Tuesday, January 12th, 2016

I got up once at 3:30, again at 6:30, took 1 sleeping pill, dueling doggies kept me from falling asleep for awhile, finally waking/getting up at 10:05.

It was 72 degrees when we left the finca at 1:20.  I brought my thermometer with me today.  The black dog came out with another slightly smaller black dog who turned away from the path.  No barking or aggressiveness whatsoever and I gave him a dog biscuit.  He followed us up the path and I gave him another one.  Walking down the sideroad we found the neighbor’s little dog relaxing on the stones and it didn’t move as we passed.  

At the highway, waiting for a bus I checked the temperature and it was 80 degrees, maybe because it was in my tech bag?  We found a 5 gallon gas can and Teresa had me hide it so she could pick it up later.  We had to wait 15 minutes to catch a bus.

We had lunch at Carbón de Leña – Teresa had fish and I had a Chicken Caesar Salad which was pretty good except they put slices of processed ham in it; that’s too popular here.  The total came to 37,500 and I found the temperature was 85 degrees.  

Teresa went to Nueva eps to ask them something and then she had her nails done French style – she knows I really like that – for 15mil, and then picked up a few things at Exito.  In the meantime I went to the park and after waiting about 10 minutes a man invited me to play.  He was stronger than I and pushed me around the board easily winning 2 games.  He asked if I wanted to play again and I told him “no, you’re too lucky”.  I started walking away and realized my Spanish mistake.  I went back and apologized and told him “he’s too strong”.

Another man invited me to play, and I didn’t see Teresa so I agreed.  He was weaker than I but he did give me a challenge and we went into a 2 rook endgame where I also had a bishop and an extra pawn.  I finally won just after Teresa returned so we didn’t have a chance to play another game.

Btw, there is a large pigeon presence in the park because people feed them.  There is poop everywhere.  We had one splat on our board while we were playing.  At one point earlier when I was watching other games someone must have been feeding them because there was a feeding frenzy and one flew over my head touching my hair with his wings.

We went back to Carbón de Leña where Teresa had a mango juice and I had a strawberry juice for 6,500 pesos.  I checked the temperature and at 5:30 it was 84 degrees.

We walked a few blocks away where finally we caught a taxi.  At the highway we waited about 15 minutes for a bus.  When it left the highway and turned toward Caldas I turned and looked at Teresa.  Why didn’t she ask if they were going into Caldas?  We got off and had to wait about 20 minutes for another one.  There were lots of seats but then it turned the corner and lots of people got on filling all the seats and all available standing room so I guess Teresa was right when we got off when we did.

Walking past Guillermo’s we got past the G-dogs undetected and were back at the finca just before 8pm.

Tonight they started showing Dancing with the Stars – Colombian style.  I told Teresa we’ve had that program in the US for 11 years now.

I watched the State of the Union address on USTVNow.

I took 2 sleeping pills with my Tamsulosin at 10:50 and went to bed at 11:15.

T-shirt of the day: Funk with me.

Monday, January 11th, 2016

I fell asleep quickly, getting up once at 4am, again at 8:30am, finally getting up at 9:15.

Teresa cooked some chicken for Peluche; of course he loved it!

The ball of ice on the refrigerator, that had melted the other day, is back so Teresa called a repairman.

I see the NCAA football championship is tonight at 8:30 on ESPN + on Direct TV so I might see a little of it.

This is a little late but I was catching up on translating my cell phone’s text messages and I found one from 12/30/15 where it states that the minimum salary in Colombia for 2016 will be 689,454 pesos (about $215).  I assume that’s per month.  In other news: More than 1 million have been punished for wasting water.  At least 242 children were injured by gunpowder burns in December.

The refrigerator repairman showed up just before 3pm.  At first he said the problem was serious, he was here an hour and 45 minutes, I paid him 20mil, he will order a new part for 70mil, and come back Friday to install it for another 20mil.  I think it’s working again, if not we’ll soon be throwing out a lot of meat.

This morning and again tonight Teresa made chicken for Peluche; we’re trying to fatten him up.

I took 2 sleeping pills along with my Tamsulosin at 11pm and went to bed at 11:30.

T-shirt of the day: Frightfully happy to see you again.

Sunday, January 10th, 2016

I fell asleep quickly only waking up at 6am.  A few minutes later I heard another barking contest for a short time.  I woke up again at 8:30 finally getting up at 9am.

