Saturday, March 7, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, finally waking/getting up at 5:30.

I ate the last of the three bananas I bought in Exito earlier in the week. I might buy more today.

Teresa got up at 7am and made breakfast. I took a nap for an hour after and then went to Los Porteños. It was a little busy which is usual for a Saturday morning. Teresa texted and asked me to pick up a couple things from Ara. I had a latte for a couple hours, stopped in Ara, bought broccoli, milk, chicken and four bananas before returning to the apt.

Teresa informed me she needed something from Medipiel but wanted to go to a different mall so she could explore a bit. She gave me the name of one that wasn’t familiar to me so I googled it and it’s in Bello. Envigado is just south of Medellin and Bello is just north of Medellin so its on the other side of the city. Yeah, we could take the metro most of the way and take a taxi the last few kilometers but I didn’t feel like taking such a long trip today.

Teresa decided we would go to Mayorca (which has a Medipiel) after lunch.

I’m still looking at roundtrip flights between Medellin and Boston. The problem is Sunday, May 17^th, I return from Chicago at 4:45pm so the next flight I should be looking at to Medellin should be no earlier than 8pm (3 hours before for international flights). There are flights: example, Boston to Miami to Philadelphia to Medellin. ☹ I’m still searching, luckily we still have 2 months left.

While waiting for Teresa, I finished season 1 of 1923 but then was surprised Netflix didn’t have season 2 available. ☹ I watched War Machine (6.5) on Netflix.

I watched some news, read from my Kindle and went to bed at 10pm.

(Looks like no Mayorca today.)

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Expat's response to my previous post

 Bancolombia has had in recent weeks pretty well documented issues with their systems. There have been several press articles. They are the most technically advanced bank in the country, and some of their problems aren’t of their own making - for example they use Amazon Cloud extensively which has had it’s own problems. As for the cost of Colombian credit cards are they that expensive? A Platinum Amex card from Bancolombia, if you qualify, will cost you around $15 a month. On the other hand the ‘rewards’ structure is far poorer than in the US, but then the same US card carries a $899 annual fee. The premium Black Visa or Mastercard products from BCO are around $10 a month giving for example airport lounge access. There are many other cards with lower costs that they offer. Interest rates are high, but then the general level of interest rates in Colombia is far higher than in the US, and US credit cards when you run a balance charge high rates as well. Foreigners come to live in Colombia and often try to ‘fly under the radar’ by keeping minimal assets in the country and not reporting income for tax purposes. If they do maintain bank accounts they tend to maintain low ‘working’ balances. They usually have no real usable credit history in country, Many expats come to live in Colombia, decide it’s not for them and return to their home country leaving debts behind them. Credit card lending is unsecured and getting debts repaid in Colombia is far more difficult that the US. Getting a card from a bank that you have no prior relationship with is therefore unlikely. If nothing else they are going to want to see your tax filings.

Bancolombia is the only approved bank in country to receive US social security payments into. The process, set up by the bank with Social Security pays Pesos into your account, generally by the third of the month. No running around the city to find ATMs to take cash out of, no queuing up to make payments for rent and the like. Then you can make all your payments electronically and you’ve a documented source of income when you ask if a credit card might be available.
Actually Bancolombia might have had worse problems. That big Headquarters building in Industriales recently suffered significant flooding in the basement area following one of the recent storms that created enormous problems for them (the computers aren’t in the city) that they are still working to overcome.

An Example of why I resist banking with Bancolombia

 Sorry for the lengthy post, but I think it's worth reading.

Yet another reason not to bank with Bancolombia. I paid my Bancolombia credit card bill online on my computer using my Bancolombia savings account to transfer the money — a substantial amount. Everything appeared to go through normally, but I received no confirmation. When I checked my account today, there was no record of the payment. My savings account balance is still intact, meaning the funds were never deducted.

My concern now is that if I submit the payment again, the original transaction might also process — leaving me double-charged for a significant amount. And knowing Bancolombia, getting a refund would likely be a nightmare in itself, if it happened at all.

