Cali Trip Report - July 2013

[Hector_Lavoe]

I just got back from my first trip to Cali. Thanks again for all the input I got before left.
 
I spent a week there and used a three-pronged approach to meet ladies: agency (All Colombian Girls), online with Colombian Cupid, and cold approaches to meet women in public places.  I had the most success with just approaching women on my own. More on that later. This is a long report. For the fun stuff you can skip to the part about Maria the 21 year old and just read the conclusion. 
 
 I live in Los Angeles where there is no shortage of beautiful women (granted that comes with the gloves up and lots of attitude). I was skeptical about Cali being as loaded with hot/sexy ladies as gets reported. There was no disappointment in this regard. My eyes were popping out all over the place! It doesn’t hurt that I love the Calena look so I was in a city filled with my type of ladies.
 
My stats are 46 yrs old, no kids, never married. I speak decent Spanish but I am nowhere near fluent. I also know how to dance Salsa. Both skills were big pluses while in Cali.
 
My target age range for both cupid and the agency was 25 to 36. I am a young looking 46. I know many guys say that and it is probably annoying to read that over and over again. But I do routinely get pegged for mid-30’s. I only mention this because I met a 21 year old Calena while in town. I was far more concerned about the age difference than her that is for sure. More on that later.

I was disappointed in the results I got from both the agency and Colombian Cupid. What I mean is that both turned up mostly average looking girls. I recognize that most of the guys on P.L. have met their wives/novias through one of these two methods. Maybe I am just not a natural in these types of settings. And despite the results, I would STILL use both methods on a return trip.  As a guy coming from abroad, I think using every method available only increases my chances for success.
 
 DATES with the AGENCY:
While in town I used All Colombian Girls (ACG) for introductions. Overall, I thought Ricardo (the owner) worked pretty hard to get me dates. And most of the gals he introduced me to came across as good, solid ladies with character. The problem was that I was just NOT physically attracted to the VAST majority of these ladies. Just plain average looking. I might sound shallow but I am not flying all the way to South America for an average looking lady. I know looks fade in time but I prefer a starting point of strong physical chemistry.
 
 I speak decent Spanish but I am not fluent. So I hired a guide/translator to help me out my first few days and dates. He was a GREAT resource and helped me out immensely. I did not really need him for the dates but he gave me some great tips on where to go to meet local gals. He used to live in the states so he is familiar with both US and Colombian culture. He knows Ricardo but is independent from him and lobbied Ricardo hard to get me as many dates as possible. My translator also introduced me to some ladies he knows around  town (at no charge).
 
As I mentioned, there was no physical chemistry for me with the girls from ACG except for one lady who I thought was VERY attractive. The downside to this gal was she was a money pit and not truly available as it would turn out. We only had one date which was a coffee date at Chipichape.  She was my first date on the first morning I was in town. So when I first saw her I was thinking, “Damn, nice job Ricardo. Keep them coming.” Unfortunately, he led off with his best hitter (in the looks department). My translator was golden here because he knew a bit about this chick’s history and it was not impressive.
 
She was a money pit. I will spare the details for another time. In addition, I just so happened to be in the center of Cali a few days later at an art exhibit. She was there working one of the exhibits and the guy she was in the booth with her appeared to be her significant other. I said hello to her and she looked like she’d seen a ghost. The guy she was with was staring at me and it was very uncomfortable. So I left. Bottom line is she had told me on the first date she lived 1.5 hours outside of Cali. I gave her cab fare based on that distance. My translator thought she inflated the fare even based on that distance.  But if she was in town working an exhibit she certainly didn’t need that kind of taxi fare. My translator confronted Ricardo about the gal’s true availability. Ricardo agreed to take her out of his dating pool. Have no way to know if he really will or not. 
 
Overall, I spent $250 on ACG for about 10 introductions (or $25 per introduction). That is definitely cheaper than what I spent at Jamie’s in Barranquilla two years ago. But with Jamie you can be 100 percent confident the profiles on his site are legit and updated. With Ricardo that is NOT the case. I sent him a list of about 18 ladies. Only one of the ladies I got introduced to was on my list.  Of course, from postings on P.L. I knew what to expect with Ricardo. He will get you dates but not necessarily the profiles you see on his site.
 