When I came out of the shower Teresa informed me that Vicky and family were coming for a visit today.  I asked her what about her pregnant daughter and was told she went to the pool with her boyfriend.  I understand I will be making waffles for lunch for the 6 of us.

Teresa left the finca about noon to go meet Vicky at the sideroad.  I guess they haven’t been here in a while.  (I found out later it’s been about 5 years.)  I got out a couple dog biscuits to distract Tony and Luna so they wouldn’t follow her.  I didn’t know where Peluche was.  I delayed giving them to them for a few minutes but as soon as I did they both headed up the hill after Teresa.

I went into the bathroom and there were at least 3 bees flying around.  I went outside where I found a few more on the outside near the bathroom window.  When I went back a few minutes later they were gone.  I think maybe they were scouting out locations for a new home and decided this wasn’t for them.

When I looked outside I saw Tony and Peluche but didn’t see Luna.

Teresa came back with Albero, Vicky, Laura, her boyfriend Juan Andres, and Samuel.

Juan speaks very good English and we had a long conversation.  He’s visited Miami, Orlando, Las Vegas and San Francisco.  He learned English on a trip to England.  He works for BMC using an internet connection.  He and Laura, Vicky’s daughter, have been going out for 6 months since they met on a blind date.

Samuel and I played Super Mario Bros and he did well but I still beat him.  Then we played chess and I beat him again a couple times.  Then he plugged in his xBox and we started playing soccer.  He played as Barcelona and I played as the Chicago Fire.  We only played a couple minutes and it was time for lunch.

We had beef, potatoes, salad, and mango juice.  This is the first time I can remember Colombian beef not being hard to chew.

I got a good Slingbox connection and watched the beginning of the Minnesota Vikings vs Seattle Seahawks game and then the Green Bay Packers vs Washington Redskins game.

They all went outside for awhile and cut some plants to take back with them.

It’s 6pm and we are waiting for Laura and then I’m going to make waffles for everyone.

Laura arrived at 6:30 and I made waffles with their choice of vanilla or chocolate ice cream with caramel or strawberry sauce.  

They left at 8:15.  I told them that if they left anything behind they could find it on ebay.  After they left we found a game controller that Samuel left behind.  Lol.

Peluche looks so skinny we should take him to the vet very soon but tomorrow is a holiday and Tuesday Teresa has a dentist appointment so I guess it will be Wednesday.

I watched some of the Golden Globes on USTVNow.com.

I took 2 sleeping pills with my Tamsulosin at 10:30 and went to bed at 11pm.

T-shirt of the day: Diva is just another word for hustla.

Saturday, January 9th, 2016

I had difficulty falling asleep but when I finally did I didn’t awaken until 5am.  The dogs seemed to have a barking contest with the neighborhood dogs starting at 6am which lasted about 20 minutes.

The “Pending” charge in my checking account for ChessLecture.com is no longer there.

I had Teresa call Hacienda La Extremadura and reserve 2 nights for our trip.  They said we can pay when we arrive.

Teresa showed me a large chunk of ice at the bottom of the back of the refrigerator.  I wanted to use hammer and chisel to remove it but Teresa said only if I was prepared to buy a new refrigerator.  I wasn’t, so we just moved the refrigerator into more sunlight to help it melt.  She cleaned the whole refrigerator and I helped her put the shelves back in.

About 6pm it started raining hard but it only lasted about 5 minutes.

I understood Vicky and her family were going to come over tomorrow.  Teresa told me that changed because her daughter is pregnant so they’ll come another time.  I know her daughter didn’t just get pregnant last night; meaning they’ve known about that for some time so something else must have changed.

Tony is still aggressive with the other dogs so Teresa decided we would put Peter in the shed out back.  While I picked up Peter, Tony jumped up and tried to get at him.  I thought Peter might bite me in order to get down but he didn’t.  Teresa lit my way with a flashlight.  On the way back I remembered a spider web close to the corner of the finca and Teresa appeared to be walking right into it.  I quickly put my hand out to stop her but I hit her right in the face.  Oops!

I watched some of the Pittsburgh Steelers Cincinnati Bengals game including the ending.  The Steelers were ahead most of the game – 15-0 going into the 4^th quarter.  Cincinnati then scored 16 straight points but missed an attempted 2 point conversion.  Cincinnati then intercepted a Ben Roethlisberger pass with about a minute and a half left in the game.  I remember the announcer saying “this game isn’t over yet” and I was thinking “yeah, right”.  I was about to change channels when Cincinnati tried to run for a first down and fumbled and the Steelers recovered with 1:23 left in the game.  They slowly moved down the field finally kicking a winning 35-yard field goal with 14 seconds remaining to win 18-16.

