10 minutes later I was at Terminal C, checking in at the Continental First Class Counter. For some reason they moved me from 1A to 6A, but as 1A was still open I opted for it, as there is a good amount of leg-room up front.
I went to the lounge and unsuccessfully tried to log on wirelessly. I wanted to post the beginning of this report, but was not able to do so.
It was time for the flight and I made my way on-board. The plane for this route is a 757-200, which is really a domestically-configured plane. The bad news is it’s not CO BusinessFirst. The good news is, it falls under the category for free space-available upgrade to FC and with 24 seats up front, Platinum or Gold on CO is virtually guaranteed an upgrade for this flight.
The flight left a little late, but it was smooth sailing all the way to Bogotá. At one point we flew directly over Cuba.
We actually got in a few minutes early, right at 7:30pm. I knew there was an 8:30pm connection to Medellin and I was determined to get on it. I deplaned onto the tarmac walked to the terminal. The wait at immigration wasn’t long, maybe 15 minutes. They just looked at my passport, stamped it and said goodbye.
I found the Avianca counter and explained that I wanted to change to the earlier flight. In English, the counter rep said the flight was booked full but not checked in full. She confirmed my seat on the 10pm and told me to go to the gate and see if they could get me on the 8:30pm.
I boarded a bus and went to the domestic terminal. I found the Avianca counter and had my first encounter with a non-English speaking person. I was able to explain that I wanted to get on the 8:30pm flight to Medellin with little trouble and she assigned me the last seat.
It was now about 8:10pm, plenty of time to hit the bathroom and take out some Pesos at one of the many ATMs in the terminal. As I walked through the terminal I saw EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE watching the soccer match on TV. The Americas Cup final was on and a club team from Colombia was playing the Boca Juniors of Argentina. The match had just started and everyone was transfixed.
I took out 400,000 pesos ($154) and my bank gave me a rate of 2590 and a $3 service charge for every withdrawal. 400k was the maximum I was able to withdraw at a time, and some banks had a 200,000 maximum, but you could make several transactions at the same machine, but my bank still charges $3 per transaction. I had the best luck with the Bank of Colombia; my card was always read, and I could withdraw 400k.
I went to the gate and passed through security and sat down in the smallish waiting room. Just then Colombia scored a goal to go 1-up and the place exploded with applause. Everyone was yelling and singing, a real site to see.
15 minutes later, the plane was boarding and we walked outside onto the tarmac, where it had begun to rain lightly.
I was all the way in the back, but surprisingly not in the middle seat. The plane filled up quickly and the doors were closed. We took off at about 8:45pm and although it was only a 30 minute flight, they served a beverage and snack. We landed in Medellin at 9:15pm and I made my way to the exit. There was a mass of people blocking the exits because everyone was looking up at the soccer game.
The outside temperature was perfect – about 65 degrees. I found the taxi line and jumped into the first official taxi I saw. We didn’t discuss price, but I knew it was set at 39,000 or about $15. We sped off towards the mountain that’s between the airport and Medellin. It’s dark, but you can tell the surroundings are quite picturesque. Open air restaurants/bars dotted the roadside – I was hungry and tempted to ask the driver to pull over, but decided to press on to Medellin.
All of a sudden the taxi pulled off the road and headed to a gas station. Immediately I thought I was being set up for a kidnapping. Made perfect sense: driver pulls into a gas station, tells the attendant he has a wealthy-looking gringo in the back and radios ahead to the guerillas. Even though his gas light was on red, I was certain foul play was imminent.
We pulled out of the station and made our way up the mountain. There was a sign saying elevation 1,500 meters and we were still climbing. The roads are in good shape, but narrow and ultra-winding. I don’t know that I’ve been on a more winding road.
At one point, we entered a checkpoint, but the soldier just waved us through. About 20 minutes into the ride, you could see the lights of Medellin below – it was really a spectacular view.
We started descending towards Medellin and we started passing some very expensive looking homes and apartment complexes, all gated and guarded. Well I guess the kidnappers had another prospect because Medellin was coming into view.
We entered the neighborhood of Poblado and it was not at all what I expected. It didn’t have a city feel to it – Poblado is more like an affluent suburb, like Scarsdale or Larchmont in Westchester County. No poverty anywhere.
Minutes later, we pulled into the Dann Carlton Hotel driveway. I give the driver 50,000k and he seemed very happy. Check in was a breeze because I had my confirmation number – they had spelled my last name wrong. I requested a suite on a high floor and they put me on one of the low floors, 6. As you walk through the lobby, the elevators are on the right and a small casino on the left. The lobby is big and clean and everything is modern.
A bellhop accompanied me to the elevator with the bags and we entered the suite. It was ok, nothing spectacular. I guess I’m spoiled by Bangkok quality and prices. The furniture was a bit dated but the bed was nice and the bathroom was very big and modern.
I unpacked, took a shower a got ready to hit Medellin. I figured it was too late for a massage place and I had read that you could take out from one of three strip clubs: Show San Diego, La Isla, or Face Dos. Of these three I had read that Face Dos was the best and a poster on another board said the quality was better than Flores Frescas in Cali, and better lit also.
So I went down to the lobby and was approached by a security guard. I explained it was my first night in Medellin and I wanted to go to Face Dos. He smiled and had the first cab in line pull up. He told the driver where I wanted to go and I slipped him 5,000P, just a small token of appreciation. Always good to have the security guard on your side. The taxi driver, Luis, spoke little English but understood Face Dos and we sped off in that direction. Face Dos is located in an industrial section on a sort off side-street, so don’t worry that you’re being taken out of the residential area and into some back alley.
We pulled up to the door and Luis asked if he should wait. I figured that was a good idea and I walked towards the bouncers. There was a 5,000k cover to get in and you could hear the music through the doors. I paid and after being treated to a very thorough frisking, I was admitted inside.
