BajaNomad - BAJA & OTHER PARADISES

BAJA & OTHER PARADISES

rob - 1-12-2008 at 04:28 PM

Somebody in the Why-I-don't-travel-to-Baja-anymore thread said " ... for chaos try Columbia".

Could any of the learned audience give other readers their best suggestions for other area-specific websites that give a feel for the local (gringo) experience? Is there a "PanamaNomad"?

We never hear or see anything about expat gringos in (say) El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama - do they have the same challenges as we do?

Where can we read about them?

Rob

backninedan - 1-12-2008 at 05:08 PM

I am hoping to take a trip to Honduras soon with an eye towards a possible move. I will write it on returning.

There are chat rooms similar to this one that are based in Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama. The info I have able to get from the Nicaragua site has made me very gun shy of that area.

I did live in Belize for a year and enjoyed. With english being the official language it made it very easy for some of us lingualy challanged types.

I just use google and type in the country I am interested in followed by chat as in honduranchat. There seems to be a room for almost anywhere.

bajajudy - 1-12-2008 at 05:10 PM

http://www.nicaragua.com/community/policies.html

I just googled...message boards Nicaragua
I chose Nicaragua because I have been there and thought it would be interesting to read but it is no Nomads

Ken Cooke - 1-12-2008 at 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rob
Somebody in the Why-I-don't-travel-to-Baja-anymore thread said " ... for chaos try Columbia".

That was me. :lol:

If you check out http://www.travelpod.com you will find web logs on travels far and wide. This is a great place to research others' experiences in the country you choose to read about.

My Colombian travel log is at: http://travelpod.com/z/desert_outlaw/colombia_2007/120003204...

bajajudy - 1-12-2008 at 05:14 PM

Ken
Is that a square grouper trap?

Ken Cooke - 1-12-2008 at 08:11 PM

I thought it was a crab trap, not sure.

"Heavy" for foreigners? Heavy in what sense?

President Alvaro Uribe has really pushed hard on the FARC, eliminating them from the cities, and now they inhabit the Amazonas and I hear some stretches of jungle near the Venezuelan border in the Magdalena department.

You don't see many Americans traveling in Colombia - especially without a guide. My supervisor at work told me that when she traveled there several years ago, she was instructed not to leave her hotel in Bogota for fear that she would be kidnapped.

When I travel, most people don't suspect that I'm an American. Even when I show them my passport, they think I'm an immigrant from the islands or South America, so I haven't had any difficulties with the locals. Now, for your typical blonde-haired, blue-eyed American tourist traveling in Santa Marta for example, they get loads of attention - from the street merchants, to curious on-lookers, to the prices for taxi fare and meals being priced higher than Colombian citizens, to pick-pockets, etc.

Pescador - 1-13-2008 at 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Cooke

When I travel, most people don't suspect that I'm an American. Even when I show them my passport, they think I'm an immigrant from the islands or South America, so I haven't had any difficulties with the locals. Now, for your typical blonde-haired, blue-eyed American tourist traveling in Santa Marta for example, they get loads of attention - from the street merchants, to curious on-lookers, to the prices for taxi fare and meals being priced higher than Colombian citizens, to pick-pockets, etc.

Well, following this post and another topic about women drivers and the mordida, I guess that when one leaves the good ol US of A, that we need to be dressed in drag or some kind of crazy outfit so that the local bad guys think you are whacko and then you get left alone. I can see the travel agencies starting up around this idea :bounce:

BajaTrooper - 1-13-2008 at 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pescador

Quote:

Ken, do you have any photos of you in drag? :lol:

Ken Cooke - 1-13-2008 at 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaTrooper
Ken, do you have any photos of you in drag? :lol:

Here's my most recent...

rob - 1-13-2008 at 09:29 AM

Thanks Backninedan! I tried your advice and within minutes found a hot chica at ElSalvadorChat, which turns out to be a dating service out of L.A.

Er, just kidding dear. ..

oladulce - 1-13-2008 at 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajajudy
http://www.nicaragua.com/community/policies.html

I just googled...message boards Nicaragua
I chose Nicaragua because I have been there and thought it would be interesting to read but it is no Nomads

Here's the general-info Nica Board we go to (the one backninedan was referring to?):
The Real Nicaragua

Nice folks, good resources for travel and living questions, and the usual cast of characters of an online forum. Heavy Nica politics and satire section but not the usual heated debate and mudslinging because everybody thinks Ortega's an idiot!

