ewwwwwwww...

He was a dirty little kid. Dark skin, ratty ass clothes and cheap sandals adorned him. After 6 months of travel, I was use to ignoring beggars. And here was another one, just a little kid, with his hand stretched out. I ignored him and continued on my way. After all, this was Rio! Copacabana beach was to the right of me, expensive ass hotels to the left and dotting the mountainside were the favelas.

I continued on my way when an older bum came up to me. Damnit! Leave me alone asshole! But this guy help following me. I finally looked at him and saw that he was pointing down to my leg……..on top of my shoe was liquid shit. Some of it had even gotten on my pants. And it just so happened that the bum had a stool (LOL) and was offering to clean me up.

At first I was confused…did I walk under a dog’s asshole and just not notice it? Then I remembered reading about this type of scam in Lonely Planet. One guy goes up to the mark and tosses something on him…ketchup, oil, shit…and while you’re distracted, they steal your wallet.

Use caution when walking around a dog's asshole.

It looked like this was just a variation. I didn’t trust the guy to clean me up so I just kept walking. I ended up going to a bar and cleaning myself off.

Having shit like this happen has made me realize something…I fucking hate poor people. I hate it when they ask me for change, I hate it when I have to walk over them, I hate it when they walk up to me in a restaurant and keep begging till the waiter tells them to fuck off. They’re an eye-sore and I hope one day to get rid of all poor people.

The only way we can get rid of poor people is to educate them and bring them up to a higher enough economic level. Where they have a job that can provide them with housing, food and a sense of security. A place like Brazil has hillsides full of people who have to hussle everyday. That’s why they have to sell drugs, scam, and mug.

I was surprised that I wasn’t angry about what had happened to me. I thought about how this little kid had to shit into a cup and carry it around all day. Then get good enough at throwing it on people so that they don’t even notice. This kid probably didn’t know when his next meal would be…something I have never known.

Traveling through South America has let me see real poverty. No welfare or government assistance in these places. I look into the eyes of these people and they just look dead. A friend who use to work in a homeless shelter told me that it’s not the absence of money that make people poor; it’s the absence of hope.

A couple of days later another bum came up to me. This time I actually looked at the person begging for change. He was skinny as hell and was vibrating like a string, obviously high on something. I knew if I gave him money, chances were he’d just use it to get high. So I bought him an empanada instead. I’m not sure if he even chewed it, it was gone so fast.
I hope one day there won’t be any poor people.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...

Pick Up Artist are generally viewed in a negative light. One PUA who courts this controversy is Roosh, who expresses his strong opinions on his blog. Roosh is a PUA who gained popularity after writing about the D.C. dating scene. Now he has moved on to South America to continue his adventures. We got to chat with Roosh.

Basic Questions
1) How did you get into pickup?

I was reading a business forum in 2001 when someone randomly posted a link to Tony’s Layguide. As I was not getting laid, I studied the guide for a couple months then tried out some of the techniques. They worked and I just kept going.

2) What is your dating philosophy?

No matter what stage of the game you are at right now or how ugly you are there is a girl out there that will fuck you and the only way to find her is to keep approaching until you succeed. The mere act of approaching is the most important thing a guy can do.

3) How did you get good at dating to become an authority on it?

I’m sure there are tons of guys who are better than me, but my skill comes in explaining it in a clear way that other guys can understand and apply it to their own lives. Everyone knows a natural who bangs tons of women but who has retarded advice like “Be yourself” or “Smile.” He can never be an authority because he has no clue what works and what doesn’t. On the other hand I feel like I  know what will help the average guy.

4)What do you think guys greatest mistake with women is?

They’re too needy. You can see it in their eyes when they’re talking to a girl—it’s like everything collapses in the background and the sole reason for his existence is to give this new girl his undivided attention. This goes hand-in-hand with confidence issues because a guy who thinks he doesn’t deserve a hot girl will wet his pants if he just finds himself in a conversation with one. He sinks her claws in her and of course it turns her off. I think a lot of guys can be served well by adopting an aloof and indifferent mindset.

5) In your experience, what is the best place to find a quality girlfriend?

It depends on the guy and what he wants. If quality to me is a Latin girl who loves to dance then I’d hit the salsa clubs. If I want a girl-next-door bookworm then the coffee shop. If I want a vapid, hot girl then I’d go to the club. A guy needs to find out what he wants and then figure out the place that has it. There is no magic place that has a neverending supply of quality.

6) What are some ways to enlarge your social circle?

Be cool. Do you think a cool guy has to think about ways to expand his social circle? No because other people are trying to hang out with him, calling him on Saturday afternoon trying to figure out his plans. The better question is how can you be an interesting person to both guys and girls so that they want to hang out with you.

7) What was your life like when you weren’t good with women? What is it like now?

I played computer games (Warcraft, Starcraft) and poker with other guys who also sucked with women. It was a vicious cycle: hanging out with guys who were just as bad as I was, our skill never improving. I still believed that one day I’d get lucky and meet a hot girl who would find my lack of confidence, self-esteem, and conversational ability endearing. I also believed that being friends with a girl first was the best way to have sex with her. It never worked. Whereas then it was a huge deal to have an interaction with a pretty girl, it’s less significant now. I work on many girls at the same time and always have options. If one girl is acting flakey then it’s no big deal because there are others I can get with.

