What was your scariest moment in Colombia?

[SJI]

I thought it would be a cool idea for all members to recount their scariest moments in Colombia. Colombia does not really scare me, in fact it excites me.

Anyway I have only have 1 that could be considered scary, other than the first time I stepped on Colombian soil in Cali in July of 1997 and had no idea what it would be like. One day I was coming back from a date in Bogota in my dates car, I remember it was a good date. We stop in front of my hotel (the former Suites Gold not far from UniCentro) and talk for over 1 hour. Off to the right about 30 feet in front, I see a nice car, I think a BMW, pause on an up-ramp to let the garage man lead her into this nice-looking apt. development. A young professional woman was inside, and I noticed that her car wasn't moving into the garage for several minutes. Taking a better look to see, she was on her cell phone. I thought nothing of it whatsoever. I focused more on the conversation again and some time passed, until flashing lights appeared behind the car. A police car pulls up right behind ours. They tell me to get out and put my hands up on the roof of the car, then I think they asked me why I was there and where did I live and they searched me. I could make out enough of the words to know what they were wanting to know, and I promptly told them my hotel was across the street and that I was from the USA, and got back from a date. They check with the hotel and verified that was my hotel, and realized nothing fishy was happening. My date laughed for the next 10 minutes over that.

[HonkyTonk]

I just copied and pasted this from a post I did awhile back:

I am adventurous but not stupid. Once I was stupid down there A Colombiano suggested what he called a typical Colombian bar (not disco) to experience a non dancing atmosphere late on a Saturday night. Now, I can't pass for anything other than..you're not from around here are you?..down there. I'm 6'2" 230#, blue eyes, and my friend is a lifelong bodybuilder and it shows. The last thing either of us ever wants is trouble, but we stand out. Our gut told us not to even leave the taxi. This was a very rough side of Cali and when entering this bar red warning flags hit me so fast and furious I must have looked like a pin cushion 99% of Colombianos will leave you alone even in a place like this but that 1% found us in NY minute. Both drunker than Ted Kennedy and 90% of their quarts of rum (?) already gone. I can't understand Spanish well when it it shouted by a very drunk, VERY mean looking Colombiano over the noise of the bar and the slamming of this rum bottle on the table as we passed going to our table. Both of us wondered what the hell we were doing here but ordered 2 Club Colombia's each. I sat facing the original drunk who was quite aways from us, my friend watched my back where the second drunk, Bad Man Jose, was sitting behind me with his girlfriend on his lap. The original drunk was still non stop shouting at me waving that near empty bottle with every word. I have no doubt in their drunken state that my friend and I could have well defended ourselves but what do you think the odds would have been over us winning over the rest of the bar....us being gringos? Hell broke loose when I suddenly find Bad Man Jose's woman at our table, smiling in MY face, rubbing MY arm. I never heard the words she was saying. All I could hear was the anger in her mans shouting and the slamming of HIS rum bottle on the table, all aimed at me! This was all the first drunk needed to bully and shove his way over our table and getting in my face with that bottle of his threatening me. These were definitley 2 very real Colombian badasses! I don't believe I've ever left an unopened bottle of beer in my life but it happened that night. I threw 20,000 pesos on the table and we both took the longest walk of our lives from our table to the door. It may have been in my head, but it then became a shark feeding frenzy with all attention on us as we left. It wasn't any better outside either.

My friend has been a world traveller but said that situation even surpassed some rough stuff in Amsterdam one time. My only point in all this drivel is that, in my opinion, the main ways a Gringo will meet violence is in street crime or will be alcohol/women related.

I used to love this old poster that had a cartoon over each line...See Dick drink...See Dick drive...See Dick get in an accident...DON'T BE A DICK. Just substitute fool in Colombia when it comes to situations like these.

[Chao]

Over three years ago, I travelled overland from Bogota to Ibague. The van I was in came upon a military checkpoint where vehicles were being pulled over at random and searched by soldiers. Guess what? Ours was one of the unlucky few.

We were told to leave our luggage in the van and get out. Soldiers searched our luggage. Then, I had to lean up against the van, and I was searched. The soldiers did not find any weapons or contraband. They let us go. We went on to Ibague.

Suffice to say, I will never travel overland again in Colombia.

chao

[Dr. Detroit]

Aside from just about dying on my first trip from the Aztek trots, the scariest thing was some of the women who showed up for interviews, that I had supposedly chosen.

Either they looked totally different in person, or they were not the ladies I had actually chosen.

I expect to end up with some pretty rough ones up here, but down there, I just about choked on my Quattro (soda) a few times!