... in response to Congradulations and a Question, posted by David W W on Nov 27, 2001David, I haven't spent a lot of time in cartagena, but have a cousin who lives there (or at least I do now ;-), and according to him, all costen~os, including him, are more relaxed, lazy (his words, not mine) and generally more open to parties or living in the day. I have family in Bogota (now) as well... and Bogota has the pace and attitude of NEw York. Also, I honestly think Bogota is more dangerous-- more people move to Bogota with high aspirations, and wind up desparate.
Hmmm, other thoughts-- in Cartagena, EVERYONE is an entrepreneour or hombre de negocios. However, if you don't wihs to buy what's being sold, a smile and an insistent no usually works.
In terms of appearance: you can find beautiful women in any part of colombia, from the coast to the mountains.
I will say htis much for the people in Cartagena-- the gringos I saw during my last visit were true 'ugly americans.' Drunk and dancing in the streets, throwing money around while trying to impress the women, dressing as Gringo as possible, etc... I was personally embarassed by the behavior I saw. However, my relatives told me that the people didn't worry about it--they made a good living off of the gringos, and the attitude in Cartagena, at least in the hotel section, is 'no problem.' In general the folks in cartagena were very amiable, but when they see a gringo they are businesspeople first.
If you go to Cartagena, expect to be bothered on the beach by swarms of people selling contraband t-shirts, sunglasses, watches, hats, lotion, and more. DON"T BUY ON THE BEACH! There are plenty of stores with cheap contraband (or goods smuggled in without import taxes). My wife bought a t-shirt for me on the beach for 4.000 pesos, and was upset the next day when she found the same shirts for sale 3 for 10.000 in a store. I tried to find some guayabera shirts (I love the things, wear them to teach in), and they were 35.000 pesos in the store, before negotiations. A good guayabera will cost 40 bucks in the US...
in general, Cartagena women smile more,and are less preoccupied with appearance than BOgota women, I think, and the people of cartagena are more friendly than in Bogota. In BOgota, it takes time to develop amicable relations, but in Cartagena, you might spend 2 -3 hours with people under a building awning during a thunderstorm, and it becomes a party or a social gathering. In Bogota, the people aren't as open.
thus endeth this sermon... sorry for the length.
