Monday, August 28, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 5am, couldn’t fall back asleep so I got up at 6am.

I received this text message from Jose’s Whatsapp account: “Hola Terry buen dia soy Maria José esta muy delicado de salud. Esta en uci.” I texted, “Our prayers are with him.” Teresa called and Jose is in the ICU with blood in his lungs. ☹ We’ll learn more later.

I left the apt at 8am and walked to the mall. I first recycled a couple Coke bottles. I had the cruise confirmation printed in Auros. I bought a 6-pack of AAA batteries in Exito.

Walking past Starbucks it occurred to me I didn’t have my water bottle with me. ☹ I hurried back to Auros and it was still sitting on their counter. I grabbed it and went back to the mall proper.

Upstairs I paid for the apt (no line) and used a consignacion ATM to pay for my health insurance and our Smartfit memberships. I made an ATM withdrawal of 2,000,000 pesos.

In Decathlon I bought another padlock as Teresa had showed me there are 2 sides to her suitcase with separate zippers.

In Smartfit I completed my workout without any problem. I met a gringo from Florida about my age named Clint. He lives on the other side of Parque Envigado and spends 6 months of the year in Colombia and the rest of the year in Costa Rica.

In H&M I found a pair of pants but when I tried them on they were slim fit so that wonn’t work. In Arturo Calle I found a pair of regular fit khaki pants that weren’t too thick so I bought those for 169,900 pesos ($42).

I went to Teresa’s preferred sasteria and requested the pants be shortened but I needed them the next morning. I paid 50mil and the lady said they would be ready in an hour. I went to Urbania and had a latte. I texted photos of my apt rental and health insurance payment receipts. I sent a reminder with details to Bryan, our driver, to pick us up tomorrow at 4:30pm.

Teresa texted she was already in La Bahia and I should have lunch on my own.

I picked up my altered pants and they returned 25mil as they said I was accidentally charged for 2 pairs. I went up to Pergamino and had their Granolada with a small latte.

About 2pm I returned to the apt by taxi.

Laura texted me she received the extension for her green card so she’s definitely going. After that I answered a number of her last-minute questions.

Teresa returned about 3:30. She texted Maria on Jose’s Whatsapp number and asked how he was doing.

Jose called me from the ICU; he said he didn’t want us to worry before our vacation. He said he had a blood clot. He sounded a little off which I guess is normal in his condition but I didn’t get other details as I didn’t want to keep him on the phone for very long.

I received an email from Air Europa and I entered the necessary information for our boarding passes which I’ll print tomorrow morning.

 

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Sunday, August 27, 2023

 Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, woke up again at 5am, couldn’t fall back asleep so I got up at 6am, worked on the computer, went back to bed at 6:45 and got up by my alarm at 7:30.

2 days remaining before our trip.

Uh-oh. I blundered my queen against Mr_Blamo. That’s going to end up costing me a bunch of points.

I turned on the hot water faucet in the kitchen and heard the on-demand heater come on but no hot water came out. Same when I took my shortened shower. ☹

Teresa wants me to meet her at Santafe mall around 12 or 12:30 so she can buy some new shorts.

I left the apt at 8:20 and walked to Sao Paolo Plaza. I ordered a latte and an almond croissant and Glenn soon arrived with Bianca. His gastroenterologist hasn’t found out what’s wrong with him so he’s looking for a new doctor. Later I had calentao with scrambled eggs and another latte.

He left about 11am and I stopped in Carulla and bought a tube of Spf cream. Teresa texted me and asked me to order a Didi for her and then told me she couldn’t find it. ☹Across the street it was a short wait for a taxi to take me to Santafe mall. Teresa told me she finally found her car.

I stopped at the Davivienda ATM and made a withdrawal. 

This is the decoration currently in the atrium:

I had a latte in Todo Fresa on the first floor while waiting to hear from Teresa. I finally found her about 12:30 outside Vin & Gretta having a salad. She was concerned she wouldn’t find something like this to eat in Europe. I told her all restaurants have salads. She told me she wanted a Crepes & Waffles and I told her we’re not wasting our time hunting for a franchise restaurant. Darned if Google didn’t find a Crepes & Waffles somewhere in Madrid. We visited a few stores and she finally found a pair of shorts she liked in Falabella. While she was getting a pedicure repair I had a lasagna mixta and a strawberry juice in Olivia’s for 54,957 pesos ($13). Later we shared a latte in Starbucks then returned to the apt by taxi.

About 4:45 we felt a tremor.

Teresa helped me choose shorts and tops for our trip and we started packing my suitcase.

 

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Saturday, August 26, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:45, got up twice during the night, woke up at 6:45 and got up at 7am. 😊

No hot water for my shower this morning. ☹

I won another game against Mr_Blamo increasing my rating 1 point to 1596.

I took a Didi to Daniel’s barbershop where I got my final haircut before our trip. I took another Didi to Todo Drogas where I bought my monthly medications, plus loperamide for our trip for a total of 358,500 pesos ($88).

