Im tired of seeing these Playboy like Columbian ladies on this website without experiencing the magic.

I know no Spanish. Besides hiring a guide or taking someone that knows Spanish, how does a Gringo get around Columbia?

I was thinking of just writing and studying common phrases that I might use. Bring a book or one of those electronic translators. For example, "Where is the hotel?" "How much do you charge?" etc...

I know a little Spanish. Just a few commonly spoke phrases. As for speaking it, mispronounced common words and phrases.

Advice? Comments? Im going to Columbia one way or the other. Bring it on guys.

Go to Cartagena and stay in the tourist zone. You can get by there with little Spanish, and it is very safe. After a few weeks/months in CTG, you can think about other larger cities like Bogotá and Medellín. Don't even think about Cali.

I first went to Costa rica in 2006 at Xmas and knew about 10 words of Spanish. After that, I made it my business to learn. I would recommend buying Barrons Mastering Spanish (about $100), 12 CD's, WELL worth the money, basic Spanish is somewhat easier than some other languages. I love Medellin, but there is very little English there, especially outside of Poblado district. You just need to know about 20 basic verbs and you will be fine. I'm pretty good now, but it takes time. You will NOT regret it!!

Lonely Planet has a phrasebook that they sell for Latin Spanish and they got all kinds of phrases, even for romance and sex. My favorite.

I now stay in Laurelas, which is located on a metro line. During the day, I train it. At night, I take taxis.

Your first lesson should be learning to spell the country correctly, unless I misread the post and you're really interested in going to the river or the university by that name.

I never found the language to be a big issue. You can hire a translator cheap. A few words always help like "quieres Chupar mi pene"? Translation ...Do you want to suck my dick.

(Message edited by marcust2cr on June 06, 2008)

I suggest buying the Franklin pocket translator ($20) or several as gifts for the girls you meet. It is much faster and easier to use than a dictionary and the girls love them. You or they just punch in the word in your language and hit the translate button. It also has phrases/verb conjugations/phone book/clothing conversions etc. I'm pretty fluent, but I still carry it and pop it out every now and then to check a word or verb inconspicuously, or store a girls number. ;-)