Monday, May 30th, 2016

Happy Memorial Day!  It’s a holiday here also but I have no idea what they are celebrating or commemorating. 

Teresa asked me to look online for a Parque El Salado in Envigado.  I found it even though she spelled it incorrectly and all as one word.  It looks like a small version of Parque Arvi and we’ll have to check it out after the rainy season ends.

Teresa wanted to go to Santafe CC to buy jeans so about 12:30 we walked to downtown Envigado and caught a bus to the mall.  Because of the light traffic we got off the bus 7 minutes later.

Teresa and Laura shopped at Zara and Forever 21 and I stopped in a store looking for a shower caddy for the bathroom.  (It only has one small soap dish so everything else has to go on the floor.)  I didn’t find it but I remember seeing one somewhere.

At 1:45 it started raining so hard that the sound of it beating against the roof was almost deafening from where I was sitting on the 4^th floor.

I stopped in iShop where they had the new iPhone SE on display.  The advertisement has it priced at 1,699,000 (about $550) for the 16GB model and 2,129,000 (about $700) for the 64GB model.  They showed some monthly payment plans, for example, for 12 months it’s 141,583 (about $45) for the 16GB model and 177,416 (about $60) for the 64GB model.  I used the iPhone to do the math and there is no extra interest on the monthly payment plans so that is probably why they are sold out.  That’s still quite a premium over the $400 price that Apple reported when it was announced.

Andres, the guy who works there that speaks English, informed me that they are sold out and he doesn’t know when they will get more in.

We had lunch at J&C Delicias.  I didn’t really feel hungry but I had no trouble putting away a small order of lasagna Bolognese.  

Teresa received a phone call from the lady renting the finca and I understood Tony killed one of her 2 cats but she's still in love with the finca.

We stopped in Falabella and I saw they were also selling the iPhone SE but their payment plan was a little more expensive than what I had just seen at the iStore.

It stopped raining hard by 2:30 but was still misting by the time we left about 90 minutes later so we took a taxi back to the apt – because there were 3 of us it only cost $1 more than taking a bus.

By the way, Teresa didn’t find her jeans.

When we got back to the apt we found that the storm had apparently knocked out our Direct TV.  I checked my thermometer and it was down to 72 degrees in my “computer room”; that’s the lowest I’ve seen so far in Envigado.

It got very cool in the apt and I put on my light warmup suit which helped a lot.

T-shirt of the day: I’m not a model but I look like one.

Joke

John woke up after the annual office new year party with a pounding headache, cotton-mouthed and utterly unable to recall the events of the preceding evening. After a trip to the bathroom, he made his way downstairs, where his wife put some coffee in front of him.

'Louise,' he moaned, 'tell me what happened last night. Was it as bad as I think?'

'Even worse,' she said, her voice oozing scorn. 'You made a complete ass of yourself. You succeeded in antagonizing the entire board of directors, and you insulted the president of the company, right to his face.'

'He's an idiot,' John said. 'Piss on him.'

'You did', came the reply. 'And he fired you.'

'Well, screw him!' said John.

'I did. You're back to work on Monday.'

Sunday, May 29th, 2016

Teresa wanted to go to church so off we went.

I brought my Bible but there were only 2 lights in the church and both were over the altar and it was an overcast day so I couldn’t read anything.  About 15 minutes in the service it started pouring outside and no one thought to bring an umbrella.  By the time the service was over 30 minutes later the rain had stopped.  About 2 blocks away from returning to the apt it started raining again and we were soaked by the time we reached the building.  Not good when you’ve got a cold.

I remember I didn’t feel hungry and I didn’t eat anything all day.

T-shirt of the day: Never part.

Joke

True Story: Winston Churchill rescued the honor of the Allies at a meeting with Stalin in Teheran.

Stalin wanted to throw a psychological scare into the Americans, so he said to Roosevelt in private, “Our greatest need to keep the morale of our fighting men high is rubbers.  We just don’t have any.”

Roosevelt told him “We’ll send you five hundred thousand.  What size?”

Without blinking, Stalin said, “Sixteen inches long.  Our standard size.”

Roosevelt confided that night to Churchill that Stalin was throwin’ darts, but good old Churchill never blinked an eye.

“Make ‘em up and send ‘em.  But stamp each one, in English and Russian, Texas medium.”