This is what Chuck’s Mart looks like across the street

Next month I’ll ask at Todo Drogas if it’s open and if it is I’ll check it out.

I stopped in Exito and bought a small carton of 18 eggs.

I walked to Parva where I had a café con leche while checking my cellphone. I think I’m going to lose this game to Troyclough. Just before 11am I was about to leave to watch the Bears pregame show when the muchacho gifted me a small piece of pan de queso. I ordered another café con leche to go with it and left about 20 minutes later.

I’ve got the game on Chicago Fox 32 on MTV and for backup, DAZN on my laptop so I’m all set. It’s obvious the Fox 32 broadcast is on a 30-second delay. I finished most of my 1/3 bag of peanuts while watching the Bears lose to the Bills 24-21. As soon as the game ended I ordered 6 BBQ chicken wings from Go Wings.

On DAZN’s NFL Game Pass they had stats, Play by Play plus game highlights.

I ordered 6 chicken wings bathed in BBQ sauce from Go Wings.

My order arrived about 45 minutes later but there were 2 mistakes: 1) not only were the wings not bathed in BBQ sauce but they didn’t even include packages of BBQ sauce (not a problem because I have BBQ sauce) 2) They included an order of fries I didn’t order (no problem, only thing is I’ll be fatter because of it).

I received a message on chess.com from a Coach_84 with a 2450 rating offering lessons on zoom. He’s from Norway (Magnus is that you?) near the Arctic circle and the first lesson with his plan would be 75 euro ($86). I told him I would contact him again after our trip to Europe.

Teresa returned at 7:15 with a box of empanadas. She often refuses to eat what she considers fattening food like hamburgers and pizza but she’ll eat fried empanadas and chicharron. Go figure!

Initially all I saw was is a 5-minute recap on NFL Game Pass but then I found “switch to full event” which is the complete game.

I turned the incendiary switch on the on-demand hot water heater on and off a few times and finally got it to work. Now I just have to remember to check it again tomorrow just before my shower.

 

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Friday, August 25, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up twice during the night, woke up at 6:45 and got up at 7am. 😊

4 days and counting!

Today I received an email from Aegean Airlines offering to upgrade each of our flights for €170. That would be €170 x 2 (people) x 2 (flights) for a total of €680 or $735. Nah, ain’t going to happen.

I received an email from Booking.com that our stay at Helen will be charged €80 by midnight tomorrow, Greece time. That gave me time to switch debit cards from USAA to Capital One.

I left the apt at 8:45 and walked to the mall. No Gente newspapers. I completed my usual workout in Smartfit. After, I went just outside to Recifes where I had a traditional manicure and pedicure for 66mil ($16). That took about 40 minutes.

Downstairs I was having a latte in Urbania when Teresa arrived 45 minutes later. She had a tinto while I made a trip to the restroom.

We left about 11:30 and took a taxi to our portero where I dropped off my gym bag and she a dress she had altered. We continued on to Complex Los Balsos where she found a pair of shoes at a large discount for 90mil in a store called Tarch. In Valentina’s Bakery we shared a bowl of beet soup and a delicious chicken sandwich. With her latte and my limonada de coco and 10% tip the total came to 77,137 ($19). This was the first time I paid for something with my Capital One debit card and all I had to do was tap it to the card reader and it printed my receipt. No pin code needed.

At 2pm we took a Didi back to the apt. I tipped the driver 1,500 pesos (using the app) because he had air conditioning on.

The charge for Helen came through and the €80 came out to $86.75.

Teresa had a massage from 3:30 to 4:30.

I finished season 5 of Justified (8.6).

Tomorrow morning and early afternoon Teresa will be busy getting her eyebrows and eyelashes done. I’ll be getting my haircut, picking up my medications and the Bears game is at noon.

 

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Thursday, August 24, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, woke up at 5:30 and got up at 5:45. 😊

5 days and counting!

To answer Wanna Move’s question, yes, Laura and Lenny are divorced. ☹ (Somehow, I need to teach that woman how to keep a man.)

A change of plans. Teresa wants me to go with her when she goes for her monthly medication. I guess that means I’ll be having coffee while she’s waiting in Clinica Las Americas. Then we’ll have lunch in Arkadia mall, probably Crepes & Waffles.

I was giving myself a “sponge bath” in the cold water of the shower. I turned off the water for a second then turned it back on and darn if 15 seconds later I had hot water. 😊 I turned it off a couple minutes later when the sound changed as I was sure cold water was on the way.

I was lying on the recliner, put the baseball cap over my eyes and fell asleep for 30 minutes. Now I should be good for the day.

I stopped at the Pasteur pharmacy and bought a couple boxes of Colombian band-aids then met Marcos for coffee at Parva at 9:30. He’s excited for me and says it will be a trip we’ll never forget.

My TimeShifter app to help control jet lag starts Sunday and suggests when to have caffeine, take melatonin and how much light to be exposed to.

