|
One more question for those who have been there, were there any vaccinations or drugs you needed while down there? I keep reading that some places may require proof of a yellow fever vaccine, but it's easiest to get once there.
|
#
?
Mar 10, 2009 22:15
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 22:13 |
|
|
Molotov Yogurt posted:One more question for those who have been there, were there any vaccinations or drugs you needed while down there? I keep reading that some places may require proof of a yellow fever vaccine, but it's easiest to get once there. It depends on what type of environment you are going to and the regulations of the countries you will visit. For instance, as an American going to Brazil you must have the yellow fever vaccine in order to even apply for a visa. But I would reccomend you visit a website like this that lays it out pretty nicely for you. http://www.traveldoctor.co.uk/samerica.htm#1sta I would also recommend that you purchase drugs like Malaria pills in the country you are visiting as it will be far, far cheaper than back at home. Same goes for that prescription antidiareah stuff i think called Ciprol that some travelers bring with them.
|
|
#
?
Mar 11, 2009 00:56
|
|
|
Ok, now I have some official dates set for my trip, as well as a lot of questions on what to do in between. I basically have 6 weeks starting mid July - Aug 30. My rough plan right now is to land in Lima and spend a day or two there then fly up to Iquitos for at least a few days to see some jungle and try some local medicinal practices. Then I would head back to Lima and spend a few more (3-5 days) seeing some local sights and visiting family that I havent seen in many years, or havent met before. I would then take a plane to Cuzco and do the whole macchu picchu thing, and from here I would LIKE to continue my journey to Arequipa - then Santiago, Chile, and maybe head over to Mendoza, Argentina. A few questions about my tentative plans: 1. Has anyone travelled by train/bus from Cuzco - Arequipa - chile/argentina, and is it safe? 2. When making plans for small flights such as Lima - Iquitos or Lima - Cuzco, should one book flights months ahead of time or can it be done the day of with no major price hike? 3. Generally speaking, what is the type of tourist that backpacks around South America? Ive been backpacking around Europe a couple of times and it seems it was 18-25 year old people from either Australia or other parts of Europe. Other then that I wouldnt mind hearing some places to visit in between these points, I mainly just want to go to Mendoza because its so close to Santiago, and so I can get another stamp on the passport.
|
|
#
?
Mar 17, 2009 03:21
|
|
|
You'll be fine on the bus. As for flights - I got mine a week or two before I'd be flying because I didn't want to be stuck into 'having' to be somewhere by a certain date because I had a flight to catch, but I don't think it'd be any more expensive than buying them long before. As for the type of tourist? it depends on where you are. I didn't see many Americans outside of the main cities like Cuzco/Lima/La Paz etc. Mainly I found myself hanging out with english/french speaking Europeans and the odd australian or two. Cuzco though I found was full of drunk British people for some reason. Noir desir fucked around with this message at 04:26 on Mar 21, 2009 |
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2009 04:24
|
|
|
MC Scrillz posted:I have no problem getting $300 out multiple times, it just costs me USD$1.50 to do so. I'm mainly trying to avoid the fees. It's an Argentine law, you can only do it if you have a foriegn bank and go to their ATM.
|
|
#
?
Mar 21, 2009 07:19
|
|
|
Just a word of warning to anyone going to Bogota soon, there have been a lot of muggings the last few weeks in la Candelaria (more than normal) around the hostels. At least half the people Ive talked to recently were mugged at knife or brokenglasspoint, specifically around the Platypus and Hostel Sue, myself included. Choose where youre walking carefully everybody! Other than that Colombia owns. Im in Cartagena and heading up to Playa Blanca and Taganga in a few days. Anyone else in the area?