I took 3 sleeping pills at 11:30 and went to bed at midnight.

T-shirt of the day: I love you more than chocolate.

Friday, January 8th, 2016

I got up twice during the night at 3:30 and 8am, finally getting up at 9:30.

I made waffles for us this morning.  This time I put 5 drops of vanilla extract in the batter and also made the waffles thinner which I believe made them tastier.

Teresa let Tony out today.  He seems to have recuperated well although he is still dripping a few drops of blood.

Someone called Teresa this morning and I understand I have an urologist appointment in Estadio at 11am on Tuesday, February 16^th.

Among new movies opening this week in the US I would like to see The Revenant (8.3) and The Treasure (6.9).  Locally there isn’t anything I want to see except The Revenant as soon as it’s available here.

For some reason I thought today was Saturday and when I realized it was Friday it was 11:30 and I had missed most of The Today Show.  The first 30 minutes is the most important as it covers the national and international news.  The good news is it’s repeated at 1pm so I’ll watch it then.

Teresa put a pill in a piece of bread for me to give to Tony.  He poked his head between the bars of the window.  The problem is he’s so eager to get the little morsel that I could almost lose fingers in the process.  After a couple aborted attempts I finally tossed it to him, he caught it and swallowed it whole.  But when he pulled his head back the plastic collar caught on the bars and he pulled his head out with the collar falling inside the finca.  He didn’t seem eager at all to lick his wound so I guess he’ll be all right.  

My son still hasn’t received his Christmas present so I called the company and it turns out they never got his apartment number on the package even though it was on their Shipping Confirmation email.  They said they would resend it out and it should be there in 2-3 days.

My brother made reservations for them at 61Prado so I made an online reservation for Teresa and I.

The Colombian Peso closed at 3269 per USD for the week.

I took my Tamsulosin with 2 sleeping pills at 10:35 and went to bed at 11:10.

T-shirt of the day: No selfies allowed.

Thursday, January 7th, 2016

I fell asleep quickly and only woke briefly about 7am.  I woke/got up at 8am.

Right after I got out of the shower Teresa informed me there wasn’t any water.  

The vet, Felipe, showed up at 9am.  He’s a nice looking young guy who occasionally says a few words of English.  After a little struggle he managed to control Tony using a blanket and gave him a shot.  Over about 10 minutes Tony stopped struggling, then his legs got heavy, and finally he fell asleep.  The vet stuffed him into a pet carrier and took him down the hill.  

Water came back on at 10am but it was barely trickling.  Maybe the slow water pressure explains why my shower was hotter than usual this morning.

Teresa told me she has to go up the mountain to check on the water tank and she left at 11:30.  She told me she might be gone for a couple hours and she was concerned I won’t have anything to eat.

Since I logged onto my laptop this morning the bottom of the screen has shown a red “x” over the internet connection icon and now I can’t seem to get a good connection.  

Teresa came back 10 minutes later and told me the water is okay now but reported that one of Guillermo’s dogs grabbed Peluche by the neck.

I stirred the tanks and got my internet connection back.

I wrote a review of the new Italian restaurant we visited yesterday – Moriskos – and submitted it to Trip Advisor.  After a few minutes I received an email that they accepted it so that’s my 6^th posting for them.

The $99.99 charge for ChessLecture.com still shows up in my checking account as Pending.  I chatted with them online and they said it will fall off in 5 business days so I’ll just wait.

About 1:15 the vet brought Tony back who of course wasn’t feeling so well.  He has a large plastic collar around his head so he won’t lick his wound.  We locked him in the shed to recover without the other dogs bothering him.  I understand we can give him water and start with a little food tomorrow.  The charge for the surgery for Tony was 100mil.

We called our first hotel – Golden Palermo – and they gave us a quote of 187,000 per night including breakfast.  They want a 500,000 deposit on the 3 rooms for 2 nights before the end of the month.  I checked Trip Advisor and, depending on what they use for the currency exchange rate, it seemed to be a little less expensive online in dollars than paying here in pesos.