Face Dos is in a converted warehouse with minimalist design. There’s a service bar on the left as you walk in and several small stages where the girls dance one at a time. There are tables and chairs throughout and I made my way to an empty table. While the dancers wait their turn to strut their stuff, they sit in the audience and try to get your attention.
A waiter came over and I asked for a beer, but he said no beer. Figuring when in Rome, I ordered a bottle of Aguardiente, the local liquor made from pressed sugar cane. He asked if I wanted water on the side and I said yes. Hey, maybe this Spanish thing isn’t so hard after all!
I took a body count around the place and there were about 20 guys and 30 women. At first glance I didn’t really see anything that I have to have; frankly the women weren’t all that appealing. The girl dancing onstage has a killer body, but the face wasn’t doing anything for me.
Then out of nowhere, a girl stands next to me and says hi. In my experience, it’s the uglier girls that are more aggressive and come up to you, but this girl was hot. She introduces herself as Tatiana and I invite her for a drink of the Aguardiente that the waiter has just placed on the table, along with 2 plastic cups, some water and a plate of fruit. He doesn’t ask for money, so it seems I’m running a tab. There are no prices listed anywhere, so I’m wondering if I’m going to get gouged at the end. We’ll see.
Tatiana has striking black hair with red highlights and a gorgeous face. She’s wearing a halter top and jeans, decidedly dressed-down, but from what I see the body is stellar.
Ordinarily I would just cut to the chase and seal the deal, but I wanted to see what else was available. Another dancer goes on stage and the first dancer makes her way through the crowd looking for tips. I had gotten small bills at the hotel front desk and gave the dancer two 2,000 peso bills. Tatiana keeps looking at me and laughing and she’s really starting to turn me on. Two of her co-workers come over and introduce themselves but the have a real hard-pro look and they’re speaking rapid Spanish, oblivious that I don’t understand a word they’re saying. I understand enough that they want drinks, so I say sure, go ahead.
I decide it’s time to open the negotiations as Tatiana is giving me a great vibe and I don’t see anything else I want. I ask her if she’d like to come back to the hotel and she’s says yes. I ask her how much and she says it’s 100,000P for the bar ($38) and then asks how long I would like her for. I say I want to go out to dinner and then back to the hotel all night and she says 300,000P ($115). I kid around with her and say that seems awfully high, but she says well it’s for the whole night.
I tell her that’s fine and her eyes light up like she’s just won the lottery. We go to pay the bar and they write out a receipt with 100,000P on it, which I pay and then I settle up the bar bill which is 70,000 ($26) which I think is a very fair price. Tatiana makes sure I understand that the 100,000P is for the bar and I have to pay her separately. I tell her no problem and this is the last time we discussed money.
Tatiana grabs her worn denim jacket and hands the receipt to the bouncer who lets us both out. Luis is parked across the street and we make our way towards him.
She’s holding my hand and literally skipping towards the car and I’m forgetting all about dinner. I figure there’s always 24-hour room service at the Dann Carlton. I had mentioned to Tatiana that I was interested in trying a couple of products that Colombia is famous for, since possession of small quantities is legal in Colombia and she says it’s no problem. She tells Luis an address and when Luis is told what I’m in the market for he suggests he drop us at the hotel and he’ll take care of business and meet me back at the hotel. Sounds like a plan.
I walk through the lobby with Tatiana and she goes to the front desk to register. The manager then explains there is a 33,000P ($12.50) guest fee and I politely explain that I specially got a suite and assurances that guests were allowed and there would be no fee. He countered with there’s only one person registered to the suite and it’s the rules of the house. Well, I’m not going to make a scene for $12.50, but I will tell you at that point I knew the Dann Carlton would not be getting any future business from me. I signed a paper saying I would pay the fee and we went up to the room.
We both got comfortable on the couch and I popped in a bootleg Shakira DVD of a Las Vegas concert. This was very much appreciated by Tatiana and really set the mood.
Little did I know I was about to begin my best P4P session ever. We started with light kissing, totally unrushed. Tatiana straddled me and we moved onto DFK, just very, very passionate. We just kept kissing and heavy petting like two teenagers (well one of us WAS a teenager, Tatiana is 18 years old) for over 30 minutes. I decided to move to second base and took off her top. She had a bra on underneath and just as I was about to undo the straps, there was a knock at the door. Tatiana jumped up and ran to the bedroom. I answered the door and it was the very cool security guard, saying Luis was downstairs waiting for me.
I told Tatiana I’d be back in a minute, but she didn’t want to wait alone and she met me at the door. The three of us went downstairs and I got in Luis’ taxi, consummated the transaction and paid him for his time. Luis charges 15,000P an hour, which is less than $6. Well worth it in my opinion. I got out of the car, tipped the security guard again and thanked him for his discretion and Tatiana and I went back upstairs.
We went right back to the couch and started making out again, totally unrushed. This girl was one of the best kissers I’ve ever had the pleasure of coupling with. We must have made out for an hour and we only came up for air when the Shakira DVD ended, and it was a 2 hour DVD.
We then decided it was time to take a shower. Tatiana went in first and I decided to try some of the local product. Let’s just say I was not disappointed. Tatiana came out in a towel and I had still not seen her body. I took a quick shower and entered the bedroom and found her lying on the bed in all her glory. This girl was smoking hot!
What next ensued was just pure animal sex that started in the bedroom, went back to the couch, onto the dining room table and back to the bedroom. Two pops later I was totally worn out. It was about 4:00am and although she would have gone for round three, I had to call it quits. Another quick shower and we both fell asleep, our bodies intertwined. The thought of which almost brings tears to my eyes.
