Sunday, March 29, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 2am, fell back asleep quickly, woke up at 6:15 and got up at 6:45. Finally, eight hours sleep.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 7,476 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 4 hours and 21 minutes. So far I feel good.

It’s 10am and we’re dressed for Santafe de

We left the apt at 10:30 and walked to the Ayura metro station. I added 50mil to my Civica card then we had a 5-minute wait for a train. (Sundays there are fewer riders so they have less trains running with fewer cars.) We got off at Caribe and walked the block long ramp to Terminal Norte. Downstairs we got in a fairly long line for a bus. Teresa talked to a man standing nearby and I guess made an arrangement for a colectivo to take us to Santafe de Antioquia for 30mil per person. He led us, and another couple, to his private car packed in back. His face was messed up like he’d been in an accident and I didn’t care for his driving. He went 80kph even when the speed limit lowered to 60, 40 or for a minute 30. Once he tried passing a truck in a no passing zone but was soon encountered by two motorcycles. Luckily we arrived safely next to the main park after a ride of just over an hour.

As soon as we stepped out of the car we were reminded of how HOT Santafe is. (Note to self: wear sandals here!)

Teresa asked if I remembered where the restaurant is we like and I said, “yes”, and guided us straight there. I call it Jumanji, after the movie, but that’s not exactly correct.

All the inside tables were taken but one I could see they were finished eating. (It’s a good thing we didn’t wait for it because later they had dessert.) We went outside and took a side table but it became apparent we would soon be in the sun. we moved under a large umbrella table but soon Teresa spotted an area on the other side of the plaza with fans. We moved there and it was much more tolerable than under the umbrella. Teresa had salmon and I the chicken breast.

I also had a limonada de coco and she a cold beer. We were in no hurry to leave and she started working on a purse and had another beer and I a Coke.

We left and walked to the other side of the park and I tried to guide her using google maps to a hotel named Casa Bixa Boutique which was supposedly the nicest in Santafe. Teresa stopped and asked a woman for directions and she ended up sending us to a secondary hotel. (Ask a poor person for a hotel recommendation and they’re not going to be recommending the best hotel in town.) So we saw that hotel – nothing special. Then I led her to mine and it only has 4 rooms so I guess that’s why it’s considered “boutique”.

At each hotel Teresa inquired about availability this coming week but they were full for Samana Santa (aka holy week).

I asked her if she wanted ice cream at the place we’ve been to before and she agreed. It was a 3 ½ block walk to the café next to Hotel Mariscal Robledo. They didn’t have strictly ice cream but after Teresa was told they didn’t have diet ice cream I ordered a slice of hot apple pie with a generous amount of vanilla ice cream. Teresa liked it so much she suggested we order another which I did.

From there we walked back to the church and down the hill. Just before we crossed the street to the bus station a bus pulled up in front of us and a guy got out and yelled, “Medellin”. We got on and it was 20,000 pesos per person and it was air conditioned and even had a restroom in back. The trip back to Medellin was 2 hours due to heavy traffic near the city but I got in a 30-minute nap on the way.

New photo of Annie James:

We returned to Envigado by metro and taxi and Teresa suggested we stop at McDonald’s. (I think she was too tired to make anything.) I ordered a Big Mac for myself and the usual McNifica for Teresa. She was bitterly disappointed her burger didn’t have cheese and refused to it. I didn’t know if it was my mistake because I didn’t ask to add cheese as I assumed it would be included. Teresa talked to one of the workers and they made a fresh burger for her with cheese.

Teresa called someone and when we left we caught a taxi at the street to take us near the cultural center where Teresa paid 30,000 pesos for one of her purses that had been finished. We returned to the apt and it being 8pm I started my pre-sleep routine.

 

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Saturday, March 28, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 2:15, woke up at 5:15 and got up at 6am.

I discussed my sleep progress with ChatGPT and Tuesday night I’m going to reduce my zopiclona to ¾ tablet.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 1,010 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 4 hours and 10 minutes. Well, so far I feel good.

I took a Didi to Daniel’s Barbershop for 8,000 pesos. I arrived a few minutes early but he finished with another customer a few minutes after 9am. He told me he has another gringo client named Dave Anderson. While we were finishing up another gringo came in. Daniel asked how he was and he said, in English, “I’m in pain”. I asked where he’s from and he said, “Florida. But in June when cryptocurrency goes where it should I’m moving to Dubai”. I asked him if that isn’t too close to Iran and he said not to worry the war will be over by April 13^th. He then said that Trump is the greatest president ever but some people don’t like him. I told him I’m one of them and my opinion is he’s our worst president ever. He didn’t have anything to say after that. As I was leaving, I could see he had a lot of difficulty moving around and my parting words were “good luck”.

I found a little shortcut to Todo Drogas but I probably won’t use it again because I had to walk downhill a bit and then climb stairs to get back up to calle 37sur. I bought 5 medications for 223,200 ($61) and surprisingly one was zopiclona. Still I’m planning on weaning myself of it but at least now I have some insurance.

