Cali, Colombia

February 2004

The US Government instills so much fear into Americans against traveling to Colombia. I can honestly tell you to take the warnings with a grain of salt. To me, Cali seemed like a safe city as long as you don't stray outside of the city. The people are some of the friendliest I've ever met anywhere in the world. The city to be blunt is...well ugly but the people make up for it with their hospitality and genuine warmth. I only met one other American the entire 11 days that I was there. As expected, there is no tourism here.

I had an uneventful journey although during the descent to Cali it was very turbulent. I was flying first class so I was the first to go through customs. It was very quick and easy with no lines. Something interesting here is they don’t stamp your passport with a traditional stamp. It’s fed through a computer and imprinted on your passport page. Kind of like a deposit receipt at the bank. After customs you go downstairs and get your bags if you checked luggage. If not, you simply go through the final security area and hand them your papers. I wasn’t checking luggage so I was the first one out. There are lots of people waiting outside for their friends and family members arriving. It kind of reminded me of Cuba.

My driver was waiting for me. I knew I could simply take a taxi from the airport but
the owner of the hotel I was staying at told me he’d arrange it if I wanted. I asked the price and he said $19. I’m sure it was a little more than simply taking it but what’s $2? It was actually nice to have someone there ready waiting for me and that took my bags. It’s comforting after a flight.

The ride to the hotel was quick and easy. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Take some time to learn some basic Spanish. This is another country where almost no one speaks English. I could communicate well with my taxi driver and he was pointing out certain areas. Upon arrival I meet Rigoberto or “Rigo”. He’s a great guy. His English is perfect as he formally lived in the US. He has a very genuine outgoing character and we got along well.

I normally stay in 5 star hotels but I wanted to get a sense of really getting to know Cali and other people I talked to recommended the Hostel San Fernando. I got a room with an American style mattress. It was nothing to write home about but I was able to sleep a few hours the first night. The pillows aren’t that great though so you may want to pack your own. The place is quaint and nothing fancy. It’s like the high end casa particulars (apartments) in Cuba.

The women here in Colombia have to be some of the most beautiful in the world. People take great care of themselves here and it really shows. The city is not too exciting though. It's not beautiful. Sure there are nice neighborhoods but almost every nice area is next to a bad area. It's an anomoly. I hired a taxi the other day and paid $8 an hour for him to just drive me around the city for 4 hours. I went to nice areas, I went to poor areas. I went to the top of Cristo Rey. I've really enjoyed discovering new cultures and getting to know the people.

I’ve been enjoying traveling around the world lately and just taking in new cities and cultures. Some of my friends tell me to slow down or that I’m over doing it. What they and others don’t realize is that traveling makes me happy. In general I think traveling makes all Americans happier. Most just don’t have it high on their list of priorities. It’s one of my top priorities now if you couldn’t tell already. I’m starting to understand and appreciate different cultures.

Cali isn’t going to win any beauty contests. The city isn’t beautiful at all. In fact, I can argue that it is one of the uglier cities I’ve been to around the world. Something that is redeeming about it is its citizens. People are so friendly here. It seems like no matter what your ethnic background is they would accept and embrace you here as long as you respect them and aren’t an “ugly” tourist. Everywhere I go people are so polite. When I ask for directions, when I’m ordering food, when I’m buying something, the people are very friendly. I almost always here, “con mucho gusto” (with much pleasure). The thing of it is they really mean it!

The US State Department warnings can probably be ignored if you’re only visiting the city. I was a little nervous before coming because I heard so much it makes you wonder what it’s really like. It’s no different than any other city I’ve been to. If you practice common sense and good judgment you’ll be fine.

These people take good care of themselves. The majority of the people are in great shape here. Even the men seem to take pride in their appearance. There are a lot of esteticas around the city where people ‘get pretty’. This morning I went to the supermarket near my hotel. I tried getting cash with my ATM card but it wouldn’t work at these 2 ATM’s near the supermarket. I had a few hundred $US that I went to the casa de cambio in the supermarket but they wouldn’t exchange it without my actual passport. I offered a photocopy since I never walk around with my passport but they wouldn’t accept it. The exchange rate was not that great at around 2550:$1. I think the official rate is around 2700:$1. I bought some drinks and snacks as they accept credit cards there.

When I came back it was still early so I had the maid make me some breakfast and then I planned to go get a normal massage. I ran into Rigo and he offered to exchange money at the same rate as the supermarket. I got $300 from him and planned to use the Bancafe at the mall. Rigo said others have had problems but the Bancafe ATM’s will work. I went to an estetica not too far away. Most taxis are very cheap. It’s interesting how the taxis work here. All the taxis have meters but they don’t run a tab. Instead there is a number and it gets higher. That number corresponds to a price. The minimum cost is 2300 pesos. It can escalate up to 9,000 pesos on a very long journey to Unicentro Mall.

This place is a nice salon. It’s very big with a ton of staff sitting around waiting for customers. You can get haircuts, manicures, pedicures, massages, etc. here. I inquired about a massage and she said there was a 45 minute wait. I decided to get a manicure and pedicure while I waited. I’m sure you guys are snickering but it doesn’t matter to me. Occasionally I’ll get this done in South America. I like to take care of myself. Surprisingly so do several men here as there were several guys in here getting it done too. It was very cheap. I had them doing a manicure and pedicure at the same time. The two girls were nice. You can ask for Daisy. She did a good job. It was something like 15,000 pesos for the manicure and maybe 12,500 for the pedicure. I gave them 20,000 peso note to share as a tip and they seemed happy. Then I went upstairs and got naked and got a full body massage from Gloria. She is the only “masaje terapeutico” there. She was really excellent. The cost was 25,000 pesos for 1 hour plus 5,000 for a ‘hot rock treatment’. She takes 2 extremely hot stones and rubs them on your body. I had the same thing done at another spa before except there it was something like $15 extra instead of 5,000 pesos. It was really relaxing. At first I felt kind of weird since there was no real draping. The washcloth sized towel fell off a few times. It’s ok. Luckily I’m not shy. I told her I’d come here every day I’m in town for a massage. I gave her a 20,000 peso bill and told her that was her tip for today and tomorrow. I made a 1 hour appointment for tomorrow too.