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2009 01:49
|
|
|
Thanks, alright a few more general travel questions. Im bringing a few electronics with me such as, mp3 player, flip mino HD camera, netbook and some sd cards/thumbdrives for storage. Will using any of these devices in areas of high humidity be an issue? (Iquitos). Does anyone know the average speed of internet in each country? I know its going to be different city to city or even country to country, but I'd like to know if generally theyre alot slower then what im used to... 15mb down/1mb up, not a huge concern and I know im going to ask this for each hostel I stay at but I'd like to know if I should bother trying to upload things in certain areas before I get there. As well, for a 6 week trip, is it advised to get a cell phone as well? budget isnt my main concern, im just curious about the practicality of getting one for the trip. Seriously? No horror stories? Maybe I'm reading too many guides on the internet telling me to be wary of corrupt cops or looters that will stop your bus on an overnight trip.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2009 02:00
|
|
|
Molotov Yogurt posted:Other than that Colombia owns. Im in Cartagena and heading up to Playa Blanca and Taganga in a few days. Anyone else in the area? If you end up staying the night in a hammock on Playa Blanca be warned that the bugs there are outrageous. But the herd of cows that roam the beach late at night is pretty neat! I was also woken up by a soldier who wanted to pitch his hammock next to mine...a bit creepy. And for an even better beach you need to go to Parque Tayrona which can be done from Taganga.
|
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2009 02:56
|
|
|
ja raul posted:Thanks, alright a few more general travel questions. Your electronics should be fine, I didn't have any problems nor meet anybody who did. Don't forget your adapter plug for power though! A multi-board type thing can be useful too, sometimes in the airports there's few power points near places you can comfortably sleep or wait, so it's nice to be able to charge your ipod and sleep while somebody else can use their laptop or whatever with the same socket.  Funnily enough on that street there were three 'internet cafes' (little shops with 2 or 3 computers) where I got the fastest speeds during my trip, and only cost 1 sol/hour! Even then, 'fast' isn't 15 mb/s, it's loading facebook or a news site without going half crazy waiting for the page to load. I found uploading photos onto facebook a pain wherever I went though - often the connection would time out after uploading for 10 or 15 minutes, so doing this when you're hungover and don't mind zoning out looking at a computer for a while is generally what I did :P As for cellphones, I brought my phone from home and bought a Claro simcard for 15 soles - you need a dual or tri-band phone for this to work though. If you don't have a phone that can accept the simcard, you can buy a phone in Peru for about 70 soles from an official Claro vendor. I didn't find myself using a phone much though, I just facebooked people I met to set up when to meet etc. Or there are people on street corners in flourescent jackets yelling 'llama' who will hire their phones for 0.50 sol/minute. As for dodgy buses? The only dodgy bus encounter I had was violently throwing up my lunch into a sink in the bus station in Cuzco fifteen minutes before leaving on a 26 hour trip - this was the first time I got food poisoning after three months! There was this as well though  That's a bus looking a bit worse for wear after breaking down about fourteen hours into a trip! Fortunately it was only an hour away from another depot for that company so we weren't stuck there, and miss a flight or anything. You just have to be a bit wary with scheduling flights without relying too much on the bus to be on time - a friend missed her flight to Buenos Aires because there had been a landslide, and I met some other Kiwis who had been delayed because their bus driver was arrested after trying to smuggle shoes over the Bolivian border! The police took all the panels of the bus and it was full of black market shoes! I didn't have any negative experiences with police either - you'll probably only ever talk to them at the airport or when they come on the bus to check passports/identity cards. They do carry ak47s/big shotguns though which I found a little freaky coming from a country where police are unarmed. Have fun 
Noir desir fucked around with this message at 09:41 on Mar 22, 2009 |
|
#
?
Mar 22, 2009 09:03
|
|
|
Just booked my flight from Orlando to Lima on 5/21 and back from Bogota to Orlando on 7/24, via Miami both times. I'm psyched. The tickets were crazy cheap too, $415 total. I spent nearly as much just to fly out to Colorado.
|
|
#
?
Mar 24, 2009 03:47
|
|
|
I just want to say great thread. I'm getting the same feeling I got when I read the Southeast Asia thread a few years ago and I am posting this while wearing a jacket I bought in Thailand, so I can see where this is going. I have a feeling a 6 month trip to South America is in my far future. I have to work for 16 more months to be a CPA but that travel bug has been killing me the last 6 months. I hope I can stick it out without dropping everything and ditching my career for the second time
|
|
#
?
