Colombian Countryside Safety

[HonkyTonk]

I've noticed that the Gringos are straying further from the major cities. I remember taking a 2 hour car trip north of Boogta about 3 years ago and some members said I was crazy.

Is it getting that much safer to travel the countryside in Colombia, or are some of us just getting tired of being sequestered in the cities?

I find it to be Colombia's only downside compared to places like Peru and Panama.

Thoughts?

[Sailover]

I took a bus from Cali to Armenia and then to Buenaventura, a trip which was not recommended by several locals and it was trouble-free. The city is great, but there is so much more out there to experience.

[Lostagain]

You just have to be a little selective where you go. It helps to be immortal, as well.

[LastLion]

LOSTAGAIN

It helps to be immortal, as well

Or at least feel that way!

[Texas Cowboy]

Hola sailover, diga-me algo de Pereira! I heard its safe nowadays....whats' ur take on it Bro & the chicas too!

Peace

[kitty]

Re: Safety of larger cities

I was in Bogota this past May, from the 20th to the 29th.

I was coming out the front door of my hotel in the Zona Rosa one morning and was walking down the block toward a Dunkin' Donuts which was around the corner at the end of the block, across the street from the Atlantis.

About halfway down the block a guy approached me, walked alongside me for a short distance and started to speak to me in rapid-fire Spanish in a low voice. I told him in English that I didn't speak Spanish (I actually speak a little, but I didn't want to be bothered). On hearing this, he asked me, "You don't speak Spanish?" (in English) and then he went away.

A little further down the block another guy, this one in a suite and tie, approached me and also began walking beside me. He asked me if I was a tourist, I replied yes. He asked me where I was from and I replied "Miami." He then said "Ah, Miami...Yes." He motioned for me to stop, reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a wallet. He then flipped open the wallet to reveal a photo I.D. with something like "Policia Nacional de Colombia" on the card.

He said that he had observed me speaking to the previous guy and that that was not a good idea. He then requested that I accompany him to his office on another block to register as a tourist.

This was my fifth trip to Bogota, and nothing like that has ever happened to me before. So I just said "I don't think so," immediately turned around and headed back to my hotel. Out of the corner of my eye I could see that he too had turned away and was getting out of there as fast as he could.

When I entered the hotel lobby I began to tell the clerk what had happened. When I got halfway through she held up her hand and said "Ladron!"
She then requested that I speak with the manager but I just wanted my morning cup of coffee so I went on my way back to Dunkin' Donuts.

When I got back to the hotel, the clerk told me that the manager wanted to speak to me in his office. When I walked into his office there was not only the manager seated behind his desk but also five "Policia Turista(s)" standing around in there as well, dressed in green fatigues.

The manager translated while I relayed the above to the cops. The chief cop, through the manager, told me that not only were those two guys working together but that they had probably been watching the front of the hotel for some time before they saw me walk out the front door.

So we ended by my giving them a physical description of the two guys and that was it.

[El Capitan]

Kitty, thanks for relaying this important piece of information, although I'm not so sure that I would've taken any of the above as lightly you did. IMHO, you're lucky to be writing about the experience, and again, another reason to at least know some rudimentary Espanol!!

You may disagree if you'd like, but the fact that the Hotel Manager was as concerned as he was, the fact that the front desk clerk was yelling "ladron", and that 5 cops were there to address the situation, should say something.

"When out swimming in the ocean swimming with Sharks, don't act like a Flounder!!"