Well, I read every Colombia report and thread on CH as well as WSG Forum, TSM Travel and Xtreme Travel. Believe it or not the most useable P4P info came from the free site, WSG Forum, but I had to wade through a ton of flames and stream-of-consciousness diatribes to cull any useful info. After spending time on the other boards, I realize how good CH is. Great info in a civilized setting. Just not great info on Medellin. Yet.
Habla Espanola?
If there is one thing people seem to agree upon, it’s the better your Spanish, the better time you will have. I tested out that theory. I never took Spanish in high school but I’m fluent in French, so I sort of understand some words. I also spent a few years (a long time ago) working as a chef in several restaurants in New York – so my kitchen Spanish is pretty good. Of course, being able to tell Juan to go downstairs and get more ice wasn’t too useful in Medellin (although I impressed the hell out of my “date” at Mango’s when I asked for more ice at the table). Finally, I’ve been listening to the Berlitz Tape called “Rush Hour Spanish”. I converted it to mp3 and have been listening to it on my iPOD (during rush-hour) on the subway to and from work. I’ve gotten some useful phrases out of that program.
Gadgets and Gifts
To supplement my dubious Spanish-speaking skills, I purchased a pocket Communicator by Franklin, in which you select phrases in English, press a button and it speaks the phrase in Spanish. They have the basic categories covered, like ordering in a restaurant and talking to a taxi driver. And for more precise needs, I picked up a Franklin pocket Spanish/English dictionary with keyboard, so I can type in any word and get the translation. Both are very small and easily fit in my pocket.
Seeing Merlin and Godfather’s reports, it’s obvious that the Colombianas are not too shy about pictures. To that end I bought a new Canon SD-10, which fits easily in my pocket. It’s the size of a credit card, weighs 4ozs and takes 4.0 mega pixel photos and also shoots video. In addition, I picked up a Canon i80 photo printer. As it weighs only 4 lbs and its footprint is smaller than my laptop, it easily fits in my laptop bag!
I also downloaded all the Shakira music I could find, including her two DVDs and a couple of albums by Juanes, the Latin singing idol who hails from Medellin. Throw in a couple of Paulina Rubio albums and I figure between the music and my dinero, I should be able to make the girls feel right at home.
And for that special someone (or two or four) I picked up 6 bottles of Amor Amor by Cacharel, which is supposed to be the hot scent in Colombia. Not cheap at close to $30 the bottle, but hopefully it’ll get a couple of the girls to go the extra-mile service-wise. Thanks to Jkarp for that tip. [Side-note: I stupidly forgot to pack the perfume. It’s still sitting on my desk in New York].
Accommodations
I had originally booked 4 nights at the Cali InterContinental and this time their inefficiency at taking reservations worked to my advantage. I called 4 weeks ago to confirm my reservation and they didn’t have it. I hung up the phone and decided this was a sign to change my plans and go to Medellin instead. I had read that the IC in Medellin is inconveniently located and not up to normal IC standards. In looking at other options I found the Dann Carlton. This is an independent hotel that also has branches in Cali and Bogotá. www.danncarlton.com They have an English version of the site and many different weekend packages, but it’s a little confusing. As my Spanish isn’t great, I had a co-worker call the hotel and book my reservation. (574) 312-4141.
I wanted a suite, figuring I’d be bringing girls back to the hotel. The total price for a suite for four nights (Thursday – Sunday) was $558. This includes all taxes and fees and I confirmed there was no guest surcharge. Just as a reference, a regular room for the same nights cost $280, also including taxes and fees. The special prices are for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Staying on a Thursday increases the price a little.
The hotel said they could book me a tee time with 8 hours notice. Unfortunately, I couldn’t fit a round in.
Getting There
For the flight, you have several options from New York, but nothing is non-stop to Medellin (or Cali for that matter). You could either change planes in Miami or in Bogotá (or Panama if you take Copa). I cashed in some miles and booked the CO non-stop from Newark to Bogotá (5:45 flying time listed, but actually 4:55). It leaves at 2:45pm (my flight left at 3:20pm) and arrives in Bogotá at 7:31pm (1 hour time difference) The economy fare for this flight is usually $750 on CO, pretty high, but this is the most direct route as you can see.
There are two flights from Bogotá to Medellin (about a 50 minute flight) in the evening (and 2-3 more earlier in the day) on Avianca Air. www.avianca.com One leaves at 8:30pm and the last flight leaves at 10:00pm. Roundtrip was $250.
And so the adventure begins