Saturday, May 28th, 2016

Well, now it’s actually late Monday and I have to remember what I did all weekend; which wasn’t much.  With my cold I acted like a baby and just hung around the apt most of the time.

Teresa sent me to Exito to pick up 3 mangos and a pineapple so she could make fresh juice.  I told her I wouldn’t know a good mango if I saw one.   She told me to ask the muchacho.  There was no muchacho but there was a senora so I asked her and she picked them out for me.  Teresa also had also given me a note so I could pick up another quart of blue paint.  I didn’t have any trouble with that but while I waited I thought I saw a roll of duct tape hanging on the wall.  I asked the man to show it to me and it clearly said “duct tape” inside so I guess now I know where I can find it in Envigado.

T-shirt of the day: Beard season.

Friday, May 27th, 2016

We got up about 8am.  About 10:15 we walked to a corner store where Teresa bought a couple quarts of paint for the finca that cost 41,000 pesos.  I added 20,000 pesos worth of minutes to the cell phone.  

We stopped at a small bakery where she had a hot chocolate, I had a cup of coffee and we each had an almojábana:

http://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/colombian-cheese-bread-almojabanas

On our way back to the apartment she talked briefly with a woman at a curtain and rug store.  We need some curtains to block the afternoon sunlight off our “balcony”.

The woman arrived just before 2pm, took some measurements, and we ordered some vertical blinds for 440,000 (about $144).  I understand we can make 2 payments – one in June and the other in July.

About 3pm it rained for about 5 minutes.  

T-shirt of the day: Everybody looks better online.

Thursday, May 26th, 2016 – Moving Day #6

I’m pretty sure we had a little rain overnight.

We haven’t been using the sink in the master bathroom because it leaks and now there is a small leak in the guest bathroom.  Teresa put a small bowl under it in the cabinet.

We left the apartment at 12:15 with those corner protector things for the refrigerator.  We met Wilson on the way to his store.  We all walked to the garage restaurant.  I understand its name is Mary Lou.  The garage itself was nearly full but we walked into what looked like a living room and dining room where there were a dozen more tables.

We sat down and had their special of the day.  I think this was Wilson’s first time there.  

We took a taxi to the highway, said goodbye to Laura and after a 20 minute wait were on a bus to the finca.  Walking past the G-dogs I realized I’d left the dog biscuits back at the apt.  Sorry, guys.

Leonardo was putting down concrete on the sideroad rocks while Andres was painting the outside of the finca.  I gave 200mil to Leonardo and 50mil to Andres.

We packed up a lot more stuff and burned some old papers out back.  I played with Peter a while; I rolled rocks down the hill and he barked and attacked them.  The truck arrived about 4:30, we spent almost 2 hours carrying stuff up the hill and packing it in the truck.

I asked Teresa where Luna was and Teresa said she’s gone.  Then Andres put a rope around Peter and led them away.

We got everything carried up to the apt by 7:30.  I gave 40 mil to the guy who helped us carry things.  I understand they then were going down to Bocados Bar to drop off the refrigerator.

Finally we’ve got everything moved in.  I understand we have to finish the sideroad work, fix the roof and then a family is ready to move in for 500,000 pesos monthly rent.

T-shirt of the day: The sarcasm is strong with this one. (on a t-shirt with scrolling words like in Star Wars.)

Wednesday, May 25th, 2016

I woke up about 5am to an awful smell that seemed to be coming in the bedroom window so I closed it.  (Later I think we figured out it was bags of garbage sitting outside the building.)

I got to see the Today show for the first time in a couple weeks.

I wanted to call the US but instead of magicJack’s usual call screen instead I got a renewal screen.  But I bought a subscription through 2020.  I waited about 30 minutes to chat with a magicJack rep and then we exchanged the following:

Renon: Hi, my name is Renon. How may I help you?
Terry Andresen: My subscription is paid up until 2020 so why am I getting a renewal screen?
Renon: Please wait while I check that for you
Renon: One moment please...
Renon: Are you referring for your magicJack device?
Terry Andresen: I booted up my laptop with my magicJack PLUS in the USB port and instead of taking me to the dial/contacts screen I see a "Select a magicJack PLUS Renewal Option" screen.
Renon: Sorry to hear that.
Renon: For verification purposes may I have your physical address registered on file?
Terry Andresen: I'm in Colombia and it will take me a few minutes to find what address i may have given you. Is that really necessary?
Renon: Please disregards.
Renon: As I have checked here you purchase the renewal plan on your magicJackGO not on your magicJackPLUS.
Terry Andresen: so?
Renon: You need to renew it.
Terry Andresen: So you are saying that my 5 year contract for my magicJackGO cannot be used with my new hardware - the magicJackPLUS?
Renon: Yes correct.
Terry Andresen: That sounds more like a magicJackMINUS to me!
Terry Andresen: Can I still use my magicJackGO?
Renon: Yes because its still active.
Terry Andresen: So why would I want to buy the magicJack PLUS? Whats the advantage?
Renon: Sorry let me correct that one.
Renon: Since you purchase the renewal on your magicjackGO not on your magicJack device, for now the only device you can use your magicJackGO.
Terry Andresen: So, why would anyone want to buy a new hardware device (PLUS) when they can't use the long-term service contract they bought for previous hardware (GO). If i buy a long term contract all you have to do is come out with new hardware that invalidates that!
Renon: Sorry all our device have the same features only we upgraded some quality on it when it comes to the service it all the same.
Terry Andresen: So, let me ask a different way. Why would anyone want to buy a long term subscription when they wouldn't be able to use it if they upgraded their hardware?
Renon: Let me answer your question.
Terry Andresen: please do.
Renon: They want the long subscription because they can save than purchasing a renewal per year.
Terry Andresen: That's exactly why i did that.
Terry Andresen: So since you know now that I have a magicJack PLUS just carryover the subscription from the magicJackGO.
Renon: The renewal of each device is separated it is not possible to transfer the renewal to the other device.
Terry Andresen: Of course it is possible. It's a simple programming change. Unless, of course they don't want to!
Renon: Here's I can do for you I will make a request that you want to transfer your subscription on your other device.
Terry Andresen: of course. If not then I will have to share this magicJack disadvantage with my blog and my friends on Expat Exhange.
Terry Andresen: You have my email address in your system, right?

Renon: Yes we will contact you on your email 24-48 hours after.
Renon: For the result of your request.

According to Medellin Living “the United States is hosting the 2016 Copa America tournament in June, and the opening match of the group stage is the USA v. Colombia at 9:30 p.m. (Eastern Time).”  In the US this is known as soccer, in the rest of the world it’s known as futból and this opening match is on June 3^rd.

I finished Nelson DeMille’s book Radiant Angel and downloaded one of his first books The Charm School.  Because of all my extra time, waiting around for the movers for example, I’ve already read 5 books this month.

I watched the Cleveland Indians vs Chicago White Sox baseball game which was on Direct TV this afternoon.  I understood they got some summer-like weather today with a high of about 81.  Unfortunately, the Sox lost 4-3.

Teresa told me Luis (the husband of the couple who are very interested in the finca) wants to show it to his cousin.  He stopped by in the evening and they talked briefly and he left.  Later she told me she forgot to give Luis the keys to the finca.  Then why did they meet?  If it was necessary to exchange the keys you would think one of them would have brought it up.

I mentioned to Teresa about going to the finca Friday to get the rest of our stuff and she informed me we’re going tomorrow.  Maybe that’s why she didn’t have to give him the keys.

T-shirt of the day: Laugh as much as you breathe.

Tuesday, May 24th, 2016

I slept well, got up at 7:15 and took my shower.  Teresa wanted me to go to Exito to buy arepas.  First, I’m hungry now, 2^nd Exito doesn’t open until 8:30, 3^rd I’m tired (already) of running to the store to pick up a few things for her.  Instead let’s go to Exito together and buy 4 large bags of food – 2 for each of us to carry.

She made scrambled eggs for me for breakfast.  She seemed incredulous that I could possibly have breakfast without an arepa.  Lol.  I told her the whole world doesn’t eat arepas for breakfast so she could survive a day without eating one.

About noon she told me Direct TV was on their way.  They arrived and she told me they would be here for 2 hours so she sent me out for lunch.  I had the special of the day at Carbón de Leña.  Back at the apartment about an hour later the TV was on and the guys had already gone.  We now have Direct TV again.  (Good, because there’s something I want to watch tonight.)

Teresa was starving and I thought she wanted to go to Carbón de Leña but we headed in a different direction.  We stopped at the garage restaurant where she had their special of the day (with lots of salad) and I had a glass of fresh juice (which they didn’t charge me for).  We thought this was a new restaurant but found out they’ve been there for 13 years.