COLOMBIAN CUPID:
 
I will admit it. I hate online dating. I am not the most photogenic guy but I have made an effort to get professional pictures taken. One big downside is that my trip was planned very quickly and I only reactivated my account 3 or 4 weeks before I left.  Not a lot of time to build contacts. The few girls I did get together with were nice but nothing that I was really interested in. I met one girl at Palmetto Plaza in the south. On paper she was great for me: 32 years old, no kids, studying at the university and a nice girl. She was borderline cute in the photos but in person she was even less cute.
 
MEETING GIRLS on the FLY in PUBLIC:
 
Ok, here is the fun part. As I mentioned, I had the most success just approaching women in public places. I got several dates this way. The downside to this method is you just don’t know anything about the girl until you start talking to them (single/taken, age, kids/no kids, etc). Cali girls are very approachable but this was not like shooting fish in a barrel. I had to approach plenty of ladies just to find ones that were available and interested. That is par for the course and they were always very nice and sweet about it no matter what the outcome was. I will just mention a few of the highlights.
 
Maria - The 21 Year Old:
 
I was having dinner at an outdoor café on Avendia Sexta near my hotel. I see this cute girl walk in to get a table and she is sitting by herself. So I chat her up a bit (in Spanish of course). She is receptive and when she finds out I am from the USA she mentions she just starting studying English. I will call her Maria. We agreed to meet the next day for coffee and a mutual Spanish/English lesson. Then we went our separate ways.
 
I went across the street to my hotel and quickly changed clothes to go out to the clubs on Avenida Sexta. I walked into the first club/bar near my hotel and who walks up to greet me but Maria. She was there with a couple of friends and she invited me to join them for drinks. So we drank and danced a bit. Again, I can dance Salsa, Bachatta and Merengue (decently by no means an expert). All that worked in my favor as Maria and I got to know each other.
 
Around midnight I went with Maria and her friends to the Menga nightclub district for more dancing and drinking. Maria and I connected on our passion for music, especially Salsa. I don’t know how to dance Cali style salsa but the Los Angeles style of salsa is close enough that I was able to keep in rhythm with her. Around 3am or 4am we headed to some wild after hours place up in the hills above Cali. This place was AMAZING. It has this Spanish hacienda style architecture with STUNNING views of Cali and the Valle de Cauca below. There is a large dance floor and a terrace with a pool overlooking the city. Just jaw dropping views. We danced and drank some more. At this point, Maria and I were getting as physical as you can get at a night club. We were all over each other. She would later tell me about this night, “We danced so beautifully together.” That is a huge compliment coming from a Calena. Of course, didn’t hurt that she liked me. 
 
The booze kept flowing until sunrise. Around 10am we headed out to the pool terrace for some food. Maria took a dip in the pool with nothing on but a see through white blouse, panties and a bra.  Maria did some modeling/beauty pageants as a teenager. She has a nice figure. Watching her in the pool with the stunning views of the city and valley in the distance I was thinking, “Yes, I like Cali!”
 
Maria and I went out on a total of four dates including the whirlwind first date. I did not see her every day as I wanted to give myself as many chances to meet other more “age appropriate” ladies. Kept giving the agency a chance to pull through on something. Nada.
 
Maria is very possessive and passionate. Within just 24 hours of meeting her she was saying things like, “I am sad you are you leaving Colombia so soon. I really like you.” One day we did not have a date she sent me a text saying, “I miss you.” This was just a few days after meeting her.  She pretty clearly has a case of puppy love for lack of a better description. I like her and have a physical attraction to her but I don’t see a long-term relationship. The reason for that is two-fold: age and I am just not 100 percent into her. Like her just fine for dating/having fun. I made no promises for a return trip.
 
Maria, on the other hand, appears to be 110 percent into me. That said, we have never once mentioned the word marriage and she has said nothing about relocating permanently outside of Colombia. She has mentioned she hopes to study English in the USA and said she’d love to come to Los Angeles so she could see me. I thought I had managed expectations by giving her no promises for a return trip and telling her we should keep in contact but take it slowly. However, in our first online chat session since I returned she told me she wants me to meet her mother via skype, I’ve mentioned the large age difference to her a few times. Each time she says, “No me importa. La edad.”  Of course, she is just living in the moment which is fine. But I know long-term a girl that young is bound to change many times. That is why I set my target age range higher (25 to 35 years).
 
 
Alicia - The Beauty School Girl.
 
