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Lovely Laura Tobon gives us a look behind the scenes during a photo shoot for Colombia’s Intima Secret Lingerie. A beautiful woman in some sexy undies. Oh yes, life is good.
Best Value for Night Clubs in Medellin is Downtown
I met up with two friends from back in my Costa Rica days for an evening out at a couple of downtown night clubs (strip clubs). My one friend, Doug, is a couple of decades younger than I and my other friend, Vince, a bit older. We confined ourselves to two clubs that were virtually side by side, the Maracaibo and the Ejecutiva.
We started out in the Ejecutiva, sitting at a table along side the dance stage. The beers were 8000 pesos each, or a bit under $3 US. The dancers did the usual two song act, the first one up tempo clad in some sort of skimpy outfit and the second song, usually a bit slower, where the skimpy outfit was discarded and no imagination was needed regarding the details of the dancers’ bodies.
Vince has a decided preference for thin girls. Doug likes big booties and I am currently torn between thin and tall girls. If I happen to see a tall thin one, so much the better. In any event, we watched the show and conversation tended toward critiquing the dancers. Vince was the most critical, in that any girl over 100 lbs was probably too fat for his tastes. Doug didn’t find much fault with most of them, while for me I wouldn’t have turned any of them away for free but wasn’t sufficiently motivated to select one for a “session.”
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Doug had arrived earlier, and told us about a Venezuelan girl he chose who was new to the country and not too familiar with the local currency, resulting in a very cheap price. Neither Vince or I found our heart’s desire in the Ejecutivo so we decided to take the short walk over to the Maracaibo. Once inside, it appeared that the quality of the talent there was quite good, to my tastes at least. The dancing was about the same, though from where we sat the view seemed better. The drinks were priced about the same as at the Ejecutiva and so was the price for “company.”
The deal at these places is that there is a set price for the room, and you negotiate with the girl for her cut. I didn’t session that night, but I believe the rooms run about 15,000 pesos, or $5. A dancer came on that fitted Vince’s criteria. She was thin but solidly built, and had a very nasty look about her with her numerous tattoos. Vince speaks almost no Spanish, so Doug helped him with the negotiations. They settled on 95,000 pesos room included, which ran to a whopping $32, more or less.
So off the loving couple went to the room, and not too long afterward Vince returned, perspiring slightly and with a big grin on his face. He had made a good choice, apparently.
Overall I was quite impressed with the quality of the “talent” at both places, particularly at the Maracaibo that night. I haven’t been to an American strip club in ages, but from what I hear you will spend an arm and a leg and receive virtually nothing in return. Guys tired of that scene should consider a trip to Medellin.
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Behind the Camera for Colombia’s Lili Pink
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Lili pink is an appropriately named brand of Colombian intimate wear. Many women from Colombia are quite fair skinned, as our lovely model demonstrates. Delicious.
Tale of Two Cities: San Jose and Medellin
Forgive me for borrowing the title. I got a message from a reader suggesting that I do a post (or 2) about moving from San Jose, Costa Rica to Medellin, Colombia. Before I get into the how of it, I want to talk a bit about differences. Some things are arguably better in Medellin, other things better in San Jose, and other things simply different.
One of the biggest pluses to Medellin is the cost of living. I don’t know that I have found anything more expensive here than in Costa Rica. Food, rent, utilities and imported goods are all cheaper, in some cases a LOT cheaper. Some things are perhaps 2/3 the price, others even less. Costa Rica taxes the consumer heavily, and that means YOU. San Jose is, by and large, cheaper than the US or Canada. Still, it is one of the most expensive places in Latin America. Colombia is not the cheapest place, but it’s still very affordable.
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Medellin is a much bigger city than San Jose, and large segments of it are very modern and well maintained. It has its shabby and even scary areas, but they are generally confined to the more remote barrios. The Metro in Medellin makes virtually all of the places you might want to go quite accessible.
In San Jose’s favor, and in favor of Costa Rica in general, is the compactness of both the city and the country in general. Most things of interest to a gringo are within walking distance of each other. Medellin is much more spread out. The same goes for the two countries. If you got up early in the morning, there is really no place in Costa Rica that can’t be reached from San Jose the same day. You can dip your toe in the Pacific before breakfast and dip the same toe in the Caribbean before dinner.
Another positive about Costa Rica for most gringos is the fact that English is more widespread. Ticos are generally more used to dealing with gringos than Colombians, for better or worse. And although we gringos seem to bitch frequently about the other gringos mucking up our respective paradises, the loose-knit gringo community is still something many if not most gringos in San Jose would miss if it disappeared. There is a gringo community of sorts in Medellin, but it seems (to me) to be confined to one area (Poblado) and one economic class (affluent). I am just a retired old fart and I don’t have much reason to go to Poblado. You don’t have to be rich to live in Poblado, but it will cost more to live there than other places in the city.
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