I stopped at the copy center where I had my latest games with Jose printed.

I continued on to La Buena Mesa where I had a latte outside Ganso y Castor. Teresa called and informed me she was going to Parque Envigado to have her purse finished then we’ll meet back at the apt around noon to go to Santafe mall for lunch.

Somebody told Teresa that traffic would be horrible today so she asked me to have lunch in Asados Rogelio and bring her a to-go order. Instead, we left the apt at 1pm and took a Didi to Santafe mall for 12,500 pesos.

We had lunch in Olivia’s; salmon for Teresa and mixed lasagna for me

 and we shared a bottle of water for a total of 127,069 pesos ($34.50).

She went to see if she could find something in Zara to cash out her 3 gift cards while I went down to Valentina’s and had a latte. She returned an hour later and sold one of her purses

 for 140,000 pesos to the waitress who had ordered it. An obvious rainstorm came through and it got noticeably colder. Marcos sent me these photos:

 he stubbed his toe when he was in Arizona and finally went to the clinic here and it’s broken. We left at 4pm, bought a new container of glue in Dollar City and across the street caught a nearly empty bus back to Envigado.

The plan tomorrow is to go Santafe de Antioquia and check out their hotels. If it’s raining then plan B is to see Project Hail Mary (8.5) in a theater.

 

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Friday, March 27, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, took about 20 minutes to fall asleep, got up once at midnight, woke up at 5:15 gave up falling back asleep at 6am and got up to start my day.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 4,389 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 4 hours and 32 minutes.

Jeannie responded that she’ll save me a seat at the baptism in hopes that I make it.

It’s a cold rainy morning and the rain still hadn’t stopped by the time I was ready to leave for the gym at 8:30 so I skipped it for today. The rain didn’t stop until about 9:30 but by then I had already done my backup exercises with my dumbbell.

After lunch a thunderstorm cake through so I ended up not getting out at all today.

Teresa finished the purse she made for the waitress in Valentina’s; now she just has to have the guts (lining and zipper) put inside.

 

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Thursday, March 26, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 9:45, fell asleep quickly, woke up at 4am, gave up falling back asleep at 4:45 and got up and started my day.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 6,186 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 3 hours and 46 minutes.

I met Marcos at Olivenza at 9:30 for coffee. I exchanged my remaining 140 Euros for Colombian Pesos. They leave about this time next month for Madrid. He informed me this girlfriend will be walking the dog from now on because he's afraid of falling and breaking a hip. He turns 75 in September.

Marcos left at 10:15 and I moved down the hall to Peccato where I had a latte while going over my Fitbit manual. I learned that what ChatGPT thought was counting levels climbed are really Active Zone Minutes earned based on how long your cardio is in peak zones.

Annie James

I left at 11:15 and stopped in Mercado Madrid and bought a few groceries before returning to the apt.

I left at 2pm and had a latte in Gardenia. About 3:30 it got cloudy and windy and suddenly at 4pm the waitresses all came out and grabbed stuff like menus and napkins off the tables. That’s when I figured they knew something I didn’t so I paid and left in a few raindrops. Right after I got back to the apt it was a downpour.

I sent an email to Jeannie explaining our decision not to go to Boston this year because of the war and the resultant increase in prices including airfare. Also, that I hope to catch a less expensive seat at the last minute.

It was a couple hours before the storm passed and I was able to reconnect the television and watch some news before starting my pre-sleep reading routine.

 

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Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 2am, woke up at 4:45am, gave up falling back asleep at 5:30 and got up and started my day.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 4,917 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 4 hours and 15 minutes. I need to read that manual to better understand these readings.

I left the apt at 8:30 and found Smartfit busier than usual. I had to change the order of my routine but at least didn’t have to wait for anyone. I completed the treadmill finishing 21 minutes at 6kmh with a heart rate of 125bpm. The Abdominal Crunch machine was out of order again, same as Monday.

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

I checked my blog and my last appointment with ophthalmologist Dr. Catalina Montoya was September 23, 2021.

I left the apt at 2:30 and took a Didi to Clinica de Oftalmologia Sandiego for 20,200 pesos. I arrived by 3pm for my 3:45 appointment, went up to his 7^th floor office (705) and peeked in. The waiting room of about 10 seats was full and a few others were standing at the door. I went down the hall to the main waiting room and killed 30 minutes by reading the Fitbit manual on my Kindle. At 3:30 I returned to the office, presented my cedula at the desk then took a seat. I was allowed in back (Consultario 1) at 3:45 and was interviewed by an optometrist that spoke some English. She completed a questionnaire and a visual exam then put drops in my eyes to dilate my pupils and sent me back to the waiting room.

I resigned my game against Saul19780, lowering my rating to 1522.