The translator I hired suggested I try going into one of the beauty (cosmetology) schools along Avenida Sexta for a haircut. The students are all girls and they give free services to the public. So I went in near the end of my trip to get a trim just on the back of my neck. Saw this super cute girl sitting there and asked her if she could help me out. She is 100 percent my type (EXCEPT for the age). I will call her Alicia. Dark complexion, petite but curvy in the right places and super cute with a great smile.  Of course, as a cosmetology school student she is ONLY 18 years old! Well, it was my second to last day in Cali and I had no other solid prospects other than a 21 year old. So I figured why not just run with it for a second. We went out for a lunch date later that day. I was leaving Colombia the next morning. During lunch she told me her favorite Salsa artist is Hector Lavoe. Of course, that caught my attention! She also has an aunt who lives in Ecuador and is (or was) married to a guy from Holland. After lunch we took a walk to the center of Cali. We exchanged contact information and said good bye. If she was 10 years older I would make a serious run at this girl. But given the situation I will have to just take a pass. 
 
 
CONCLUSION
 
On the downside I came away with no solid long term prospects. The upside is I got to know the city and I did have fun with Maria. Getting in the right social situation to meet the right lady at the right time when you are a foreigner in town for one week is tough. That said, I realize I am only one introduction away from the start of something good. Next time I would reconnect with my translator. He is native to Cali and knows a lot of ladies. I also have a friend of a friend who used to live in Cali. Next time I will try to make a connection here so I can get into some Colombian social circles.
 
There was a murder outside the Chipichape Mall while I was in town. I was there just about every day during my trip. Apparently a Colombian lady was talking on an expensive I-Phone and resisted a robber. He shot and killed her. I am white (Anglo) and a Latino buddy of mine who is fluent in Spanish told me, “You went to Colombia alone? Damn, you got balls to do that.”  The entire venture is a risky one (from safety concerns to risking marriage on a foreign lady from so far away). That said, I know guys on this site were in Colombia a LONG time ago when it was far more dangerous. Also, with P.L. all those risks are mitigated to the extent they can be. Finally, I am simply willing to roll the dice because I love these ladies and the culture. Only back in the USA a few days and the stench of the North American dating scene is enough to make me want to vomit.
 
 
 
 
 
 

[JWR]

Awesome! Thanks for the report......  I've also had my most memorable dating experiences outside the agency scene.

[whitey]

Interesting read, thanks for posting.


Re the woman and the iPhone ... another object lesson for those travelling to Colombia ... never carry anything you are not willing to give up and do not resist.  Your life is worth nothing to these people and they know their chances of getting caught are miniscule.

[mambocowboy]

I just got back from my first trip to Cali. Thanks again for all the input I got before left.
 
I spent a week there and used a three-pronged approach to meet ladies: agency (All Colombian Girls), online with Colombian Cupid, and cold approaches to meet women in public places.  I had the most success with just approaching women on my own. More on that later. This is a long report. For the fun stuff you can skip to the part about Maria the 21 year old and just read the conclusion. 
 
 I live in Los Angeles where there is no shortage of beautiful women (granted that comes with the gloves up and lots of attitude). I was skeptical about Cali being as loaded with hot/sexy ladies as gets reported. There was no disappointment in this regard. My eyes were popping out all over the place! It doesn’t hurt that I love the Calena look so I was in a city filled with my type of ladies.
 
My stats are 46 yrs old, no kids, never married. I speak decent Spanish but I am nowhere near fluent. I also know how to dance Salsa. Both skills were big pluses while in Cali.
 
My target age range for both cupid and the agency was 25 to 36. I am a young looking 46. I know many guys say that and it is probably annoying to read that over and over again. But I do routinely get pegged for mid-30’s. I only mention this because I met a 21 year old Calena while in town. I was far more concerned about the age difference than her that is for sure. More on that later.

I was disappointed in the results I got from both the agency and Colombian Cupid. What I mean is that both turned up mostly average looking girls. I recognize that most of the guys on P.L. have met their wives/novias through one of these two methods. Maybe I am just not a natural in these types of settings. And despite the results, I would STILL use both methods on a return trip.  As a guy coming from abroad, I think using every method available only increases my chances for success.
 
 DATES with the AGENCY:
While in town I used All Colombian Girls (ACG) for introductions. Overall, I thought Ricardo (the owner) worked pretty hard to get me dates. And most of the gals he introduced me to came across as good, solid ladies with character. The problem was that I was just NOT physically attracted to the VAST majority of these ladies. Just plain average looking. I might sound shallow but I am not flying all the way to South America for an average looking lady. I know looks fade in time but I prefer a starting point of strong physical chemistry.
 