We went back to check on Tony and I fed him half a bowl of dogfood one piece at a time.  He seemed to gain some strength and soon squeezed out between the bars of the door and hid in an area of the garden.  He came out after about 10 minutes and I picked him up and carried him back to the shed.

A lightning storm came through about 5pm and I had to disconnect everything.  (I think I read that El Niño might be behind the increase in rain we’ve been getting.)  By 6:15 the lightning stopped and the rain disipated enough that I reconnected the wifi.

We finished watching Side Effects on Netflix.

I took 2 sleeping pills with my Tamsulosin at 10:15pm and went to bed at 10:45.

T-shirt of the day: Getting no “message” is also a “message”.

Wednesday, January 6th, 2016

Last night I fell asleep rather quickly and didn’t wake up until 7am.  Now that’s a good night’s sleep.  (But why?  Because I took my prostate medicine with my sleeping pills?  Because I waited 45 minutes after taking my sleeping pills?)  Teresa got up about 8am and I followed about 9am.

Teresa talked to the vet and I understand while he’s operating on Tony we’re going to Envigado.  His fee will be 80mil and we will pick him up tomorrow morning.

Teresa called Elizabeth at Direct TV and found out this year’s monthly charge is 109mil.

I received an email reply from MBE.  They agreed I have already paid for December and the email I received was automatically generated.

When we left the finca at 11:25 and since I didn’t see Tony I assumed the vet had already picked him up.  I gave the black dog 2 dog biscuits as we passed.  We had a 10 minute wait for a van to Envigado.  There was a 2 car fender bender in the left lane but it didn’t seem to slow up traffic very much.  

We had lunch at Carbón de Leña.  Teresa had some type of fish and 2 servings of mazamorra while I had my usual start of the month meal – hamburger, fries and Pepsi.  For dessert they didn’t have our usual tiramisu so we had a cup of napoleon.  The total came to 38mil (about $13).

Teresa went to pay the bills and I went to the park to play chess with the agreement we would meet there at 4pm.

After a short wait I played a strong opponent – he won the first game and I won the second.  It was 3:45 so I told him I couldn’t play another game.  Another man asked me to play and I told him only if it was a quick game.  He wasn’t very strong so I didn’t have much trouble winning.  Teresa showed up just before I finished and afterwards we stopped at Nueva eps where Teresa asked them a quick question.

Across the street we stopped at a new Italian restaurant named Moriskos for a drink.  While we shared a juice it started drizzling.  Teresa waited there and I walked a few blocks to Todo Drogas where I picked up my drugs for the month - a package of Tamsulosin for 38,900 and 3 packages of sleeping pills that went up to 63,900 per package.  Soon I should have enough extra sleeping pills that I’ll only need to buy 2 packages each month.

Shortly after I returned to the restaurant it started raining hard.  I understood we were no longer in a hurry.  We ordered a pizza Napolitana to share with a large glass of strawberry juice.  The total came to 22,400 – the restaurant has lasagna, pasta, and waffles, but no entrée over 20mil.

I finished reading The Kommandant’s Girl by Pam Jenoff and started Executive Actions by Gary Grossman.

We stopped at 3 or 4 stores where Teresa checked their umbrella supply.  She finally found one she liked for 15mil.  We got into a taxi but I understand the driver didn’t want to take us to the highway because the traffic was so bad because of the rain.  We walked over to Exito where Teresa bought a package of large plastic bags for us to use as ponchos.  We walked a few blocks away and after about a 10 minute wait we got a taxi to take us to the highway.  During the 15 minutes we waited for a bus it stopped raining.  We took a Fredonia bus so we knew we would be stopping in Caldas.  

We got past the G-dogs undetected and were back at the finca by 8:20.  I was surprised to see Tony there and Teresa told me the vet will pick him up tomorrow – see how I don’t know what’s going on?

I received the following comment from one of my readers regarding my comment about 6 barber shops in a row: It is very common to have entire districts dedicated to sell a specific sort of item. I don´t know about Medellín but in Bogotá you can find districts for books, flowers, lamps, birds, etc. In Cali there is a district for clinics, dental practices, etc. And one where all (but one) universities and private schools (most of them) are.

I appreciate the comment and wish I had more.

Teresa went to bed at 11pm while I stayed up to watch Botched.  I took 2 sleeping pills and my Tamsulosin at 11:30pm and went to bed at midnight.

T-shirt of the day: Whatever.

