I’ve ‘discovered’ an area here in Medellin where there are dozens of bars populated with women of varying levels of attractiveness, who, so they tell me, make their money by enticing customers to buy them drinks and receiving commissions. It sounds something like a classic clip joint except the cost of the ‘drinks’ or ‘beers’ is pretty small… three or four dollars, tops. And for that, while you’re buying, a chica will sit with you, talk to you, and dance with you if you get the notion.
There are so many of these places and so may girls that it’s hard to understand the business model, or just what the girls are offering. I say this primarily because of what I was NOT able to do, that is, convince a cute eighteen year old to spend some ‘intimate’ time with me. She insisted that this was the norm. Well, perhaps and perhaps not.
[rau]
I feel like I should be able to figure this out, being able to at least converse on an intermediate level in Spanish. But one problem I run into is that most of these bars play their radios (or whatnot) at ear shattering level. I don’t mean to imply that this makes them any different than almost every other bar I have walked past. It’s only that carrying on a conversation in a foreign language under such circumstances is somewhere between challenging and impossible.
So…I found one bar that was a bit less LOUD than the others, and struck up an acquaintance with the eighteen year old I mentioned before. It took me two visits and a sort-of date with her to see that she wasn’t on the market, though she’s quite friendly and sweet. In any case, I can’t really believe that there are a hundred girls in this one area who are all adverse to making a little money by getting intimate with a customer. Certainly the area, with it’s numerous “love” hotels, is equipped to handle such a situation. In any event, I plan to take some ear plugs and check out some of the other bars. I promise to report back on my results.
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As it just so happened, though, I was sitting in the bar I mentioned on a Sunday afternoon when three gringos walked by out front, whom I recognized immediately, and after getting their attention, they joined me and my 18yo for a drink. All three guys were fellow mongers from San Jose, Costa Rica, who now make their homes in Medellin. One of them, who is bilingual, assured me that indeed the girls in the bars were available, that I had just come across the exception. I do hope he’s right. And though it may take time, I plan to do the research. Stay tuned for further developments.
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