Have you spent time in Cartegena??

[jim c]

 Since being freed from my marathon divorce, I have been reflecting on my future and thought I might check out Cartegena. First the place could be very much like what I am accustomed to in Key West. The weather, the tourists, the seafood. I noticed on a site that they even have a crepes and waffles.
   I have found that other than walking around unicentro and chipi chapi  there  is very little to do in Cali during the week. Make no mistake, I like Cali and its energy at night, but in the cold light of day it begins to look dirty and boring. Possibly, if it wasn't so dangereous to explore alone, it could be interesting.

   I have looked in the archives and there is very little info other than a stream of Petes' posts about his honeymoon. Has anyone spent time there other than in a high priced tourist hotel? Is there an agency there? What is the old city like? Who knows, maybe I will set up the next clubhouse . jim c

[pablo]

... in response to Have you spent  time in Cartegena??, posted by jim c on Jul 21, 2003

Escapeartist.com link on Cartagena:

http://www.escapeartist.com/efam31/Cartagena.html

[JR n Atl]

... in response to Have you spent  time in Cartegena??, posted by jim c on Jul 21, 2003

jim c,

I'll be making my third trip to Cartagena on 8/1. Your assumptions with regard to weather, tourists, etc. are pretty much on the mark. Although there is a large industrial presence in Cartagena, primarily petro-chemical, my impression is that the tourism is the largest contributer to the local economy. It is a very romantic place and if you like the Keys you'll probably like Cartagena. The public beaches (especially in Boca Grande) are a bit overrun with vendors, but there are other places to go (the Rosarios, la Playa Blanca) where you can enjoy the beach in relative peace. Because it's such a popular tourist destination, things are a little more expensive there than in other parts of Colombia, but it's still pretty cheap by our standards. I stayed at the Almirante my first trip for around $48US, now I rent very nice furnished apartments for $40-$50US. I know you can find cheaper, but I think the quality might not be so hot. There are plenty of great restaurants and shopping, although they don't have a big mall like Unicentro. Most of the upscale shops are located along Avenida San Martin in Boca Grande. There are also some very cool places in the Old City.

The Old City is wonderful, rich in history and very romantic. My impression is that Cartagena is a very safe place to be. I have walked all over the place, both with Maria and alone, and have never felt uneasy. The usual precautions apply, though. There is a pretty hopping night life both in Boca Grande and in the Old City. During the day there are plenty of things to explore in the city and in the surrounding region. However, I'm sure after a couple of months there most anyone would run out of things to do and places to see. But most any city anywhere is like that. I think the only place in Colombia where you might have a constant stream of diversions is Bogota. However, if you like the tropical climate, beaches and history, you can't go wrong with Cartagena. I love the place. Maria is moving back to Bogota in mid-August and she and I have resolved that we will return to Cartagena together someday for a visit. If you want to see pictures of the city, look at my profile for the address of some photos I've posted. Hope this helps!!

JR

[DOMINGUIN]

... in response to Re: Have you spent  time in Cartegena??, posted by JR n Atl on Jul 22, 2003


I just returned from 7 days in Cartagena two weeks ago.  JR's report is excellent, I really don't have anything to add.  I felt that I was safer in Cartagena then Bogota. I stayed at the Almirante, the rooms wer very nice and a great value for something like $50 US a night.  Personally,  I loved Cartagena, although I got tired of the vendors on the beach. It is a truly wonderful city for romance,I found a lady there who I really want to see again this fall, or sooner if we can arrange to meet in Panama.

There are two agencies, A Foreign Affair and Latin Destination.  Gloria who runs A Latin Destination gives very personalized service, seems to know the girls personally.  A Foreign Affair has  a lot more girls on their books,thay also give very good service.

Dominguin

[Ken2]

... in response to Have you spent  time in Cartegena??, posted by jim c on Jul 21, 2003

Ive been there twice.  Stayed at Decameron too.  If you do meet a lady youd like to "wine and dine" you should take her to a secluded, uncrowded, romantic & excellent seafood resturante located in the Cartagena Bay   named CLUB DE PESCA.  It overlooks the bay, you can see the lights of the Old City and it is surrounded by the Old San Felipe Castle Walls.

I felt the same way about Cali and Cartagena, i.e, once youve seen the sights it gets to be boring.  If I chose to live in Latin America I'd pick a big city.