Couchsurfing in Medellin - Medellin Living

Couchsurfing In Medellin

February 17, 2009 By Dave 1 Comment

Drinks with Sirley (to my right) and her friends in Parque Lleras

Couchsurfing, for those who have yet to discover it, is an online social network geared toward travelers.

The network allows you to post a profile and either off to host a traveler in your home, contact someone while traveling abroad to stay in their home, or otherwise meet for coffee or a drink.

The obvious benefit to having a place to stay abroad is the savings in money, however for those who get involved, they soon find the cultural benefits far outweigh the monetary value.

Meeting two other American couchsurfers in Medellin

I originally signed up for the service in late 2006, in the hopes of hosting travelers before I left on my trip around the world.
I wanted to see what it would be like to have a stranger from another country show up at my door.
What it would feel like to show him or her around my home town, or at least point the person in the right direction to make their life a little easier.
I was surprised to find how much hosting someone felt similar to traveling abroad myself.
On my trip, I have been a guest with about 10 different people, including a French doctor on Tahiti, a professor in Singapore, a doctor in Cape Town, and Canadian interns in Geneva.  All of the experiences have been wonderful, and the hospitality shown by each host has been eye-opening for me.
When I began to search for  a couch in Bogota from Spain,  I was surprised to find a high membership in the big cities of Colombia!

With Jesusa outside Teatro Lido in Centro

I spent my first 6 nights with Laura, a university student, and her roommate.  She took me around the city, and made me feel right at home.
It was my first indication of the friendliness of Colombians.
I arrived in Medellin without a couch to surf, but I did arrange to meet up with a variety of people from the site for drinks and walking tours.
First, Jesusa spent a few hours walking me past some of the government buildings downtown.
The next night, I met up with Sirley and her friends for dinner and drinks in a Parque Lleras restaurant.

Couchsurfing party in Sabaneta

I reunited with Jesusa for a free dance performance at the Teatro Lido on a Friday night, and spent the following night at a Couchsurfing going away party for one of their own.
Another weekend, it was salsa and meringue lessons with Luisa at Kukaramakara Club.  I think you get the point.
Couchsurfing in Medellin was turning out to be an awesome social experience!

Luisa (blue) invited me out salsa dancing for her friends birthday

Couchsurfing, and its Medellin Group, is a way to access the local culture of a place without knowing the language, as the majority of members in any given country tend to speak at least a little English.
And if you intend to live in Medellin, or any place with a similarly strong Couchsurfing community, your ability to build a social circle inclusive of the locals is made far easier.
Partying, networking, socializing, cultural exchanges.  It is all within reach, so sign up today!

How I Arrived in Medellin - by Dave, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Medellin Living

How I Arrived In Medellin

February 10, 2009 By Dave 2 Comments

Colombian landscape on approach to Jose Maria Cordova International Airport

I am excited at the possibilities for this site, yet before I begin to highlight the aspects of Medellin and Colombia which have lead me to start extolling its virtues, I want to share my story up until now.
In November 2007, I resigned from work, left my apartment, belongings, friends and family behind in the Washington, DC area, and flew to Tahiti.
It was the first stop on a 14-month dream trip around the world. I visited 20 countries, and have now spent time in 30 over the course of my life (on every continent except Antarctica).
My savings account waning, I decided to pick one country in South America to visit before going home, and resuming a job and life in New York City.
Over the previous years, the few people I´d spoken to who had traveled through Colombia had great things to say.
Beautiful land and people, safe, and inexpensive. Alternatively, I considered the eternal hotspot of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where costs are high and the tourism industry well developed.
I chose the pass less traveled. The unknown road.
I chose Colombia. After one week couchsurfing in Bogota, I flew to Medellin, and from the moment the plane descended through the clouds, I was stunned by the beauty of the green landscape and mountains before me.
The scenery continued to leave my mouth gaping as I took the shuttle bus from the international airport down the smooth but twisting roads to the city center, which was bustling on a beautiful, warm Sunday afternoon.
I was so ready to jump into the scene, I almost didn´t want to get in a cab to drop my backpack off at a hostel in the upscale El Poblado district.
A little over two weeks later, I decided maybe Medellin is the place I’ve always wanted to live but didn´t know it.
Due to its unique geography, the city has a reputation for Spring-like weather year round.
The Colombians I´ve met have been friendly, even if they haven´t been able to speak English.
I feel safe getting around on foot during the day, on the metro, and taking cabs at night.
Cultural activities are often free, and when there is a cost, it is a steal by western standards. A great restaurant meal can be had for the cost of a Happy Meal in the States.
A variety of music blasts from stores and bars throughout the city – salsa, merengue, reggaeton, vallenato, tropical pop, and electronic to name a few.
The locals are amazing dancers, and the nightlife is great. And I haven´t even brought myself to visit the surrounding villages just an hour or two away.
I hope you will join me in discovering The City of the Eternal Spring.
Colombia, the only risk is wanting to stay!