Mar 27, 2009 01:59
|
|
|
OK, so I've been planning for a while to go somewhere in Latin America for a month or two to learn Spanish (I can hold basic conversations, and slightly more complicated ones if I can ask "que significa" and "como se dice", so I feel like 2-4 weeks of and immersion program and another 2-6 weeks of just getting around on my own will get me there). I've been trying to decide where to go, but over the past week Lima has moved into my top spot and I've been looking at schools there and places to live. Lima seems like a cool city, and that is mostly what I want about where I'm going to go: being able to live relatively comfortable, having cool stuff to do around where I live, nice people, and Internet access (I can make money if I have internet access). This thread, however, has convinced me to consider Colombia: Medellin or Bogota. Most of you guys talking about Colombia say its awesome to backpack through, but how about just living there for a while (The difference being for backpacking its mostly about how many cool things you can do, while just living there and studying is mostly about how comfortable it would be in and around the area I'd live in, and going on excursions would only be a couple times a week)? -How's living in these cities in general? How good is internet access (I basically NEED relatively fast, reliable internet)? -How would you compare these 3 cities: Lima, Medellin, Bogota? What are some advantages of each of the cities? -People say Medellin is relatively safe now, but how safe is that? Is Bogota far and away safer? (I'm not supported by my parents anymore, but I wouldn't want them worrying about me) Thanks
|
|
#
?
Mar 27, 2009 05:30
|
|
|
Kovner posted:OK, so I've been planning for a while to go somewhere in Latin America for a month or two to learn Spanish (I can hold basic conversations, and slightly more complicated ones if I can ask "que significa" and "como se dice", so I feel like 2-4 weeks of and immersion program and another 2-6 weeks of just getting around on my own will get me there). First off, you can make any city as comfortable as you like. For instance, hot showers are a standard in any decent accommodation wireless internet in homes is available easily. Internet access is just as good as the US in any latin american city, and ton's of cafe's have free wireless. To answer your question, I would choose Bogotá (I have spent time in each of those cities). I only spent a few days in Lima but I thought it was a nice city with lots to do and good nightlife. Though a lot of people will say its a shithole (and lots of the city is kind of lovely), but there are still some very nice areas. I would say if you are looking for a very comfortable city to live in, it would be Buenos Aires. However, the type of Spanish they speak there is much different than the rest of Latin America. Quito, Ecuador has a ton of Spanish schools and is a great place to learn Spanish. Its also such a small country that day/weekend excursions are endless with mist being no more than 7 hours by bus. Most foreigners stay in an area of the city catered towards foreigners so its pretty easy living. Its also very cheap there. La Paz, Bolivia will not be comfortable because of the altitude and infrastructure. Colombia is my favorite place in Latin America by far. Medellin is definitelly the safest major city in Colombia (safer than Bogotá). You have to remember than Pablo Escobar died more than a decade ago and things have changed a ton. Its a modern city with its own metro line, beautiful women, and some good nightlife. The city is not so interesting itself but there are some pretty interesting places to visit that are not so far away. The weather is also great with a constant spring feeling. Then you have Bogota which is my favorite city. There is so much character, tons to do, amazing nightlife any day of the week, and great living conditions. However, the weather is often pretty lovely. Venezuela is crap so don't even consider it. Let me know if you want me to expand on anything.
|
|
#
?
Mar 27, 2009 10:52
|
|
|
Does anyone have a link to the last big South America thread that was kicking around ask/tell a while ago?
|
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2009 13:57
|
|
|
Thurlow posted:Does anyone have a link to the last big South America thread that was kicking around ask/tell a while ago? This is it. edit: Or maybe you were thinking about this one: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2979630 R2ICustomerSupport fucked around with this message at 20:43 on Mar 31, 2009 |
|
#
?