8 ) What is one of your favorite techniques/tactics?

Breaking up with her. In the course of our first conversation there is going to be something that highlights one of our differences (e.g. she likes dogs and I like cats). Then I tell her that while we had some good times, I can’t continue the relationship and it’s best if we go our separate ways (while holding her hand or touching her in some way). I’m in Colombia now and I made sure to translate this little routine into Spanish.

9) Do you use props? If so, what gets the most reactions?

I don’t use props, but I think my beard and mop-like haircut is a prop in itself.

10) What is your biggest sticking point?

Sometimes there is a girl I want to talk to but I tap into my experience and determine that, based on my previous approaches in this type of situation, the interaction will not go well and I should just save my energy by not doing anything. In effect I feel like I can predict the future, but of course no one can and I probably cost myself quite a bit by pretending I know how things would turn out. I make things harder on myself by overthinking.

11) What pick up artist has inspired you the most? What did you learn from them?

I would say David D’Angelo. His “cocky and funny” concept was very easy to understand and implement, and did the most to help me understand how attraction works. I’ve toned down the cocky quite a bit and found that humor alone is just as potent assuming you are confident. If not then you will come across as silly or goofy.

12) Describe the moment when your realized you need to work on this part of your life.

It was my last year in college and I asked a girl out to the movies, but she said she was busy. Two weeks later I saw her on campus holding hands with another guy and I realized that I had to make some changes if I wanted to get the girls I wanted.

13) What advice do you give to newbies starting out?

Hit the gym. It’s the most reliable way to improve a guy’s confidence, and he’s going to need every bit he can when it’s time to walk up to girls.

14) In your experience, what is the biggest issue for guys getting attraction from women?

Just being normal. Lot of guys are studying all these lines and routines and it comes across as weird and sometimes creepy. If you observe naturals, they’re having a normal conversation with just a few jokes or cocky bits thrown in, but not everything they’re saying is game. Being a normal, confident guy who can have a laugh is usually all you need to get laid with cute girls.

15) What are you goals for the community? Your life?

When it comes to the community I think guys need to be careful about who they idolize. Because no one guy is going to have the answers (including myself), they should pick and choose the advice that fits their personality or lifestyle best. I understand this is a big business now but guys should be skeptical of everyone. I’m at the stage of my life where I have a lot of experiences that I can share, and that I know helps others. I like passing wisdom I’ve learned.

Specialized Questions

1) Why did you choose to come to South America?

It came down to money and language. The two other parts of the world that I was interested in was Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, but I really loved how in South American I only needed to know two languages to get by. Plus I like women with darker, tanned features and curvy bodies, which South America has.

2) What’s the difference between sarging in North America and South America?

The logistics are about five times easier in N. America. Girls have their own apartments. They like to drink (a lot). They don’t have to be home by a certain hour. They don’t hang out in huge groups. They aren’t strict Catholics. And most importantly, they speak the same language as you do. I think a lot of guys have the view that getting laid while traveling is easier, but that’s only the case if you have a lot of trouble getting laid in your own country. If you think you’re going to visit a new city every few days and get laid in each one, you will be sorely disapointed. You’re going to need your own cell phone, you’re going to need time to find places that have the girls, and you’re going to need your own place (or at least know where there is a love motel). Otherwise you’ll be counting on luck quite a bit.

I’m still surprised that being a gringo hurts more than it helps. The quality girls that you want are not looking for some one night fling with a guy she can barely communicate with. She wants that connection too. If you don’t want to dip into the dregs with the poor girls, you’ll have to work quite hard for quality. That includes studying the local language and building roots in one city for an extended period of time.

3) What country do you like best and why? What about women-wise?

My favorite country is Brazil. The country itself doesn’t is an oddball in S. America because it’s so much more colorful and exciting than all the other countries (and dangerous too, unfortunately). It’s a happy place to be in, and while it’s the most expensive country in S. America I think it’s worth it. The women are extremely sensual. They know how to dress and walk, and most importantly of all, please a man. Once you go Brazilian, you don’t go back. And yes, they like gringos.

4) Can you relate a success story about one of your clients?

When I was in the States I was teaching a day game workshop every weekend. I had two students at a time and one of my students was attending a small college. He had practically no approach experience. I ran the lecture and then we went out to various venues like the coffee shop, clothing store, and eventually the street. Now the street is the hardest place to pick up a girl, but there he picked up a very cute girl using the material I taught him. I hear from him every few weeks and he tells me how much progress he’s making. I want to take all the credit, but of course I know that a lot of guys simply need a nudge in the right direction. He’s doing things now that I didn’t teach him and that’s because his early successes keeps pushing him to approach and continue. In only one year I know he’s going to be very good.

5) Why did you choose the name Roosh?

Roosh is my nickname that I’ve had since high school. I probably should have thought harder about using it online because girls google “roosh” often and my blog is the first result. It gets me into trouble all the time.

6) What are your fundamental teachings?

Approach indirectly in large numbers to aquire the experience needed to know how to talk to a girl and make her laugh. Learn the little tricks that take the interaction from one stage to the next. Don’t worry about quality until you get a solid grasp of how the game works.

7) How do you differ from other dating coaches?

I think I’m less of a sell out. I put out a quality book at a low price and genuinely want to help guys. Even my workshop was so cheap that a bunch of my students said I should charge more. Others have helped me when I was coming up and I want to return the favor. I’d do it for free if I had a trust fund or lottery winnings.