 I speak decent Spanish but I am not fluent. So I hired a guide/translator to help me out my first few days and dates. He was a GREAT resource and helped me out immensely. I did not really need him for the dates but he gave me some great tips on where to go to meet local gals. He used to live in the states so he is familiar with both US and Colombian culture. He knows Ricardo but is independent from him and lobbied Ricardo hard to get me as many dates as possible. My translator also introduced me to some ladies he knows around  town (at no charge).
 
As I mentioned, there was no physical chemistry for me with the girls from ACG except for one lady who I thought was VERY attractive. The downside to this gal was she was a money pit and not truly available as it would turn out. We only had one date which was a coffee date at Chipichape.  She was my first date on the first morning I was in town. So when I first saw her I was thinking, “Damn, nice job Ricardo. Keep them coming.” Unfortunately, he led off with his best hitter (in the looks department). My translator was golden here because he knew a bit about this chick’s history and it was not impressive.
 
She was a money pit. I will spare the details for another time. In addition, I just so happened to be in the center of Cali a few days later at an art exhibit. She was there working one of the exhibits and the guy she was in the booth with her appeared to be her significant other. I said hello to her and she looked like she’d seen a ghost. The guy she was with was staring at me and it was very uncomfortable. So I left. Bottom line is she had told me on the first date she lived 1.5 hours outside of Cali. I gave her cab fare based on that distance. My translator thought she inflated the fare even based on that distance.  But if she was in town working an exhibit she certainly didn’t need that kind of taxi fare. My translator confronted Ricardo about the gal’s true availability. Ricardo agreed to take her out of his dating pool. Have no way to know if he really will or not. 
 
Overall, I spent $250 on ACG for about 10 introductions (or $25 per introduction). That is definitely cheaper than what I spent at Jamie’s in Barranquilla two years ago. But with Jamie you can be 100 percent confident the profiles on his site are legit and updated. With Ricardo that is NOT the case. I sent him a list of about 18 ladies. Only one of the ladies I got introduced to was on my list.  Of course, from postings on P.L. I knew what to expect with Ricardo. He will get you dates but not necessarily the profiles you see on his site.
 
COLOMBIAN CUPID:
 
I will admit it. I hate online dating. I am not the most photogenic guy but I have made an effort to get professional pictures taken. One big downside is that my trip was planned very quickly and I only reactivated my account 3 or 4 weeks before I left.  Not a lot of time to build contacts. The few girls I did get together with were nice but nothing that I was really interested in. I met one girl at Palmetto Plaza in the south. On paper she was great for me: 32 years old, no kids, studying at the university and a nice girl. She was borderline cute in the photos but in person she was even less cute.
 
MEETING GIRLS on the FLY in PUBLIC:
 
Ok, here is the fun part. As I mentioned, I had the most success just approaching women in public places. I got several dates this way. The downside to this method is you just don’t know anything about the girl until you start talking to them (single/taken, age, kids/no kids, etc). Cali girls are very approachable but this was not like shooting fish in a barrel. I had to approach plenty of ladies just to find ones that were available and interested. That is par for the course and they were always very nice and sweet about it no matter what the outcome was. I will just mention a few of the highlights.
 
Maria - The 21 Year Old:
 
I was having dinner at an outdoor café on Avendia Sexta near my hotel. I see this cute girl walk in to get a table and she is sitting by herself. So I chat her up a bit (in Spanish of course). She is receptive and when she finds out I am from the USA she mentions she just starting studying English. I will call her Maria. We agreed to meet the next day for coffee and a mutual Spanish/English lesson. Then we went our separate ways.
 
I went across the street to my hotel and quickly changed clothes to go out to the clubs on Avenida Sexta. I walked into the first club/bar near my hotel and who walks up to greet me but Maria. She was there with a couple of friends and she invited me to join them for drinks. So we drank and danced a bit. Again, I can dance Salsa, Bachatta and Merengue (decently by no means an expert). All that worked in my favor as Maria and I got to know each other.
 
Around midnight I went with Maria and her friends to the Menga nightclub district for more dancing and drinking. Maria and I connected on our passion for music, especially Salsa. I don’t know how to dance Cali style salsa but the Los Angeles style of salsa is close enough that I was able to keep in rhythm with her. Around 3am or 4am we headed to some wild after hours place up in the hills above Cali. This place was AMAZING. It has this Spanish hacienda style architecture with STUNNING views of Cali and the Valle de Cauca below. There is a large dance floor and a terrace with a pool overlooking the city. Just jaw dropping views. We danced and drank some more. At this point, Maria and I were getting as physical as you can get at a night club. We were all over each other. She would later tell me about this night, “We danced so beautifully together.” That is a huge compliment coming from a Calena. Of course, didn’t hurt that she liked me. 
 