The Chicago Bears first game of the new season is against the Green Bay Packers at 3:25 (CDST) on Sunday, September 10^th which will be 11:25pm in Greece and we’ll be on the cruise ship. I figure the best time to watch the game will be to play a DAZN recording about 48 hours later when we’ll be flying back to Madrid.

Teresa and I left the apt at 10:45 and took a Didi to Clinica Las Americas. The MetroPlus construction around Aguacatala is finished and traffic moved smoothly.

I had a latte in De Lolita café while Teresa was picking up her medicine. This time it went fast and she was out about 30 minutes later. She had a latte and we shared a polito de queso as she was hungry. She told me the clinic is no longer requiring facemasks.

We went to Arkadia mall where Teresa found a nice dress, in the colors of the Greek flag, in Ela for 259,900 pesos ($64).

We had lunch in Crepes & Waffles. I had a bowl of baked onion soup and chicken breast with cheese on a crepe. This is the roof of Pricesmart across the street with all the solar panels installed.

My eyes are very tired; I guess I need 9 hours of sleep every night.

Teresa said her mother was bored so we took a taxi to Viva Envigado to meet her near the entrance. She wasn’t there so Teresa called her. She was waiting for Nydia to arrive so we went to the sasteria where Teresa picked up a couple of altered dresses for 55mil. MT still hadn’t arrived and Teresa was tired so we returned to the apt by taxi.

I turned on the kitchen faucet and heard the on-demand heater come on so maybe it’s working again!? (I have been occasionally playing around with reseating the battery and resetting the switch.)

 

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Wednesday, August 23, 2023

 Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once, woke up again at 2:45, gave up getting back to sleep and got up at 3:15.

I put on ChessTV and was watching JackSarkisian solving chess puzzles. He was stuck on an easy checkmate so I sent him a message, he saw it and quickly checkmated.

I returned to bed at 4:15, took a while to fall asleep, finally waking/getting up at 7am.

I received an email from Air Europa, addressed to Teresa, that “one or more of the flights on your upcoming journey is eligible to request an upgrade. Tell us how much you are willing to pay and we will let you know if your offer is accepted before you fly”. I might have made a bid of $50 each if I was assured we would still be seated together.

Teresa informed me that for some reason the toaster doesn’t work so I’ll have to take a look at it later.

A Booking.com charge came through on USAA for $136.68. I think that must be for 2 nights in A Relaxing Beautiful Holiday Home on September 6^th through the 8^th.

A high of 80 degrees is predicted for today so maybe we’re crawling our way back to warmer weather.

For the wedding, Jeannie is expecting 60 guests from the States and 10 other friends & family from Greece.

I left the apt at 8:45 and completed my workout in Smartfit, this time completing 3 ½ minutes on the treadmill. I showered there and was in Otra Parte by 10am sipping on a latte. I left at 11am and returned to the apt.

Teresa returned at 11:15 with a bit of gossip. Apparently, Doyle, the old gringo from upstairs, got his young girlfriend pregnant. They’re now in the US so the child can be born in America. Smart move on her part.

Tomorrow after gym Teresa is going to Pricesmart with her girlfriend so I’ll be on my own for lunch. Teresa told me her gf says we should exchange Euros for Turkish Lira because things will be much cheaper to buy. We’re only going to be in Turkey for 6 hours so I asked her how many Lira should I get. If I get too few than she can’t buy whatever she wants, if I get too many then I’ll be returning with Lira that are useless in Greece, Spain and Colombia. Besides, Google says most places accept US credit cards.

Then she asks me a stupid question about how can they put 70 hippopotamuses on a plane. I told her to ask Pablo Escobar. 😊

I checked the outlet for the toaster and the Ground Falt Interrupter was tripped so I just pushed the button to reset it and life is good again.

Predicted high for today is 82 degrees with little chance of rain so it looks like we’re getting back to normal.

I left the apt at 2pm. In Eduardo Madrid I found a sleeve of 2 sesame seed bagels. Perfect! I had a latte there for a couple hours part of that time working on the travel notebook. I also worked on setting up the Timeshifter app on my cellphone which is supposed to help with jet lag. I paid 13,500 pesos for my latte and the bagels.

I stopped at the little grocery store and picked up 2 bags of milk. Problem was I was halfway across the street before I realized I hadn’t paid for it. As I turned around a guy was running toward me. I apologized, paid the 7,800 pesos and returned to the apt.

Teresa had a massage from 5pm to 6pm.

I clicked on the Air Europa link and found they considered $460 (per person) a “poor” bid. 😊

On my Rappi app I changed the payment method from COP to USD but I’m not sure that will make much of a difference.

I finished reading The Truth About the Shroud of Turin: Solving the Mystery on my Nook. I first read this eight years ago and decided to read it again. I don’t consider myself particularly religious but I do believe the Shroud of Turin IS the burial cloth of Jesus Christ.

 

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Tuesday, August 22, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up twice during the night, finally waking at 6am and getting up at 6:30.