Mar 31, 2009 20:33
|
|
|
Thanks Dusting. Here are some follow up questions: -What about Cartagena? Seems like a nice town with a lot of history, plus a beach. One of the language school has a program to learn Spanish and windsurfing (or kitesurfing during their summer) which intrigues me a bit. -What exactly do you find interesting about Bogotá? -You said that Medellin is close to a lot of other things to do. Like what? -How can I convince my mom that Colombia is safe? My parents don't support me anymore, so they'd never tell me that I 'can't' do something, but she's said in the past that Colombia is too dangerous and I'd feel guilty if I was the cause of her losing sleep. -Edit: one more question: What's the visa situation like in Colombia. Can I easily get a 3month visitor's visa? Is that sufficient if I'm going to be studying Spanish (ie - do I not need a student visa)? Kovner fucked around with this message at 19:52 on Apr 3, 2009 |
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2009 16:53
|
|
|
Kovner posted:Thanks Dusting. Here are some follow up questions: Cartagena is the most beautiful colonial city I have seen. The problem is that Cartagena has become to Colombia what Cancun is to Mexico. Its definitelly not nearly that touristy, but its still probably the only place that you will get hounded by people trying to sell you stuff on the streets, taxi drivers trying to screw you, etc. The beach in Cartagena is dirty and not a place you would want to hang out. Its also overbearingly hot and humid. Bogota is basically a cosmopolitan city, lots of students, great nightlife, tons of good museums, and nice people. Its got rich areas, poor areas, and my favorite neighboordhood called La Candelaria which is really bohemian with tons of cafes, rundown colonial buildings covered in graffiti, and more. Medellin is about 5 hours from the coffee region with cities like Manizales and Armenia, an hour from a tropical town with beautiful colonial architecture called Santa Fe De Antioquia, El Penol, and Jardin. Its a very comfortable city to live in with its own metro and probably the safest big city. Thats up to you to convince your Mom. I went when I was 19 by myself and my Mom was freaking out. I have returned 2 more times and my Mom was begging me to let her come visit me in Colombia. My Dad came and visited me in Cartagena for a week and loved it. The immigration will grant you a 60 day tourist visa when you arrive. I once got a 90 day visa so try asking for one. You are able to stay as a tourist for up to 180 days a year if you renew your visa after the 60 day visa in 30 day intervals. I am sure you will have no problem enrolling in a school without a student visa.
|
|
#
?
Apr 3, 2009 20:19
|
|
|
Only one week until I'm off to Peru A Young Turk posted:I'd highly recommend skipping the Nazca lines and spending less time in Lima in favor of trekking the Colca Canyon in Arequipa, it's a very very very cool place. (The second deepest canyon in the world I think.) Arequipa is only a few hours bus from Puno. Whereas seeing the lines is expensive, you go up in a little plane which a lot of folks get quite sick in, and I didn't think it was particularly thrilling. I'll do that then. The whole Nazca deal is not something I held as particularly important in seeing. That's one less detour to do. A Young Turk posted:Also, don't do an overnight tour of the floating islands - Lake Titicaca is really beautiful but the islands (uros especially) are very exploitative and touristy, it's not a very 'authentic' experience staying on the islands for any length of time. I think there were better islands on the Bolivian side of the lake but I'm not sure if you'd have time for that - Copacabana is a lot nicer place than Puno though. I heard about that, I guess it's to be expected since those places are so popular. Much like anything around the Eiffel tower in Paris. A Young Turk posted:I don't know if two weeks is enough time for this though - I can't really judge from my experiences because I saw these things over the period of a few months and had a pretty lax attitude towards travelling, taking night buses to save money etc. I'm guessing you'd fly back to Lima from wherever you finish up? Great advice, thanks. I doubt I'll be able to comfortably cram everything into the two weeks, so it's mostly a general guideline on what to do there. Is there anything in particular I should bring with me, on top of clothes for hot & cold climate? Edit: I'll most likely spend two days in Lima, so to make the best of it I'd like to know if there are any particular restaurants or foods I should try? Actually, I'd like to extend that question to food in general. Mango Polo fucked around with this message at 14:30 on Apr 6, 2009 |
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2009 13:57
|
|
|
Mango Polo posted:Edit: I'll most likely spend two days in Lima, so to make the best of it I'd like to know if there are any particular restaurants or foods I should try? Actually, I'd like to extend that question to food in general. The seafood in Peru, especially Lima, was excellent. Try the ceviche (raw seafood marinated in lime juice and other spices. A few drinks to try are Chicha (alcohol made from fermented corn), Pisco Sour, and Inca Cola (local soda). chifa- Chinese restaurants which are a bit different than ones in the US Sancochado- beef/veggie stew Cuy- fried guinea pig The best thing to do would be to browse this link and see what looks appetizing to you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peruvian_cuisine
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2009 15:15
|
|
|