8 ) Your known as a misogynist / sexist pig in the community. How do you respond to that?

I think it’s disingenuous to say you love women but want to have sex with a lot of them. It’s a fact that the less you value women, the more you see them as worthless whores, the more of them you will have sex with. I’ve simply adopted the right mindset for my goals. Guys who think women are flawless princesses will not get many bangs out of the game.

9) You’re a well-known blogger (enough to get a parody site). What can you tell us about blogging and your blog?

I’ve had a blog in one form of another since college but things really took off when I focused on the Washington DC area and blogged almost exclusively about girls and nightlife. Gradually the audience grew to where I was making enough money from advertising and book sales to quit my job. I don’t make nearly as much as when I worked, but it’s enough to live in a third-world country such as Colombia or Argentina. My current blog is going on its fifth year, and while it doesn’t bring me as much joy as it used to (at times it feels like a job), I still have a lot of things that I want to share. I may blog less in the future but I don’t think I’ll stop it completely.

10) Tell me about your products.

Right now I only have my book Bang. I wrote it when I felt confident enough about the level of my game that my knowledge would be worth paying for. It has five chapters: Internal Game, Early Game, Middle Game, Late Game, and End Game, and describes step-by-step what you need to do to from the appraoch to sealing the deal. I even talk about the order you should remove a girl’s clothes in bed, something that I haven’t seen other guys do.

11) What are your plans for the future?

I’m working on a memoir now about my previous trip to South America which I hope to be done with by fall of 2009. After that I start work on a day game book, and I have other ideas for books in the future. I think book writing is what I will be focusing my time on for the next couple years, until I get into straight-up pimping.

Olalala...

This was sent in by a reader who remains anonymous. My answers are italicized in blue.

hey, i just graduated from college and was planning on going to central or south america to learn spanish for a year. I’m really drawn to buenos aires for the girls, but i’ve heard that colombian girls are pretty too. can you tell if a certain pu approach worked better in argentina than in colombia?

Hey. I’d say between the two the Colombian girls are more exotic than the Buenos Aires girls, but BA has a better nightlife. Also, the Spanish in Colombia is a bit easier to understand. Have you looked into Peru? The girls there aren’t bad either.

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Are you more about the nightlife or the women? If you are just looking for hot exotic women, then check out Colombia or Lima, Peru. But, if you like nightlife and pretty cute girls, then check out BA.
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No problem if you have anymore questions let me know. You won’t be dissapointed in Lima.

What should you say to them? Ask Karea.

Karea is one of those dating coaches who you’ve probably never heard of but who your favorite Pick Up Guru knows and respects. He’s currently traveling South America and it was a crazy coincidence that LatinStylez and I met him (He found us by googleing for Colombia Wings and turns out he knows the Pick Up Asia crew). It just goes to show you all the different types of people you can meet when you travel.

1) How did you get into pickup?

I got lucky: when I was 16, I had a music teacher who was a real Casanova. He always had 4 girl-friends, he pushed me into sets when I was too shy to talk to girls and taught me more about women than about chords and scales. Years later, I met a natural who taught me a few more things and that’s when I really started cold approaching on my own. Only another 2 years later, in 2004, a friend of mine told me: “You know, there is a community on the internet of guys like you. They call themselves pickup artists.” I was skeptical – how much could these computer geeks really know about women? Haha. Little did I know. (:

2) What is your dating philosophy?

“Stack work is no less important for a PUA than it is for a comedian.” All the very best PUAs I know have a gameplan – Sinn, Captain Jack, Vision, Mystery, Style… If you write a stack, and then go out and run it often, it’s almost inevitable that you will improve. It’s also almost inevitable that your dating life will be more abundant than you will have free time for. I see the whole “natural game” trend in the community and it’s something I did for several years myself… until I got invited on Mystery’s Lounge in 2006 and realized that it’s the only forum where people consistently post 6-8 new lay reports a month each! Now, whether that’s your goal or not is a different question – but it sure showed me that there is something to this stack work.

3) How did you get good at dating to become an authority on it?

Enthusiasm. I love talking about girls and I love talking to them. What I was really looking for in the community were like minded people – cause most of my friends just got bored when I talked about chicks all the time. (:

4) What do you think guys greatest mistake with women is?

Rather than answer this question myself, I recommend you ask some of your girl-friends about the lame things guys do to try and pick up on them or impress them. It’s actually pretty funny (:

5) In your experience, what is the best place to find a quality girlfriend?

Day game. Two years ago I made a list of all my ex girl-friends, to look for patterns. All relationships with girls I had met in night game were chaotic, to say the least. Some of the most wonderful girls I’ve dated, I met in day game. Other great PUAs I’ve talked to about this topic confirm this experience.

6) What are some ways to enlarge your social circle?

You really only need one friend… he can introduce you to 5 people, who introduce you to 5 more people each, and soon there is no stopping it. The only limit on the size of your social circle should be the free time at hand. And once you have more friends than time to spend with, you can start to be more picky.

7) What was your life like when you weren’t good with women? What is it like now?