The booze kept flowing until sunrise. Around 10am we headed out to the pool terrace for some food. Maria took a dip in the pool with nothing on but a see through white blouse, panties and a bra.  Maria did some modeling/beauty pageants as a teenager. She has a nice figure. Watching her in the pool with the stunning views of the city and valley in the distance I was thinking, “Yes, I like Cali!”
 
Maria and I went out on a total of four dates including the whirlwind first date. I did not see her every day as I wanted to give myself as many chances to meet other more “age appropriate” ladies. Kept giving the agency a chance to pull through on something. Nada.
 
Maria is very possessive and passionate. Within just 24 hours of meeting her she was saying things like, “I am sad you are you leaving Colombia so soon. I really like you.” One day we did not have a date she sent me a text saying, “I miss you.” This was just a few days after meeting her.  She pretty clearly has a case of puppy love for lack of a better description. I like her and have a physical attraction to her but I don’t see a long-term relationship. The reason for that is two-fold: age and I am just not 100 percent into her. Like her just fine for dating/having fun. I made no promises for a return trip.
 
Maria, on the other hand, appears to be 110 percent into me. That said, we have never once mentioned the word marriage and she has said nothing about relocating permanently outside of Colombia. She has mentioned she hopes to study English in the USA and said she’d love to come to Los Angeles so she could see me. I thought I had managed expectations by giving her no promises for a return trip and telling her we should keep in contact but take it slowly. However, in our first online chat session since I returned she told me she wants me to meet her mother via skype, I’ve mentioned the large age difference to her a few times. Each time she says, “No me importa. La edad.”  Of course, she is just living in the moment which is fine. But I know long-term a girl that young is bound to change many times. That is why I set my target age range higher (25 to 35 years).
 
 
Alicia - The Beauty School Girl.
 
The translator I hired suggested I try going into one of the beauty (cosmetology) schools along Avenida Sexta for a haircut. The students are all girls and they give free services to the public. So I went in near the end of my trip to get a trim just on the back of my neck. Saw this super cute girl sitting there and asked her if she could help me out. She is 100 percent my type (EXCEPT for the age). I will call her Alicia. Dark complexion, petite but curvy in the right places and super cute with a great smile.  Of course, as a cosmetology school student she is ONLY 18 years old! Well, it was my second to last day in Cali and I had no other solid prospects other than a 21 year old. So I figured why not just run with it for a second. We went out for a lunch date later that day. I was leaving Colombia the next morning. During lunch she told me her favorite Salsa artist is Hector Lavoe. Of course, that caught my attention! She also has an aunt who lives in Ecuador and is (or was) married to a guy from Holland. After lunch we took a walk to the center of Cali. We exchanged contact information and said good bye. If she was 10 years older I would make a serious run at this girl. But given the situation I will have to just take a pass. 
 
 
CONCLUSION
 
On the downside I came away with no solid long term prospects. The upside is I got to know the city and I did have fun with Maria. Getting in the right social situation to meet the right lady at the right time when you are a foreigner in town for one week is tough. That said, I realize I am only one introduction away from the start of something good. Next time I would reconnect with my translator. He is native to Cali and knows a lot of ladies. I also have a friend of a friend who used to live in Cali. Next time I will try to make a connection here so I can get into some Colombian social circles.
 
There was a murder outside the Chipichape Mall while I was in town. I was there just about every day during my trip. Apparently a Colombian lady was talking on an expensive I-Phone and resisted a robber. He shot and killed her. I am white (Anglo) and a Latino buddy of mine who is fluent in Spanish told me, “You went to Colombia alone? Damn, you got balls to do that.”  The entire venture is a risky one (from safety concerns to risking marriage on a foreign lady from so far away). That said, I know guys on this site were in Colombia a LONG time ago when it was far more dangerous. Also, with P.L. all those risks are mitigated to the extent they can be. Finally, I am simply willing to roll the dice because I love these ladies and the culture. Only back in the USA a few days and the stench of the North American dating scene is enough to make me want to vomit.
 

good trip report Hector Lavoe. Curious to know why you couldn't find hotties on colombiancupid or Latinamericancupid. I felt like a kid in a candy store on those sites and found plenty eligible interested ladies....

[benjio]

HL,
 
Awesome report and thanks for sharing. I'm always happy to hear about guys having success just walking up to women in Colombia because I recommend that approach over any other (if they already know some Spanish of course). I look forward to hearing about more of your adventures in the future. Cheers.

