Saturday, August 8th, 2015

I fell asleep quickly only awakening minutes before 6am when the barking contest started.  After a quick trip to the bathroom, when I got back to bed, Teresa’s alarm must have gone off but she hadn’t moved.  Not my problem.  Thankfully the barking only lasted 10 minutes.  She finally got up about 6:45.  I got up at 7am when the alarm went off.

I got an email from my son that the TSA confiscated the Raid wasp spray and the bunsen burner lighter I asked him to bring.  Pity.  I replied that it wasn’t supposed to be in his carryon.  He replied that he didn’t check any luggage.

We left the finca at 9am and got past the killer dogs undetected.  After a 10 minute wait we were on a bus to La Estrella.  At the metro station first I bought a 10 ticket metro card and then I added 400 pesos to each of my previous card to bring them up to the metro charge of 2000 pesos.  I used the old cards so I was able to get rid of the cards I had been carrying for months.

We took the metro to Parque Barrio and then walked a couple blocks north behind Hotel Nutibara.  We got on a bus with only 3 other people on it and the bus driver pulled away immediately.  Traffic was heavy downtown, perhaps because this is the week of the flower festival.

We arrived at the airport exactly 60 minutes later.  I looked at the arrivals board and found that we were 90 minutes early for his flight.  I asked at the travel desk if they had a map for my son but they replied no.  We walked around a bit and then went upstairs where I had a chicken cesar salad and a Coke and Teresa had an arepa with shrimp and a juice at J&C Delicias for 39,300 ($13).  My salad was delicious with lots of chicken.

About 12:45 we saw his American Airlines flight land.  About 20 minutes later he came out with just a small luggage bag.  It had been 2 ½ years since I had seen him and he looked pretty much the same but with the hug I could tell he had added some muscle.   

He made a trip to the restroom where he experienced his first peculiarity of Colombia – a woman cleaning it while he was using a urinal.  We walked a little further down the floor where I took out 600,000 COP and Jim took out 200,000 (about $75).  I asked him if he was hungry and since he was we went back upstairs where he bought a plate of chicken with rice and a bottle of water at Kokoriko for 13,600.

We took an airport bus to the San Diego mall where we took a taxi to the San Fernando Hotel in El Poblado, arriving exactly at 3pm.  Michael had included Jim’s name on the room so he only had to show his passport and they gave him a key card which allowed him to take the elevator.

It had been quite a few years since I had seen Michael – I think last time was with him and my daughter and breakfast at Dick’s Roadhouse where Michael and I had played a game of chess.  Of course I won.  I don’t believe he’s ever beaten me.  He knew I read a lot of books so he gave me a couple of his – Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger and Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham.

Jim was tired and had a headache so we left him to take a nap and we took our bag to Envigado where we dropped it off at Wilson’s bar.  Teresa asked me to go to Exito and buy a box of cereal and 2 bags of milk.  I also wanted to buy some Advil for Jim and recharge my cell phone because it was down to 2,000 pesos.

In Exito first I checked the pharmacy where I bought a small package of Advil gel tabs for Jim for 6mil.  I picked up the cereal and milk and then got in the shortest line I could find.  The store was pretty busy.  A few minutes later the woman in front of me said something to me in Spanish.  I told her I don’t speak much Spanish and a young lady in front of her told me in English that the cashier is closing this register after serving the lady in front of me so I have to go to a different line.   I got in another line which was much longer than the one I had been in.  When it was finally my turn it was time for us to be leaving to meet Jim and Michael and here I was stuck in Exito.  I put down my pharmacy purchase with my milk and cereal and showed her my Exito points card.  I paid for my purchase and then I couldn’t see my pharmacy purchase.  I said where is my medicine and she looked around but I didn’t see it.  I couldn’t really explain my predicament and I figured the lady ahead of me took my bag with hers.   Sigh!  I got back in the pharmacy line and bought another package of Advil.

I hustled across the street back to Wilson’s bar and we quickly took a taxi to the hotel, finally arriving at 5:55.  Jim and Michael were waiting for us and we took a taxi to Mu restaurant (Fukin’ Good Ribs) and got a large table upstairs.  We wanted to wait for Laura so we each had a drink.  An hour later she hadn’t left Envigado yet so we ordered a large order of ribs and fries.  (That’s all they serve!)  They brought them to our table 2 minutes later.  They seemed a little undercooked to me but we finished them off.  I called Jhon and told him I’m almost out of minutes on my cell phone but we plan to be in Laureles tomorrow and I would like him to meet my son and his friend about 2pm.  We had another drink and Laura finally arrived at 8pm.  We ordered a small order of ribs and fries and finished off most of them.  Teresa had the last two wrapped to take with us.

I think the final bill came to something like 130mil ($45) which we split amongst us.  We asked Laura if she was familiar with Parque Lleras and I think she surprised her mother my replying yes.  We walked about 3 blocks away where we found a place with music that wasn’t so loud that we couldn’t talk.  It’s name was something like Mojitos.  While sitting there several vendos came by trying to sell gum and inexpensive snacks.  One man came by and took the picture of a couple there and printed it on a small printer her carried.

Teresa drank rum and water, me rum and Coke, and Jim and Michael beer.  Laura really likes Jason Statham and Michael kidded Jim that he looks like the actor.  Jim danced with Laura several times.  About midnight it started raining but I told them that often it rains here for 20-30 minutes and then stops.  At 2pm it was still raining.  Teresa and I said our goodbyes and I managed to snag a taxi driving by.  Teresa, Laura and I took the taxi to her mother’s apartment in Envigado.  (I learned later that Jim and Michael left when the bar closed at 3:30.  They walked over to the park itself (Parque Lleras) but couldn’t find a taxi.  By then they were already soaked so they just walked back to their hotel.)

Teresa called Wilson to remind him to bring our gym bag that we left in the bar.  I took my sleeping pills, we went to bed and I was soon asleep.  I woke up once early in the morning for a quick trip to the bathroom.  

T-shirt of the day: Let’s make memories together.