[Pete E]

... in response to Have you spent  time in Cartegena??, posted by jim c on Jul 21, 2003

Jim,
Why don't you spend a week or  2 there to see what you think?
I liked the old city and its supposed to be safe and it is like the french quarter with narrower streets.Its fun to take the buggy ride at night when there is no traffic.It was jammed during the day when I was there.Seemed like Morroco.At night in the buggy you can look up and really see the buildings.
The vendors on the public beaches are the worst I have ever encountered.We split in 15 miniutes it was so bad.But the beach front scene in Bocogrande does look good,kind of like Miami,water everywhere.
As far as living there?I don't know.The agencies?Seems like they don't have too much going,might be an opportunity.You could be the Ed Beckwith of Cartegena(just joking).
Santa Marta might be worth checking out also.
How about Panama?Supposed to be fairly safe and lots of beaches.
I don't think any of these places compare to Cali for the women.Maybe the plan could be find a Calena to take there with you.Or have a stream of them visit you there.Makes me wish  I could join you.

Pete

[Miguel]

... in response to Re: Have you spent  time in Cartegena??, posted by Pete E on Jul 21, 2003

Pete, I don't think there's much of an opportunity, although there would certainly be less competition than Cali.  "A Foreign Affair" in Cartagena is a well run agency with 1000 to 2000 female clients, and their own office staffed by 3 people. Owners in U.S. are doing a very good job of marketing.  Latin Destinations doesn't have as large of a presence, one woman working out of her house, but is good too.   It is true, though, that there is no agency in Cartagena with rooms where customers can stay.

[Pete E]

... in response to Re: Re: Have you spent  time in Cartegen..., posted by Miguel on Jul 21, 2003

Miguel,
Since we don't hear much about Cartegena agencies I thought perhaps it was not very developed.But maybe there is just not too much to develop in terms of numbers of attractive women looking for gringos.Its hard to compare almost any place to Cali where there are just such numbers of good looking women.

Pete

[Miguel]

... in response to Have you spent  time in Cartegena??, posted by jim c on Jul 21, 2003

A.  Anyone spent time there other than in a high priced tourist hotel?

I stayed in an apartment, $50/night, which by Cartagena standards is not cheap.  It had very good A/C in bedroom (a wall unit) and decent kitchen/living room.  Right on the beach with a fantastic view.  A little run down.  If interested, let me know, and I'll look up the manager's/agent's phone number.  She's a great lady BTW.  For a large selection of apartments, contact Juan Ventura, Tel. (57)(5) 655 1094 (home) or (310)652 7053 (cell).  

There are lots and lots of hotels and apartments around Cartagena.  You can get a decent place for $30/night up, probably cheaper if you're going to stay a while.  Maybe you should book a hotel room for a couple of nights (Almirante and El Caribe are both nice and not outrageously expensive) and then just have a look around, ask cab drivers, etc.

B. Is there an agency there?

I gave a pretty detailed description of two agencies in archives, see

http://www.planet-love.com/wwwboard/search/searchdisplay.php?page=latin&archive=000134&id=42086&bold[]=cartagena

After seeing Calipro's photos, I suspect that in terms of looks, Cali is better.  But there were many interesting, attractive women in the agencies in Cartagena.  I sure liked it better than Bogota.

C.  What is the old city like?

Very interesting, a little like New Orleans French Quarter only with more atmosphere and much larger.  It's not going to keep you fascinated for weeks though.

[cancunhound]

... in response to Have you spent  time in Cartegena??, posted by jim c on Jul 21, 2003

I've stayed at the Decameron once and one time we rented a condo for a couple of weeks.  There's alot of wealthy Colombians that maintain vacation property there so finding a rental is pretty easy - defintely the way to go for extended stays.  I enjoyed visiting there but at times the street hustlers around Boca Grande were just too much!  I noticed that Tara Tours out of Miami was recently running an all-inclusive 6 night package for $690, and Alianza Summa had a national package for 6 nights for under 900,000 and AeroRepublica slightly higher - not bad.

[Calipro]

... in response to Have you spent  time in Cartegena??, posted by jim c on Jul 21, 2003

I haven't been to Cartegena since 1997 and I stayed at the Intercontinental. There is an agency there called A Foreign Affair. I took one of the owners of the agency down with me and he liked it so much he opened an office in Cartegena. Their main office is located here in Phoenix. I went by their office one day and showed the owners some pictures that I had of colombian women (They didn't think they looked cheap). They liked them so much that they offered to pay my airfare and I showed them around Cartegena and Cali.

I used to know a lady that lived in Cartegena her name is Johana Garcia Morales. This lady used to set me up with a lot of ladies. She speaks pretty good english and she is an absolute riot to party with. If you go down there I would try and look her up.