Bucaramanga trip report

[Canadian]

I just came back from 3 weeks in Bucaramanga. Some things were very similar to Michael B’s report
. Crazy drivers (I have a couple of pictures of 2 cabs that crashed into each other as well as a 3rd car). I only took a bus once because it was raining and no cabs were around. I was told they are not very safe.

The airport   I checked the “plants or insects” part also; not for coffee but for those “armigas”? (big ass ants) for a Colombian near where I work. The customs agent said OK as long as they were dead.

I didn’t go where rebels were likely to be. My lady said that she didn’t want anything bad to happen to me. She said that she was going to handle me like "a ball of cotton" (very sweet of her).

The street vendors in Bucaramanga carried their goods. It was crazy. Guys walking up and down the streets carrying big bags of oranges, mangos on their backs. I thought to myself “can’t they find a couple of wheels and an axel to make a cart of some kind?”

I found the traffic vendors very interesting. You stop in traffic and these guys run into the traffic selling anything from lottery tickets to bread. One old lady was just standing there in the middle of the road with cars going by her. I asked what she was doing there and I was told that she was waiting for people to give her money. I thought to myself “what is money going to be worth to her if she gets killed in the traffic?”.

Cooking and cleaning.   I was treated like a king in that department. She actually pre-washed my clothes by hand before putting them into the washing machine. I wasn’t used to anybody else washing my clothes at all.

No agencies for me either. It was also a one-woman trip for me. I emailed a few ladies, got about 80% response rate, quickly narrowed it down to one and went to see her. It seems to be working for me.

I’m not giving many specifics here on purpose. Although I enjoy the board, I don’t think my lady wants our lives to be detailed on it either. Anyway guys, I have to go now and start the process to get her over here. Take care…………..Canadian.

[Buck]

... in response to Bucaramanga trip report, posted by Canadian on Jun 8, 2002

Congratulations Canadian,I went the ame route as you and had great success also.I wish you all the luck in the world and a great life together.Buck

[Canadian]

... in response to Congatulations, posted by Buck on Jun 9, 2002

 

[Michael B]

... in response to Bucaramanga trip report, posted by Canadian on Jun 8, 2002

Well, welcome back. So she's the one? GREAT. Just between you and me (and the whole board, hee hee), of course everybody is free to do the method that works for THEM, but I'm going to be an advocate of the "one woman trip", one the you have corresponded with and are already 90%+ sure that she's the one, you're just down there to confirm that and cement the details....the lady WILL take care of you, as opposed to being on your own in a strange land where you don't know anybody. So, tell me, do you speak Spanish or does the lady speak English, or a little of each?

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Reguarding the ants, is it 'armigas' or 'ormigas'? I'm not sure of the spelling. But you know what they are used for, don't you?
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Yeah, Cali had trafic vendors also. There was one woman, looked rather young, early 20's, who was painted white (or maybe covered with baby powder or something similar) and was dressed in long white robes, like you see in 'bible pictures'. She had a crufix, about 3 feet tall, standing upright on the ground in front of her. She was standing on a stool or small ladder that the robes also covered, so it looked like she was about 9 feet tall. At first I thought she was making a religious or perhaps political statement or protest, but the others in my party said "No, she's just begging for money. She's dressed that way to represent the Virgin Mary and a lot of people give her money out of fear or superstition"....it must work, I saw people giving her money. Also, there were many trafic 'acrobats', usually two boys between 10-15 years old (although one time we did see two very poor/ragged looking young girls) who would stand on each others shoulders and the one on top would juggle 3 balls. Most of them didn't have much juggling skills, they often dropped the balls, but people still gave them money, small stuff, 200 or 500 peso coins.

[colman]

... in response to Good trip, eh?, posted by Michael B on Jun 8, 2002

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[Canadian]

... in response to Good trip, eh?, posted by Michael B on Jun 8, 2002

Thanks for the welcome back. As far as the one woman trip goes; I found that 3 weeks was a VERY short time to spend with and get to know one lady very well. I cannot imagine trying to get to know 5 or 6 in that period of time. That’s just the way I am, others obviously had success other ways.

My Spanish is not very good and neither is her English. PATIENCE and a lot of work paid off though. She thought I was very brave (or is it stupid?) for going down there just before the elections with almost no Spanish through Bogota and Bucaramanga airports.

Someone told me what the ants are used for. I hope the one I ate was very potent because it’s probably the last one that I will ever eat. lol. Good Luck and take care………Canadian.