The Weather Channel predicts a high of only 72 degrees today with the chance of rain increasing through the day and most threatening starting about 3pm. Instead of my usual shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt, today I wore my Quechua pants with a regular t-shirt (actually it was what I call my Where’s Waldo? T-shirt because it’s alternating wide red and blue horizontal stripes). I walked to the mall (much heavier traffic than usual).

Jose warned me he was in heavy traffic and would be late and he arrived about 20 minutes later. I showed him my leather chess wallet and my latest game with Troyclough.

I had the French toast with sliced fresh bananas and strawberries.

I had the Black pieces in the first game and I chased his king around trying to checkmate but as usual he slithered away and checkmated me on the 57^th move.

I had the White pieces in the second game and forced an endgame where he had 2 weak isolated pawns which I converted into a win when he resigned on his 37^th move.

I had the Granolada with a large latte again in Pergamino. Large lattes here get cold too quickly so I’ll try to remember to buy small ones in the future.

News flash: Laura is 99% sure she can make the trip. She has an appointment next Monday with immigration and they should put a stamp in her passport. Now she’s asking me about separate cabins as her boyfriend Peter may join us for the cruise.

In Morph I bought a neck pillow for 81mil. Actually, I got a 15% discount so it was only 69,615 pesos ($17). I returned to the apt by taxi.

Today’s iced tea was the best I’ve made so far. Why, did I put a little more lemon than usual? One of life’s unsolved mysteries.

We had rain in the afternoon and the early evening.

It’s so strange that 2 days ago it felt so summery it didn’t seem like it’d be cold again. Now it’s so cold it’s hard to believe it will be hot again.

For supper I ordered 12 pieces of fried chicken from Frisby.

I checked my Citibank account and $93.87 was charged by DAZN on August 8^th. ☹

Troyclough resigned our game increasing my rating to 1595 and lowering his to 1482.

 

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Monday, August 21, 2023

 Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, again at 5:15, couldn’t fall back asleep, finally getting up at 6:15.

Today is another holiday, La Asunción de la Virgen (Assumption of Mary).

I watched the end of a couple games of the FIDE World Cup live in Baku, Azerbaijan.

I left the apt at 8:45 and completed my workout in Smartfit. I showered there (still no hot water at home) and walked to Otra Parte where I had a latte while copying the instructions to enter A Painter’s Home in Plaka into my notebook.

I left about 11am and returned to the apt.

We had some rain and this is the weather prediction for the remainder of the afternoon:

About 1:30 there was a break in the rain and I left at 1:45. I stopped first at Eduardo Madrid but of course it was closed for the holiday. I had a latte in Los Porteños and noted in my notebook places in Madrid that are close by based on the map I had printed. We had more rain and finally about 4pm it stopped and I left. I stopped at Ara where I bought 2 bags of milk, 2 cans of tuna, and a ripe plantain. It was raining lightly when I came out but I was close to the apt so I just put my plastic envelope over my head.

I watched another episode of Justified before Teresa took over the TV for the evening.

 

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Sunday, August 20, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, finally waking at 5:30 and getting up at 5:45.

I left the apt at 8:15 and arrived at Olivenza in Sao Paulo by just after 8:30. Glenn arrived a couple minutes later with Bianca. His doctor says he has 2 hernias but his digestion problems are due to diverticulitis. He’s going to see another doctor for a second opinion. I had 2 lattes and the calentao with scrambled eggs for 40mil. It was a cool morning so I had worn my convertible pants and a t-shirt.

I used Didi to call a car for Teresa to take her from our apt to El Tesoro. I used InDrive to catch a car at the mall across the street to take me to El Tesoro.

I survived a close call against Mr_Blamo (Jimmy’s cousin Michael) whose rating is only 1113 but he finally blundered and soon resigned. I survived an aggressive attack from Troyclough and we played to a 55-move draw. My rating now is 1590.

Teresa found a pair of pajamas in Tania for 164,800 pesos ($40). We had lunch in Natto Bowls for 102,157 pesos ($25). She bought some SPF cream in Medipiel for 170mil ($42). I bought 2 pairs of dark socks in Bosi for 69,800 pesos ($17). We had lattes and shared a slice of cheese cake in Valentina. Teresa bought a neck pillow for our flights in MiniSou for 39,900 pesos ($10). We returned to the apt by taxi.

Teresa is basically packed, but she still needs a couple of t-shirts for every day wear and I need a neck pillow and SPF cream for myself.

Payment of $135.33 has been made for our 2-night stay at A Relaxing Beautiful Holiday Home in Greece.

 

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Saturday, August 19, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, finally waking at 5am and getting up at 5:30. After breakfast I went back to bed at 6:30 and woke up at 8am.

I left the apt at 8:45 and walked to the mall, wearing my new sandals so my feet will get accustomed to them. I recycled a few things, checked for a Gente newspaper (nope), went up to Bancolombia and the girl at the entrance gave me the BIC/SWIFT code of COLOCOBMXXX. I expected some numbers in there but what do I know, and I remember she said “letras”, so I guess this is correct.

I bought a blueberry muffin in Starbucks and ate it in Urbania with a latte.