I know some preople have something against tipping people for good services. I don’t and I could do without the smart ass comments. I’ve always been this way and probably always will be. It’s not automatic but if the service is good it’s kind of nice to brighten someone’s day by giving them a nice tip. I’ve always thought to myself how I would feel if I were them.

After that I took a taxi to Chipe Chopi shopping Mall. It was kind of a hike. I think the taxi fare was something like 9000 pesos. It is a maze of stores on one level. You walk in an open-air mall. I didn’t find the clothes for men to be that great. It can’t compare to clothes in Brazil and stores like Yachtsman in Rio Sul mall. However, there are many stores for girls. The jeans here for girls are amazing. Most girls walking around are wearing jeans. No one is wearing shorts and I didn’t even though it’s warm out. I don’t like completely standing out. It’s not too crowded on a Friday afternoon. I heard the weekends are packed and I’ll come back tomorrow to do some shopping. I took a taxi to Unicentro mall. This mall was even further away. Traffic was very heavy since it’s the end of the month and a Friday so everyone is getting paid today.

The taxi driver was really friendly and we talked the whole way. What you realize when you start to travel a lot is you realize not everyone is envious of Americans. Sure we have it good in the States but many of these people are content with their lives. People here in Cali seem very happy. They might not be wealthy but I guess money isn’t everything. I arrived at Unicentro and it’s a little bigger than Chipe chopi mall. I was able to get 300,000 pesos from my ATM card and I figure I have plenty to get me by for tonight and tomorrow at least. I got something to eat and had a good BBQ ribs meal for something like 20,000 pesos with drink. There were two cuties and they kept looking over at me. I went to get some more napkins and then I asked them if they wanted some ice cream. (Yeah, I know kind of cheesy but it worked). One was hotter than the other. It looked like they got done working and they confirmed it later. They were wearing blue scrubs as they worked in the hospital.

I’m going to rest a bit then shower and get ready to go out. Later. It was pretty early but I wanted to walk around Cali and hit a few spots and clubs and see the town. I took a taxi to La Casa de las Cervesas and it was packed even at 9 PM. It was a Friday night though. I stayed and had a drink then I walked around. If you walk down the hill you’ll take a curve and at the bottom of the hill you’ll take a right and you’ll come across this area with tons of younger kids. Many are the hippie type but everyone was friendly. There was also a strong smell of pot in the air here. I guess the cops don’t care? I walked around that area some. I never felt unsafe at all but then again I’m kind of the adventurous type. I decided to take a taxi to Chipe Chope mall to see how it is at night. It was packed and there were tons of people of all ages. Families, younger crowd and 30’s crowd. I looped around and just watched people. I got a lot of smiles and looks here. If you want to make an effort you can meet girls here.

One thing I found a little reassuring I guess is many of the place carry around machine guys. The police here are serious and don’t look like they take crap from anyone. They all are in good shape. Not like some of the American cops that let themselves go and are out of shape. These guys are everywhere but especially in the shopping malls. Maybe because there are so many ATM’s here?

I came home very late and I was surprised that Rigo was up and drinking outside on the patio with a Cuban guy I met the other night. I sat outside with them on the patio and we chatted about girls, life, Cali and everything else. I really liked Rigo. He’s an honest guy that will do you right. If you need anything he is the guy to talk to. He like many in Cali seem to have a high quality of life. A quality of life that isn’t measured by how much money you have but the lifestyle. I know many guys that could never begin to spend all the money they have but they slave away at their jobs always under pressure. I’m sure I could make more money working harder but at this stage in my life it’s more important for me to experience new places and cultures. To “walk the earth”.

I got an early start on the day yesterday and was out and about all day. It’s only 8 AM and I’m going to go walking around. It’s Saturday so the nightlife should be good. I might go to the Cristo Rey statue on top of this hill and have a look at the city.

Dear Diary,

Today is Sunday. I had a very full day yesterday. I went out at 9 AM and didn’t come back till 10 PM and then I went out again and didn’t come back until 2:30 AM from the night clubs. I hired a taxi driver to take me to Cristo Rey and drive me around the city. It was $8 an hour which seemed like a bargain to me. I went up to Cristo Rey but it was cloudy so it obstructed the view of the city. I could still see the city but it didn’t make for good photos. My driver Al was a good guy. He was bilingual and used to work in the USA. He had an interesting background. I asked him why he left the States and apparently he got into some drug problems and fled rather than face the charges. That was over 10 years ago so I’d assume the statute of limitations would kick in. He was an intelligent guy that got over a wicked drug problem. He seemed too intelligent to be driving around a taxi but he almost accepted it as a penance for all the bad things he did in the past. He married has a kid and appears to be happy. He doesn’t cheat on his wife which is probably difficult in a town with so many beautiful women.

We talked on top of the hill about Cali, USA and life in general. I had a massage appointment later in the day but I had him drive me around Cali so I could get a better picture of it. Cali is reported by the locals to have around 3.5 million people. It’s not a small city. It’s also not a very walkable city. Taxis are so cheap so it’s easy. The air isn’t that clean in the city. There is a lot of traffic most days and the fumes from all the buses, taxis and motorcycles cause a hazy mess. I toured a community called Cristales. It had some nice houses and apartments. There were tons of them for sale. I guess several years ago many drug dealers bought houses there. They put in gold plated this and that. Spent millions on them. Some of them even have pools inside of them. But now those guys are either in jail or moved on so these houses are for sale for a fraction of what these guys spent on them. Who here can afford these kind of houses? Not many.