Tuesday, January 5th, 2016

I got up once at 3am, couldn’t get to sleep so I got up at 4am and took 1 more sleeping pill, and fell asleep by 4:30.  I got up once more at 6:30 finally waking/getting up at 8:15.

We left the finca at 9:30 and I gave the black dog 2 dog biscuits.  We had a 15 minute wait for a Caldas bus.  We got off at the triangle, walked a block to the police table and 10 minutes later were on a bus.  Teresa and I had a difference of opinion as to which station is closer to Unicentro CC – Aguacatala (my choice) or El Poblado (Teresa’s choice).  (Back at the finca, while El Poblado is closer than Aguacatala, I found Industriales is even closer.)  We got off at Aguacatala and the bus driver agreed with Teresa but maybe he just wanted the fare.  

On our way down Carrera 70 we drove past a Price Smart (like Costco) and a water park that Teresa said is Parque Juan Pablo Segundo.  We got off at Unicentro CC and walked a block to Martha’s office.  I picked up my passport with the new visa inside and the papers needed to apply for my Cedula.  They consisted of a 2-page form, a copy of my old and new visa from my passport, and a copy of my old Cedula.  Martha confirmed that in two more years I can apply for residency.

We went to the Exito food court for lunch where Teresa had the fish combo special and a Colombiana.  I first saw something that looked like ham with spaghetti then I saw pans of baked lasagna then I saw large (about 6” x 6”) slices of pizza.  One looked like it was topped with bacon but the lady told me it was ham.  Another looked like it was topped with pepperoni but the lady said it was salami.  I took the latter with a small Pepsi and it was tasty although I couldn’t quite finish it.  The total lunch cost 28,890 (about $9). 

In Exito I picked up a jar of Smuckers Strawberry Preserves and Teresa picked up a package of milk, a package of arepas, 2 packages of Tang, and 3 packages of plastic gloves.  

We took a taxi to the immigration office in Belen and arrived at 12:40 for my 1:30 appointment.  I talked to a few other gringos there and they had 9am and 9:30 appointments and were just being served.  One man I met had my same middle name and the rest of his name was Richard Simmons.  Lol.  We were finally served at 4:10, they approved my paperwork and I charged 162,000 to my debit card for my Cedula.  Now I just have to wait a couple weeks for it to be ready to be picked up.

We took a taxi to Ragged where Teresa looked at clothes.  We stopped across the street where we shared a pastry and bottle of Colombiana.  We walked a block to a store called Phax where Teresa looked at more clothes.  We took a bus (traffic was very heavy) to the Aguacatala station and were on an express bus after a 10 minute wait.

We got past the G-dogs undetected and were back at the finca by 7:30.

I got an email notice from MBE to pay my December, 2015 monthly rental.  I paid it at the same time as the November rental so I sent them a photo of my receipt.

I took 2 sleeping pills with my Tamsulosin at 10:30 and went to bed at 11:15.

T-shirt of the day: Sorry I’m fresh.

Monday, January 4th, 2016

I got up once at 4:45am, again at 6:30, finally waking/getting up at 9:15.

Teresa talked to the vet who lives down the hill and we have an appointment tomorrow morning to take Tony to be fixed.  She also talked to someone in Martha’s office and my papers are ready but our appointment is for tomorrow.  I don’t know if that appointment is for Martha’s office or immigration in Belen.

I understand Don Miguel will be finishing trimming the garden instead of Chucho.

Teresa filled an empty margarine container with water and placed it with half a banana on a pedestal newly set up a few yards up the trail for birds.

Because of all the recommendations I made while going through the ChessMagnetSchool lessons Harlan Lee promised me a free membership in their sister website ChessLecture.com that specializes in video lectures.  It cost me $99.99 so I hope he’ll follow through and reimburse me.