I already had a few little “girl-friends” in primary school that I snuck in the bathroom with to kiss, but around age 8 I got into the wrong peer group and ended up being mostly AFC until I was 19. From 19 – 21 I dated one of the prettiest girls from my year, which didn’t really help my social life much at all because the popular guy was in love with her and so all his peer group hated on me. Now? I’m now at a point where, because of my travels, I often have to start a life in a new city where I don’t know anybody – but I know that within a week or two I will have a beautiful girl-friend and a cool social circle.

What is one of your favorite techniques/tactics?

I’ll share a technique here that I came up with years ago when I was reverse engineering the secret to charisma. It is to treat everybody like they were your best friend from high school that you haven’t seen in ages. Not just any friend… your BEST friend. Really imagine you’re not talking to some dude you just met or to some girl with a bitch shield – imagine you’re talking to that one friend from high school that you had all these inside jokes with.

9) Do you use props? If so, what gets the most reactions?

Well, sometimes. I wouldn’t recommend to be dependant on props, but one thing I did for a while was to show girls some pics on my digital camera. You can obviously choose interesting pictures that make you look good, pictures of yourself being social, travelling, doing sports, being on stage, etc. But the one that always got the best reaction was a picture of a cat with two different eyes – a green one and a blue one. The girl would call her friends over and be like “oh my God, look at this cat! That is amazing”. By the time her friends looked at the cam, I’d already flipped to the next picture – a picture of a perfectly normal cat – and show it to her friends. They’d all look at her like “What’s wrong with you? That’s just a normal cat”. Haha. Good times.

10) What is your biggest sticking point?

State dependence. When I’m in state, I’m a rock star. When I’m not, I have AA… even after 7 years of cold approaching.

11) What pick up artist has inspired you the most? What did you learn from them?

There are four I’d mention. David D is great for inner game, Mystery for outer. David Shade is the man when it comes to sexual mastery, and Captain Jack when it comes to Framing.

12) Describe the moment when your realized you need to work on this part of your life.

When I was 16, the music teacher I mentioned above told me that he used to be shy as a kid. I didn’t believe him… he was the most charismatic and social person I ever met, always the center of attention and flirting with beautiful women. But it showed me that these social skills are something that can be learned and practiced… and so I wanted to improve. Now, 12 years later, I’m the one who tells people that I was shy as a teenager – and they don’t believe me.

13) What advice do you give to newbies starting out?

It depends a lot on where they’re at and where they wanna go. But if somebody is not getting results with women, I warn them to stay away from “natural game” products. If being yourself hasn’t helped you so far, it won’t help you in the future just because you watched a DVD. In fact the schools that teach natural game are usually the ones that have forums almost void of lay-reports.

14) In your experience, what is the biggest issue for guys getting attraction from women?

Fear. Fear of approaching, and fear of taking things to a romantic / physical level. Fear of saying something wrong and thus staying on safe, polite conversation. What helped me over this was to tell myself: “She is not my dream girl… she is not the perfect 10 that I will marry some day in the future… so this interaction doesn’t matter… at all.” Outcome independence, if you will.

15) What are your goals for the community? Your life?

Truth be told, I have achieved all the goals I set for myself in this area of my life… be it dating several dancers and models at the same time, or falling in love with one 10 and building an amazing, deep, exclusive relationship. So at the moment I’m enjoying the ride… but since I constantly work on my skills, the goal is mastery. You can always get better – there is no ceiling.

Specialized Questions

1) Why did you choose to come to South America?

I fell in love with this continent when I was a child, maybe 8 years old… we have family friends from there, and whenever they were around, I’d run up to them and go: “Cecilia, tell me about South America!” (: I was fascinated by her stories about the country… eternal summer, salsa music, perpetual smiles and beautiful people, great food and a cocktail under palm trees.

2) What’s the difference between sarging in North America and South America?

The three main differences, in my experience, are:
1.) Latinas don’t usually have bitch shields – they will be polite even if they’re not interested
2.) Latinas don’t cock block. If a girl sees that her friend likes you, she will usually help her get laid rather than sabotage it.
3.) Many Latinas are very catholic and conservative. They’re more flirtatious than Western girls and may even kiss you faster, but wait longer before they go all the way with a guy.

3) Can you relate a success story about one of your clients?

In 2008, I was teaching a lot of guys about relationship mastery, and I received great feedback from all my students. One of them was totally in love with a girl, but he didn’t know what to do about it and how to communicate with her… she obviously walked all over him. I coached him through the issues and I regularly get emails from him about how happy he is with the relationship now… it’s very satisfying for a teacher to see that.

4) Why did you choose the name Karea?

LOL. I had a different handle before, until a chick hacked into my email. Heaven hath no rage, nor hell a fury… The good side is, this made for a funny stalker story that I now tell in set sometimes.

5) What are your fundamental teachings?

There’s a lot… But one fundamental thing is definitely charisma – despite what I said about stack work above, I think it’s far more important to develop personal magnetism than it is to do body rocking or time constraints or negs or BHRR.

6) How do you differ from other dating coaches?

Much like Brad P, I figured a lot of stuff out before the community. So I know both perspectives – natural game and learned game – and how to integrate them with each other.

7) Your known as a “moral PUA” in the community. How do you respond to that?

Haha… yeah, I had a bunch of discussions with other famous PUA about this topic. I believe in pickup with harm to noone. I think it’s neither good nor necessary to destroy other people’s relationships, to cheat on your girl-friend or to lead girls on about your motives. If you truly have an abundance mindset, you will surely be able to find girls who are single, and be honest about it if you’re not ready to commit. Hey, I’m not pointing fingers here… I made mistakes in the past myself. But I experienced that there are ways to play this game win – win.