We drove around the city for hours. I was hungry so Al took me to another mall. I forget the name of it but it was smaller. We got some pastels which were pretty good. There is this chain of rapidos called El Locuro I think. There were several beautiful girls here too but Chipe Chope is THE place to go to be seen. Al took me to my appointment and I saw my dream girl again. The receptionist from the other day. She is my ideal Colombian woman. Hell, she is my dream woman period. Great body, model quality face, great smile. Just perfect! I wanted to talk to her the other day after my massage but she was gone already. I reasoned that she had to be married. I went up for my massage and asked if this girl was married. Gloria told me no.

She could tell that I was interested in her. I told her that I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I asked if she would mind calling down and finding out what time she worked until because last time she was gone. I guess she goes to lunch or break from 1 PM to 3:30 PM. The girl asked why Gloria wanted to know and Gloria said that I wanted to know and that I wanted to talk to her. The girl tells her that she is leaving at 1 but she’ll be back at 3:30 if I wanted to talk to her. I had another awesome massage and I was surprised when the girl was still there. I paid my bill and gave Gloria another good tip. Then I talked to this girl. I could see everyone was looking at me but I didn’t care. I pulled her aside and asked her if she was married. She said no. I told her that I wanted to talk to her yesterday but she was gone already. She was kind of shy. Then I asked if she had a boyfriend and she didn’t seem to like this question. But I didn’t to get shot by some jealous boyfriend so I asked. She tells me that she does have a boyfriend. I asked if she was in love with him. She didn’t answer then shook her head no. I asked if he was a good guy. She didn’t answer then kind of said no. Then I asked if he is a good guy sometimes. She said, “a veces” (sometimes). I knew she was interested but my driver was waiting and she had customers waiting in line to check out.

I figured I’d call her later. My friends told me to be careful with girls I met here in Colombia because there is so much drug trafficking that some of the girls could have a druglord boyfriend and not to do anything that would make them angry. Then I thought to myself there is no way she was hooked up with some drug dealer type. She’s been working here for 2 years and making peanuts probably. She wouldn’t be here if she had that kind of boyfriend.

I went to a country club that Rigo was at. We played racquetball and I sweated my ass off. I really liked Rigo. He’s a smart guy that is what you see what you get. Then the other Cuban guy joined us. His name was Jay. Jay was a great racquetball player. He was also a really good guy. He was originally from Cuba and he found my observations about Cuba to be spot on. We all went to the sauna and it was great. It had eucalyptus in the steam so it was really soothing. We all had a drink that was full of fruit. I forget the name but it translates into “splash”. I ate because I’m always hungry. I think both these guys were a little amazed by my journeys. I told them I couldn’t the beautiful receptionist off my mind. Rigo suggested to call her and I thought the same thing. I was gonna do it later. Rigo had to go home but I wanted to hit some clubs. I asked Jay to go with me. He seemed up for it. This guy was funny. He is here with his wife for vacation. His wife was waiting for him at the hotel but we went out all afternoon to some clubs and had a relaxing day.

I suggested we go to Chipe Chope to grab a coffee and I needed to get some more money from an ATM as I ran out already. We arrived there at 9 PM or so and there were TONS of beautiful girls. Oh my God! I’ve never seen so many gorgeous girls in one place. This is the place to be seen. These girls walk around like they are on a runway. It’s amazing. They know they are beautiful and they like being watched. We had strong espressos that were great. Jay was a good guy. He was amazed that I had such a strong interest in the Latin culture and commented my Spanish was quite good. Honestly, it’s not that good but conversational. I really believe you need to learn at least 20,000 – 25,000 words at a minimum to be conversational. I’m taking a Spanish class at night but it’s worthless as it’s too slow and I’m way ahead of the class so I stopped going before the trip. Plus, I was always out of the country so I was missing classes anyway. Every week I’d make the excuse, “sorry but I was in Paris or Germany or Costa Rica”. One lady asked me if I work for the CIA. Ha,ha.

We people watched for a while. We decided to talk only in Spanish so I could improve. We talked business and about life. We thought a lot alike. Their was an age difference but most of the guys I meet are significantly older than I am. It doesn’t matter to me. I don’t have too much in common with most guys my age anyway. I told him that his wife must be worried. At this point it’s 10:30 PM. We were going to eat there but we decided to go back and eat near our hotel. We get there and his wife is waiting at the gate. Oops. I ate with him and his wife and we talked about Cuba. I was drained of energy and didn’t know if I would go out. I’ve only been sleeping 3 or 4 hours a night. Plus, we played racquetball all day. I went back and we sat out and talked with Rigo. I decided to take a shower and see how I feel. Of course I wanted to try to go out to some clubs. Those guys couldn’t go so I went alone. It didn’t bother me though. I like being independent. It is very easy as an American to meet girls here. I got many phone numbers from girls and stayed busy most days.

When we got back to the hotel from dinner, Rigo was laughing and had this big smile on his face. Remember that gorgeous girl that I couldn't get out of my mind from the Day Spa I went to? Well, she called the hotel and wanted me to call her. Rigo had her number written down and she wanted me to call her. It said to call no matter how late it was. I called her and she was being cute. She told me that she did have a boyfriend but the relationship was on the rocks and she wanted to spend some time together. I certainly wasn't complaining. She told me her parents hated him and he was a loser. Ok. No problems with me. She was going to Bogota in the morning but coming back a few days later. I was scheduled to leave the country the day she got back. I told her that I would change my plane ticket so that we could spend some time together. (Am I a sucker or what??).

