are a definite concern for any guy looking for a wife.


          Researcher

[InSanDiego]

thanks to those who responded constructively. I am looking for a Colombian woman because I find them most attractive. I've dated latin women only for awhile, by choice, and I have a pretty good understanding ofwhat I'm looking for: an attractive, caring, nurturing woman, regardless of education, race, religion,etc. I've read most of the negatives about how corrupt Colombia is, etc., and I'm not worried about getting scammed by a woman who I choose to marry. I'm not looking for a pen pal, and I'm not interested in moving to Colombia (San Diego is pretty freaking nice for those that don't know)...That being said, I don't want to fly all that way only to date women who are not serious about a relationship. There are plenty of those here... I know there are no guarantees, and my purpose in posting was simply to get more info so I can make the best decision for me.   I don't know what world some guys live in, but money doesn't grow on trees in mine. I'm not interested in becoming a years long tour member, like some of the guys who do testimonials seem to be okay with ... If that works for them, fine, but that's not what I'm looking for....

[InSanDiego]

By the way, if she wants a "gringo," (tall, light skinned, light eyed American man, I'm guessing? a category I fall into), that's fine with me.  Since I am a "gringo," why would I want a woman who doesn't want a "gringo?"

[Researcher]

                              .........you stay classy San Diego.....
 

                               




          Researcher

[InSanDiego]

I'll stay classy. Maybe I can be a hero member someday...

[Jeff S]

By the way, if she wants a "gringo," (tall, light skinned, light eyed American man, I'm guessing? a category I fall into), that's fine with me.  Since I am a "gringo," why would I want a woman who doesn't want a "gringo?"

Well, you'll have plenty to choose from, then. Wave that passport around and they'll be crawling out of the woodwork. Lots of guys here will have plenty of tips on how to get by with spending the least amount possible too. Good luck to you.

[InnocentVixen]

insandiego, due your location I would advice you not to depend too much on that software, take advantage of the latinos around you to practice, it will result in a much more natural spanish faster even if you get stuck with words sometimes, keep in mind spanish may vary from country to country so do not put so much effort on memorizing, if possible stick to more educated latinos which will have a more "flexible" vocabulary, uneducated people tend to use too much colorful language that might be found highly offensive in other countries or even some words, misused/mispronounced words and jokes exclusive to the region.


As for you being a tall, light skinned, light eyed gringo, good for you, but I believe when they mentioned women just looking for a gringo instead of one looking for love, it was more of women looking for a guy with american citizenship that can provide them a green card, a good woman will love you for you, not because your pay check comes in dollars or because you will get her out of her country. So regardless if you go the agency route or not, you might want to keep that in mind.


It's a shame you have no interest in mexicanas being only a short drive away, but to each their own, don't blame you, us girls seem a bit more old fashioned and less attractive from what I read on this forums, which is a blessing in disguise if you ask me, we don't make good trophy wives so one less thing to worry about, while I wouldn't be surprised if a nice colombiana was afraid of ending up treated as one.


On a side note, my boyfriend told me that Florida is getting full of colombians (his sister lives there), fresh arrivals with some english speaking skills and I doubt they are all there on fiancee visas, some even may have green cards already and are not americanized yet, sounds to me like a good option to check out if you live close by for all the colombiana-holics out there 

[InSanDiego]

thank you for the tips. I've also been reading Dan De La Cruz's "Global Dating Revolution" ebook, in which he basically argues that the numbers are more in men's favor in Latin America than in the US...Only way to find out is to take the plunge and make a trip...