Tell me about your products.

I used to teach a Relationship Mastery Seminar with a major pickup company last year, and I’m also working on a product about Relationship Mastery myself, but it will be a few months at least before I’m ready to publish that. I also wrote some chapters for the number one Mexican pickup book, and for a book that will soon be published by LoveSystems (former Mystery Method) – about very fast lays in day game (within 15 minutes to 1 hour from meeting a girl).

Currently, I only do private consultations (over the phone or in person) about both those topics – pickup and relationships. So if you’re interested in talking to me and unfuck some sticking points, or simply to take your game to the next level, get in touch through the blog and we’ll have a chat. (:

My best to you all,

-Karea.

Want dating advice from Karea? Email karea at rocketmail.com

So you took 3 years of Spanish in school, come to South America and realize that everything you learned if useless…actually…who am I kidding? You’ve kept meaning to crack open that Spanish book or watch those lessons but CSI:Anchorage, Alaska is on! And now you’re in South America and the most you can do is say a few curse words and “No comprede Espanol.” How are you ever going to meet girls? Fear not Puta! I’m going to show you!

I’ve spent the last 5 months in South America and not being able to communicate sucks. I can use non verbals and body language to get the chick laughing but anything else is painful. If you know how to constantly close girls who don’t speak the same language (without paying) then please write an eBook. I’ll PayPal you the cash right now.

These are the best places to find English speakers:

More educated areas:

Be sure to sarge richer areas and around colleges. Richer people tend to be more educated thus more likely to speak English. Colleges are your best bet to find people who speak English. Remember to speak slowly and clearly. These guys may be self conscious about speaking English.

Also, be sure to bring a cheat sheet with you. Have English sentences written down with their Spanish translation. That may the conversation can go on and you guys can stare at the paper if things start getting uncomfortable.

Hostels:

Hostels are great places to meet people in general. You got travelers like yourself from all around the world. The only problem is that sometimes you won’t find locals (“If I wanted to fuck Americans, then I would have stayed in America!”). Find a hostel that’s located near a bar. Chances are the bar has tons of foreigners and local girls looking to hook up with a gringo.

And that’s about it. By far the best place to find English speakers is the Internet! This can take a lot of work and I recommend bugging LatinStylez to finally write about his online method. Or get David M’s Inside Internet Dating for help.

Here’s a list of sites you can try.

Dating Sites:

There’s a million and one dating sites. I looked into the free ones. The problem with most of these dating sites is that you won’t find too many people on them. They’re mostly geared towards people in the US.

OkCupid

PlentyofFish

Parperfeito – This is a South America dating site with a focus on Brazil.

Social Networks:

Hi5 – It seems like people in Argentina and Peru tend to use this place more.

Facebook – Be careful with Facebook. While you can be in two different networks, you can only switch networks twice every 60 days. Search for your city name and join the group. Then you can mass text message girls.

Orkut – Instead of facebook, most people in Brazil use Orkut.

Couchsurfing – Not only can Couch Surfing save you money on hostels but it’s a great place to meet people. Do a search for girls who want to meet up for coffee. However, you may not want to approach couch surfing like traditional internet dating. If you make any mistakes then people can leave you shitty feedback. Instead look to any social events that Couch Surfers in your area are throwing and sarge there.

Language Exchange:

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to do language exchange with a college girl.”

“Does language exchange mean she’s going to suck your dick?”

This was an exchange I got into with a female friend of mine. And it’s basically true in a lot of countries I been too. I had met a girl in Peru and her online profile said she was looking to meet English speakers. I met her, did my thing, and got a kiss close (No dick sucking though )

The problem with these sites is that often you can’t search by city.

My Happy Planet

Live Mocha

"Me Fail English? That's Unpossible."

Seriously Asshole (Ben Day Ho). Learn some Spanish. It’ll save you time and prevent headaches. You can even use the language exchange sites for legitimate purposes.I’m much more handsome, charming, and have a larger penis than LatinStylez, yet he closed more girls than me. Why? Cuz his ass speaks Spanish.

Use google, go to the library, anything!

Oh yeah. The top two places I found English speakers are:

1) Buenos Aires, Argentina

2) Florianopolis, Brasil

There is also some out-of-date information (Argentina’s Peso is NOT equal to one U.S. dollar) so travelers are advised to check other sources. If you will be traveling to only a couple nations in South America you would be better advised to buy a travel guide for each country. However, if you will traverse through many countries in this fascinating continent, this book is still a valuable reference tool.

Purchase Book Here:

South America (Shoestring)

We took the bus to the border. It was a 4 hour ride from Guayaquil to the border. The bus was packed and there was nothing around us except Plantain plants and little podunk towns. I was thinking about how much it must suck to live in these rinky-dings towns when all of a sudden the bus driver told us to get off and transfer to another bus. Wah? So we dragged out our luggage out and wait with other people in one of these small towns. Soon another bus comes and we get in.

Just our luck. This bus is packed and me and LatinStylez had to separate. I see a little lady walking up the aisle collecting money from the passengers and start to worry. How was I going to communicate that we were kicked off our first bus and had to get on this one? Did we have to pay money? Ahh, the joins of traveling in South America – being scared, tired, and worried.

