Saturday, February 23rd, 2013

About 11:30 there is a knock at the door.  It’s Senora Martha with a man and they talk to Reina about the problems we have had with the apartment.  First she shows them the drains then talks to them about the front door.  She motions for me to take them downstairs to show them how difficult it has been to get in.

We went downstairs and they experienced the same difficulty we have had opening the door with our key.  In the end they gave us a different key that’s works a little better and we learned that you have to really force the door when you know it should be unlocked.  I understood the man was going to work on the lock because it shouldn’t be that difficult to enter the building.

Then I tried to show them the issue we have with the lights.  I don’t understand why the lights need a switch if they turn on automatically.  I also suggested they adjust the timing so you have more than 10 seconds before they turn off.

After lunch we took a bus downtown.  We had enough money to get downtown but not enough for both of us to get back.  According to my calculations I should be able to withdraw 40,000 pesos from my Citibank account.  I have usually used the ATH ATM machines but one of the expats recommended the Vivienda ATM machines as you can take out 720,000 pesos at one time with his USAA card.  I was using my CitiBank card and I wasn’t taking out that much but I wanted to try it anyway.

My first attempt was rejected with a “0767 Transaction declined. 92 Transaction canceled - Incomplete.” message.  My second attempt was rejected with a “0014 Transaction Invalid O N 92 Incomplete” message.

Then we went to the ATH ATM machine and I successfully withdrew 30,000 pesos at 13:27 followed by 10,000 pesos at 13:29.  When I tried to withdraw another 10,000 pesos I got an “UNSUCCESSFUL TRANSACTION 51 INSUFFICIENT FUNDS” message – as I expected.  According to my receipt I have an 8,760.90 peso balance remaining.

After that we walked around the corner and I took a few pictures until Reina noticed and told me to put my camera away.   She feared that someone might steal it.  She said there are a lot of thieves in the downtown area.   Later I asked her if it would be ok to take pictures if I was standing in front of a security officer and she said that would be all right.  So there’s hope for more pictures.   Lol

Need a belt anyone?

My last picture before Reina (in foreground) told me it isn't safe here!

We waited at the corner for a few minutes and finally her friend came and gave her Dilan’s birth certificate that she had left at her house 2 nights before.  On the way to get the bus back we stopped at a stand and for 1000 pesos she got a cup of mango and for the same amount I got a 1” thick slab of pineapple.   That was very tasty!

When I got home I logged in and found that my CitiBank balance is now $5.02.   Well, that’s it until next month!  No mas dinero until Friday March 1^st or more likely, Monday the 4^th!

It’s 5:15 and I walk in the bedroom closet and I see a small lizard about 4” long on the wall.  It did make a few moves to try to escape but it wasn’t very quick so I scooped him up and took him downstairs and let him go.  I guess you have to expect such things here but it was the first I had seen.

This evening we walked over to Exito to pick up a few groceries.  After our extravagant snack this afternoon and the bus ride home we only had 32mil (32000 pesos) left.  We bought a bag of rice, a bag of milk, and some beef and after that we only had 2mil and change left.  We’re laughing about how poor we are.  

I did discover that they have Coffee mate and they have microwave popcorn - with butter and salt!  Of course we don’t have a microwave yet, but that’s just a technicality!  Lol.

Regarding Insects

Considering all the restaurants and stores are “open air” I seldom see insects.  I have seen occasional flies, gnats, and the rare moth or butterfly.  I even saw a grasshopper once.  I have seen a few cockroaches; I killed one in our room about the 3^rd night in the hotel and another one in the hallway downstairs in our apartment building and I have seen a couple of dead ones there also.  Reina says she has been bitten by mosquitoes but I have yet to see one.  And I have yet to see a spider.  (That should make Jeannie happy!)  I have seen a number of very tiny ants but that’s about it.