[Hector_Lavoe]

good trip report Hector Lavoe. Curious to know why you couldn't find hotties on colombiancupid or Latinamericancupid. I felt like a kid in a candy store on those sites and found plenty eligible interested ladies....

Not 100 percent sure why.  But as I mentioned I only reactivated my C.C. account three weeks before the trip so that was not a lot of time to build contacts. Another factor could be I am not the most photogenic guy in the world and I always do better in person. One of these days I am going to create a thread and ask you guys that met your gals online how you did it. It is apparently a mystery to me b/c I never have much success in that arena.

[davidgm50]

2-3 weeks should have been enough time for Colombian Cupid, as you could says your in town, and can meet.
On your late night out , at the club on the hill, it sounds like you syaed up all night at that club?   until the sun came up and had breakfast at the club, then a swim in the pool?  Ive never made an all nighte without being dead tired,   I only did it a coupe times, as I had a 8am flight Sunday morning.
Whats the name of the club?
 
 

[Hector_Lavoe]

I definitely did not have a flight out the next day when we went to the after hours place. I was dead tired the next day for sure. The club is called The Arcade or "El Arca de Noe Cali"

[fathertime]

What a great report Hector....I recognize a lot of the things you said because it sounded similar to my first trips to Colombia in 2004...it sounds to me like you did a real good job of getting the lay of the land...hard to resist a willing beautiful 21 year old, but given your current age it does make sense...I am a little surprised that the ladies Ricardo and ACG provided weren't up to snuff in the looks dept....I recall that the ladies were very attractive way back when....well anyway, hopefully you can plan a second trip to Colombia soon and make something happen.


Good luck,
Fathertime! 

[Hector_Lavoe]

Thanks F.T. I think my experience at ACG was similar to Stnmsn's use of the agency in 2012. Plenty of nice girls but nothing particularly standout with regards to physical attractiveness.

[JasonA]

2-3 weeks should have been enough time for Colombian Cupid, as you could says your in town, and can meet.

I chatted with my fiancé for only 2 1/2 weeks on LAC before going to Lima. I already had vacation scheduled, so it was a bit of a time squeeze, but it all worked out in the end.

A couple of things that work in online dating (in my opinion):

Make yourself look fun, active and intriguing. Think Dos Equis commercials. Women don't want to be bored and they look to their man to provide excitement. You don't need professional glamour shot photos. If you're not photogenic, photos from a slight distance of you hiking/kayaking/rock climbing/whatever will serve their purpose.

Speaking of photos, include at least one photo of you with a group of friends. It allows the woman to see that you have friends and aren't the creepy loner guy. Also, no selfie pictures, especially, no shirtless in the mirror pictures. I don't care how buff and muscular you are, nothing spells pathetic to a woman more than this.

When contacting the woman for the first time, keep the email short. Don't tell them your whole life story. Make a comment about something on their profile (a picture on the beach? Ask them if they like to travel and where the pic was taken). Introduce yourself (1 sentence only), tell her that you like her profile and your interested in skyping with her sometime soon. You don't want to be pen pals with her, so the sooner it moves to Skype, the better. Also, if you get her on Skype, you know that she's a real person and it's not a bogus account.

Be a little flirty, but don't be suggestive or perverted. You know that you want sex. She knows that you want sex. Don't scare her off by flying your freak flag too soon. Think of it as deer hunting. You can't run through the forest screaming that you want to kill a deer. You have to sit and wait and be quiet to get your deer to come along...

Be funny. If you're not a naturally funny guy, send them funny emails or links to funny YouTube videos (after you have moved from the dating website and to her personal email). It takes the pressure off of you and gets her to let her guard down a bit.

Don't lie about your height. Her bull[snip] detector will be on high alert from the moment she meets you in person.

Don't lie in general. You are who you are. She needs to accept that person, so don't make crazy claims about things that aren't true.

TRY to only contact a few women. Like MC said, it's like a kid in a candy store. You contact a few, but with Latinas, they will make contact with you first. Next thing you know, you are emailing and skyping 6 or 8 or more. One night, I had 7 waiting to talk with me via Skype at the same time. I pulled it off somehow, but I wouldn't recommend it. Start turning the ones loose that you're not interested in.

Don't use old photos. Guess what? You're aging. Don't fool yourself into thinking that you look the same as you did 7 or 8 years ago. Yes, time flies.