I left about 10:30, picked up my altered pants for 11mil and returned to the apt by taxi.

I emailed American Airlines the banking information.

Teresa and I left at 11:15 and stopped in the esthetical medical office across from Asados Rogelio. The consultation only cost 50mil and Teresa said she has to get permission from her oncologist, Dr. Ossa, before he will do the procedure she has in mind.

Across the street we had lunch in Asados Rogelio. Tierra Querida, the next-door burger place, was playing some annoying music quite loudly. Teresa forgot to bring her keys so I walked her back to the apt.

I left again and had a latte in Los Porteños. Today was the birthday of one of waiters so I got to hear them sing Happy Birthday to him, which is a little different than the way Americans sing it.

I left at 4pm, stopped in Eduardo Madrid but no bagels and returned to the apt.

I opened one of the 2 12oz bags of salted-in-the shell peanuts Jack and Arlene gave me and they were still fresh. I finished 1/3 of a bag while watching the Chicago Bears lose to the Indianapolis Colts 24-17 but UDFA QB Tyson Bagent looked good once again, probably moving himself up to the 2^nd QB position.

 

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Friday, August 18, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up twice during the night, finally waking at 6am and getting up at 6:30.

Teresa mentioned we leave in 11 days. Right! She asked what time? I replied, “Bryan will pick us up at 4:30 and we should be at the airport by 5:30 for our 8:25pm flight.”

I left the apt at 8am and walked to the mall. I looked for a Gente newspaper but no luck.

I completed my workout in Smartfit and this time completed 3 ½ minutes on the treadmill.

While in the shower I heard a woman’s voice and a man said, “bien puede” which basically means “go ahead”. I halfway expected to see a woman come out of the last stall when the door opened, but no.

I had a latte in Urbania for an hour or so.

I heard from American Airlines again and they WILL reimburse my clothing expenses of 746,471 Colombian Pesos. I just need to give them the following banking/account information.

• Bank Name:
• Bank Country:
• Bank City:
• Name of the Bank Account Holder:
• Bank Account Holder Identity Card or Tax ID Number:
• Bank Account Number:
• Bank Identifier Code (BIC or SWIFT):
• Bank Account Type (Savings or Checking):

I already know everything except Laura’s cedula number and the Bank Identifier Code.

This is what the Ikea construction looks like now:

I stopped in Exito and bought a bottle of Heinz ketchup and a small bunch of bananas before returning to the apt by taxi.

I left the apt at 2pm and stopped at Gana where I paid the Tigo/Une bill. I had a latte in Los Porteños. I was going to work on my travel notes but I forgot to put my notebook in the plastic envelope. Teresa texted me if I was near a pharmacy to pick up a bag of cotton for her. We had a fairly hard rain for about 20 minutes. She texted me again and asked me to bring her a frozen yogurt with coconut and blueberries. I made a trip to Pasteur and Percimon before returning to the apt.

We had a little rain in the evening.

Teresa asked me a few questions about our flights like she doesn’t want to sit in a middle seat. No problem there as all our seats are aisle seats. And how far are we from a restroom? I don’t recall but I’m sure it’s walking distance. 😊

 

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Thursday, August 17, 2023

I went to bed at 10pm, got up twice during the night, finally waking at 6am and getting up at 6:30.

I screwed up again. I hadn’t heard from American Airlines about my clothing reimbursement request so I checked my blog and found I submitted it on June 4^th. I checked my emails and they approved it the same day but it was only good for the next 15 days. ☹ They also wanted Colombian bank information to deposit the 746,471 pesos into an account. I sent them an apology email but I doubt it will matter.

Opening today in Cine Colombia:

Blue Beetle – No!

Hablame aka Tell me aka Talk to Me (7.4) – Maybe.

Hospital Sangriento aka Bloody Hospital aka American Carnage – No!

I met Marcos at Parva at 9:30. He gave me directions to Parque Returno in Madrid. We also talked a little Cardinals and Bears football. I left about 11am and bought 2 bags of milk on my way back to the apt.

About 12:10 I felt my recliner sway for about 30 seconds and I announced to Teresa we have a trembler. It happened again about 20 minutes later. Teresa seems to be terrified every time it happens but I think it’s kind of cool.

If I want to have coffee for breakfast I need to go to Mercado Madrid and buy a new jar. I had a latte at Cannell in the strip mall for a couple hours. At one point a car drove up and broke the beam and the automatic gate went up but for some reason he didn’t driver under it. A guy with a bicycle “store” came by and the driver told him to go ahead. They exchanged words and the driver then called to a security guy who I couldn’t see. In the end the driver backed up and pulled forward again until he broke the beam again and then he was able to leave.

I bought a jar of instant coffee in Mercado Madrid on my way back to the apt.

I finished reading John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down.

 

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Wednesday, August 16, 2023

I went to bed at 9:45, got up once at 1:15, woke up again about 5 and didn’t sleep well after that, finally getting up at 6:30. I think I’m going to be tired today.