The same time Teresa was telling me we have a 1:30 appointment tomorrow I received an email from Immigration about the same appointment.  I have to bring my passport so that means we have to go to Martha’s office before to pick it up (with the new visa).  We’ll probably leave after breakfast, pick up the passport from Martha, have lunch somewhere and be at Immigration by 1pm (30 minutes early as requested).

Harlan Lee emailed me that they reimbursed me for my charge.  I don’t see it yet in my checking account but probably tomorrow.

I’ve gone through a few video lessons and they really look great.  I just wish I could play more often.

I took 2 sleeping pills at 10:30 and went to bed at 11pm.

T-shirt of the day: Trust me.  I have like 10,000 followers.

Sunday, January 3rd, 2016

Last night I fell asleep quickly and I’m not sure what woke me up at 6am – the barking contest or my full bladder.  While I was up I disconnected my charged cell phone and set the alarm to 7am. 

At 7am Teresa begged to sleep some more so I reset the alarm to 8am.  At 8am she asked to sleep some more so I just went back to sleep.  She got up at 9am and I followed shortly after.

We left the finca at 10:20 and got past the killer dogs.  I think it’s time to stop calling them killer dogs; I think I’ll call them G-dogs - for Guillermo’s dogs.  On the way down the sideroad we saw a large green snake ahead of us but by the time we got to its spot it had already disappeared into the jungle.  While waiting for a bus to Caldas I counted 16 buses on the way to Medellin.  L  After a 25 minute wait a Caldads bus finally stopped for us.

At Merkepaisa Teresa picked up meat, fruits, vegetables and other things.  Walter arrived a few minutes later.

On the way up the hill the “garbage” used to fill in the holes in the sideroad stopped the taxi from proceeding.  He backed up, Teresa and I got out and we walked up to the 2^nd turn in the road.  (Btw, because the taxi was stopped on a slope when I got out gravity closed the card door and I think he admonished me for slamming it.)  He was able to get the taxi up to our turn, we got back in and he proceeded the rest of the way up the hill.  Going down only the black dog came out barking at us.

For today’s Bears game I went directly to Slingbox using Google Chrome, did not set it to full screen and managed to see the whole first half without any problem.  I had no other tabs open and didn’t use my iPad at any time.  The Chicago Bears were losing 10-0 at halftime.  I had my traditional hamburger and Pepsi at halftime.  To begin the 2^nd half I set the game to full screen and it froze after a couple minutes.  I went back to small screen and finished the game with it only freezing one other time.  The Chicago Bears lost to the Detroit Lions 24-20 but now they have the 11^th pick in the 2016 NFL draft.

We finished watching The Punisher (6.5) on Netflix.

I watched some of the Minnesota Vikings vs Green Bay Packers game.

We started watching Side Effects (7.6) on Netflix.

I watched the end of the game – Minnesota won 20-13 vs the Packers!  Yah!

I took 2 sleeping pills at 11pm and went to bed at 11:40.

Saturday, January 2nd, 2016

I got up at 3:30, again at 7:30 finally getting up at 8:30.

We left the finca at 11:50 and got past the killer dogs undetected.  It looked awfully quiet there.  At the highway while we were waiting for a bus Guillermo appeared from across the highway carrying a large Styrofoam cooler.  He talked to Teresa for a while and I understood that the boxweiler killed the puppy, the way predators kill their prey, by grabbing them by the throat until they asphyxiate.  He also said something about last Wednesday cars or dogs weaving along the highway but I didn’t understand everything.  Our bus came after a 20 minute wait.

About 5 minutes later it started raining hard and we didn’t have an umbrella.  I understand we left the small red one on the bus and the larger one is still back at the finca.  Instead of getting off the bus at Aguacatala station we went to the end of the line to the south bus station.  This is when I found I couldn’t open my Nook book; battery is probably too low.  At Frisby Teresa had the Frischuleta, soup and juice.  I helped her with that and I also had a Friburrito and Pepsi for a total of 38,800.

By the time we left the bus station it had stopped raining.  We took a taxi to Calle 50 and Carrera 47 where Teresa picked up some face cream.  Across the street were 6 barber shops in a row (what a country).  We stopped in one and I let Teresa have her way with my haircut.  My beard is a now smaller and shorter.  After cutting my hair the barber opened a new blade for final trimming around the edges.  The entire procedure took 20 minutes and cost me 8,000 pesos (less than $3).