Got back from Ciudad Perdida yesterday and it was amazing, but I´m unfortunately cursed with bad travel luck: on the way back down from the departure town, our tour car was stopped by two paramilitaries in ski masks with pistols. They told us to get out of the car, and then after a minute the yelled at us to run down the hill. The six of us and our tour guide quickly left but they told the driver to stay, and as soon as we were around the first corner we heard about 7 shots and we took off running. We ran down for about 10 minutes before we got to within sight of the army checkpoint, at which point they loaded their rifles and sprinted up the road. More army and police showed up and they later told us that they had killed the driver and pushed our tour car off the cliff. Amazingly enough they were able to recover all our bags which were strapped to the top of it and the only thing that was busted was my Nalgene bottle. Spent most of the night in the police station, but there were some officials from the local government there and they were amazingly helpful and apologetic and put us up in a nice hotel for the night. I was later told that it wasn´t even the regular driver and he was just doing it as a favour to the owner of the company. I still love Colombia, but I don´t know how much longer I´m going to stay now :/ EDIT: Oh yeah we got transported to the police station in the back of a covered flatbed truck with the body in the middle leaking blood out the bag. Molotov Yogurt fucked around with this message at 20:36 on Apr 6, 2009 |
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2009 20:29
|
|
|
Molotov Yogurt posted:I still love Colombia, but I don´t know how much longer I´m going to stay now :/ That's a crazy story and its great you are safe! But don't say that. You went to the most dangerous part of Colombia, the jungle, where groups like the FARC and paramilitaries operate. You know its nothing like that in just about every other place a normal tourist would bother going. You'll be fine.
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2009 22:11
|
|
|
Does anybody have any experience with WWOOF in Brazil? http://www.wwoofbrazil.com/ We are looking specifically at Salvador, and how to get from Rio de Janeiro to there, in August. We're thinking about taking a bus, apparently it's the only way to really experience the jungle (and is only $30!). What about can't miss spots around Salvador and Rio de Janeiro... on the super cheap? We'll probably be spending most of our time on the farm, but might have a few days in the cities. It seems like it'd be crazy to go all the way to Brazil without seeing a few sights. Thanks, guys! Savahontas fucked around with this message at 10:19 on Apr 8, 2009 |
|
#
?
Apr 8, 2009 10:09
|
|
|
I don't suppose any of you colombia-goers have ever taken an immersion Spanish program there. The only one that seems decent in Medellin in nuevalengua (nuevalengua.com), and it doesn't seem as good as a school I found in Lima. Makes sense that the language school wouldn't be great in Colombia considering not many English speakers visited there in years past. Medellin appeals to me more than Lima, but the primary reason I'm planning on going is to learn Spanish, so I want to go to a good enough school.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2009 07:12
|
|
|
Mango Polo posted:Only one week until I'm off to Peru Hey there, sorry, I forgot about this post! If you happen to check this thread before you leave/when you're there, my last piece of advice would be to recommend this hostel for staying in Arequipa/doing the Colca Canyon. My Peruvian (spanish,english,french speaking) friend Luy I did volunteer work with owns it, he's a really cool dude who has also worked as a guide in Colca Canyon for ten years or so.
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2009 12:21
|
|
|
Kovner posted:I don't suppose any of you colombia-goers have ever taken an immersion Spanish program there. Lima will definitelly have a lot more Spanish schools than anywhere in Colombia. However, I am sure you can still get just as good an education in Colombia. I would recommend enrolling in one of the local universities for a Spanish course. One of my friend's did that and over a two year span his Spanish has become near fluent. The link you posted is basically a third party program that will be sending you to study at one of the local universities anyways. For instance, Nueva Lengua is directly affiliated with Sabana. http://www.unisabana.edu.co/unidades_academicas/foreing_languages/espanol/learn_spanish.html My friend studies at Javierna in Bogotá. I think your best option is booking a flight and asking around for a good Spanish program once you get to where you want to learn. I liked Lima a lot but if you are more attracted to Colombia, then go there of course. R2ICustomerSupport fucked around with this message at 20:27 on Apr 14, 2009 |
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2009 20:25
|
|
|
DustingDuvet posted:I think your best option is booking a flight and asking around for a good Spanish program once you get to where you want to learn. I'm a bit afraid of handling official business in Spanish, so I'd prefer to have a Spanish school lined up and an apartment booked ahead of time. That also allows me to make sure I can get an apartment near the school. Speaking of which, any advice for finding a short term, furnished apartment in Medellin? nuevalengua said they can set me up with an apartment for 350USD/wk. I don't mind paying that, but is that too high? If I look for an apt by myself, how important do you think it is to find one within walking distance to the school? Or should I just try to find one within walking distance of the metro?
|
|
#
?