It's a fairly new Bulletin board, and doesn't have the "depth" of Nomad.

oladulce - 1-13-2008 at 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rob
Could any of the learned audience give other readers their best suggestions for other area-specific websites that give a feel for the local (gringo) experience?
We never hear or see anything about expat gringos in (say) El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama - do they have the same challenges as we do?

Rob

We're newcomers to Nicaragua and have a lot to learn but some of what I've observed so far (from a future-ex-pat point of view):

Pros:
1. No Fideicomiso. Yipeee! Fee-simple property ownership for foreigners.
2. You can have a nice panga built there.
3. Friendly people, but you can keep a low profile and walk down the street without feeling like you stick out like a sore thumb. We've had people stop and say "thank you for visiting our country".
4. There is a traffic circle near the airport with a transito police casita within view. Everyone that resembles a tourist will get pulled over for an "infraction". Good news is, they do not have weapons and do not have a vehicle. They won't yank you out of your car and aren't interested in kidnapping you.
5. Where else will you meet a simple panguero who speaks Russian? (because he was kidnapped by the Sandanistas and shipped off to Russia, then Cuba)
5. You only have to worry about residual landmines along the northern border of the country.

Cons:
1.You do not want to get in a traffic accident! As in Mexico, you may be detained until things are sorted out on the scene.
2. Even less medical care available than Baja, especially in rural areas.
3. If you're not a full-time resident, many people have a cuidadero at their property. The mentality can be, "if you're not living there, then your home and your belongings must be "extra" and you don't need your stuff as much as I do". At least there's not the squatter problems as in Costa Rica.
3. Horrendous lines at the bank. Some guys pay one of their workers to stand in line for them.
4. Frequent power outages
5. Bad roads can become inaccessible in the rainy season
6. Daniel Ortega

[Edited on 1-14-2008 by oladulce]

tigerdog - 1-13-2008 at 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rob
Could any of the learned audience give other readers their best suggestions for other area-specific websites that give a feel for the local (gringo) experience? Is there a "PanamaNomad"?

We never hear or see anything about expat gringos in (say) El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama - do they have the same challenges as we do?

Where can we read about them?

Rob

Here are some you all might find interesting

AMBERGRIS CAYE & BELIZE

BELIZE

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

PANAMA This is a Yahoo group and you have to subscribe, but it's quite good

COSTA RICA

And just for fun

THE ISLAND OF GRENADA

Enjoy!

tjBill - 1-13-2008 at 04:13 PM

Spent summer of 2005 traveling in Colombia. No problems and never met a traveler there who had problems there

Spent most of my time in Bogota and Medellin. Colombia is the most beautiful country in the world.

Ken Cooke - 1-14-2008 at 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by lencho

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Cooke
"Heavy" for foreigners? Heavy in what sense?

Dangerous, violent. When I went through in the early 80's, nobody would wear any kind of jewelry in public (it might get literally ripped off your body) and I recall the hotels having barred doors that were closed at all times and we had to identify before they'd let us in...

You do have the enviable advantage of blending in better than most gueros... ;>

--Larry

I blend it there like its' nothing in Colombia. Onelis' father Julio told me that I could travel throughout Colombia and Venezuela and not worry like most Americans. It was a different story traveling in Estonia & Finland during summer '06.

Ken Cooke - 1-14-2008 at 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by lencho

Quote:

Originally posted by tjBill
Spent summer of 2005 traveling in Colombia. No problems and never met a traveler there who had problems there

Fascinating. Things have indeed changed in 20 years...

--Larry

According to this news release I just received, things are back to the same old ways... :no:

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/01/14/colombia.re...

805gregg - 1-15-2008 at 08:10 AM

I checked out Dominican Republic, it has the typical problems with the very rich and very poor

Costa Rica forum

beachbum1A - 1-15-2008 at 08:21 AM

Try this web site for a forum & info about Costa Rica; It's a site called "Association of Residents of Costa Rica". A friend has retired there and passed it on to me.

http://www.arcr.net/