Are you going to Barranquilla?

[sean126]

Any one who’s sincere and going to Barranquilla that’s looking for a hot spot besides nightclubs to meet women should try “Henry’s Bar and Grill” in this strip mall type place, especially on Friday and Saturday nights, preferably the ones who speak Spanish fairly well.   It’s a sports bar with several LCD TV’s with sports on.  There was a bunch of extremely  attractive women who were well dressed when I went.  I went  4 times to meet with friends and just hang out.  As usual, they travel in at least a pair at a time.   They would surly meet anyone’s standards of attractiveness or sexiness.  I wish I had stumbled upon this potential gold mine before I had met my wife.  This place is within walking distance from Villa Country.  Your guide or friend should know where it is.  There’s a Mimo’s ice cream place out front.  I’d go about 6:30pm to get a good table.

Another hot spot is a place called “Las Vegas”.  If you’re the outgoing fun type then you’ll have fun here.  They have 2 games there that you should play.  One looks like a Medieval game of bowling.  You take what looks like a shot put ball and toss it like you would a softball about 20 yards away and try to knock down these 3 big wooden pins that are about 3 foot tall that are set in a row…one behind the other.   I was addicted to that, but the next day your shoulder will be a little sore.  They have different weighted balls, just like different weighted bowling balls.  They have a guy down at the other end by the wooden pins that stands behind these boards.  Try not to hit the ball retriever…as I am sure he would try to stick one of those balls in your butt if you did.
They  have this other game….again it’s like a cross between Medieval horse shoes and darts.  You take these small weighted discs and toss them about 5 yards or so into this sandbox filled with clay and try to hit these triangular pieces of paper that are loaded with gun powder I think.  When you hit them, they make a small explosion.  There’s a metal ring in the middle and they place one of them at the top of the ring and the other at the bottom.  You get points for the disc’s sticking in the clay and other points for sticking them in the middle of the medal circle and still more points if you hit the triangle things.  
It’s also a big huge restaurant and they have a huge dance floor too.  They have a D.J. and on Friday and Saturday nights they have a band.  It may be other nights also, but I don’t know.  There are a lot of women there and a lot of people dancing on Friday and Saturday nights.  You might want to try meeting some women here too.  

The chocolate isn’t as sweet there as it is in the U.S., so if you have a sudden sweet tooth then I’d recommend going to “El Corral”.  It’s a hamburger joint that’s fairly well known there.  You need to get this this chocolate shake they have that has chocolate shavings on top.  They have other flavors though.  The food isn’t that bad and my wife said that the people who own it try to use the healthier kind of beef.  Papi would be pleased to know that they even have ketchup squeeze bottles at every table.  Don’t go to the one that’s in the Buena Vista Mall….it’s usually too much of a line and they aren’t trying to win a race with getting your food ready.  There’s only one other that I KNOW of…your guide or friend would know where it is.  There’s a big record store across the street.

 The Italian food absolutely sucks in Barranquilla.  If you must have pizza then the place that comes even close to being almost likeable is Jeno’s Pizza in the Buena Vista Mall.
A good Japanese place that’s like Shogun or Benihana is a place called  Subarachi.  It’s very close to Villa Country, which is a strip mall sort of thing.

If your looking for a bunch of different things to look at or buy then have your guide or friend take you to “downtown central”, as it’s known.  It’s really like a big flea market type of thing….only not as bad.  It’s a bunch of small time venders selling shirts, hats, shoes, TV’s, stereo’s, knick knacks, clothes….almost anything you’d want to look at.  I wouldn’t advise going alone if your new in the town or don’t speak Spanish fairly well.  They also have quite a bit of small stores on the outside of it too.  This isn’t in the best looking of neighborhoods, so don’t be shocked.

These are just a few ideas, so you won’t have to go to the Buena Vista Mall every other day.

I just came back late last night.  My trip was wonderful….had the best New Year’s eve of my life with my family there and one of the highlights of the trip was when I made my mother-in-law laugh so hard that she farted….Everyone talked about that for days.


This is Sean126 with planet-love.com saying….Goodnight Hound dog, where ever you are.

[doombug]

I made my mother-in-law laugh so hard that she farted...

Wait, wait, wait--wait just one minute! That cannot be true, because I have been told by countless sources that the female derrière does not crack air biscuits. That's like saying guys can really cry.

Preposterous!

[sean126]

ROFLMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

AIR BISCUTS........ROFLMAOOOOOOO

[Fuzzyone]

 Sean

   The pizza does really suck, I remember going to jeno's and thinking this is it? I will have to ask my wife but there was a place that served chicken and beef. I loved going there the beef was great and cheap.

[Montrealer]

Sean,
You should have popped me a message that you were in town and we could have hooked up.