Apr 16, 2009 22:37
|
|
|
Kovner posted:I'm a bit afraid of handling official business in Spanish, so I'd prefer to have a Spanish school lined up and an apartment booked ahead of time. That also allows me to make sure I can get an apartment near the school. But you are dealing with schools that are in the business of teaching English, so there is no reason to "handle official business in Spanish", because each school has representatives that speak English. You can visit school's you are interested in and see if its organized and fits your style of learning, not to mention you will have a lot more freedom to negotiate prices. An apartment for $350 week is incredibly expensive. Thats freaking $4,500,000 pesos a month at that rate. And for that rate you could rent your own mansion or something. You are much better off renting a private room in a hostel or just staying in a hotel. It is really tough finding an apartment for cheap if you are not staying long and being a foreigner. Its probably not even worth trying. You don't need to find an apartment close to school. I would prefer one close to the school, but the public transportation in Medellin is really good. You have the metro which is fast and clean. Taxis are cheap. And buses are pretty efficient.
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2009 00:02
|
|
|
or a home stay? I've heard that this is by far the best way to learn immersion learning.
|
|
#
?
Apr 17, 2009 06:03
|
|
|
Adnar posted:or a home stay? I've heard that this is by far the best way to learn immersion learning. I did a home stay in Ecuador, and it definitely helps with the immersion. Make sure that if you have problems with your family you talk to the family and to the coordinators of the homestay program, and early on. I was uncomfortable with my family and didn't find them very sociable or inclusive most of the time, and it really took away from the experience. A question for everyone else: I've had some time to reflect on my study abroad experience in Ecuador, and I feel like I just didn't spend the time I had very well. I intend to live for awhile in another South American country in the future, so I'd like to avoid the pitfalls of my first experience. Here was my problem: I was told it was a bad idea to travel alone after dark. It gets dark at like 6 pm, obviously. My homestay family's apartment was not in a bad area but there were never very many pedestrians after dark and it wasn't well-lit, so I didn't feel comfortable walking anywhere by myself at night. I only knew a couple people who were staying pretty far away, and I didn't know the area very well. In order to meet up with someone, we'd have to take a taxi from one person's house to the next and then to downtown or wherever we wanted to go. Taxis got pretty expensive as a habit like this (it would be like 10 dollars a night just in travel and I'm poor), so most evenings I ended up in the apartment, unable to go out. The family would be out a lot or would watch tv in their bedroom, so I ended up bored, alone, and frustrated many evenings. I'd say over half of the students from my university were robbed or mugged at some point there and I didn't want to end up like them. I had never lived in a big city before and didn't want to rely on my limited street smarts to get me by. How can I avoid this problem? Were any of my precautions unnecessary, were my fears unwarranted? What can I do to make better use of my evenings on future trips, while still staying safe?
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2009 18:40
|
|
|
Eucibius posted:How can I avoid this problem? Were any of my precautions unnecessary, were my fears unwarranted? What can I do to make better use of my evenings on future trips, while still staying safe? You can avoid that problem by traveling to the country with only your first few nights booked at a hotel/hostel. Do that for a week while you visit various parts of the city that interest you. Then start looking for an apartment/homestay in the location that works best for you. For instance, I am currently studying in Buenos Aires and I did just that. During the first week I stayed in two different hostels and visited maybe 5-6 neighborhoods that I was interested in. I decided that I wanted to live close to my university and also the subway. So now I live in a hostel meant for long term stays with students only. I walk to my classes everyday, and 4 blocks away from the subway, and have people to hang out with all of the time from my hostel. Even if I did not want to live in a hostel, I very easily could have arranged a homestay through a third party program or from a list of families from the South American Explorers club lits, for instance. I still could have met with the family beforehand to see if it would work ok for me. What you should have done was move out of your homestay and rented an apartment/homestay for $150-$250 a month in Gringolandia where all of the nightlife is (i realize how far it is from Cumbayá where the Universidad San Francisco de Quito is, but at least you would have had a better social life. No, I do not think the precautions you took were that unnecesary, especially if you are a girl. Its never smart to walk down dark empty streets, alone at night. Its just up to you whether you would want to take a risk of being robbed or possibly raped. Like I said before, you easily could have moved to Gringolandia where the streets in the center are well lit all the time, even if its a bit dangerous. Other than that, you probably did the right thing taking taxis everywhere. Not all big cities are like that though. Cities like Quito, Caracas, etc. are known for being dangerous. There are other cities like Medellin, Buenos Aires, etc. where in many parts you can walk alone at night or take public transportation with little fear.