The next day I explored the Andes Mountains. Definitely take a trip up there during the day. There are some really nice views up there. You can take a taxi up there. I heard some have to have a special permit to go up there but I’m not entirely sure I believe it. Just hire a taxi by the hour instead of running the meter. It will be cheaper. Ask to go to Kilometer 18. It’s about 35-45 minutes up the mountains from the city depending on traffic. It’s interesting as you first approach slums then it slowly turns into mansions and big estates of what must be drug dealers. Some might try to tell you that it’s dangerous but I doubt there is any real danger during the day. There are two main restaurants up there. Bring a light jacket or sweater because there is a vast temperature difference up there. Also, it’s high so when the clouds roll in you are in the fog of the clouds. It’s kind of cool. I read the last kidnappings up here were about 3 years ago. The FARC just rounded up about 40 people (most were locals). They were all released after their families paid for their release. Don’t let that scare you. I heard there is a new police chief in the area and security is much better. I’m so dead tired. I’m going to rest then I have a date tonight with a girl I met the other day.

I just got back from an interesting evening. The girl I met for dinner brought her kid with her! Anyway, I’m not exactly the father figure. I think I’ll be an excellent dad someday but I wasn’t expecting to have dinner with her 3 year old too. After dinner I made an excuse that I had to go meet Jay. I tried not to be obvious about it but she probably knew. I honestly think some of these girls just want some relief from a difficult life. Sometimes I wish I won a mega lottery so I could help more people. Oh and travel more too. Hee, hee.

It’s semi-early at 11:30 PM but it’s Sunday so I think I’ll rest up. I’m not sure what I’ll do tomorrow. I’ve had very little downtime since arriving. There isn’t too much to do in Cali during the day. I’ve been taking the time to sightsee. I really enjoyed driving in the mountains today to Kilometer 18 area. Some of the views were really striking with the Andes Mountains and the mist of fog with all the houses and the city below. I’ve been fortunate this year to see so many wonderful sights the past two years.

Personally I hear that Medellin and Bogota and Cartegena are more beautiful cities but I doubt the people can be as friendly as these Calenos. The city as I mentioned several times isn’t beautiful. The people are the biggest asset here. I had a taxi driver from Bogota today. He told me that he adores Cali. He prefers it over Bogota because the people are very nice here. He said that in Bogota it’s such a bigger city so people are distrustful of one another. Here everyone pretty much gets along. I’m thinking about getting on a plane tomorrow and hitting Medellin but I’m afraid I’ll like it so much that I don’t come back to Cali in time to hook up with my girl. A big part of the reason I extended was to spend some time with her. We’ll see what happens.

Ok. I've had a pretty busy day so far. I just stopped home to shower. I woke up then walked around Avenida Sexta where there are lots of restaurants, shops and cafes. It's not particularly a beautiful street like most of the city but it's interesting. Then went to Chipi Chope to hit an internet cafe. Here are some hints before I forget. GSM service is new and just started last year. You can't buy a SIM card at the stores but it's probably possible from someone. I'm not here long enough to need to buy one. Rigo has old bigger style cellphones you can use for free. You just have to buy refillable credits (like Brazil) at the store. FYI. The company is BellSouth. My AT&T GSM phone does work here and I used it a few times to call my office. I'm not sure the rates but I bet expensive. You can buy relatively inexpensive calling cards at the store to use in the payphones or use an internet cafe cabina.

The internet cafe at Chipe Chopi is called Matrix. It is all the way in the back then go left. You can't miss it. Just ask if you can't find it. The taxis are all friendly. Try to at least round up or tip them like a 1,000 peso note. I'm always generous and I think it bodes well for future Americans that visit. Don't be an ugly American and treat these people with respect and dignity. Not many Americans are here so if you're a loud, obnoxious, drunk ass then they will remember it and maybe not be so kind to the next American that visits. You want to leave them with the impression. "How thoughtful and polite American tourists are".

Food is cheap. I find the restaurants aren't as nice or plentiful as in places like Buenos Aires but the quality of food is quite good. You won't have a problem finding what you want. After Chipe Chopi I had my daily massage appointment. First I decided to get a facial. It was nice. Not cheap for Cali standards at 60,000 pesos but in the USA it is quite pricey for a good one. There are tons of esteticas or salons so you won't have a problem finding one. I'm sure they are all pretty decent. Again, I spotted several guys getting manicures/pedicures. They also have several stylists to cut your hair if you need it. I'm sure you can get an old-fashioned style shave in most too. It was nice that my masseuse told me that my hottie was talking about me. I hope extending will be worth it. Also, remember not to slam taxi doors. Keep in mind them paying off their taxis is equivalent to us paying off our mortgages on our homes. The taxis aren't cheap here and most are paying them off on loan installments. The interest rates can be as high as 30% so remember to treat their cars with respect. You wouldn't want someone sh*tting on the side of your house would you?

One of the guys I met up with on one of my adventures around the world told me that his friend worked at one of the ice cream stores in the mall. I went and had an ice cream and said hi to her. She is a totally cute and sweet girl. It was cute how she had this paper of English phrases. I guess she is studying English which I really admire. After I finished my ice cream I was going to leave but she wanted to talk some more. I ordered a Lemonade then we talked for about an hour. I asked her if she had any pretty friends she could set me up with. She said yes but that they weren’t available now?? Oh well. She ended up giving me her phone number so I’ll try to hook up with her friends.

It was funny. I asked her status with my friend who told me to say hi. Friend, boyfriend, etc. She told me to ask him. Ha, ha. I walked around some and I got 2 phone numbers of these cute girls. It’s relatively easy to get phone numbers here if you can communicate with them. The girls are very friendly and it's obvious I'm a foreigners so I have just talked to a few then just asked them for a phone number. So far, I haven’t been turned down yet. The girl I met in the salon, Erika, comes back into town tomorrow. I shouldn't feel guilty for seeing other girls but I have to be honest. I do (but just a little).

I ate something bad last night and I've had bad diarrea all night. At least I haven't been throwing up but still. I think I've lost every bit of liquid in my body. I gotta go shower and drink lots of Gatorade. I'm still not sleeping well but hasn't slowed me down yet.

The girl from the ice cream shop, Maria, called me which surprised me. She asked me if I would have lunch with her and she wanted to practice her English. She was really nice. We made an appointment to meet up after her work.