The lady comes up and I just hand her my bus ticket from the last bus. She looks at me funny and says something in Spanish. Great. I shout to LS and ask for him to translate. And of course everyone on the bus looks at me. LS is in his own little world but another displaced traveler came to my rescue and managed to tell the ticket lady my situation.

Looks like everything is fine and dandy but we still have the border to cross. Every single time we stop, my heart pounds. Is this immigration? Are the police gonna give us a hard time? What happens if we miss it? Luckily, a local told us to get off when we get to Immigration.

Immigration is basically a small building in the middle of nowhere. Surrounding this building are little shops and cab drivers. The paper work was simple and soon we got new stamps in our passports. Immediately, 3 guys came up to LatinStylez and me and insisted taking our luggage. They didn’t insist so much as grab our luggage and say come on. They helped us fill out some paperwork and told us to get into the cab.

Then all 3 of them piled into the cab (Warning #1) and we were off. I had a funny feeling about this whole situation. Why did it take 3 guys to take us to the border? For a second I thought we were going to get kidnapped and I was looking for anyway to be able to escape this situation. Needless to say, it was a nervous 15 minute right to the border town.

Right when we got off the cab, there was a man standing with a roll of money in his hand; my how convenient (Warning #2). We were told that we could exchange money here. I figured they would screw us on the exchange rate so I only handed him $40. Then one of the guys told LatinStylez that Peru had laws about needing to enter the country with at least $150USD because many people go into Peru to find work. So with our luggage in their hands, two of the Ecuadorians led us to an ATM to withdraw cash.

I was reluctant to exchange that much cash. Then we were told that $50USD would be fine (Warning #3). We both got out the money and then passed by the exchange guy again. Is he following us around?(Warning #4) and exchanged the cash.

With our luggage still in hand, the two guys led us near the border where another man greeted us and took our bags. The original two Ecuadorians wanted a tip so I took out some Pesos and gave it to the guy who carried my bag. He looked at me and said it was too little. I reached into my pocket and just gave him the rest of my change.

Later I learned that this is a common technique used when scamming people off. The scammer wants the victim to feel like a douchebag. After all, they’ve been so nice to you. They filled out your forms and took your luggage. What are you? A cheap, fucking asshole? Are all [people from your country like this? God, your momma didn’t teach you no manners.

If there’s anything I learned in my time, it’s that people who want money from you will try to make you feel guilty. That’s when you have to learn to stand up for yourself and tell people to fuck off.

Anyways, the new guy takes LatinStylez bag and leads us to a car where a driver is waiting and like sheep, we follow him. He puts our bags in the car and gets in. Hmm…why do we need so many guys to ride with us? This new guy talks to LatinStylez in Spanish and bullshits around. He asks LS how he liked Ecuador and about the women. I just stare outside and have a million scenarios going through my mind.

We get to Peru immigration and the Ecuadorians get out. Latinstylez and I are hesitant to leave the car because all our luggage is in there. The driver noticed our hesitation and gave LS the keys as a show of good faith (LOL). Immigration is a breeze and before we know it we’re in Peru.

Soon the new guy starts talking to LS about money. He says we owe him $45USD. There’s a tiny problem: neither of us have any American money on us. The new guy starts ranting and raving about us needing American cash. LatinStylez starts shouting at the guy to chill out. Stylez says we have the Peru money we just exchanged and we could pay him in that. The guy says that he’ll only accept American dollars (Warning #32890290138891230) Then I realized that I did have some 20s in my hidden pants pocket. I take out $40USD and hand them to the guy. He looks at them and said that this money was no good. What the hell? Turns out that the dollars need to be notarized by a bank since there’s so much counterfeiting around.

The guys drive us to an ATM and I get out and draw out some USD and Soles. I pay the guy and FINALLY we get to the bus station and get our tickets. We were exhausted and just ready to get this whole ordeal behind us. 6 hours later we arrive in Huaquillas at 4AM. Once off the bus we were surrounded by taxi drivers. Suspicious of everyone, we got a cab and asked the taxi driver where a hotel was. This taxi driver was more honest than the previous guys we met and charged us a fair price.

We got to the hotel and just crashed. The next morning we go to pay for our hotel bill. I took out 100 Soles to pay. The owners puts the money under a blue light and tells us that it’s no good. In fact all the money we exchanged at the border is bad. Comically bad. These soles were on the wrong kind of paper and when you held them to the light you couldn’t see the face that appears. We got ripped off.

Tips for crossing the Equator/Peru border:
1) These con artist talk fast and don’t give you even a second to protest. Grab your bags and take a few minutes to get yourself together. You’re tired and scared and it’s common for mistakes and misjudgments to happen. Discuss the price BEFORE you get into the cab. Have a Lonely Planet with you and POINT the price out to them if they argue with you.
2) Scratch that. DON’T TAKE A TAXI! Lonely Planet recommends that you keep your bus ticket and wait for another bus to cross the border.
3) We willing to say NO! These guys are trying to hussle you. They’re counting on you to not know what’s going on so they can take advantage of you. If they take you to a cash machine then be very very suspicious.
4) Get money at the ATM. Most of the ATMS have an option to get American dollars and Peruvian soles.