We walked to the language school where we met Marco, Laura’s English teacher.  He was born in Washington DC of an Italian father and Chilean mother so he speaks English and Spanish.  He told me he was in Chicago once for a class to be a Bath Fitter representative – the only problem is they sent him there on the 2^nd week of January.  Not kind.  His class was in Northbrook which I’m very familiar with and I told him that’s a very nice suburb of Chicago.  We talked some sports.  Of course he’s a Redskins fan and I’m a Bears fan.

Laura arrived and I charged 341,250 for the 1^st month’s English classes.  I understand for the following months the charge is 281,250.  (Maybe the extra 60mil is for a workbook?)

We walked back to the garage restaurant where Laura had lunch and I had another glass of juice.

We walked a short distance to the Tienda D1 where Teresa picked up 3 more bottles of floor cleaner and some cleaning sponges and I picked up a can of chile.

Laura left and we walked back to the apartment where we each took a nap for about an hour.

When I got up I turned on my laptop and found we’d lost our internet connection.  The Direct TV guys probably disconnected it somehow.

For dinner I warmed the small can of chile, spread some butter on half a hamburger bun, heated it in the microwave and had it all with a cold glass of milk.

Luara came over in the evening and I think she found something disconnected under the TV, reattached it, and we have internet again.

Teresa and Laura made a run to Exito and picked up some foodstuffs.

I sent an email to my old friend Dario to see if he’s interested in playing chess.

T-shirt of the day: I am not in the mood.

Monday, May 23rd, 2016 – Moving Day #6 - NOT

I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and Teresa made me a ham and cheese sandwich to take with us for my lunch.

We bought 3 600ml bottles of Coke for later.  We left the apt at 8:30 and by 9:30 we were at the finca.

Angel was there to work on the road.

A truck arrived and stopped just past Guillermo’s house and unloaded sand, concrete, water pipes (not the hookah type), and something called soldadura (which, for me, translated to welding).  It all cost 292,800 and I gave the driver 300,000.

The driver had difficulty backing up the sideroad and they finally called and asked me to help them out.  I stood in the back over one set of the rear wheels and he was able to get sufficient traction to back up the hill.  Teresa told me he will be back at 2:30 to pick up the last of our things.

I finished Nelson DeMille’s The Panther and downloaded his book Radiant Angel.

A couple arrived that I’ve seen before and they spent quite a while looking over the finca.  Not sure if they’re from a rental/sales agency or they themselves are interested in renting or buying it.

At 5pm we gave up and went back to the apartment.  Teresa made French toast for me for dinner and a ham and cheese sandwich for herself.  (I know she’s got a new toy but that doesn’t mean we have to have hot sandwiches for every meal now.)  I’m going to ask her to make me a fried egg with bacon.  Then I’ll put it in the sandwich maker for a fried egg and bacon sandwich.

I finally figured out where I stored the password for my laptop lock.

T-shirt of the day: Not bad.

Sunday, May 22nd, 2016

Well, it’s official, I have a cold.  I think this is the 2^nd one in my 3 years here.  At least I think it should go away faster than if I was in the States.

We had cereal for breakfast.  We left the apt at 11:30 and stopped at Tienda D1 where Teresa found her floor cleaner and I found a can of chile (it ain’t Hormel but I’ll still give it a try).  We didn’t buy anything and then we stopped at a church where we stayed for their hour-long service.  When we left we walked by a spot where there’s always soldiers standing guard.   Today there were more than usual with what looked like “camping” gear drying in the backyard.  We walked by Tienda D1 again but Teresa didn’t want to stop for some reason.  I think she was very hungry.  She stopped at a little shop that sold candles and wanted to buy one for 25mil but I told her I didn’t have that much cash with me.  She kind of gave me a hard time because I didn’t remember it.  She took me to the back and we walked into the Exito food court where we had been many times before; usually that entrance is locked so we got lucky today.  She finally realized that the only thing new about this place was the entrance.  I was going to have a Qbano sandwich but she convinced me to give the Cafeteria a try.  They had white rice (of course) and what looked like beef stew so I just put the 2 ingredients together with some salad and a juice.

Afterwards we went to Home Center where I tried to convince her to buy a dish set but she just bought 3 plates and 3 glasses and I picked up a box of dog biscuits, a light bulb and a door wedge.