Ok. It was bound to happen. I officially hit the wall tonight. I feel terrible. I was on a another date with this really gorgeous girl I met the other day. She is so sweet. We had some beers, walked around and I did the "shopping mall" test with girls. I see if they ask to buy them anything. Get this. I noticed her birthday was coming up in a few weeks on her ID so I told her I wanted to buy her a pair of jeans. We went into 3 stores and she told me to save my money. She didn't buy anything! We're talking about $70 jeans even in Cali in the high end stores. Oh well. We went to eat at a Parillia but I was feeling so aweful. Not only did my stomache hurt but I started getting a migraine. Í mean I feel so sick that if she was naked and attacked me I'd have to turn her down. That's how bad I feel. I told her that I didn't sleep last night (which is true) and that I ate something bad. She asked me if I wanted her to come over to my hotel and take care of me. I said no because I had to call Erika that returned home from Bogota tonight.

At dinner she was showing me pictures of all her family (sisters, brother, son, mom, dad). I think they do this once you build a rapport and some trust with them. Shit. So I drop her off at her home and we make out a bit. She told me to call tomorrow. Meanwhile I'm dying on the way home in the taxi thinking I'm going to puke. I get to the gate and Rigo tells me that Erika called me and that I needed to get ready. I told him I was sick and dead. I did talk to her and we talked for 35 minutes on the phone. She wanted to do something tonight but I just can't move. We are meeting for lunch tomorrow and maybe tomorrow night. We'll see how lunch goes. But on the phone she already told me that she wants me to meet her parents! (These girls move quickly!) We'll see how it goes. She's a totally sweet and gorgeous girl. I hope I don't feel like crap tomorrow because I want to make a good impression on my new "friend". I'm dying. I'm going to try to get some rest. Tomorrow is either going to be the greatest of all days or it's going to be crap with me being sick. God help me.

I did wake up with a full recovery. I think I just needed to get a few good hours of sleep. I feel fresh and I'm meeting my sweetie pie at 3 PM when she has her break from work. I can't emphasize enough how good of a guy Rigo is at the place I'm staying. There are nicer accomodations in Cali. In fact, I usually try to stay at the nicest places in town when I travel since I have a difficult time sleeping. There are many untold benefits of using Rigo. First of all he goes the extra mile to help you and he asks for nothing in return. I was sending roses to my girl today and I wrote out a letter. My Spanish is decent but there were still mistakes. Rigo took the time to correct them and printed the letter out for me. He also arranged to have them delivered. He is a genuinely friendly guy and he gets my seal of approval. I'd highly recommend him if you're coming to Cali. http://www.calihotel.com

I was supposed to meet my friend's girl, Maria at noon but I had to reschedule because I'm meeting another date, Eve at noon. Funny...Maria just called now and I'll meet her after 5 PM. So I'm meeting Eve at noon, then going directly to meet Erika at 3 PM, then going to meet Maria at 5 PM. It will be a long day. Plus, I'll do something with one of the girl's tonight. Probably Erika. We'll see how our dates goes today. I'm sure the flowers will be a big hit. I had flowers sent to her work today.

Damn. I just had the best date of my life! I met with Erika for our date. We spent two hours together laughing, talking, eating and getting to know one another. She is the type of girl that I could maybe settle down with. (Wait..did I say that???). I'm meeting her again tonight and going to her house to pick her up. She wanted me to meet her parents which I don't really want to do but maybe that is a custom here??. She is just a simple girl. She doesn´t like going to the clubs/bars, prefers to stay at home, has a big heart and is as beautiful as they come on the inside and outside. I've met a lot of beautiful girls in my life but she might be the most beautiful one.

Everyday I´m here I have a deeper respect for their way of life here. There is a simplistic way of life here that I really admire. They treat people like a member of their family. I can´t tell you how nice the people are are with the few tourists that are here. Every single taxi driver has been so nice to me. Most give me their phone numbers inviting me to use them again anytime I need to. I do tip them and they really seem to appreciate it as the locals probably can´t afford to tip them. Again, I think the nicer Americans are with them it bodes well for future American visitors. Treat these people right and they will treat you right. Americans often travel around with the attitude that we are the best in the world. That isn´t right. Not everyone envies us. In fact, I envy the way of life here and the respect that these people seem to have for one another. I feel great! I´m here at Chipi Chope waiting on Maria. We are meeting for a drink. Life is great!

Wow. Today could very well have been the busiest day I’ve ever had in my life. I had a lunch date then another lunch date with Erika then I just spent the past 3 hours with Maria (friend of a friend). One thing is becoming very evident to me. Don’t come to Colombia expecting not to meet some dream girl. This is THE place to come if you want to fall in love with an affectionate, beautiful girl. My friend's girl, Maria was really amazing. You can’t meet that kind of girl in America. Hell, you can’t meet that kind of girl anywhere in the world. She is so beautiful on the outside but more so in the inside. I’m so proud of her for learning English. NO ONE here speaks English. There are not many tourists here so people in restaurants, taxi drivers, stores don’t have a need to learn like the other countries I’ve been to. The only one that speaks English that I came across is Rigo. I really think my friend is foolish if doesn't try to have something with this girl.

I would have talked to her longer but I looked at the time and I noticed I have a date with my new girlfriend, Erika. I just got out of the shower and I’m waiting on my taxi. I’m meeting her family tonight. Maria is learning English. It was so cute how we were doing English lessons. I was so impressed by her wanting to learn English that I gave her my $100 English/Spanish electronic dictionary that conjugates words too. She loved it! She couldn’t believe that I gave it to her as a gift. Then she asked me about music so I whipped out my Ipod and we listened to songs in English while I translated. We were sitting at Reggae Pop (a little bar stand that usually a younger hip crowd goes to). One earphone was in my ear and the other in hers and she wanted me to translate songs so I was translating Dido and Sade songs to her. The girls here are great. I think I could fall in love every day here. I can’t say enough great things about the people here.