Change of plans: Now we’re having breakfast here, Teresa is going to the gym, and after will go to eps. For me, this morning should be a repeat of Monday.

I left the apt at 8am and completed my workout in Smartfit. I had a latte in Otra Parte for about 90 minutes. The guy at the next table seemed to be working as a call center from his laptop. I heard English and then what sounded like German.

I returned to the apt at 9:45.

Teresa informed me that, for her calcium injection, they want her to return in September (we’ll be in Greece) to get an appointment in October. I thought we were going to go to some hospital but she talked to Esmeralda and plans changed again.

Just before noon Teresa and l took a Didi to Viva Envigado.

I had my linen pants measured and they will be ready on Saturday for 11mil ($3). I picked up my terry cloth wrap with the new Velcro strips for 28mil ($7). It looks like new. For some reason Teresa led me to another sasteria where she left a couple of dresses to be shortened.

Across the street we had the typical lunch in La Bahia for 28mil ($7).

Back in the mall I had the return airline receipts printed at Auros.

I showed Teresa 3 different types of neck pillows in the little store called Morph but she wanted to check out another place first.

We were on the 3^rd floor passing Pergamino when I saw Jerry. He was engaged in conversation with a lady so I just tapped him on the shoulder and said, “hi”. He said we’ll get together soon.

Teresa called MT and she joined us about 30 minutes later.

We had lattes and snacks in Todo Fresa. They must have had some turnover as I only recognized one girl working there.

I made a trip to the restroom and when I returned and met them at Percimon Teresa’s sister Nydia was there.

They chatted for about an hour before we returned to the apt by taxi.

Teresa told me Nydia has been married 4 times in the States, 4 marriages and 4 divorces. I speculated she gets bored easily but Teresa said she has a temper.

I finished season 4 of Justified (8.6).

Teresa was upset about something about her ear. My best guess is the 2^nd hold Esmeralda put in her ear had closed and she wanted me to help her. ☹ No way! Finally she got it open. 😊

 

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Tuesday, August 15, 2023

I went to bed at 9:45, got up once at 1:15 (Teresa got up at the same time and beat me to the bathroom), again at 5:45, finally getting up at 6:15.

I walked to the mall and waited about 15-20 minutes at Al Alma for Jose to arrive. Again, I had the French toast with fresh fruit and a latte.

I had the Black pieces in the first game and I blundered on my 25^th move and resigned. ☹

I had the White pieces in the second game and I blundered on the 29^th move and resigned.

We only have one more chess meeting before our trip.

I went to Pergamino for “lunch”. They changed or at least redesigned their menu but I had my usual granola, yogurt with acai berries, strawberries and banana.

In Exito I paid the epm utility bill of 362,400 peso ($88.50). On the way back to the apt the taxi driver must have cut someone off because the other driver cut in front of us several times over the next few blocks.

I paid $62 for aisle seats 19C & 19D on Air Europa for our return trip from Madrid.

At 6pm our door rang; two high school girls selling cookies. For 8mil Teresa got a brownie and I got a chocolate chip and we tipped them 2 mil.

Teresa informed me tomorrow she’s going to eps early, we’ll meet at Los Porteños at 8am for breakfast, and then I’ll go to the gym. In the afternoon we’ll go to La Sasteria in Viva Envigado and I’ll leave my linen pants to be shortened.

 

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Monday, August 14, 2023

Teresa went to bed at 9:45, I went to bed at 10pm, she started snoring softly so I moved to the other bedroom, waking up at 6am, getting up at 6:30.

I left the apt at 8:15 and in Smartfit I increased the 2 leg exercises by 2 ½ #, the Seated Row and Abdominal Crunch by 5#. The treadmill, now at speed 4.5mph, and 10% incline I could only manage 3 minutes. I did feel a couple tweaks when doing the leg exercises. I showered there since we only have cold water back in the apt.

I walked down the street and across where I found a sign outside Otra Parte that they wouldn’t be serving until 10am today. It was 9:22 and I saw a few others sitting inside so I took a seat. About 9:45 a waitress took my order. Interesting that a latte here is only 7mil. I left about 11:15 and returned to the apt.

I left again at 1:30 and had a latte in Los Porteños.

While checking my travel notes it appears I didn’t purchase assigned seats for our Air Europa return to Medellin.

I stopped at the little store and bought 2 bags of milk and was a little surprised it was only 7,700 pesos instead of the usual 8,000.

I received an email from Booking.com that they’re going to start charging my debit card for the properties where we’ll be staying in Greece. I changed the debit card to use from USAA to Capital One in order to save the 1% foreign transaction fee.

Teresa had a massage from 4:30 to 5:30.

I need to have my linen pants shortened and Teresa wants to go with me. It went from we’re going this afternoon, to she’ll meet me in Viva Envigado tomorrow at 3pm to 4pm to I’ll return to the apt and she’ll go with me to the mall after her massage.

 

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Sunday, August 13, 2023

Last night was a strange night. I went to bed at 10pm, took quite a while to fall asleep, got up at 5am, tried to fall back asleep, finally getting up at 6:45.