I've tried Jeno's Pizza and it didn't work for me.  There truly is no good pizza in BAQ.  Between not using sauce, and the cheese being pure salt, it's just impossible.  I've given up on the idea.

I'm not much of a club go-er, so I probably won't be able to check out the clubs.

As far as centro, or what the locals call Miami, I love going down there, but not for too long.  The crowds get a little to hectic for me.  I usually go with my brother in law and his friend who packs heat for my protection.  It is not recommended that one go there solo if they stand out in any way being a gringo.  Not just for safety purposes, but also so you don't get charged gringo prices.  Also only travel there in daylight hours.

El Corral does have the best hamburgers in BAQ, hands down.  I know the place you're talking about, but I haven't gone in yet.  I usually hit the one in Buenavista mall since it's 2 minutes away.  There's also another one in the Exito Norte.

I did however find one semi-descent Italian restaurant called 'La Dolce Vita".  And they even have home delivery I think.  Other than that, not much.

For other things to do in BAQ, you should check out Boca de Cenizas, which is where the Magdalena meets the ocean.  Tou take this train track trolley for about 30 minutes out to the end of a pier, all along the river is 10 feet away on one side, and the ocean is 10 feet away on the other side.  They have some cheap type restaurants out on the pier serving the catch of the day.  Also you can watch the local fisherman do kite fishing which I thought was cool.

Also, no ones really said anything about the mud volcano except me.  Has anyone else gone?  It's very cool experience and I want to go again.  On the way you should stop in and see Puerto Colombia.  Although it's not much, it's a nice walk out on the wharf with a nice view.  Don't bother with the beach there though, it's horrible and unsafe.

For beaches near BAQ, go see Cano Dulce.  It's a wide waveless beach that is very safe.  They have a good restaurant there, but order early because it's a long wait till it gets delivered to your tent.  You are also allowed to barbecue there if you want.  The beach is aboiut 30 minutes outside the city.

If you are in the mood for terrasse sitting and beer sipping, head to any Beer Palace, where you can order a 'girraffe', which is a tall tube with a keg spout at the bottom and the tube holds about 8 beers I think (can't recall exactly), butit's a great way to spend a lazy sunday girl watching if that's what your heart seeks.

[G Bala]

Not too-bad Italian stuff in B/Q, IMO

RESTAURANTS
*Enoteca, Calle 80 No. 51B-80,  Tel 378-0634

Food is decent with good wine selection, but the ambiance
and setting is outstanding. Large refurbished ex-Mafiaso
mansion. You can literally take a stroll thru the place, they
have two large lounges with music, piano, etc.

An ice cream shop (heladeria) is in the back, with
maybe two dozen plus flavors of Italian ice cream,
gelato, spumoni, etc. for you and your date to pick from...

Worth a visit.

*Nena Lela, Cra. 49C No. 75-50, Tel 368-0020
Small but very elegant, romantic and quiet. My favorite
Italian food I have tried so far in B/Q.
They also have a take-out and delivery service.

PIZZA
Hotel El Prado Pizzeria, open after 4:00PM

The best I have tasted in B/Q is with
Fiorella Pizza, Cra. 66 #76-80, Tel 360-5883

(order-out only, they have no sit-down
restaurant) You can order it as you please,
including with extra T-sauce, etc. They deliver
to your hotel.

FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT, try Arab food in B/Q
Arabe Gourmet, Cra. 49C No. 76-181, Tel 360-5930

Make sure you check out the top floor restaurant at the
Hotel Dann Carlton, across from Buena Vista Mall
(Giratorio), the only revolving restaurant in B/Q.
Food is only OK, IMO, but the elegant setting and view is
spectacular. Your table has slowly circled around the
city several times by desert time. Their casino on the
first floor is also a lot of fun.

Newbie visitors arriving at B/Q airport should ask the
counter person at the taxi dispatcher booth at the airport
exit for their short B/Q tourist guide with city map (gratis);
usually extra copies are available.

PS: I will be visiting B/Q myself in early February 2007.
Send me a PM or E-Mail for any information or questions.
Suerte.

[soltero]

This is alot of great info on Baq places to eat and visit etc...It would be nice if there was a section on locales and things to do per city with info provided for by the members like in this thread...if there is already, and I have missed it, let me know...

[jediknight]

if you like 80's music, Flashback is great, it's small but if you get the cravings for a mix of techno and pop, its a lot of fun with los colombianos singing along. drinks are not expensive. the games that sean mentioned are bolos and tejo. i've played both and had beginners luck as i got the most pin knock downs and explosions with tejo. we bought many crates of beer to drink and had lots of fun.  someone i know mentioned Frogsleggs, anyone been there? how is it?
JK

[sean126]

Monty....dude, I totally forgot about that.  You haven't posted as much on here now and it slipped my mind.  We plan on going for Carnival next year.  If your still there, we could hook up then.

Good added info guys.