I called their English-speaking helpline and got nowhere. Their response essentially amounted to "there's nothing we can do," with no guidance whatsoever on how to proceed. I'll likely have to go to the branch in person to sort it out and verify whether the payment actually went through.

It seems I spend half my life dealing with Bancolombia. Just saying.

On a related note — the Bancolombia credit card is outrageously expensive in terms of rates and fees, but I do want a local credit card as a backup. Does anyone know if it's possible to open a credit card at a different bank without having to open a savings or any other account there first?

Friday, March 6, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, finally waking/getting up at 6am.

I forgot to mention yesterday one of the waitresses ordered a purse to be custom made by Teresa for 120,000 pesos but in different colors than the one Teresa showed her.

Teresa had just left for her 6am gym class.

I ate the second of my three bananas.

Teresa returned at 6:30 and informed me there was no class today.

After breakfast I had an hour nap and left at 8:45 for Smartfit. 

Progress on the back sidewalk:

It was busier than usual but I managed to complete my routine in my preferred order.

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor for about 90 minutes before returning to the apt.

I’m still exploring options for our trip to Boston. On our return I even considered flying to Miami and staying overnight in a hotel there. To be continued.

I watched two more episodes of 1923 on Netflix, which I’m enjoying very much.

Sunday is International Women’s Day and Teresa wants to return to El Retiro.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

Thursday, March 5, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up twice during the night, finally waking/getting up at 6:15.

I ate the first of the bananas while it was still partly green, supposed to be healthier that way.

For the first time in a long time I’m playing an opponent with a higher rating (1583) and I’m already in trouble after only 6 moves. ☹

I left the apt at 8:30 and was surprised to see no line at the Bancolombia kiosk. I remarked to the lady there “no hay fila” and she said, “sola”.

I stopped at the Gana kiosk and paid the Movistar (internet) bill.

I had a latte outside Los Porteños. A young lady at the next table had two golden labs that didn’t seem to be listening to her. I learned her boyfriend is from Australia so I assume they are his.

She left and I talked to a Mexican American sitting a couple tables away. He’s thinking of getting a pensionado visa and buying an apt here.

I left at 10am and on my way back to the apt was surprised again there was no line outside the Bancolombia kiosk.

We left at 10:30 and waited in the porteria for MT to pick us up in a taxi. At San Fernando Plaza we went in to Gaes and took seats waiting for MT’s 11:30 appointment. MT and Teresa went into the doctor’s office while I waited outside. When they returned I paid the 2 million peso downpayment and I understand the hearing aids will arrived in about 2 weeks.

We walked 3 blocks north to Boulevard Café where we had a nice lunch of the day for 106,500 pesos. While they waited in the café I went inside the building only to find out I had the wrong building. I informed them then went next door to the Cedimed building and up to the 13^th floor but someone else had that office.

I googled ophthalmologist Dr. Catalina Montoya and she is at a different location.

I have her email address so we’ll see if that works.

We took a taxi to Santafe mall and the ladies went window shopping while I went down to Valentina’s. I ordered my latte and the waitress, that I’ve seen there many times before, I asked her if she would talk to the owners and ask them to put a café in Envigado, specifically Calle La Buena Mesa.

We left at 4:30 and bought a large carton of eggs in Jumbo and headed to the taxi station. It’s obviously under construction and we had to walk a little further where they had a temporary station set up.

It was a short wait for a taxi to return us to Envigado for 20,300 pesos.

I finally purchased round trip tickets from American Airlines for myself for $335.01 between Boston and Chicago for May 15^th and May 17^th so I can be at my granddaughter’s baptism on the 16^th.

 

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up twice during the night, finally waking at 5:45 (immediately got a cramp in my left calf) and getting up at 6:15. The street is wet so we obviously had some rain overnight.

The three bananas I bought yesterday are still too green to eat. They should be ready tomorrow.