She wanted to walk back to Tienda D1 to buy the floor cleaner and then carry everything back to the apartment but I convinced her to take a taxi straight back to the apt.  

Martha showed up for a few minutes to show Teresa how to light the cooktop burners.

Later Teresa wanted me to stop at Tienda D1 to buy her floor cleaner – right.  I begged off because of my cold.

She wanted me to go to Exito with her to buy a sandwich maker and fixings but I begged off again.  She waited an hour for Laura to arrive, I gave her some cash and they went together.

They came back with a Black & Decker Sandwich Maker and Teresa made ham, cheese and tomato sandwiches.  She forgot to buy lettuce.

I was going to move the laptop to the dining room table so I could play a movie on Netflix to watch on the TV.  But I realized I have my laptop cabled to a chair and I forgot where I put the combination – oops!

T-shirt of the day: We are all made from stars.

El Sombrero: Authentic Mexican Food in Sabaneta - Medellin Living

El Sombrero: Authentic Mexican Food in Sabaneta

May 10, 2016 By Jeff 4 Comments

I’m a big fan of good Mexican food and since I live in Sabaneta I have driven past the El Sombrero Mexican restaurant many times and I have been meaning to try it out and I finally did recently.
It turns out that a Mexican living in town owns El Sombrero, which is a Mexican restaurant located near Parque Sabaneta. The cooks in the restaurant are Mexican as well, so the food served is very authentic traditional Mexican food.
The restaurant has been open for seven years. Several of my neighbors recommended it as El Sombrero is popular with locals and it is also considered by many to have the best Mexican food in Sabaneta.

Inside El Sombrero restaurant

My Recent Experience at El Sombrero

I happened to be near this Mexican restaurant recently at lunchtime and decided to try it out for the first time.
I wanted to try a variety so I ordered a special plate, the Fiesta Mexicana 2, which comes with a burrito, two tostadas and two tacos for a total price of 38,900 pesos ($13.15).
The waitress said it was too much food for one person but I ordered it anyway with a plan to take any leftovers home.
At the tables the restaurant has three different really good Mexican sauces including sweet and mild, medium and hot.
The food was excellent and I was impressed. I ate almost everything since it was so good but saved a tostada and half of the burrito for later.
My impression is that El Sombrero is a popular local restaurant in Sabaneta that has many regular local customers but I suspected not many foreigners have yet discovered it since it is located in Sabaneta and not in El Poblado.
But I talked to the owner who told me the restaurant has many foreign customers that have found the restaurant due to its very authentic Mexican food.
This Mexican restaurant has the most authentic Mexican food I have tried in the entire Medellín area. The restaurant’s slogan is “Colores y sabores de México” (Colors and Tastes of Mexico), which the restaurant really delivers on.
The restaurant also has reliable WiFi so I expect to start eating there fairly regularly for “working” lunches.

The Fiesta Mexicana 2 special plate – burrito, tostadas and tacos

The Menu at El Sombrero

The menu at the restaurant has many typical Mexican dishes including Quesadillas (18,900 to 20,900 pesos), Burritos (16,900 pesos), Chimichangas (16,900 pesos), Enchiladas (20,900 to 24,900), Tostadas (16,900 pesos), Tacos (14,500 pesos), Fajitas (19,900 pesos) and Nachos (16,500 to 20,500 pesos).
The menu has several other options including Chile Relleno (20,900 pesos), Aztec soup (10,900 pesos) and taco salad (17,900 to 19,900 pesos).
Drink options include natural juices with water (4,500 pesos) or with milk (5,500 pesos), lemonades (6,500 pesos) and sodas (3,000 pesos).
The restaurant also serves many beers including local and imported beers ranging in price from 4,000 to 7,500 pesos.
Of course being a Mexican restaurant it also has several Tequila drinks available including several flavors of margaritas for 16,500 pesos.
The restaurant also reportedly makes its own sauces and tortillas, which I understand are also for sale.  They also can have some food and drink specials at times – when I was there they were offering buy-one/get-one free margaritas.

