Tuesday, January 13th, 2015

The sheets were rubbing the “wounds” on my foot so bad that after 30 minutes I got up, put Caladryl on them, read my Nook for 30 minutes, put on a pair of socks and went back to bed.  I fell asleep quickly, waking up only once just after 4:30.  Lights were already on in the finca so Laura must have been up.  After a trip to the bathroom I only rested until the alarm went off at 5am and Teresa got up.  I fell asleep quickly finally waking/getting up at 9am.

Teresa’s sister, Vicky, called asking to borrow 500mil so she can pay for school for her son; she will pay me back in two payments on January 30th and February 15^th.  I told Teresa that money will be a little tight the rest of the month but I agreed.  Now the problem is how to get it to her.

At 10am I stuck my head out the window to take a look at the dogs and was surprised to see Laura standing there.  She was just as surprised to see me.

She called someone to see when and how much it costs for her to start English lessons.  They would be group classes in El Poblado every Saturday from 8am to noon for 380mil every 2 months.

I called Jhon to see if he would be available on Saturdays and what he would charge.  We made arrangements for Laura to have a private class with him every Saturday from noon to 4pm for 60mil (about $25).  I also invited him to come visit us here at the finca.  It makes sense to have him go with us some Saturday after class and stay overnight.  Or some weekend when Monday is a holiday he could come on Sunday and stay overnight.

As usual I checked MBE’s website this morning and it said my moccasins are still “in transit” but at 10:10 I received an email that they are now in El Poblado for me to pick up at my convenience.  I checked the website again and it showed they are “available in MBE center”.

We left the finca at 12:55, and at the neighbor’s house the killer dogs barked behind the fence while a cute, but emaciated, puppy came out with his tail wagging.  I’ll try to remember to bring a biscuit for him next trip.

We quickly caught a bus to the Envigado station where we took a taxi to the downtown area.

We were at the Nueva eps clinic by 1:40.  We took a number (64) and they were currently serving number 30.  30 minutes later Teresa picked up a form with the address and telephone number for the Urologist in downtown Medellin.  I understand we have to call for an appointment.

Teresa had neglected to have lunch so we stopped at Carbón de Leña where she had the chicken breast plate and I had a fresh strawberry juice for 18mil.

We waited 5 minutes in line at BanColombia where I took 800mil out of their ATM.  We waited outside the bank for 5 minutes until we were met by Vicky’s husband Albero.  We walked with him to his car, Teresa gave him the 500mil and he gave us a ride to the El Poblado MBE.  His English is about as good as my Spanish. 

I picked up my Minnetonka Men’s 703 Leather Laced Softsole Moccasins, Brown, 9 ½ from Amazon and had to pay another 28mil ($12) in shipping charges.  I also had a couple pieces of junk mail from Chess Life & Review.  I’ll probably call them and ask them to send only my magazine.

We took a taxi down to the highway and waited for an express bus from 4:30 to 5:15.  We finally took a bus to Caldas where we waited another 30 minutes for a bus to the finca.  We got off the bus at 7pm, I turned on the flashlight on my cell phone and we hiked up the hill.  Once again, at the top Teresa recommended I turn it off and we started down the trail in semi-darkness.  We got past the neighbor’s house before the dogs heard us and I didn’t see them on the trail.

Teresa wanted to watch a scary movie so we watched The Craigslist Killer and then we started The Descent.

I took my sleeping pill at 9:40 and we went to bed at 10:30.