#1 Lima, Peru

Larco Mar

I never expected too many things when we first got to Lima. I thought to myself it will probably not be that great and I didn’t expect to see too many hot women. Well, I was wrong! Lima, Peru has some of the hottest women I have seen in South America. I also found them to be very friendly. I never bounced so many sets until I came to Lima. The daygame there is really good at Parque Kennedy and the shopping mall near there. The nightlife in Miraflores has three different areas: Parque Kennedy area, Barranco’s it’s a bar street that has all different types of music, and Larco Mar- a bit more upper class, but has plenty of good looking women. If you are looking for a place to stay, there are plenty of hostels in the Parque Kennedy area (Flying Dog Backpackers). If you need something quieter, check out Inka Lounge

The food in Lima is pretty good, but I did get sick and caught traveler’s diarrhea from eating the ceviche. Be careful and make sure the food you eat is properly cooked. Remember to go to Lima during their summer. It is sunny almost every single day and when it is not summer a coastal fog blankets the city   Limeños go in full force to the beaches over the summer. For info on gaming the women there, check out my FR’s.

# 2 Buenos Aires, Argentina

Tango Dancing

Buenos Aires, Argentina is one of the largest cities in South America. I had alot of expectations before heading there, but the city impressed me. What really did it was the nightlife. I remember going out my first night there around 12AM thinking it was kind of late and wondering why there wasn’t a big line of people at the venue. I later found out it’s because  porteños don’t like to hit the clubs till after 2AM. The club got packed after 2 and I was out till 8AM the next morning. That was some true partying there. The women are good looking. Most of South America you run into the tan latina type, but in Buenos Aires it has more of a European influence and a lot of the girls are more light skinned. It’s different, but different in a good way.

The city is so large that there are so many different night spots for whatever type of music you like. There are plenty of places to stay in Buenos Aires. We met a lot of backpackers who were staying at Millhouse Hostel. We heard it is a pretty crazy hostel as far as having parties. If you want something quieter, check out Vanilla House. It is listed as Chill House on the Lonely Planet. It is close to Plaza Serrano which is good on the weekends- lots of bars and restaurants.

The food in Buenos Aires is superb. You can tell the Italian influence in Argentina by its food. Delicious pizza and pasta dishes are common. There are plenty of restaurants in Plaza Serrano and downtown. Palermo Viejo has its own share of food places as well. For more info on BA, check out this article.

# 3 Medellin, Colombia

Many of you may be wondering why I didn’t put Medellin, Colombia as my number one destination. The women in Medellin were some of the hottest I have seen in South America, but the city itself was rather boring. There were times I would go out during the week and there would be nothing to do. The nightlife is concentrated in one small area called Parque Lleras. For more info on the nightlife, check out this article.

Now, back to the good stuff. Medellin is regarded as one of the safest cities in Latin America. The mayor has taken great steps to enforce the law and improve on the city safety. Even the subway system is well protected, and also clean. While you are there, make sure to try the Bandeja Paisa. Typically, bandeja paisa includes grilled steak (either ground or whole), chicharrón (fried pork rind), red beans, rice, chorizo, a fried egg, and an arepa. It is usually accompanied by sweet fried plantains and a slice of avocado.

For places to stay, check out Tiger Paw Hostel. I also heard that the Pitstop is a fun party hostel. I ended up staying in Medellin a month so I got a good deal on a monthly rental.

It has been one hell of a trip. An adventure the whole way thru. You can plan so much for a trip, but it’s always those strange occurrences that happen that makes traveling such an adrenaline rush… Where will be the next Bolo and Latinstylez adventure? Here’s a hint: somewhere warm, in Asia, beaches, and culture… If you thought Southeast Asia, you guessed right… All subject to change though!

Now back to the border story…. We were in Cordoba, Argentina sad to leave but we had to go… Def would like to spend more time in this city. It has a lot to offer including a young vibrant college aged population. Perfect for sarging

This border crossing we hoped would be simple… We had to make a stop in Resistencia before heading to the Paraguay border. We already got our visa. We had to wait in a long line in Buenos Aires to do it, but we did. It also cost us 65 bucks…

Border Crossing

Preliminaries:

Get the bus ticket the day before. Well, that never got done. We forgot to bring our passports then when we went back I forgot to bring for the second time. Not only that we got into this huge fat guys cad who took us for a ride. I mean for a ride that ended up costing us 20 pesos and a trip to the ghetto. Who knew what this guy had planned, but it was a ride in the shady part of town…

¨Este no es el lugar adonde que tenemos que ir señor.¨ I told the cab driver. He looked surprised look at the number on the business card for the hotel again and said he made a mistake. ¨Ustedes estan en un lugar peligroso ahora.¨ Well why the hell would you take us there in the first place cab driver. Ahh what a headache 20 pesos later we were back and I got my passport for the bus ride.

But before that happened, I had to get change because the banks here only dispense 100 peso bills per transaction. Cabs don’t usually carry this amount and I don’t trust them. As we are walking out, Bolo says something to me in English. Uh ok a cop comes around the corner and asks for our documents. ¨Dammit¨I think to myself. We are stuck there waiting as they call it in. I was making sure they were legit cops as I have heard in South America there can be pretend cops who try to steal from you…

They call us in and we are good to go… Thank goodness! One more thing to do get the bus ticket. We show up to the bus station and had the bum who opened the door for us his 1 cent peso and head inside. But to find out something horrible… Our bus office was close… Until tomorrow! What a day is all I can say… Words can´t describe it… I am so tired right now my eyes feel like they are going to fall asleep!