Parque Sabaneta

How to Get There

El Sombrero is located in Sabaneta about three blocks from the popular Parque Sabaneta and Iglesia de Santa Ana.
This Mexican restaurant is also located about five blocks from Restaurante El Viejo John, which is another popular restaurant with very good traditional Colombian food in Sabaneta.
The easiest way to get to Parque Sabaneta is to take the Medellín metro south to the Sabaneta station. The park is located a 10-minute walk east from the metro station.
There are also frequent buses that run from the Sabaneta metro station to Parque Sabaneta, which is near to where El Sombrero is located. The cost is only 1,800 pesos ($0.61).
Or you can ask any taxi driver in Medellín to take you to “Parque Sabaneta,” just about every taxi driver will know where it is.
It is relatively safe to walk from the metro station to Parque Sabaneta as there are many people on the streets during the day, or you can take the short bus ride.
The bottom line is if you happen to be in Sabaneta and craving some good traditional Mexican food, El Sombrero is a highly recommended local neighborhood restaurant.

Saturday, May 21st, 2016

Well that was an interesting morning.

At 9:15 Une showed up.  I thought they would start working on the telephone line but they worked on the double coaxial cables instead.  I understand they can deliver internet, TV, and telephone.

At 9:30 the refrigerator arrived.  They unpacked it and put it in its proper spot in the kitchen.  We’re supposed to wait 5 hours before plugging it in and another 4 days before discarding the packing materials.  They were only here about 5 minutes.

At 9:40 the fumigator arrived and he sprayed all the floor/wall edges and left about 10 minutes later.  (Now the cockroaches will probably go visit other apartments.)

Une said we could have wi-fi for 60mil a month or wi-fi, TV (basic package), and telephone (land line) for 90mil a month.  We chose the package; we might save some money on phone calls (especially when on hold) with a land line instead of a cell phone.  Only thing is we don’t have a telephone.  We ordered the basic TV package (which includes History Channel and Geographic Channel) but we can always upgrade later or switch to Direct TV.

In the finca I was getting 50Mbps internet but in the apartment it looks like I’m getting 130Mbps. Yay!

I picked up a whole chicken, an order of fries, a couple salads and sodas at Frisby for 55,000 (about $18).

I got caught up on my blog posts, emails, updated my bank info, balanced my bank statements, etc.

The Colombian Peso appears to have closed for the week at 3,051.94.

I had to do a chat with Citibank to get it to accept my new bank card.

At 3pm we plugged in the fridge, removed all the tape, and poured water into the water dispenser and ice cube maker.

I made waffles for dinner.

I turned on the TV and all I got was static and the remote control didn’t seem to work even though it had new batteries inside.

When Laura stopped by with her girlfriend Cindy I asked if she could fix the TV.  She tried and then Teresa informed us that she heard Une TV sucks (not her exact words) so we’re going to get Direct TV.  So now I understand we only got Une wi-fi, no telephone or TV.

T-shirt of the day: Look closer.

El Viejo y el Pancake: American Breakfast by Estadio Station - Medellin Living

El Viejo y el Pancake: American Breakfast by Estadio

May 16, 2016 By Ximena 2 Comments

I met Lexxy, co-owner of El Viejo y el Pancake at a yoga class, and when she casually said “we’re opening an American breakfast restaurant in Laureles,” I was pulled out of any zen state I could have achieved.

“Yes. Please. Tell me more.”

Lexxy and David, married six years,  moved to Colombia with their son late 2013. They are a Colombian-American family, that, like many, realized they could make a home in Medellín. The decision to move back to Colombia stemmed from their pregnancy news, Lexxy’s mother is Colombian, and they had always loved the country, its tranquility, its citizens’ manners, and the education possibilities for their child.
David studied culinary arts and graduated with degrees in culinary, pastry and restaurant management, so food was always an option as a profession. With their son, Gio, being in school every morning, it’s easy for the couple to manage a breakfast place and be back to spend time with their sun after work, so the decision was made and El Viejo y el Pancake was born.

El Viejo y El Pancake

El Viejo y el Pancake opened about a month ago in one of the little kiosks by the Estadio Station, after a few weeks of preparation. The address is Calle 48 #70-00 (155), but it’s exactly at Estadio Station on the Calle 48 side. They’re open Friday to Tuesday from 6 am to 1 pm (closed Wednesday and Thursday).
The name, which translates to “The Old Man and the Pancake” comes from Lexxy’s closeness to Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, which was present in her house in both Spanish and English, as it was her mother’s favorite book and the couple wanted to make an homage to that. On the flipside, Lexxy likes to poke fun at her husband, David, for being an “old man” who makes pancakes.
They wanted something small and, sure enough, they got it. With seating for about eight people, the place is cozy. There’s some magic in taking the time to eat breakfast, and this place inspires it, so go with some time on your hands, take friends and family, enjoy it.