The owner of Helen in Athens responded to my inquiry that we will be 10-15 minutes from the airport.

I left the apt at 8:20 and walked to Sao Paulo where Glenn soon joined me in Olivenza. He received a check for $1200 from a Western Union class action suit from many years ago. Good for him! Tuesday, he has his appointment with the gastroenterologist to go over the MRI results. He asked for the contact info for my ophthalmologist which I texted him after I returned to the apt.

I first had a latte and an almond croissant, later I had calentao with scrambled eggs.

I walked back to the apt.

I left the apt at 1:30 and had a large latte in Los Porteños while going over my trip notes. It appears I didn’t select seats for Aegean Airlines from Athens to Madrid.

At Teresa’s request I bought a pan de queso for her in Aymara before returning to the apt.

I reserved seats 18C & 18D (w/ extra legroom) for our return flight for $44.

One of our porteros stopped by and dropped off our epm utility bill of 372,160 pesos ($94).

Troyclough resigned our game on the 37^th move because I was up a bishop with a passed pawn, increasing my rating to 1591 and lowering his to 1487.

I was lying on the recliner thinking about my plans for tomorrow: I’ll go to the gym, take a shower there (because we have no hot water) then stop on the way back to the apt for a latte at … I couldn’t think of the name of the place. I could picture it perfectly but the word(s) just wouldn’t enter my head. I easily came up with “museo de” and then “otra parte” easily entered my head. That’s happened to me before…I simple word I just can’t find in my brain. Part of getting old I guess. ☹

 

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Saturday, August 12, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, got up once at 5am, finally waking/getting up at 7am.

I was watching the FIDE Chess World Cup on my laptop live on Chess TV when I scrolled down and found a list of upcoming broadcasts/shows for the weekend. I see Anna Cramling is going to be on tomorrow from noon to 2pm. I also noticed this IRL

http://twitch.tv/annacramling

I guess I could see this if I had the Twitch app? Or if I entered the IRL into google?

I googled Twitch and it said, “Twitch is a video streaming service and platform that allows users to stream and watch live video content, mainly related to gaming, Esports, and other lifestyle topics.”

I went to the Play Store to download it and only saw “OPEN”, not “DOWNLOAD” then I noticed the app was already there; I downloaded it on June 16^th.

I found an interesting game in the Women’s World Cup for the opening I play as White and I managed to figure out how to copy it to my ChessBase16 database.

We left the apt at 10:45 and took a Didi to El Tesoro. We went directly into MNG (aka Mango) where I purchased a blue linen blazer (#42), off white linen pants (#36) and a white collarless, sleeveless t-shirt (L) for…drum roll please…1,529,745 pesos ($387). From the prices of $350 and $375 I saw for linen blazers on the internet I knew this wasn’t going to be an inexpensive purchase.

In Valentina’s we each had a latte and shared a delicious chicken sandwich for 71,674 pesos ($18). That also included a bowl of beet soup that Teresa ordered that reminded me a little of Russian borscht.

In Bosi I bought a pair of blue hard sole moccasins that pretty much match the blazer for 399,900 pesos ($101).

Teresa did some more shopping for dresses and almost bought one until I said, “for 600,000 pesos ($150) the dress should be something we really love, without having to think about it”.

Back in Valentina’s we each had a latte and shared a slice of pound cake for 33,215 ($8).

After about our 28^th move Troyclough texted me, “this is a draw”, but I replied, “I kind of doubt that”.

I saw that the Chicago Bears beat the Tennessee Titans 23-17. Justin Fields was perfect in his limited time with 3-3 passing, 129 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Teresa checked out a couple more stores with no luck and we quickly caught a taxi back to the apt. On the way we passed a building under construction and Teresa informed me (via our driver) it was going to be the new Pricesmart. I quickly checked a building nearby and we were on Calle 15B Sur. It looks like it is going to create real traffic jams if they don’t put in a traffic light or a bridge or something to alleviate the traffic.

Teresa suggested we have supper in Mu tonight. We left the apt at 7:15 and took a Didi to the restaurant. The ribs were great as usual and the fries…I think they’re the best in Medellin. The bill came to 130,350 pesos ($33). Why is it more expensive than when we have it delivered for 111,000? Here I had a coke and Teresa had a beer and we added a 10% tip. The ribs themselves are only 98mil which means we pay 13mil to have them delivered. I used InDrive after offering 12mil to return us to our apt.

 

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Friday, August 11, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, got up once during the night, finally waking/getting up at 6am. We had a little rain overnight.

Teresa informed me I’ll be on my own for lunch. After gym class, she has to get her hair fixed, visit the agency about our hot water problem, and I forget what else. Teresa has a 6pm appointment but about 3pm we’ll go to Los Molinos to look for my clothes. Assuming we don’t find anything today, after breakfast tomorrow we’ll go to El Tesoro.