Have a few more things, but gotta go now...

[JWR]

Jason, thanks for the tips.....


Online chatting is a painful bore in my opinion.....


I read about guys here that chat and Skype with their girlfriends for 2 plus hours a day.  I can't imagine about what.


I'm just curious.  How many total days have you spent with your fiancé in person now?


Jwr.


I chatted with my fiancé for only 2 1/2 weeks on LAC before going to Lima. I already had vacation scheduled, so it was a bit of a time squeeze, but it all worked out in the end.

A couple of things that work in online dating (in my opinion):

Make yourself look fun, active and intriguing. Think Dos Equis commercials. Women don't want to be bored and they look to their man to provide excitement. You don't need professional glamour shot photos. If you're not photogenic, photos from a slight distance of you hiking/kayaking/rock climbing/whatever will serve their purpose.

Speaking of photos, include at least one photo of you with a group of friends. It allows the woman to see that you have friends and aren't the creepy loner guy. Also, no selfie pictures, especially, no shirtless in the mirror pictures. I don't care how buff and muscular you are, nothing spells pathetic to a woman more than this.

When contacting the woman for the first time, keep the email short. Don't tell them your whole life story. Make a comment about something on their profile (a picture on the beach? Ask them if they like to travel and where the pic was taken). Introduce yourself (1 sentence only), tell her that you like her profile and your interested in skyping with her sometime soon. You don't want to be pen pals with her, so the sooner it moves to Skype, the better. Also, if you get her on Skype, you know that she's a real person and it's not a bogus account.

Be a little flirty, but don't be suggestive or perverted. You know that you want sex. She knows that you want sex. Don't scare her off by flying your freak flag too soon. Think of it as deer hunting. You can't run through the forest screaming that you want to kill a deer. You have to sit and wait and be quiet to get your deer to come along...

Be funny. If you're not a naturally funny guy, send them funny emails or links to funny YouTube videos (after you have moved from the dating website and to her personal email). It takes the pressure off of you and gets her to let her guard down a bit.

Don't lie about your height. Her bull[snip] detector will be on high alert from the moment she meets you in person.

Don't lie in general. You are who you are. She needs to accept that person, so don't make crazy claims about things that aren't true.

TRY to only contact a few women. Like MC said, it's like a kid in a candy store. You contact a few, but with Latinas, they will make contact with you first. Next thing you know, you are emailing and skyping 6 or 8 or more. One night, I had 7 waiting to talk with me via Skype at the same time. I pulled it off somehow, but I wouldn't recommend it. Start turning the ones loose that you're not interested in.

Don't use old photos. Guess what? You're aging. Don't fool yourself into thinking that you look the same as you did 7 or 8 years ago. Yes, time flies.

Have a few more things, but gotta go now...

[JasonA]

4 weeks

[bcc_1_2]

One positive that I don't think has been pointed out yet is that you've learned to fish for yourself. Plenty of guys only rely on an agency or the internet and sit around in their hotel rather than networking... and you managed to network. ACG at least used to have some decent looking women so unless things have changed you might want to take future note that your looks expectations are pretty high (that's okay, mine were as well).
The negative is that you spent money and time on this without hitting the DEMO you were targeting. How did you miss the 28 to 35 year old professional woman that is 15 years younger? What can you do in the future to make sure your resources go into meeting that woman.
Internet chatting is indeed boring. A few weeks just to make contact and exchange information with women is enough time. So I'm not sure what went wrong there. You weren't happy with the agency girls... perfectly fine. Believe it or not the newspaper ad might have been the way to go for you because young professionals in their 30s tend to read it. I think you learned how to fish which is great... but I think in the future you need to target your DEMO when fishing. So at this point I'd suggest brainstorming on how you do that.

[fathertime]

Online chatting is a painful bore in my opinion.....


I read about guys here that chat and Skype with their girlfriends for 2 plus hours a day.  I can't imagine about what.

 

correct,
it got to be tedious as all hell...but the conversation kept things alive for a period of a few months while apart...with a laptop at least a person can be taking care of chores/ cooking....etc...


Fathertime! 

[whitey]

Online chatting is a painful bore in my opinion.....

I read about guys here that chat and Skype with their girlfriends for 2 plus hours a day. I can't imagine about what.