The Menu at El Viejo y el Pancake has simple, varied items that smell and taste like home.

The Menu

They have a simple but delicious menu in both English and Spanish that consists of five food types to be mixed and matched however you want: Eggs, Burritos, Pancakes, Meats and Potatoes. One thing to highlight is how incredibly affordable they are!
One thing to highlight is how incredibly affordable they are! I’ve honestly never spent more than about 8,000 pesos ($2.70) on food here, when ordering juice, pancakes, bacon, and I always end up very satisfied. Those who eat more than I, won’t find themselves spending too much more.
While visiting, I’ve heard people recommending items to each other like regulars, both Colombian and foreign, though the place hasn’t been open long you’ll hear “try the potatoes O’Brien!” or “I’m here to get those Dallas,” and it feels like a little nook of home right beside the iconic Medellin Landmark that is a metro station.

My full breakfast: Pancakes, bacon, hasbrowns, OJ

Delicious blueberries in my fluffy pancakes.

El Viejo y el Pancake’s Future

They’re so happy where they are now, spending time together as a family, meeting new people, providing excellent food, and growing and nurturing a community. However, when asked about what their plans are, Lexxy says:

“Maybe someday we will open a proper diner but that will be a ways into the future. We might even open more locations at other metro stops someday but we are trying not to look to far ahead just yet. We want it to be a place where people like coming to hang out, eat great food and enjoy a little slice of the US here in Colombia. We would really like to spread a love of “American” breakfast to the Colombian community and of course, meet other expats and travelers from back home.”

Friday, May 20th, 2016 – Moving Day #6 - NOT

It’s been a month now since we experienced the home invasion.  We’ve come a long way in that month.

I’ll try to make this as short as possible.  I got up at 7am, took a shower, ate a bowl of cereal and by 8:05 we were waiting on the corner for Wilson.  Teresa made a call and then informed me he’s sleeping.  Strike one!  We took a taxi and bus to the finca – I gave each of the black dogs a couple of the new dog biscuits – and we arrived by 10am.  No one brought the materials for the sideroad.  Strike two!  No one came to pick up the things remaining in the finca – strike three!  While we were waiting Teresa mopped the floor several times and burned some garbage.  I brought the small fan down from the loft area.  I’m real glad I had my Nook with me or I would have been bored out of my mind.

Teresa put me on the phone with Lucas Rave the director of the school - Idiomizar.  His English was very good although he said he has never been to the US.  He explained that Laura would take classes from Monday thru Friday for 90 minutes each day for 300,000 pesos per month.  For some reason, because she has already had some classes, he then said it would only be 280mil per month.  I understand their instructors are from the US, England, Canada and Colombia.  I explained my concern that they concentrate on her pronunciation because there’s a big difference between “chit” and “shit” although they sound almost the same.

We left at 5:30 and I gave each of the black dogs another dog biscuit.  Then Tony and Peter showed up and there was a near fight amongst the 4 dogs.  Tony and Peter followed us all the way down to the highway even though Teresa repeatedly yelled at them to go back.  I chased them up the hill several times and they just came back down when I did.  Mario arrived in his 4-wheel drive SUV and while Teresa was talking to him 4 buses passed that we could have taken.  Finally, Mario opened his back door and Teresa asked me to put the dogs in back.  I understand he drove up the hill and released them at the top.  A few minutes later they were back.  A bus arrived but as we were getting on the dogs were right there next to us in the highway.  Teresa asked the bus driver to wait a minute but after a few seconds he pulled away.  I got the dogs to go back up the hill a bit but they kept following me back.  I spanked each of them once or twice and that kept them from at least getting too close to us.  Once I threw a rock at Tony and he moved back but Peter thought it was a game and just chased the rock.  Finally, 30 minutes later, they were distracted by something, another bus arrived and we got on before they could catch up to us.

Teresa told me that Mario would take the dogs – that’s a relief – if it’s true.

At Envigado I stopped at Frisby and picked up food while Teresa went on to the apartment.

I understand we’re going to try all of this again on Monday.  Tomorrow the fridge and wi-fi are supposed to come so we’ll see how that works out.

T-shirt of the day: Trouble maker.