Ok guys. I'm just home to grab more money then I'm out the door. I just went to dinner with my new novia and her family. I was a big hit at dinner. Damn it helps that I could talk to them. I was cracking jokes and I have another date tomorrow and I invited her younger brother to come with us with his girlfriend. Her family was so blown away by this gesture. Her brother loves me. She loved the flowers I sent her today. Her mom commented to me that she thought I was perfect for her daughter. I wanted Erika to come home and spend the night with me but I didn't dare ask her with her parents there.

A meal with tip for me, her and 4 of her family members was 200,000 pesos with a generous tip. I had the restaurant call 2 taxis. One for me and one for her family. I paid the taxi driver and told him to take out a 3,000 tip and give the change to her family. They were also blown away by this gesture.

Anyway, I asked Erika at dinner in front of her family if she wants to go to Peru with me next month to see Machu Picchu. I already had tickets booked for myself and it was a lifelong dream of mine to see the ancient ruins. She said, "Si!" I'm not sure how much a ticket costs from Cali to Lima. Probably a few hundred dollars. Her family laughed when I joked in Spanish if her parents didn't trust me I would get seperate rooms. Surprisingly her mom said that she trusts me a lot and that she thought I was perfect for her daughter. However, they didn't know me. To put her parents at ease, I offered to fly her brother there as well. (I am a glutton for punishment). Stay tuned...I'm seriously thinking of extending my trip again but I think I wouldn't have a job so I won't push it. I'm already leaving for the French Riviera in two weeks then I might fly from there back to Cali. Am I nuts?

Well. As much as I love any one city I just feel it's important to see the world. I absolutely love Buenos Aires and I hit it over and over and over. Some of you know I even got an apartment there I liked it so much. I broke away and forced myself to visit other cities and countries and I'm glad I did. I feel like a better person for doing it. People need to visit other countries. For instance, visiting Germany really touched something inside of me. I knew the hell that the Jewish people went through during the war but it didn't quite touch my heart until I went I visited Germany and was reading books while in Nuremburg. We all know the horrors but we don't really think too much about the past. We are a society that forgets the past very quickly. Now I'm really fascinated and I'm reading the Diary of Anne Franke now. When I hit Amsterdam in May I'm really interested in visiting the museum there. Every city has good things and bad things.

Cali truly isn't a city I could find myself living in. The people are great but I live a good life. I don't give up living in a great house or driving a luxury car to travel. I have those things. However, if I lived here I'd have to give up so much. As nice and friendly as the people are here there is very little to do during the day. I met an American here that has been living here for 6 years. He seems content but a little under pressure to make money since he has a kid and another on the way. Even Rigo here at the hotel seems happy but money seems like it is a problem. He mentioned since interest rates are so high here he is forced to get low interest loans on his credit cards back in the USA. I doubt Cali will ever be a high end destination. One guy emailed me telling me that I shouldn't post such good things for fear of it turning into a Costa Rica. I don't think that will ever happen. Americans are too scared and lazy.

I'll see how this relationship goes but i know that I may be incapable of a committed long term relationship. I have to except certain truths about myself. I always think the grass is greener on the other side. I was married to about the perfect woman (gorgeous, smart, big heart, from a wealthy family, etc.) and I didn't want to be in it anymore and was cheating on her. I had a lot of guilt from the actions that I did during the marriage and I'll be really careful about getting into something serious again.

Something I love now is being able to go wherever I want to go, sleep in on the weekends without being asked to go run an errand, eating out every night, eating on the couch or the bed in front of the TV. Being single is the ultimate freedom. Still, the institution of marriage is so great. The idea of marriage. About having someone there to take care of you and love you for the rest of your life. I have a soft spot in my heart that will never give up on the idea of getting remarried again. Sometimes I think to myself do I really want to be alone when I'm 35, 40, 45, 50? Men are foolish sometimes. We only think about today or tomorrow whereas women think about next year and 5 years from now. Sorry to get so philosophical on you all. I just have been doing a lot of thinking while listening to my Ipod walking around various cities like Paris, London, Nuremberg, etc. Anyway, I woke up really early. I didn't sleep much. My hottie girl called and wants to meet up before work for a drink then I'll go out with her on another date tonight to the movies at ChipiChope mall. Maria called me too. She noticed I had no Salsa music on my Ipod so she said she wanted to give me a gift of a Salsa CD. I have a busy day planned but I thought that was a nice gesture and will stop by and pick it up later in the afternoon after I visit my girl.

This is probably my last update this trip. Sadly, I'm leaving tomorrow morning. I had another good day. It's been interesting getting to know the people and the city of Cali. The nicest group of people I have ever known. I met my girlfriend, Erika for some drinks before she went to work after I hooked up with an American that moved here. I think I could sit for hours just staring into her eyes. Physical attraction is important but the thing about these Calenas is they are genuinely sweet. (ellas son muy carinosas y muy dulces!) I laughed a few times because when I was in Cuba with my buddy Stu, our theme chant everyday when we'd get together that we'd all say is, "una chica muy linda, con una cara muy bonita, un buen cuerpo, con un corazon grande y muy carinosa!" (a very pretty girl, with a very pretty face, a good body with a big heart that is very affectionate). Those guys razzed me because every time a girl asked me what kind of girl I was looking for -- I would throw out that answer. Every single time so he and Elie (another friend from Israel I met in Cuba) would chant that every day. Pretty soon we'd be in our rental car and just chant out those words. It was pretty funny. Stu, if you are reading this you'll be happy to know that I'm finding all those qualities in these girls.