We walked about 3 blocks west to Avenida 80 and about 6 blocks south to Calle 44 (San Juan).  I stopped at the internet store to print something but it was closed.  We walked to Viva CC where I left Teresa downstairs to have a set of finca keys made for me.  I went across the street to Mall Laureles where I told the man who organizes Santafe tours that there would be 6 people wanting to go there on Saturday, January 30^th.  I also picked up another one of his flyers.  The price is still 60mil (about $20) which includes transportation both ways, tour of a bridge on the way, lunch there, and use of their facilities which includes a pool and jacuzzi.  Not a bad deal.  They leave Medellin at 10am and leave Santafe at 7pm.  I walked across the street to Hotel Golden Palermo where I picked up their business card.

Back at Viva CC Teresa informed me they weren’t able to copy her keys for some reason.  She waited at Nohelia to have her nails done and I picked up a complimentary 2016 calendar at Western Union.  Upstairs in Exito I dropped off a used battery and some partially used medicine I no longer needed.  I picked up 2 packages of underwear (3 pairs in each) and a bottle of Pepsi for tomorrow’s game.  (We had finished the other bottle a couple days before.)  I asked a saleslady where I could find a bottle of strawberry syrup (salsa de fresa).  She asked me if I meant fresco and I said no, fresa.  After we went back and forth a few times I took her over to the strawberries and she finally understood.  Sigh!  She showed me a plastic package of arequipe and asked me if this was what I wanted only with strawberry inside.  I told her yes but the bottle is made of harder plastic.  She asked someone else who got on her cell phone.  I told her I would keep looking while they are checking and right away I found the bottle – Smucker’s Strawberry Syrup – all in English.  Checkout lines were pretty busy and after a 10 minute wait I paid 104,820.  I picked up a large mango, banana, and papaya juice for 6,400 ($2) which I took downstairs to share with Teresa.

We decided that after she had her nails done we would go to Pizza Americana for pizza.  

Finally she got her nails done and as we were walking through the parking garage she saw a kiosk selling shrimp cocktail and of course she wanted one.  I was concerned she would spoil her appetite for pizza but she said I could order one just for myself.

(It was 6:40pm and believe it or not an hour later we were on a direct bus back to the finca.)

As we were walking out of Viva mall we saw it was still drizzling and we forgot to buy an umbrella.  After a few seconds thought I gave her 50 mil and told her to go buy an umbrella at Exito and I would go downstairs and have a hotdog and then we would leave directly for the finca.   She said we could meet at Mimo’s (ice cream shop) after we had both finished.  At Dogger’s I tried their hamburdog hoping it might be something like a Chicago all beef hotdog.  Not.  It also included a bag of chips and medium Pepsi for 9,900 ($3.25).

Upstairs at Mimo’s Teresa showed up empty handed after a minute wait.   She said the lines were too long to purchase the umbrella besides it had stopped raining.  We walked across the street and immediately a private car arrived (con effectivo) which took us to Aguacatala station for 4mil.  There was a very pretty young lady there waiting for a bus.  After about a 10 minute wait, at 7:40pm, we were on a bus back to the finca.  There were a few pretty young ladies on the bus and others got on at several stops.  What a country!  

It still wasn’t raining, we got past the killer dogs undetected and were back at the finca by 8:30pm.

The plan tomorrow is to leave early (8am) for Caldas, have breakfast there and buy meat, fruits & vegetables at Merkepaisa.

I took 2 sleeping pills at 11pm and went to bed.

T-shirt of the day: You’re my inspiration.

Joke

You know the joke about the nurse that gets everything wrong?

A doctor is complaining that he told her to give the patient in Room 4 three pills, and she gave the patient in Room 3 four pills, and just as he’s talking about her, he sees her chasing a naked patient down the hall, holding a pan of boiling water.

The doctor says, “Look at that! I told her to prick his boil!”

Friday, January 1st, 2016

Happy New Year everyone!

Among today’s new movie releases I would like to see The Hateful Eight (8.1).  Locally, there isn’t much playing that’s good.

At 1pm Teresa warned me it looked like rain.  By the time I brought in my towel it was raining so I went out again and brought in the dog’s blankets.  The rain only lasted a couple minutes.

Teresa called me outside and showed me 2 very pink pigs outside the finca/farm just below us.

There was a single change today to 3,179 Colombian Pesos to the dollar.

We watched Hostage (6.6) and then we started watching The Punisher (6.5).

I took 2 sleeping pills at 10:30 and we went to bed at 11pm.

T-shirt of the day: I’m the future.