I left the apt at 8am and walked to the mall, completing my Smartfit workout in the usual 45 minutes. I realize now I made a math error, Km to Miles is 2/3 so 4 ½ (not 4) Km equals 3 miles so next week I’ll have to set the treadmill to 4.5 instead of 4. ☹ This is also the end of a 2-week line in my notebook so I’ll be increasing the weights next week a tad on a few of my exercises.

I paid our cellphone bills in Claro.

I had a latte in Urbania where I found another waitress that speaks a little English. She appeared happy to be able to practice it a little but I could tell she was struggling.

I discovered a button on Chess.com 😊 that takes me to a list of chess tournaments currently in progress. There was one in Thessaloniki, Greece so I followed a few games for a while.

For lunch I had the medium BBQ roast beef sandwich combo for 32,600 pesos in Only Roast Beef.

In Exito I bought a large carton of eggs, a large box of Man Pads and 2 bags of milk. (I noticed they still have a stack of lemons (limón amarilla importada).  With my tech and gym bags I certainly had my hands full returning to the apt by taxi.

I received a text message and email that a World Remit transfer of 2,825,016 COP ($713) is ready to be picked up at Bancolombia but when I logged into my World Remit account there was nothing there. Not surprising!

Teresa left me a voice mail that her doctor wanted to change her appointment to 8pm so she just cancelled it. So we’ll be going to El Tesoro tomorrow after breakfast, or at least before lunch.

Teresa called at 6:45 and suggested we meet at Gloria’s for pizza. I ordered a Didi and my driver was wearing a baseball cap with the Chicago White Sox logo. Of course, he didn’t know what it was until I explained it to him.

We had quite a long wait for a seat and then longer for our pizza. As I’ve said before if they make the crust any thinner there will be nothing to hold the toppings. We bought 2 pastries for our porteros before returning to our apt by taxi.

 

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Thursday, August 10, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, got up twice during the night, woke up at 6am, did my Kegel exercises finally getting up at 6:30.

Teresa informed me she wants to have lunch in Mayorca.

Opening today in Cine Colombia is The Skin of the Drum aka The Man from Rome (5.2), a movie that doesn’t look interesting to me.

I put on my sandals (need to get used to wearing them during the day) and left the apt at 9:15. I paid our Direct TV bill of 152,100 pesos and met Marcos at Tostao. We discussed his trip to Europe. After he left I stuck around until 11am before returning to the apt.

Teresa and I left the apt at 11:45 and took a Didi to Mayorca mall. She spent quite a bit of time trying on bathing suits, finally choosing two for 369,600 ($91).

We had lunch in Mundo Verde but I’m not crazy about that place so in the future I’ll probably resist going there again.

We looked at linen shirts and pants for me in Patrimo but decided it was better to first buy a jacket. We took a taxi to Viva Envigado where I led Teresa to MNG (aka Mango?). We spent almost 2 hours mainly trying on jackets but also with a pair of pants and t-shirt. We finally decided the jacket that fit me best was what I thought was my size, 42. The only problem was the bottom of the back of the jacket wasn’t straight. It was a construction error but I think it can be fixed by rehemming it but we decided first to check out their store in El Tesoro.

We returned to the apt by taxi.

Troyclough resigned our new game on the 17^th move increasing my rating to 1586. Why do I have the feeling he won’t want to play me again?

Teresa and I decided we’ll go to El Tesoro Saturday morning after breakfast.

Troyclough surprised me and started another game.

 

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Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, got up twice during the night, finally waking/getting up at 6:30.

Dilimar confirmed I do not need a visa for Turkey since my visit originated from Greece and I’m on a cruise.

After gym, Teresa and I are going to have lunch in Viva Envigado then we’ll start buying my clothes for the wedding.

I completed my usual workout at Smartfit.

When I was coming off the elevator at 9am Teresa was just leaving the apt for her gym class.

Because we don’t have hot water, I skipped my cooldown period and hit the shower right away. Standing under the shower head I turned on the hot (only cold) water faucet hoping that the water in the lines wasn’t as cold as the water heading my way. It was a short cold shower.

Change of plans: Teresa informed me that today is MT’s birthday, she turned 86, so we’re going to Bocados Bar tonight to celebrate.

Teresa made lentil soup for lunch.

I left about 1:30 and had a latte in Los Porteños while reorganizing the vacation information in my booklet.

Teresa left me a voice mail asking me to pick up a cake at Pepo’s large enough for 6-7 people.

I left about 4pm, bought a Tres leches cake at Pepo’s Cake for 25mil. I ran into what looked like a tour group of about 2 dozen people walking through La Buena Mesa. I couldn’t hear anyone speaking so I don’t know if they were gringos or not.

Back at the apt Teresa suggested I not go tonight because everyone will expect the gringo to pick up the check. ☹

Adriana picked her up about 6:30.

I watched a couple more episodes of Justified.

For correspondence chess you’re supposed to make a move at least every 24 hours. Troyclough’s time ran down and now it says he’s on vacation. Later in the evening he finally made a few moves and I’m now up a pawn.

 

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