Some generally interesting things I noticed is that places like McDonald's, Subway, etc. are here. And you know what? They are making a fortune. You have to understand that the price of an extra value meal here is not cheap. In fact, it's just a little less than one in the USA but these people don't make much. I've met lots of non-pro girls that work 6 days a week and only make 600,000 pesos a month (about $225) yet they are eating at McDonalds. You know what? I think it's sort of a status symbol thing. They want to be able to say to their friends or other family members... "hey, I took my family to McDonald's last night". It's really strange to see all the McDonald's packed. The other thing is do you think all these US businesses would be doing business here if it was as dangerous as people portray Colombia to be? While I will admit that Colombia statistically is a dangerous country and the American living here threw out some statistics to me that weren't too good, I find it a little gem. I seriously doubt Cali will ever become a mainstream destination. Some people might be worried about "getting ripped off" here. The thing they don't realize is there is no big tourism industry here so the locals probably wouldn't even know where to begin.

If you rent a Bell South cellphone you can buy rechargable cards all over the malls at the Bell South stands or in most major supermarkets. They come in 10,000; 20,000 and 30,000 peso refills. They might have higher too but just get a little at a time. I find the cell phones to be expensive here. You dial *611 to add refill credits and to check your balance. It's all in Spanish. Just dial 1 to add credits and 2 to check your balance. If you're calling a local NON-cell phone from your cell phone you need to dial 032 before the local # or it won't work. If you speak Spanish definitely rent a cellphone so you can talk with the chicas. Remember what I said about first impressions. These girls like guys that dress well. To them it's a signal that you have your stuff together and can take care of yourself. They take good care of themselves and even in the malls like Chipi Chope you'll see free big industrial scales that have a sign that say, "Watch your weight". Jeeze. The American girls could sure use those, huh? Anyway, I'm waiting on my girl. She is coming over to pick me up then we're going to the movies at Chipi Chope. Some of you emailed me asking where I went to dinner last night. It was a place in the South of Cali called, Rancho de Jonas. Her family picked it out. It was ok. Outdoor patio type place with a mariachi band. Food was pretty decent but not fabulous.

I’m sitting here at the Miami airport. Damn I hate connecting through Miami. It’s always a zoo. I thought I’d give details of departing Cali’s airport. Damn, it’s a zoo. My flight left at 8:15 AM so I was told to leave my hotel at 5 AM. I had to get up at 4 AM. I only slept two hours so I’m dead. Everyone told me it could take a while to go through the airport so I took their advice and left by 5 AM. If you are flying First/Business or you’re Platinum/EXP you don’t have to leave so early since you avoid the long lines. The regular line was long but I zipped through the First Class line. You should note that before you go through the ticketing agent you need to go upstairs to get a waiver form so you don’t get socked with extra taxes. Your airline should have already taxed you the $25 however, if you don’t go upstairs and get the waiver form and your passport stamped you must pay extra money. Go upstairs then go to your left and there is a small window with a guy working. He will ask for your passport and will stamp it and fill out a form then hand it back to you. Go back downstairs and get in line and you’re set.

The airport was the only place I went where a few people spoke English (only the American Airlines employees). At the entrance of the door to say goodbye there were all these people crying. You have to understand that Colombians have it extremely tough. They need visas for just about every single country except Peru, Argentina, Brazil and maybe a handful of other countries. The ones that are lucky enough to go to the USA take it, sometimes even if it means leaving family members behind. I’ve never seen so many people crying at an airport before and I’ve been to quite a few airports. It broke my heart to see what these family members were going through. Imagine your mom leaving alone with your sister while you’re standing there with your dad and your other sisters and brothers. That’s what I saw. The father looked at me and I just gave him a kind of “I’m sorry amigo look”. I was also sad to leave my new girlfriend behind but I can’t even compare it to these people. Seeing this scene made me realize just how damn lucky we are as Americans. It just doesn’t seem fair to me that we have it easier just because we are born just a few thousand miles north of these people. Unfortunately the majority of these people will never have the opportunity to improve their life too much. No one wants to loan them money even if they have a good idea or they are intelligent or have a good business sense.

I did meet a few people that were lucky to get visas but they stayed behind because of almost the exact situation as the family above. In one case the father and mother and 2 of their kids got visas but 2 didn’t. Rather than split up the family members they all stayed behind. There is no rhyme or reason to the decision making process of giving out visas. I also met others here that lived in the USA before and came back. They made it through the difficult process of getting a visa but they found life in the USA disenchanting. Everyone thinks the USA is this easy place where great jobs are falling likes leaves off a tree. Where money is easy to make. The reality is the USA is one of the easiest countries in the world to make a little bit of money and difficult to make a lot of money. These people were working 2 or 3 jobs just to pay for their rent, food, kid’s clothes, medical bills. They came to the USA to improve their lives but they were slaves working daily to break even.

Another person that I met that fell in that category was my taxi driver back to the airport. He was a cool guy. His name is Felix Franco. Younger at 40 years old and his English is perfect. He is easy going and I just really got a good feeling from him. If you speak little to no Spanish or even if you do he is a good guy to call to use as a driver or translator. Most of these guys in Cali charge about $10 - $15 an hour. I told him I know some people that might come to Cali. I got the price down to $8 an hour for you and if you use him more than 6 hours a day he’ll drop it down to $6. I’ve been fortunate to meet good people. I’m a good judge of character and this guy will take good care of you. It’s funny in the taxi we were talking about how hot the Caleñas are and he told me I’d like the Paisas (girls from Medellin) too. He married one.

I asked him how he could possibly be married here with so many beautiful girls. He told me honestly he wakes up and the first thing he does is pray to God that he can be strong and not give into temptation. Ha! Talk about a strong guy. He also told me that sometimes he feels lucky not to be wealthy here because there would be too many temptations with the opportunities it would bring. The ironic thing is even if you had a ton of money you probably couldn’t spend it. I mean, you don’t want to stand out too much. You can’t have too nice of a house; you can’t buy a nice car, etc. I was surprised to see not even one convertible in a town with perfect weather for a convertible but it’s just too dangerous I’m told. I only saw American and Asian cars. I only saw one BMW the entire 11 days I was there. Cars are expensive here.