The bus ride would run from 12 in the afternoon till 6 in the morning. We wanted to go the whole way through. No stopping overnight… Here we come!

Bus Ride:

Everything was smooth sailing the next day to Paraguay… The bus was non stop with only one stop near the border of Argentina. My main concern was the border after our problem in the Huaquillas border I did not know what to expect. Well, it was smooth sailing… Everything went well and I exchanged cash and it wasn’t counterfeit!

Total bus time: 20 hrs

Dead tired…

Wanna know what I thought about Paraguay? Next post to come!!

We got in this morning dead tired from the bus ride from Buenos Aires. About 10 hours total time in a nice luxurious two story bus with dinner and a breakfast. But, the breakfast was full of candies, way to get the caffeine in your system in the morning huh?

Didn’t do much exploring during the day. My body has been compensating itself for lack of sleep lately so my sleep hours have changed. I slept the rest of the day and finally woke up around 6. Bolo already did some things around town so he was now passed out.

Looking over Roosh’s old posts and the Lonely planet we decide on heading to Nuevo Cordoba and plan to get a cab. Well, the cab driver tells us “Estas en Nuevo Cordoba.” Which means you are in Nuevo Cordoba. We walk down the street and end up at a bar playing some pretty nice electro music. We sit down and order some drinks. I can’t drink much, because I am on antibiotics. I got sick in Lima from the food and caught a bad case of traveler’s diarreah. Man did it suck. Don’t eat ceviche I am warning you!!

I see a two set… I ask Bolo ” U gonna open?” I decide to open and head over there. It’s a 3 set and it didn’t go well at all. I opened them with “Do you know any good clubs around here?” The one I opened tells me one then she gets up and the other friend sits down. The friends are there and I tried to talk to them, but I was getting shut out by them. They weren’t having it. I say whatever then I sit back down with Bolo. He opens his next sit and they didn’t speak much English- he is working on his Spanish.

I have to rebound from that last set I am thinking to myself. I look to my left and see a group of three young college girls having a drink and socializing. I get up off my seat and head in their direction. I ask them about cool bars in the area. They say “No somos de aqui…”  (We are not from here.).I look over at them and ask them where they are from. The Patagonia. Wow, so you must like the mountains and the wilderness I ask my target to my right. She starts laughing and from there I sat down and locked in. I called my wing Bolo in who handled one of the obstacles.

In set

Ran the how many kids you are going to have palm read, kinoed, qualification, and frame control. She was a Psychology major at the University here in Cordoba… I asked her if she could read my mind? Bolo was stalling out towards the end because of the friends English inability. It was time to eject the set. Email closed- she said she didn’t have a phone? HMMM…. I’ll have to have something ready for that one because everyone has a phone these days…

Rest of the night

After that, the rest of the night was great. I couldn’t believe how many young college students there are in Cordoba. Some looked too young to be college students! We kept walking around the bar area and got handed a flier to a club called Bebederos. Bolo opens a set in there and the venue wasn’t too great so we head out….

I see a street set walk to my left… Bolo says open Latinstylez! I want to, but I’m caught off guard and don’t. We walk further past a park area and I see them to my left. This time I would… Asked about local clubs in the area and we kept walking with them… Bolo’s target was def into him and you could tell she was SNL material by the way she was looking at him… The problem was that she didn’t speak too much English. I would have ran obstacle for him- I can speak Spanish, but he had me run the apocalypse for him… She wasn’t having it… We moved on….

Last Venue of the Night

The last venue of the night was cool looking club in the Nuevo Cordoba area. Didn’t have the name of it on me… I’m going to start carrying around a notepad… As soon as we went in, Bolo was opened by a set of five hotties who were grabbing on to his newly shaved head… This definitely got the positive mood going… We talked to them for a bit to build social proof then walked around the venue. I spot a 3 set dancing… Open Latinstylez… I opened with “Quien da mas mentiras mujeres o hombres?” (Who lies more men or women) I have been using it down here in Latin America and it works well as a good opinion opener for two sets or more. They started talking and I picked my target out of the group… She had a piercing and I asked her if it hurt… She said no, then I asked her if she had any tats… Nope she didn’t have any…

I called Bolo in and he ran obstacle for me and his target ended up speaking English. The problem here is it was a 3 set. I have to work more on my isolation skills(I know build enough compliance with the friends)…with 3 sets as most of the sets I have been seeing in Cordoba are mixed sets. I was able to isolate for a bit when I number closed her… She was tall and very compliant to all of my compliance tests… I also joked around with her about being from the countryside cuz she was from a small town… She couldn’t have enough of it she was laughing so much…

The target and her friend went to get a drink so I opened a set of girls who looked pretty young. Found out they were 21… Again, Bolo’s target spoke English… And it was another three set… From another small town so I ran the same routine which worked well… Number closed…

End of the night

We were both pretty tired and decided to head home. As we were walking back, I thought to myself ” Cordoba wouldn’t be a bad place to stay for a while!” The young college population and fun nightlife make this city worth checking out… While everyone else is cold in Buenos Aires, we are all pretty warm here in Cordoba

Come join us on our next few days here and the next city we travel to!