Annie James, the bathing beauty:

The plan for today is: Teresa will go to her 9am gym class in Mayorca, we’ll meet at Olivia’s at 12:30 for lunch, we’ll pick up MT and go to San Fernando Plaza where I’ll make the downpayment on her hearing aids, we’ll walk a couple blocks away to Torre Intermedica on Calle 7 so I can make an appointment with the ophthalmologist Catalina Montoya for a routine inspection.

Work continues on the back sidewalk. Those “blocks” you see are preformed concrete for use as curbs.

At 8:30 I found Smartfit busier than usual but it thinned out a little after 9am. I completed my usual workout but had to change the order quite a bit.

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor for about an hour. Teresa texted me her gym class was cancelled and could I pick up milk because we’ll be having lunch at home.

The new plan is to pick up MT and take her to San Fernando Plaza and pick up our original plan from there. But then at 1:30 a rainstorm started.

I finished the last of the oranges I had bought in Exito; tomorrow the bananas should be ripe enough to eat.

The rain stopped then started again.

Teresa finally left for her purse lesson at 3:15.

I checked flights and I should have booked last week when there was more availability. I’m wondering if that will improve if I wait a bit?

I met Teresa at 5pm at Eduardo Madrid and we shared a slice of carrot cake and we each had a latte. for 32,200 pesos.

I watched another episode of 1923, watched most of The Chris Hayes Show, then time for some reading.

I finished James Patterson’s Roses are Red (Alex Cross #6) on my Kindle.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, again at 4:15, finally/waking/getting up just before my alarm at 6:15.

Teresa had already left for her gym class.

I left the apt at 7:30 and took a Didi to Unicentro mall for 19,800 pesos. Outside I saw a fruit cart with bananas but I didn’t see anyone working it (later, when I left, the cart was gone). It was only a 5-minute wait for the mall to open.

Upstairs I met Jose and we had our usual breakfast (this time I remembered to bring the maple syrup). We discussed some options since his debit card didn’t arrive to my ship forwarder.

As I left, I noticed a restaurant upstairs named Shake N Shack that I’ll have to check out next time.

We adjourned to the food court where I had the Black pieces in the first game. I thought I held my own until I misanalysed a move and it was downhill from there and I finally resigned on the 48^th move.

It’s nice that most of our games are close.

I had the White pieces in the second game and he quickly blundered a knight but then trapped my queen and I had to give back a piece for a pawn to rescue her. He blundered again on the 25^th move (I forked his rook and queen with my knight) and it was downhill for him and he final resigned on the 36^th move.

It was 1:30 when I ordered a Didi to take me to Viva Envigado for 20,300 pesos.

I considered Sarku’s but it was very busy so I went on to Pergamino where I had my usual granola bowl with yogurt and fruits and an iced tea (didn’t care for it).

I used a consignacion ATM to pay for our health insurance, gym membership and Medellin TV and I withdrew 2 million pesos for the downpayment for MT’s hearing aids.

Downstairs I had a latte in Urbania.

I finally checked my English dictionary and found, “Chelated” is “a chelate compound”. A “chelate complex” is “a complex where a metal ion is bound to two or more atoms of the chelant”. Now we know!

Teresa called just before 4pm to inform me it was pouring outside and I shouldn’t be in any hurry to leave. The lights went out, but less than a minute, four times between 4pm and 4:30.

I finally left Urbania at 5pm and bought 3 bananas, a package of blueberries and a 10-pak of pads in Exito.

The taxi line outside was unbelievably long so it was easier to just walk back to the apt in the light drizzle. I passed Jerry McNamara on the way and he said, “we have to get together for coffee” and I replied, “definitely” and continued on my way.

My social security transfer from Capital One is now in my USAA account.

I watched the first episode of 1923 (8.3) on Netflix.

Teresa confirmed with me that today is the 3^rd. She then told me tonight there will be a lunar eclipse seen from Colombia. I kidded her about it probably being too cloudy and we can’t see much of the sky from our balcony anyway. I then googled it and found out it was last night.

I watched the news the rest of the evening until just before 9pm when I switched to reading.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY