Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once during the night, finally waking/getting up at 7am.

Teresa asked me if I felt the strong tremor at 3am. Nope.

I left the apt at 9:30 and took a Didi to the mall. I recycled a 9V battery, withdrew 2,000,000 pesos with my Capital One card 😊 and took a seat in Urbania, waiting for Teresa’s call. She finally called me at 12:40. I went outside and caught the next taxi and we went to MT’s apt and picked her up then on to our apt where we picked up Teresa and he took us to Ayurá metro station. We got out a block early because traffic was so backed up. I added 100mil to my Civica card and we took the metro to Acevedo station. We waited about 15 minutes for Laura and Peter to catch up. We took the metro cable to Parque Arvi. There weren’t many vendors today because it was a weekday. I bought a bag of fresh potato chips for 4mil.

Of course, Laura went off on her own but Teresa, MT, and I went to the road where after a 15-minute wait we took the bus to Hotel Piedras Blancas. I gave the bus driver the last of my potato chips. He reminded us the last bus back would be at 4:40pm. We had a nice lunch on their second patio since the main patio was still under construction.

I put on insect spray which seemed to help as this time I didn’t get bit. Teresa had trout, MT had mushroom soup and I had a hamburger with fries and a Coke. 

The burger was a little dry but the fried onions helped. The total came to 85,800 which I paid for in cash.

We left at 12:30 and it was only a couple minutes wait for the bus.

We found Laura and Peter near the station. We sat in the sun for a few minutes to warm up then returned to Medellin by metro cable.

They got off at Poblado station and we got off at Envigado station. We walked to the mall where Teresa stopped in H&M to ask someone a question. We walked MT to the mall entrance and said goodbye. We went up to Crepes & Waffles and got in line. It was probably 20 minutes before we got seated and we ordered the same copa suprema as Cartagena. 

We also shared a bottle of water. We stopped in Exito where we bought bread, lasagna pans, and a large carton of eggs before returning to the apt by taxi.

 

DOG MEMES

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 2:30, awakened by Teresa getting up at 6am, made trip to the bathroom, did my Kegel exercises, set an alarm for 7:30 but got up at 7am.

We left at 9:30 and took separate taxis to the airport. We checked our single bag, went through the TSA check, and it was a short walk to our gate. We had a 2-hour wait but stuck around our gate area. We boarded on time and had seats 9C & 9D across the aisle from each other.

The nice thing about flying direct to/from Medellin & Cartagena is the flight is so short (an hour) that the stewardesses barely have time to go through the usual safety routine. You take off, they start bringing down the drink cart, and then it’s time to land. 😊

I finished the book home safe by Elizabeth Berg.

After we landed in Rio Negro, we had a long wait to pick up our bags – 20 minutes? Our bags were one of the first to hit the belt. Just for grins I tried my debit card at Davivienda in the airport but with the same result.

Bryan found us easily and (because Teresa was hungry) we had him drop us all off at Los Patios hostel in Manila. They checked into a small room then we all went around the corner to Olivia’s where we had lunch. Teresa loved her seafood casserole so now she’s up for trying it at our Olivia’s. 😊

Laura ran into a girl she knew and they chatted for quite some time. While there we heard something about a young man being electrocuted while working on electrical lines across from the hostel. I heard nothing but did see an ambulance in the street.

I ordered a Didi to pick us up and return us to our apt in Envigado.

Teresa called the porteria for a portero to turn our water back on.

I called Capital One and it was soon obvious they couldn’t hear me. I updated magicJack and tried again and got the same result. I checked and found I was set to speaker so I changed it to headset. It still didn’t work so I checked the phone number against my email and found it was different. I tried the new phone number and they asked for my case# (it was their fraud dept.) which I didn’t have. I checked the email again, found the case number, called them back and after a short wait I talked to a rep that verified my identity and unblocked my card. 😊

It's nice to be back and Teresa and I both agree we’re tired of Cartagena and their dirty beaches.

Ugh, I was comfortably ahead in the current game versus Troyclough until I blundered a piece. Now I’ll have a fight on my hands.

I won a game against Mr_Blamo increasing my rating 1 point to 1595.

Teresa agreed to buying new suitcases but she wants to be with me when I make the purchase.

 

DOG MEMES

Monday, February 26, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10:15, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 1:30, finally waking/getting up at 6:30.

Teresa cooked up a quick and easy breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and coffee and we were out the door to the beach by 8am.

We walked to the left this time and when we returned Teresa bargained with a guy on the beach for 2 loungers and a tent for all day for 30mil. She spent quite a while talking to the guy and I guess she told him my name because he soon said, ‘hola Terry’. I sat under the tent using my cellphone and she kept moving her lounger to stay in the sun.

We left about 11:30 and walked across the street and a few blocks down to a mall where she looked, but apparently didn’t find, something in Dollar City. She did buy a chocolate covered ice cream bar for 6mil, but when she took a bite some of the chocolate fell on the floor. She just kicked it under the counter. 😊

We walked back to Torre Caribe 1 where we ran into Laura and Peter returning from their breakfast at Crepes & Waffles. Laura broke a nail so Teresa went with her to have it repaired while I returned to the apt and took a shower.

I texted Bryan to remind him of our 1pm airport arrival and pickup tomorrow.

Teresa returned at 3pm and we walked the 2 blocks to Crepes & Waffles for lunch

I had the pepper steak and a Coke and Teresa had their salad bar and we shared a Copa Suprema for dessert for 90mil including tip.

We returned to the apt and just hung out for the rest of the evening.

Laura and Peter went back to Crepes & Waffles for supper and brought back seafood soup for Teresa and coconut rice and patacones for me.

We went to bed at 10pm.

 

DOG MEMES

 

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Last night I went to bed at midnight, fell asleep quickly, finally waking at 6am and getting up at 6:30.

I sent an email to Capital One asking them to unblock my debit card.

Teresa’s original plan was to go to the beach early. Perhaps because I’m a little burned (my fault again for not putting on SPF cream) she decided we would stay in the apt.

New plan: I googled but found there is no Zara in Cartagena but I did find an H&M at Calle 32 #13. Teresa suggested we walk there but 52 minutes either way is a bit much for me in this sun and heat. It’s only 14 minutes by car so I suggested we take a taxi there, explore the area a bit, she does her shopping in H&M and maybe we even have lunch there before returning to the apt by taxi.

I tricked ONEIPAMETATO1453 in the endgame, earned a win by queening my last pawn, increasing my rating 6 points to 1594.

I emailed Capital One asking them to unblock my debit card. I think it was an automated response that showed me the amount of our purchase from Friday night in San Martin. I confirmed it was a valid transaction and to please unlock my card. They responded there was something wrong with the transaction and they asked me to call them. I responded I’m on vacation in Colombia so I can’t call but could they unblock my card. Now waiting on a reply.

Finally, my reply, but it was from the “post office” that my reply was undeliverable.

Teresa and I left the apt about 10:30 and took a taxi to H&M in a mall. She picked out a dress that I paid 129,900 pesos for in cash. We took a taxi to a restaurant named La Casa de Socorro

where she had a different type of fish, I had a steak with coconut rice, a couple salty patacones which were delicious, a small salad and we shared a Coke.

I paid the check of about 130mil in cash. It appears tipping here is even more optional than Medellin. I’m now down to my last 30,000 pesos of cash.

We went for a little walk, tried to meet up with Laura but eventually learned they were too far away and we returned to the apt by taxi.

It’s pretty obvious now I’m not going to solve my Capital One debit card problem until I call them.

We had a 45-minute nap.

They returned and Peter gave me another 500,000 pesos.

One thing I’ve learned: for future trips I’m bringing my 2^nd debit card, my Magic Jack, and my headphones. And we’ll each bring a separate suitcase.

Laura and Peter left for someplace downtown and Teresa and I walked 2 blocks to Crepes & Waffles where, after a 15-minute wait, we got seated outside in a nice patio area and 2 entrees, 2 juices, and a shared ice cream for 100,000 pesos.

We were back at the apt by 9:30 and in bed by 10:15.

 

DOG MEMES

 

Saturday, February 24, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 3:30, couldn’t fall back asleep, got up at 4am, read a bit and returned to bed at 4:30 finally waking/getting up at 7:30.

I blundered and lost a game to ChessRookie245 lowering my rating 10 points to 1583. ☹

We left about 8:30 and stopped next door where there is a Mini Market and Teresa asked how much for a Club Colombia and was told 4mil. We took a walk along the beach walking as far as the Hyatt Regency, about 20 minutes away.

We returned to San Martin and had their buffet breakfast for 55mil apiece. Laura and Peter joined us as we were finishing and they only had 10 minutes before the buffet closed at 10am.

We returned to the apt and picked up some things and walked 20 minutes to an area where we paid 40mil for a tent with 4 chairs. I stayed in the shade as did Teresa and only Peter took a dip in the sea while Laura got some sun.

We left about 3:30 and returned to San Martin where I had a Cesar salad and the others had fish. This is a quick photo of Laura and Peter:

We shared 3 different desserts. Again, my card was declined so I gave Peter 200mil and he put the bill on his credit card.

Back at the apt I logged into my Capital One account and used their automated help system to “unlock” my card.

I noticed I got a little burned on my front on the long walk from the beach to the restaurant.

Per Google Maps it appears there is a Davivienda ATM two blocks away.

Troyclough blundered a rook and resigned increasing my rating to 1588.

We walked 3 blocks to a Davivienda ATM but my card still didn’t work. Laura had me try again and this time ACCEPT their “conversion” but it still didn’t work. We walked a block further to Bancolombia where Laura made a withdrawal but my card didn’t work there either so Laura loaned me 500,000 pesos.

We caught a taxi to downtown Cartagena where we walked around for a while. We finally settled on a nice restaurant with live music called San Mateo where Teresa and I shared a chicken and vegetable rice dish. We all got limonada de coco’s even though Teresa has been warning me not to drink the water. After supper we walked around downtown a little more before returning to the apt by taxi by 11:15.

 

DOG MEMES

Friday, February 23, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 1:30, fell asleep quickly but woke up at 6:30.

(I’m having a problem saving my photos to my computer and it’s not because of storage problems but because there is a new version of Outlook and I haven’t figured it out yet.)

I finally dragged myself out of bed around 7am, took my shower, set up my laptop and found the Wi-Fi network and password. This is our AirBnB and the view from our porch.

I moved the temp up to 25C (77F) and that seems to be working thus far.

Laura and Peter have landed in Cartagena and should be arriving any minute. They’ll probably go to bed soon and Teresa and I’ll go shopping for food ingredients.

They arrived at 8:30 with a few basics including bottles of water. (Teresa says we shouldn’t drink the water here.) After we got organized, we all walked a couple blocks to Crepes & Waffles San Martin for breakfast.

I had a waffle with maple syrup, a fried egg and a latte. We each ordered a bottle of water and left with 2 of them for our fridge.

They returned to the apt with the water and Teresa and I headed to Tienda D1 for fixings for breakfast and lunch. On our way we got waylaid by a Studio F where Teresa bought a top and slacks for 499,299 pesos ($127) and I paid for it with my Capital One debit card.

We walked a couple more blocks to Tienda D1 where we bought some foodstuffs for breakfast and lunch for 150mil. We returned to the apt by taxi for 10mil.

Laura suggested this restaurant for dinner tonight.

Hotel-Las-Americas-Cartagena-de-Indias-Las-Americas-Hotels-Group-Menu-Bistro-Ingles-Restaurante-Erre-QR-1.pdf (hotellasamericas.com.co)

I don’t know why she always picks these fancy, expensive places. That changed when I informed her I didn’t bring pants, a dress shirt and shoes.

About 5pm we walked across the street and the ladies took chairs in a shady spot on the beach that must have been a bar or restaurant.

They ordered beers and I a piña colada. 

A couple women came around and gave the three of them massages that went from feet, to legs, to arms, and then a little for shoulders and back. Because of my skin condition I didn’t want anyone touching me or have them put their “oil” on me. About half an hour later they wanted 100mil each for their “massage”. (Remember Teresa was getting multiple medical massages for 200mil or so from Kelly.) Laura paid the 200mil for her and Peter but Teresa resisted and only paid 50mil. When the bill came for the drinks, it was 108,000 pesos (I remember specifically my piña colada was 55mil.) So, our hour at the beach cost us 250,000 + 108,000 = 358,000 pesos ($92). We could get a nice meal for that.

Teresa told me she informed Laura she isn’t interested in going to expensive restaurants so they’re going their way and we’re going back to Crepes & Waffles.

We left the apt at 7:30 and walked to the end of the block and across the street where I noticed a 2^nd floor outdoor patio restaurant called San Marino. I suggested we check it out, Teresa looked at their menu and took a seat at one of the tables. I guess that means we’re a Go!

Teresa ordered a fish called Mojarra but I couldn’t get it to translate but she loved it. I had their baby beef which came with mashed potatoes and it was delicious.

Only problem is when I went to pay for it my Capital One debit card it was declined so I paid for it in cash.

We returned to the apt and were in bed by 9:30.

 

DOG MEMES

 

 

Thursday, February 22, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 9:15, took a while to fall asleep, got up once at 2:15, took quite a while to fall back asleep and was awakened by my alarm at 5:15.

It’s now a little after 5pm while I sit here at my laptop in the Bogota airport.

It’s been an interesting day thus far but let’s start at the beginning.

Bryan picked us up at 6:30 and while I didn’t look at the time, I think it was about 7:15 when we arrived.

We checked our single bag at the LATAM and stopped at Juan Valdez where we ordered lattes to have with the chicken tortillas Teresa made.

We went through the TSA checkpoint and I confirmed our flight was still at 9am and our gate was #6. We got ourselves close to the gate and found seats. Someone made an announcement that our flight had been cancelled but they gave everyone a free chicken sandwich with a soda at Burger King.

I saw a line at our gate but was told they’re going to Cali. A while later we inquired again and were told they were going to Pereira. We finally saw our flight was rescheduled for noon and we found seats by gate 7. I guess we missed an important PA announcement because the next thing we knew it was noon and we had missed our flight. ☹

We exited the secure area and at the LATAM office we learned we could either pay 100,000 pesos more and go tomorrow or take multiple flights today. We opted for the latter and he booked this itinerary:

LA 4025 MDE – BOG 15:21-1618 (57 min.)

LA 4077 BOG – CLO 20:44-2149 (1:05)

LA 4254 CLO – CTG 22:21-23:47 (1:28)

We took the 3:21 flight to Bogota and arrived by 4:15. We’re now at an altitude a little over 8,000 feet

and it’s noticeably cooler. We found our next gate and soon we’re going to try to find something decent to eat.

About 6pm we walked from one end of the airport to the other but the best we could find was premade sandwiches in a cooler and Teresa was afraid they would be old. We ended up leaving the secure area where our options increased greatly. I even saw a Carbon y Lenos restaurant but we ended up at a small Subway where we bought 6” sandwiches and ate them while sitting on a nearby bench.

I saw this beautiful sunset, hope it shows up in the photo:

We had to go through TSA again (that makes 3 times in one day) and took seats near our gate with still 2 hours before scheduled takeoff.

I can’t believe electrical outlets are so hard to come by. I got lucky as a woman saw my expression when the only one I found had 2 cellphones using the outlet. I guess she had pity on me as her husband soon gave me one of the outlets. Teresa’s phone will soon be dead so she’ll probably be switching mine out for hers which is exactly what happened.

At the last minute they changed gates on us, Gate 1 to Gate 5. We’re lucky we caught it or we’d still be in Bogota. Our flight left 30 minutes late which means when we arrive in Cali we’ll have something like 2 minutes to get to our next gate. ☹

We arrived by 10:30 and luckily our next gate was next to us and our next flight was late.  We boarded and I gave Teresa seat 7D so she could sit on the aisle and I took 10B, a middle seat. In the end it didn’t matter because no one took 10C so after takeoff I moved to the aisle seat.

This is the "meal" they gave us on each flight:

The flight lasted about 90 minutes and when we arrived in Cartagena we quickly claimed our bag. Good job with our suitcase (thanks LATAM) keeping up with us.

We made it! We’re in Cartagena with our suitcase!

Outside, our taxi brought us to our AirBnB in about 15 minutes (it was about 1am, so no traffic).

We checked in at the security desk, took the elevator up to the 3^rd floor, I entered the code for the lock box and took 1 of the 2 keys. We entered the apt and chose the bedroom we wanted, and figured out the lights and the all-important A/C. I set the A/C to 23 degrees Celsius (73F) and we were probably in bed by 1:30.

 

CREEPY THINGS

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, quickly fell asleep, got up once during the night, again at 5:15, finally waking/getting up at 7:15.

Teresa has a 7am to 8am class so she’ll make my breakfast when she returns about 8:15 then I’ll wait an hour or so before I go to the gym.

I completed my Smartfit workout between 9:15 and 10:15.

Teresa needed some things so we made a trip to Viva Envigado. In Claro we bought 2 sim cards for Laura and Peter for 89mil. In Medipiel Teresa bought 693mil ($177) in skin products.

She looked for something in Mini So (not sure how to spell their name) but left empty handed.

She was hungry so we went up to the food court where she had a large salad at Vin e Greta. I wasn’t hungry at the moment.

We returned to the apt by taxi and Teresa made me a chicken tortilla.

I read some, took my sleeping pill and finally got to bed by 9:15.

 

CREEPY THINGS

 

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, quickly fell asleep, slept through the night, waking/getting up at 6:20.

At 7:30 I started the process of ordering a ride from Didi:

I mistakenly accepted the 10mil offer and had to wait 9 minutes for the car to arrive. (I’ll make that 12mil in the future.)

Jose was waiting for me outside Parmessano. I had the French toast with this latte (how cute)

And a bottle of water to go for 40,535 pesos ($10.25).

We adjourned to the food court. I had the Black pieces in the first game and he won in 58 moves. I had the White pieces in the second game and I won in 63 moves. Both were long competitive games.

We won’t meet again for 2 weeks.

I ordered a Didi pickup for 19,600 pesos and got multiple offers but waited 9 minutes for the car to arrive. Next time I’ll suggest 19mil.

When I arrived at the apt Teresa was out for a doctor’s appointment.

I added today’s games to my cloud database and had the computer analyze them. Then I deleted the same databases from my c: drive. (I’ve only used up 1% of my cloud database space.) 😊

Teresa called a couple times, trapped in El Tesoro because traffic is so heavy now. She’ll probably be able to escape a little after 7pm.

I watched Bird Box: Barcelona on Netflix. Eh!

Teresa finally returned at 8pm. She said she had to wait 2 hours (after arriving 30 minutes early) to see the doctor but everything is okay.

 

CREEPY THINGS

Monday, February 19, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, quickly fell asleep, got up once during the night, waking/getting up at 6:15.

I completed my workout from 8:15 to 9:15. I was tempted to skip the treadmill today but then I thought, “yes, I did walk from the apt to Sao Paolo but then I sat in the restaurant, sat in a Didi to the hotel, sat in the car to the airport, yes, we did stand for coffee at Juan Valdez, sat in the bus back to San Diego mall and sat in a Didi back to the apt”. So yes, I did the treadmill and my lower legs are feeling it.

I received an email from Amazon notifying me that my Kindle Unlimited free access has ended.

Troyclough blundered his queen and resigned increasing my rating 5 points to 1593.

I left the apt at 3:30 and took a Didi to the mall. Surprisingly, my driver spoke perfect English. He told me he learned English on his own in 2000 by studying it every day for 3 months because he wanted to know the lyrics to his favorite American ‘80s songs. 😊

I recycled several plastic bottles then bought a preferred ticket to The Zone of Interest for 15,300 pesos. The ticket girl assured me it was spoken in English with Spanish subtitles, but it turned out it was spoken in German with Spanish subtitles but I still managed to figure a lot of it out. (Can I have 2 “but”s in the same sentence?)

I got a free small popcorn (crispeta platino) and a large soda and entered the theater. There were only 2 others with me in the upper level but I couldn’t see the lower level but (there I go again) I don’t there were many if anyone there.

The movie was barely interesting. I made an ATM withdrawal and picked up a couple bags of milk in Exito. The “rapid” line was painfully slow as there were only 2 cashiers and I think there was a system problem. Once outside I quickly caught a taxi back to the apt.

 

CREEPY THINGS

Sunday, February 18, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, quickly fell asleep, got up once during the night, waking/getting up at 6:30.

I left the apt at 8:15 and walked to Sao Paolo where Glenn was just arriving.

I had a latte and an almond croissant and Glenn had his usual chemex with a cinnamon roll. Jim arrived about 30 minutes later after going through heavy traffic due to Sunday’s ciclovia.

I learned from my brother that you can do searches of photos in Photo Gallery. 😊

Jim and I left about 11am and walked across the street to La Frontera where we soon were in a Didi back to his hotel – Dann Carlton Bilfort. I’m thinking Teresa and I should spend a couple nights here and use their pool.

Bryan picked us up on time at 12:30 and took us to the airport. We timed the new tunnel at 12 minutes long. On the way I learned that Colombia is building tunnels to the coast that will reduce the duration from 12 hours to 5 hours. That, and similar projects, should greatly improve Colombia’s economy. The trip cost 150mil. I informed Bryan that we will need an apt pickup this Thursday.

At the airport Jim checked his single bag and we had coffee at Juan Valdez. We said our goodbyes and he got in line for the international departures area while I went outside and got in line for a bus back to Medellin. I was on the next bus and returned to Medellin for 15,500 pesos. I got off at San Diego mall and went up to Crepes & Waffles but there was a line. I went to Exito and bought a small carton of eggs and the cotton balls Teresa requested and returned to the apt by Didi.

The movie The Zone of Interest (7.9/1:45) is playing at 4:30, 7pm, and 9:45. It’s originally in German so I hope it’s dubbed in English with Spanish subtitles.

I checked my blog for Cartagena restaurants and found these four that we visited two years ago.

1.  Candé, Barrio San Diego, Carrera 10 #39-02, (311) 697-8835; 100% Cartagena cuisine (seafood; lunch; live music).

2.  Niku, Calle San Juan Dios 13 #3-39, (300) 704-5054 (seafood; steak w/ baked potato; dinner).

3.  Mardeleva, Calle Nuestra senora del Carmen #33-41; (317) 668-0456; (seafood; pasta; ~steak).

4.  Charleston Santa Teresa; Carrera 3 #31-23; (605) 664-9494; (plaza; colonial; chicken fried rice).

I copied the info into my cellphone for easier access while we’re there.

I lost a game to Mr_Blamo ☹ lowering my rating 14 points to 1582.

We left the apt just after 7pm and took a Didi to Antica Pizza. The place was busy so we ended up sitting on steps of the next-door apt building. We had to get up several times as residents went in and out. When I went to pay the bill it was 41,500 pesos and I gave the girl 50mil. She came back with a 10mil note and rattled off something in Spanish. I saw the look of panic on her face when I told her I don’t speak much Spanish but I gave her a 2-mil note and all was good.

We walked down to the bakery only to find it closed but a new place called Street Fries opened up next door and it was very crowded with people sitting on the steps.

I guess it has various toppings for the fries. We quickly caught a taxi back to the apt.

I gave up reading the book The Round House by Louise Erdrich.

 

CREEPY THINGS

Saturday, February 17, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, quickly fell asleep, got up once during the night 4ish, waking/getting up by alarm at 7:30.

I took a Didi to Daniel’s barbershop. I learned from Gloria, the driver, that most gringos use Uber. I paid 45mil plus a 5mil tip for my haircut. I took another Didi to Todo Drogas. My Zopiclona tablets that cost almost 50mil at Pasteur on Monday cost 10,700 pesos at Todo Drogas this morning.

I walked the nine blocks to Parva where I had a café con leche while planning the day with my brother.

I left at 11:15 and returned to the apt. I contacted my brother and we made plans to meet at Otra Parte around noon.

ONEIPAMETATO1547 resigned our game increasing my rating to 1596.

I met Jim at Otra Parte at noon. He had a limonada de coco and I had their teriyaki pasta with chicken and a bottle of water.

While I was eating Jim talked to a lady from Austin, TX at the next table.

We took a Didi to Parque Sabaneta where we took a seat in the park.

Jim and I each had a bottle of water. He told me he ran into Carmen from Philly Steaks when he was in Manila last night.  Jim walked around the block while I finished my water. We walked 3 blocks to Big Boy where I used the restroom and Jim had a beer. We walked a couple blocks to Porci Carnes where we ordered another Didi. I was a little surprised the driver took the expressway but she eventually exited and dropped me off at the end of my street. I was back at the apt by 3:30.

I watched some news on CNBC.

 

CREEPY THINGS

Friday, February 16, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, quickly fell asleep, got up once during the night, waking at 6am and getting up at 6:30.

At 9:30 I met Jim at Los Porteños where we had coffee and planned our day.

We left at 10:30 and I walked him down our street so he could see Ara and Tienda D1. We continued on to Ayura station where we added some pesos to our Civica cards and took the metro to San Antonio station. We transferred to the west line and got off at Estadio station. I walked him through the stadium area and across the street to Obolisco mall. We stopped for bottles of water then he bought a baseball cap. We walked back to the metro station and discussed our next move. We took a Didi to La Bodeguita Havanera

where we had Ropa Vieja sandwiches for lunch.

We walked to Exito Laureles where he bought something in Exito. When he came out he decided to go to Mall Laureles to see if they had coconut ice cream. I bid 20mil on InDrive for a ride back to Envigado. Teresa texted me and asked me to pick up milk so I got out at Ara.

Back at the apt I took a cool shower and boy did that feel good.

 

CREEPY THINGS

Thursday, February 15, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, quickly fell asleep, waking/getting up at 6am.

The Weather Channel predicts a high of 89 degrees today.

Well, I see The Zone of Interest (7.9) opens today in Cine Colombia. I’ll try to catch that one this week. And Tutankamon – The Last Exhibition is playing at noon this weekend. I’m going to miss that but I’ll be on the lookout in the future for other weekend alternative movies.

I left the apt at 9am and walked to Ayura station where I had a 5-minute wait for the metro and I didn’t get a seat until San Antionio station. I arrived at Acevedo station by 9:40 and Jim arrived 20 minutes later. There was no wait for a metro cable car and we didn’t see many people in cars coming towards us. At Santo Domingo station we transferred to the Parque Arvi line and a couple of young Frenchmen got on with us. When we arrived at the park we walked down to the café where we bought drinks and hung out for a bit. When we walked to the road where our bus soon arrived. It was air conditioned which we really didn’t need because at 8,000 feet it’s noticeably cooler than Medellin. We got off at Hotel Piedras Blancas and found our usual patio location closed for structural remodeling. We went to an alternate patio

and I ordered the pepper steak and a Coke.

We left at 1:15 and retraced our steps and I arrived back at the apt by 3pm so it was an hour and 45 minutes from hotel to apt. Teresa was still out so I went to Los Porteños for a latte. I returned to the apt at 5pm and Teresa arrived an hour later.

I finished reading the Kindle book Almost Surely Dead by Amina Alehtar. Didn’t care for it much.

 

CREEPY THINGS

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, quickly fell asleep, waking/getting up at 6:45.

I drew against Troyclough lowering my rating to 1595.

When I told Teresa we were going to Plaza Botero she read me the riot act again about how it’s a den of thieves.

I left the apt at 10:30 and walked to Ayurá station where I added 50mil to my Civica card then took the metro to Parque Berrio. I found a shaded umbrella table outside the café (El Labaratorio?) and ordered a latte. This is the view of Plaza Botero from the cafe:

Again Jim was late, this time because he forgot to bring his Civica card for the metro. When he finally arrived we had coffee there then walked 3 blocks to see if the Colombian restaurant Mojitos is still on the other side of Versailles bakery.

It was and I had a typical Colombian lunch of beans, rice, chicken, salad, a strip of plantain and a bottle of water for 24mil, not including tip.

We walked to Hotel Nutibarra where we found a new café called La Dolce Vita on the 3^rd floor.

Their patio overlooks Parque Berrio and there wasn't much shade so we didn't hang around longs. We left about 3:15, walked across the street to Parque Barrio where we caught the metro going south. Jim got off at Poblado station and I continued on to Ayurá station. I took a taxi back to the apt for 7,800 pesos.

I watched news coverage of the shooting at the KC Chiefs victory parade. ☹

Another draw against ONEIPAMETATO1547 lowering my record to 1590. When is this descent going to end?

He quickly blundered a piece in our next game. 😊

 

CREEPY THINGS