Twenty minutes later I was allowed in to Consultario 3 to see the Ophthalmologist. He was an old man … but not older than me. 😊I mentioned Dr. Catalina Montoya and he informed me she retired. His English was worse than the optometrist’s but we muddled along. Bottom line, there is something he doesn’t like about my left eye, something to do with pressure, so he wrote up an order for additional tests. The appointment will be Tuesday, April 7^th at 8:45am.

I paid 360,000 pesos for the appointment and went down to the main lobby. I confirmed with a rep at the billing area that I would be able to pay for my upcoming tests with a credit card and the cost of the two tests will be 177,000 pesos for the “Campo Visual” and 396,000 pesos for the “Tomografia Optica Coherente”. That’s a total of 573,000 pesos ($155).

While waiting for my Didi I observed a mother eating an ice cream cone and her 3-year old daughter yelling, “da me helado”. 😊

Traffic was horrible, over an hour to get back to Envigado. Teresa called and we agreed to meet in Chiclayo. Traffic was down to one lane by Smartfit so I got out at Gardenia and walked the last two blocks which was faster than the cars were going. Even though I had paid 34,200 pesos for the ride, I tipped Luis another 20,000 pesos, which probably blew his mind.

Teresa and I had their Peruvian chicken and rice and she had an aromatica and I just a glass of cold water, no ice. The total check came to 102,900 pesos and I paid with cash. We stopped in Ara for a couple items on the way back to the apt.

It was now about 8:45 so I started my pre-sleep routine with pills and reading and went to bed at 9:45.

 

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Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 11:30, again at 4:30 finally waking/getting up at 6:15.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 4,109 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 5 hours and 29 minutes.

At 7am a drizzle started. ☹ At 7:15 I warned Jose I might have a problem getting a car. I didn’t but traffic was a little heavy and I arrived at Unicentro 5 minutes before opening for 26,000 pesos. I bought a banana at the fruit cart and had a short wait to enter the mall.

I went upstairs and took a short video showing Cine Colombia, Shake n Shack, Smartfit and Zonafit. The later is where i can purchase Creatine powder in the future.

Jose arrived a few minutes later and we ordered breakfast. I had my usual French toast with scrambled eggs and again today I remembered to bring my Canadian maple syrup. When it came time to pay, Jose couldn’t find his debit card. He had made an ATM withdrawal previously and must have left it in the machine. He hustled downstairs and luckily a security guard had turned it in to the Information desk.

I moved to our usual location but when Jose arrived he informed me the restroom was closed due to a burst pipe so we moved to our old location at the other end of the food court.

On our game days I’ve been buying a bottle of water in the restaurant to drink during my games but today the one they gave me was “con gas”, in other words, “carbonated”. After one sip I threw away the rest.

The first game ended in 37 moves with an absolute agreed up draw.

In the second game I made it very difficult for Jose to protect his king by castling and the computer later said I had a “decisive advantage” when on the 31^st move I blundered a rook and immediately resigned. ☹

It was 1:30 when I ordered a Didi to take me to Viva Envigado for 18,600 pesos. The driver dropped me off at the main entrance and I went up to Pergamino and had the granola with yogurt and fruits. I think the couple next to me were speaking Russian.

I went down to the banking area and made an ATM withdrawal.

I went down to the main level and had a latte in Urbania.

With the help of ChatGPT, I figured out that the meaning of one of the Fitbit symbols is the number of flights of stairs I’ve climbed but I don’t believe the number they posted today – 24.

Teresa called and asked me to buy her green apples and dishwashing liquid in Exito.

I left at 4pm and bought what she requested plus a large carton of eggs and returned to the apt by taxi.

Kelly was supposed to come give Teresa a massage but she called and said she won’t be coming because she’s having some problem with her eyes.

With the help of ChatGPT I used Amazon’s Send to Kindle feature to transfer the 70-page Fitbit manual to my Kindle. 😊 I just have to be careful with the timing because once I exit a book I’ve borrowed that’s whose loan has expired, the book will no longer be available and I’d have to check it out again.

 

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Monday, March 23, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 2:30, finally waking/getting up at 5:45.

The street is wet so we must have gotten some rain overnight.

Today is a holiday – Saint Joseph’s Day.

According to my Fitbit, I got in7,156 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 4 hours and 19 minutes.

I left the apt at 8:30 and found Smartfit not very busy. The Abdominal Crunch machine was out of order but I completed the other machines without any problem. I intended to do 21 minutes on the treadmill finishing at 6kph but got a pain in my right groin area at the 9 ½ minute mark so I decreased the speed to 5.5 kph and finished the 21 minutes.

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor for about 90 minutes before returning to the apt. We had a downpour at 3pm that lasted a few minutes.

I ordered a Fitbit Inspire 3 Elastic Nylon Loop Band, Breathable Replacement Strap from Fintie for $8.99 to be sent to my ship forwarder in Florida.

Annie James “eating” applesauce on her own:

I hung around the apt the rest of the day, watching TV and reading.

I finished Ken Follett’s The Hammer of Eden on my Kindle.

 

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