I originally was only staying 5 days so I just had a back pack and a Travel Pro 22’ suitcase. You can actually pack a lot in those Travel Pro’s. I went through customs which was easy. Here is where I made my mistake. I went into the Admiral’s Club which is immediately to the right after Passport Control. The airport is hot and humid with no air conditioning. The Admiral’s Club isn’t that nice here but the air conditioning is extremely strong. There was no one at the front desk so I imagine anyone can use it since no one checked if I was a member. There is only coffee and orange juice. They didn’t even have bottled water. They did have CNN though in English. I was dead tired and fell asleep. I woke up and it was 7 AM. Perfect… so I thought since my plane didn’t leave till 8:15 and boarding started at 7:30 AM. I go out and I see this LONG line. I think to myself sh*t! To make matters worse there is only one x-ray machine, a drug sniffing dog and they were frisking everyone so the process is slow. If you come here skip the admiral’s club and just go to your gate.

I waited there one hour standing in line. Yes, you heard that right. The only comforting thing was that many in line behind me were on my flight too so I knew the plane wasn’t going anywhere. So I finally get to the front of the line. The guy decides to open up my suitcase and take out EVERYTHING. It took me a while to pack since I bought some stuff and it was jam packed. They even checked the lining. They made me turn on my laptop. It took forever. If you use drugs I highly advise to leave them at home or don’t do them this trip. This isn’t the country you want to get locked up in. Also, in Miami the first thing you see is drug sniffing dogs. I’ve never done any drugs in my life and glad after hearing some of the problems they caused some of these people that I met in Cali. I’m on my plane now and missing Cali.

There is a guy sitting next to me on the plane and I told him I went to Cali and he looked at me like I was out of my mind. He told me how dangerous it is. I asked if he’d been there and he said no. I do realize that statistically Colombia is a dangerous country. I was only there 11 days. I can honestly say that I felt as safe in Colombia as I did in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In fact, I’d say I saw more shady characters in the Copacabana area than I saw in all of Cali. I will definitely be back here. Maybe in as few as 3 weeks. Good or bad I started some sort of relationship with my girl here. I’m ok with the courtship phase. It’s been a while since I’ve gone through this process of dating. I'm not exactly the serious boyfriend type since my divorce a few years ago.

It was sweet at the movies my girl told me that she is breaking up with her boyfriend tomorrow. I was pretty honest with her. I told her that I’ve really met a lot of girls all around the world and in my life. I also told her that I haven’t been able to forget her which is true. I asked her how much she makes working at the salon 6 days a week (sometimes 7) and I was floored when she told me only 350,000 pesos a month (less than $150). I couldn’t believe it. I know her family struggles but they seem like they have a happy life. They are so wonderful together and love each other so much. You should have seen them at dinner that one night. I’ve never seen a stronger bond and a better relationship. I was actually envious and wished I had that kind of family growing up. I had the things that most would consider essential: living in a nice house in a nice neighborhood, went to the best private schools, didn’t lack for food or clothing etc. but I can’t remember a time when I experienced what I witnessed that night at dinner with her family. Many American families look good on the outside looking in but are dysfunction as they can get.

Anyway, after the movie it was late but I asked her brother if I could walk around with her a bit alone and talk. I gave him some money to buy a drink but I didn’t see anything open. I’m not sure if this was a right move or not but I gave her some money and I told her that I wanted to help her. I told her not to work so hard and to take more English classes. She is only taking English classes 2 nights a week but has made very little progress since she can’t study too much. She wouldn’t take the money at first but I reasoned with her and by the end of the conversation she had tears in her eyes and was thanking me. She told me she couldn’t believe she met me. I told her that I’m not a wealthy guy but I will help whenever I can and I’ll be there for her. We kissed and we just held one another for a while. Neither of us really had to say anything but we both had the same look in our eyes. It was a bittersweet moment. Maybe some of you that live in Colombia can tell me if this was an OK move or not what I did. I didn’t want to offend her and she certainly wasn’t offended. She never asked for anything from me.

Sometimes I just like helping out a little. I’m not expecting anything in return for this. I did it in Buenos Aires too where I met a girl working in a restaurant slaving her ass off. I had no romantic interests in her even though she was cute and expressed interest in me. I gave her about $150 (500 pesos) a month for almost a year. I opened up a US bank account and added her name and added money in it. It helped her get a tourist visa and she now is living in Europe. We keep in touch from time to time and she always tells me that she will never forget what I did for her and will pay me back someday. I’m not writing this to hear what a great guy I am. I don’t think it’s anything special. I just think sometimes in life you have to do nice things for the sake of doing them. I feel so happy that my friend is happy now in Europe. She would have never gotten anywhere in Argentina. Some of you have met her. She handed out flyers at one of the restaurants on Junin street in Recoleta. I hope this in some way inspires other people to help others in some small way.

Even if I don’t stay with this girl I’m thinking of telling her that I’ll give her 600,000 pesos a month (almost double her monthly salary) if she agrees to take English classes full-time. It no doubt will help her have a happier future. Her best friend lives in the USA and she doesn’t seem to have a big desire to live in Cali. She has no friends in Cali and is kind of a home body. She doesn’t go out much. I asked her mom at dinner if she would miss her daughter if she moved to the USA and her mom had a tear in her eye and told me that her daughter is her life. She loves her more than she loves herself. She told me though that if knowing that her daughter was happy and had a legitimate chance of a good future she would be happy. It was a Hallmark moment. I know some of this sounds gushy. If so, stop reading. No one is forcing you to read this. Many emotions and thoughts are going through my head right now but I’m so happy that I went to Colombia. I didn’t know what to expect but it was a very enriching experience if you couldn’t tell from my diary. Sometimes you just have to do something impulsive. I just got a ticket on a whim with very little notice. Life is short and you have to take advantage of the time you have. I truly hope some of you were able to gain some valuable information from my diary. I hope you could take something positive out of it. Good luck. I hope people visit this city full of amazing and wonderful people.