The apartment and MORE

[CaliAdvisor]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The apartment an..., posted by larrydarrell on Jan 29, 2004

Larry.. I have no IDEA where you went in Costa Rica or if you just attract fat girls by your nature, but I have no idea what you are talking about. The towns in the upper valley of costa rica are absolutely full of mountain flowers.

[larrydarrell]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The apartmen..., posted by CaliAdvisor on Jan 29, 2004

Cali advisor, in your statement ("The towns in the upper valley of costa rica are absolutely full of mountain flowers") you seem to be making my argument for me!  What you are saying sounds something like saying something like "You can meet plenty of pretty girls in the U.S., as long as you stay in the Rocky Mountains."

I hold not brief for Colombia, by the way.  I plan to leave the U.S. for good in 2-3 years and move to Central or S.A. for all the usual reasons (women, lifestyle, traffic, women, cost of living, women), and have been traveling down there to check various places out.  I would never consider living in Colombia - I am not a coward who is scared to leave his hotel after 6 p.m. but I think there are just too many restraints on one's freedom in Colombia (e.g., I understand that it is not practical to travel outside of cities by bus or car).  

That being said, I must be honest with myself and say that the girls (at least based on appearance) in Colombia are head and shoulders above the rest.  No comparison. (I have been to Mexico, C.R., Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. )A lot of this is personal preference, of course.  

Typical Costa Rica/Mexican girl, age 22-35:
120-150 lbs, 5'0-5'6, nascent double chin, face would be pretty if not so chubby, thick flabby upper arms, very large breasts that are starting to sag, large butt (still generally looks ok), very thick thighs.  Overall Indian look (coarse facial features and refrigerator body) reminiscent of the often very nice and polite ladies who clean Motel 6 rooms in the U.S.  Pack on 20-30 lbs after 2 babies and you are really looking at a problem of U.S. proportions.

Typical Colombian girl, same age:
100-120 lbs, 5'2-5'8, sleek face with thick black hair and fine lean European features but lovely fresh coffee/chocolate complexion.  Small or large breasts (take your pick), sculpted stomach (liposuction? very well could be), tight round bottom, skinny stick insect legs.  Admittedly same problems after babies are likely.

I know which kind I prefer, and I am sure I know which kind carries the miles better.

[mar33]

... in response to Motel 6 cleaning lady v. Shakira, posted by larrydarrell on Jan 31, 2004

[This message has been edited by mar33]

Larry,
  We have very different perceptions of Costa Rica. I for one was very suprised at the European mixed looks of many people there. I was told it was because there were a lot of German mix.
  After I read your post stating many Costa Ricans had the Mestizo look, I was wondering how it was my perception was so different. I looked up the racial mix of the people.
  "Whites and Creoles descended from Original white settlers make up 87% of the population. This group also includes Mestizos descendants of mixed white and Indian parentage who now make up 7% of the population.Guanacaste has a large amount Mestizos 50%.

  From Costaricalink.com
   "Foreigners who have travelled in Mexico and other parts of Central America are quick to notice the racial and political differences between Costa Ricans and their neighbors. Costa Ricans are mostly white and Spansih origin with a mixture of German, Italian, English and other Europeans. This makes Costa Ricans the most racially homogenous of all Central American people.

   Though you may have met a lot of beautiful Colombians, the ones you thought looked Mestizo are probably not from Costa Rica but Nicaragua. Many will say they are Costa Ricans because people from Nicaragua are looked down on by Costa Ricans.

[cancunhound]

... in response to Motel 6 cleaning lady v. Shakira, posted by larrydarrell on Jan 31, 2004

LD, couldn't help but notice your statement:

"I would never consider living in Colombia - I am not a coward who is scared to leave his hotel after 6 p.m. but I think there are just too many restraints on one's freedom in Colombia (e.g., I understand that it is not practical to travel outside of cities by bus or car)"

While clearly there are safer haunts in LA to hang your hat, that perception of Colombia (or misperception depending on viewpoint) is exactly what makes Colombia such a gem - unless of course you prefer being surrounded by average women, geographic potholes, fellow expats and high prices

[larrydarrell]

... in response to Re: Motel 6 cleaning lady v. Shakira, posted by cancunhound on Feb 1, 2004

The security/drug/rebel stuff actually does not bother me that much, I generally find that people overstate the dangers in most countries. However, I think people's perception of Colombia is so bad that it reaches a negative critical mass that is impossible to fix.  In other words, so many people and businesses (especially foreign) are driven away that there is nothing good left.  For example, I gather that there is very good scuba diving on the Pacific side of Colombia.  If you do a web search for scuba in Colombia, the websites you come up with are kind of pathetic and half-hearted.  On the other hand, if you do the same search for, say, Venezuela or Mexico, you get lots of good websites put up by people who clearly are excited about getting the gringo dollar and who want to provide a fairly good, international-type service.  I would guess from the people I dealt with in Colombia and from what I read generally on this site (e.g. about Pete E's search for an apartment - the response of people who can't even be bothered to talk to him even though they are trying to rent their aparment out, I think is pathetic and not typical of LA and SA) and see in my web searches that the whole culture there is demoralized and passive-  far more so than the rest of LA or SA.  A place where people do not want to make an effort because they are so likely to be defeated by all the real problems they face is, let's face it, likely to be a bit of a dump to live in.   If I move to a country, I do not want after 5-10 years to be sitting around miserable and bored with my similarly bored family.

I too am looking for an overlooked place in SA or LA which has good-looking chicas, is cheap, has a great lifestyle, lots of things to do (culture and outdoors), beautiful country scenery, and nice people.  Obviously Colombia has the girls and lots of beautiful scenery (but it is hard to access of course) and is ultra-cheap, but fails pretty sadly in most other areas.  That is why I would stay away.

