Monday, March 9, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 3am, finally waking/getting up at 6:15. At least it’s not raining, in fact it’s a sunny day with a few clouds.

Teresa got up fifteen minutes later and made breakfast.

After breakfast we both returned to bed for an hour nap. It took me quite a while (30 minutes?) to fall asleep and the alarm woke us after an hour.

I dressed and left for the gym a little before 9am.

This is the condition of the sidewalk this morning

workers you can’t see are around the far corner.

Smartfit wasn’t very busy at first (9am seems to be the turnover time). I showed the girl at the front desk the photo of the creatine powder I saw advertised on their TVs.

She pointed north but I’m not exactly sure where.

I completed my workout, today adding a minute to the treadmill giving me a total of 20 minutes, the first 8 minutes at 5.5 kph and the remainder at 6kph.

After my workout, I stopped next door at the health café but the girl said they don’t have creatine powder.

I went to Ganso y Castor and had a latte for about 90 minutes. Teresa sent me a voice mail asking me to buy tomatoes for lunch.

I left just before 11am and bought a few tomatoes in Ara for 4,000 pesos before returning to the apt. (This sign in Ara reminded me that there was an election yesterday.)

I lost games to Troyclough, lowering my rating to 1516 and Saul19780, lowering my rating to 1512 and chesswiz98, lowering my rating to 1503. ☹

I found an American Airlines’ flight that leaves Boston around noon on Monday, May 17th but the final cost was $2540.26. I assume this is because of the current oil crisis. Thanks, Republican party. When I got to the “choose your seats” part it froze with the eternal buffering symbol and I ended up just closing the website.

At 3pm Teresa asked, since I’m not going out for coffee, if I’d like her to make coffee for me. Sure! She then suggested I go to Eduardo Madrid and purchase a small carrot cake for us to share. There were a few raindrops both ways but I bought one for 60,100 pesos. Soon after I returned to the apt a downpour started.

I watched another couple episodes of Persons of Interest.

I watched The Rachel Maddow Show and the beginning of The Lawrence O’Donnell Show on MS NOW then read some of my book and by the time I got settled in bed it was almost 10:30.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Sunday, March 8, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up twice during the night, finally waking/getting up at 6:45. It was still raining and we were in no hurry to get up.

After breakfast we returned to bed for a bit but it continued raining.

The original plan was to go to El Retiro today but it’s only 70 degrees and rainy so now I think we’ll be just having lunch in El Correo.

The weather didn’t improve so at 1:30 we walked in a few raindrops two blocks to the Argentinian steakhouse Quilombo 

where we got the first table, which was barely inside. Teresa ordered an appetizer, which was three different types of sausage that I didn’t care for. We each ordered the solomito which came with potato and a small salad. 

The steak was okay, slightly chewy, not as good as Lomo Fino in El Retiro. We shared a couple small bottles of water and the check came to 204,096 pesos. There was a short line but no rain as we left and returned to the apt.

I watched a few episodes of Persons of Interest (8.5) on Netflix.

New photo of Annie James:

I caught the end of 60 Minutes, not realizing the US turned their clocks ahead this morning.

I’m not crazy about this new Creatine powder, it doesn’t mix well with water, especially if it’s cold.

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

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

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