[/size]
[/size]It's hard to imagine until you are in a relationship, and don't see the person you love in person for months.[size=78%]

[/size]I'm not a big talker and neither is my wife, but we had a regular time for about an hour ... sometimes 1.5 hours each night ... it's just something you need to do to maintain the relationship.  It also builds trust as both people know they are committed and available to being together (on line at least) at night.[size=78%]

[/size]It did get a bit tedious sometimes ... won't lie about that.  JWR, not sure what shape your Spanish is in, or how much you know of the country you're looking in ... so I'll address these remarks in general ...[size=78%]

[/size]I would use that time to speak at least 50% in Spanish, so that you continue to improve, no matter what your current level.  In our case, we spoke almost 100% in Spanish.[size=78%]

[/size]Also use that time obviously to get to know the woman, her family, and friends in great detail.  And ... get to know the culture ... ask lots of questions.  My wife doesn't have much interest or knowledge in politics or history so we couldn't cover that ground, but I asked many questions about the culture.[size=78%]

[raycjs]

very nice report, looks like you had a great time...
 
good luck finding the right one...
 

 
Ray

[Gato4Astrid]

There was a murder outside the Chipichape Mall while I was in town. I was there just about every day during my trip. Apparently a Colombian lady was talking on an expensive I-Phone and resisted a robber. He shot and killed her.
 

I don't even own any fancy phones - including iPhone!


By the way, nice trip report

[Gato4Astrid]

By the way, I just had a quick look at ACG site.


This lady ACG2441 is in front page and I met her 6 years ago and she was my 1st date.  She has the same photos from 6 years ago!!! 


Also looked at the other ladies that I saw when I was there 6 years ago - SAME photos!


Obviously ACG sites are not as updated as Jamie's.   Who knows some of them might have been in ACG for 10 years!!

[Hector_Lavoe]

Yes, ACG's website is a joke in regards to keeping profiles up to date.  As in many (or most) profiles are out of date and not around or available anymore.

Jamie's agency in Barranquilla gets high marks on that score. He keeps his site very up to date.

[fathertime]

By the way, I just had a quick look at ACG site.


This lady ACG2441 is in front page and I met her 6 years ago and she was my 1st date.  She has the same photos from 6 years ago!!! 


Also looked at the other ladies that I saw when I was there 6 years ago - SAME photos!


Obviously ACG sites are not as updated as Jamie's.   Who knows some of them might have been in ACG for 10 years!!

Gulp...I was there in 2004 and have seen some of the same photos as late as last year...haven't looked lately....i don't know why Ricardo doesn't recruit some new babes for the website and toss the old photos out...from what I have seen he had many willing ladies...i guess he just wants to get more guys down there at the expense of honest advertising.


Fathertime!

[Elexpatriado]

Sorry buddy- you dont look like your serious- even admitted it yourself. The two women you mention  were a Rumbera and a woman studying to work in a Peluqueria. And 21 and 18. And you admit that the physical part is the highest priority..take  a real hot one back to LA and see how longit lasts..
 
The Colombians tell all us old guys we look young. They tell me I look 37 or 38 and I am 57.
 
Glad you had fun anyway..
 
I thought this  was  a site for guys looking for "wives"...
 
Maybe that is too general. Should change the name tp "Planet Lust"..

[Elexpatriado]

The issue on Colombia Cupid and the like, espescially in Colombia, is the hot girls get so many 100 messages from guys living in thier moms basement in Chicken- foot Alabama (or Durango Mexico , or Mendoza Argentina) its really hard to stick ut from the crowd, and so many of them end up being creaps that want them to take thier clthes off on web-cam, (i've met many women who have told me this)the majority of these girls are really hard to get in contact with unless yur profile can really show you as a sincere, interesting and honest person. Not to mention a lot of the young hot ones are pre-pagos, or Nigerian scammers that stole some woman's  foto.
 
Your idea of cold approach isgoodif you have that much confidence and courage, and also has the benifit that you are finding a women in a more "natural" way (but usually these women are on the dating sites as well..ja.ja.ja.) but has the added risk, that if you approach a Capo's girl, you may get yourself in DEP do-do (I have heard this happening before).

[Elexpatriado]

I saw some women I dated in 2004 or 2005 on ACG as well  that are still on thier web-site and have the same pictures. At least they changed thier age..ja..ja..ja.

[Elexpatriado]

 
And the big question is... all these women have been there all this time without a boy friend, either foreigner or Colombiano all these years? Do they all just wait around, and use vibrators until they get married to a gringo , after which they find a Colombian "Mosso" and start screwing around?
 

I saw some women I dated in 2004 or 2005 on ACG as well  that are still on thier web-site and have the same pictures. At least they changed thier age..ja..ja..ja.