That being said, I have not found anywhere in SA or LA that is really very appealing.  I am going to check out Venezuela this summer though my guidebooks say Caracas is pretty bad.

[HeyNow]

... in response to Re: Re: Motel 6 cleaning lady v. Shakira, posted by larrydarrell on Feb 1, 2004

I think you got the Colombian money deal down.  Try to give a Colombian taxi driver U.S. dollars and see what happens.

[cancunhound]

... in response to Re: Re: Motel 6 cleaning lady v. Shakira, posted by larrydarrell on Feb 1, 2004

IMHO you have fallen into the "bad rap" trap - of course there is not alot of info on the internet, specifically involving tourism, about Colombia (in English anyway).  But there is actually a pretty good infastructure in place, and the price is right.  Remove it from your itinerary - but there's not many countries that can compare with the cultural and geographic bounty that it offers.  BTW, there are plenty of scuba operators - you may want to start with the national organization for your search:

http://www.telesat.com.co/fedecas/

[mar33]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The apartmen..., posted by CaliAdvisor on Jan 29, 2004

I was wondering the same thing. Sure, I saw a few middle aged chubby ones and a few Indian looking ones.I do not think they age very well. But on the whole the ones under 30 were pretty hot. There is a lot of European influence in Costa Rica which really makes for a good mix.
   Fat? I must be blind. Some of the girls I saw were so top notch, tall and in shape. I thought if any one ever wanted to recruit girls for a modeling agency, besides Russia this would be a good spot.
   I have lots of friends from Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela,DR. Grew up in Queens New York and went to school with all cultures. Most of the neighborhood consisted on Colombians and Puerto Ricans so it is not like I an not aware what a hot girl looks like.
   I especially liked the Ticas in the morning when they are all walking around with freshly washed hair, going to work or school. Having that fresh just out of the shower look is sexy.
   I have to admit, they do not dress as hot as the Colombian girls though. Also, in Brazil they dressed very sexy. Costa Rica seems more conservative. I tried to find a thong bikini for the girl I was seeing there back in 1999. We could not find any. I was suprised.
   Larry, were you at some sort of tourist resort???

[Cali vet]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The apartment an..., posted by larrydarrell on Jan 29, 2004

Larry which has the prettiest girls, Bogota or Leticia?

[cancunhound]

... in response to Fat Ticas? Yuck!, posted by Cali vet on Jan 29, 2004

Larry please do tell, it's not often you hear of anyone that's been to Leticia - what's the scoop?  Leticia in general - worth a visit?

[larrydarrell]

... in response to Re: Colombianas in Leticia, posted by cancunhound on Jan 29, 2004

No, I went there on a 3-day tourist trip.  There is nothing there, it is wilderness (like the Mojave desert here), shops have only bare essentials and almost everyone lives in shacks.  It does have a nice exotic feel to it though since it is at the border of Peru and Brazil.  Also there are lots of pretty skinny brown Chicas in their teens and twenties riding around on motocycles wiht big grins on their faces.  There seemed to be a large number of hot ones, and most of them seemed to have good bodies -from being outside a lot, I suppose.  Better than some of the chubbies that you see in a lot of SA cities

[Kiltboy1]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: The apartment and MORE, posted by CaliAdvisor on Jan 28, 2004

I have to respectfuly disagree with you for 2 reasons

1) Pete is in his early 60's
and i think with the people around him can do just fine
He did not say he would not learn Spanish .

2)And in my 3 years of going to Cali and meeting maybe 200 women and speaking with many more by internet, i have not run across many of them who gave a RATS BUTT ABOUT LEARNING ENGLISH even though they want to live in America.
I agree it would make it easier for him if he knew Spanish, but that is still no reason to need go to another country to learn it--What, They do not teach Spanish in Cali ??

Let's let Pete make his own decisions just like he made the decision to move to Cali. Most men that read this board would not have the guts at 35 , let alone 60 something. I for one,  give Pete 2 THUMBS UP !!!!!

[Kiltboy1]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: The apartment and MORE, posted by Kiltboy1 on Jan 28, 2004

Hey Guys

Not trying to say anybodys opinion is wrong here.

I am trying to put myself in Petes position if i were his age. Without sounding like the grim reaper(sorry Pete) , Pete is in his 60's , and while he might live another 25 years, i am 39 and i have more years possible maybe??

If i were 60 something,single and living in cali, i would continue as Pete has been doing. Look, my feeling from experiance is that most of the women i have met in Colombia would so much prefer a man that treats them well and is not unfaithful and macho, no matter if he speaks Spanish or not, his actions will speak volumes.

This being said, Pete does need to learn the basics of conversational spanish.

I respect everyones opinions and this one is just mine for what it is worth.

[Craig]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: The apartment and MORE, posted by Kiltboy1 on Jan 28, 2004

Kiltboy
For what ever reasons there's a group of posters who try and provoke PeteE every chance they get. He's not taking the bait. I agree 100%. with you. First who would go to Costa Rica to learn Colombian spanish that's like buying the cow when all you wanted was some milk. Second those good looking ticas must be hiding somewhere, most likely Cali!

[Pete E]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The apartment and MO..., posted by Craig on Jan 28, 2004

No,the good looking chicas you see in Costa Rica are from Colombia.Don't presume they are ticas because they live there.My friend Just returned from San Jose Costa Rica.He said the girls didn't even start to compare with Colombia.But maybe on some village in the country?Do they grow marijuana there?Might explain the difference in perception.

Pete