|
|
#
?
Apr 22, 2009 21:09
|
|
|
I have been following the backpacking in Southeast Asia for a few years now and really enjoy reading it because of the stories people post about their trips. Lets start something like that here in this thread to make it more interesting. I don't think I am a great writer but I hope my travel tales are somewhat interesting for you guys to read. I will start with the first story of my latest South American trip, which began in January. Check Him Good posted:Beep…beep…beep…what the…? I was surprised the alarm clock didn’t wake up the entire house. I left the house at 3:30 am on new year’s day for the Miami airport not nearly as excited as I should have been, considering I am away for 8 months. I was tired. R2ICustomerSupport fucked around with this message at 21:48 on Apr 26, 2009 |
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2009 21:44
|
|
|
Hey DustingDuvet, I´m back in Bogota now and will be here for a few more weeks while I wait for a new passport; do you know of any good places that offer short term Spanish courses or have a flexible schedules? Also if anyone was interested here´s a local article of the shooting that I posted about above quote:Policía no ha podido establecer los
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2009 08:03
|
|
|
Thanks for the info, DustingDuvet. I think the next city I visit may be Buenos Aires, since I also have family there it would make it even easier on me.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2009 06:53
|
|
|
Adnar posted:or a home stay? I've heard that this is by far the best way to learn immersion learning. If you can find a good one, try a university residence or a student residence. It's kind of hit or miss though. I've been in one where it was Spanish all the time and there were a bunch of kids my age and we had a lot of fun. Another time it was like 60/40 latin americans/gringos and while plenty of good times were had, there was not as much Spanish speaking. Regardless, I was able to meet a whole lot of people who spoke Spanish and it's really easy to make friends.
|
|
#
?
Apr 30, 2009 23:13
|
|
|
Would anyone happen to know how difficult it is to obtain a SIM card in Ecuador? Preferably as soon as one touches down at the airport in Quito?
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2009 23:58
|
|
|
Viktor Laszlo posted:Would anyone happen to know how difficult it is to obtain a SIM card in Ecuador? Preferably as soon as one touches down at the airport in Quito?
|
|
#
?
May 3, 2009 01:36
|
|
|
DustingDuvet posted:
Hah, this reminds me. One of my final nights out in colombia I was chilling at a bar (one of the bogota beer company pubs) where I started chatting with a group of colombian dudes sat at the table next to us. Their english was poor/nonexistent, and my spanish was passable at best, and when it came time to leave they kept on inviting me to "la piscina, vamonos a la piscina!" It took me quite a while to realize why 4 people would be so insistent that we go swimming at 2am, and now i'm kind of gutted I didn't take them up on the offer, it would have made for an interesting story anyway.
|
|
#
?
May 3, 2009 20:19
|
|
|
Here is the next installment of my trip in Colombia, More from Colombia posted:
|
|
#
?
May 3, 2009 20:34
|
|
|
Anytime I have mentioned my desire to visit Columbia (specifically Bogota) to my friend from Brazil (he has lived in the US for 6 years now), he says I am insane and should never go there, that it is common knowledge that it's one of the most dangerous places in the world. Why is he so sure, and why is he wrong?
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2009 19:20
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 22:13 |
|
|
The same reason that everyone in the United States has the same misconceptions about it. I would (and am going to) go to Bogota well before I would go to a number of places in Brazil for that matter.
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2009 21:45
|
|