Monday, April 29, 2024

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

My right heel was sore when I first got up and started walking and I considered taking an Advil but it soon went away. (The same thing happened to me once or twice last week.) It’s probably due to the long walk to Sao Paolo yesterday. My body is going to have to get used to taking long walks again.

I left the apt with my notebook, cellphone and thermos with ice and walked to Smartfit. I completed my workout with machines but skipped the treadmill. In Los Porteños I had a latte while going through my cellphone: I completed my Aimchess tactics for the day and read a couple articles about the Bears

The red squirrel is back, and here you can see how read it is:

I got a good attack against ONEIPAMETATO1453 and he resigned on the 36^th move, one moves before getting checkmated, increasing my rating 6 points to 1580.

I left at 11am and returned to the apt beating Teresa by 5 minutes. She walked in the door with a bag of groceries then said she forgot to buy pasta. I commented that we have a real problem if we both have Alzheimer’s. She said she’ll sleep in the church and I’ll sleep in the street. I replied that I get the church.

She suggested we take her mother for lunch to the Dann Carlton for Mother’s Day. Great idea! I got her the number she called and it’s 172mil per person or $133 total. They sent me an email but it was just payment details, nothing about hours or if it’s ala carte (doubt it) or buffet (most likely).

I left the apt at 1pm and took a Didi to the mall. I withdrew 2,000,000 pesos then stopped in Medipiel to buy something Teresa requested. They didn’t know what I was talking about so I put them on the phone with Teresa. They sent me to a new Medipiel location just outside the south entrance. I bought some combo that came in a cute bag for 327mil ($82.50) using my debit card. I asked the employee how many Medipiels there are now in the mall and she replied, “five”. I used the consignacion machine to make payments to Smartfit, my health insurance and Dann Carlton. I paid the epm bill in Exito then took the back elevator up to the 2^nd floor. I withdrew another 2,000,000 pesos then went into the bank and paid the apt rent. I tried to get the girl to change my coins for bills but she refused.

I went down to Urbania and had a latte and talked for a while with the girl who speaks English. Her Colombian boyfriend works for a Canadian company and she’s trying to learn English from him.

I left about 4pm and bought a box of pasta and a bunch of bananas in Exito before returning to the apt by taxi.

I informed Teresa I’ve read that eating slightly green bananas reduced the chances of cancer by 80%.

I sent an email to Dann Carlton with my receipt as an attachment.

In the evening I just vegged out and watched TV.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

 

Sunday, April 28, 2024

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

Troyclough and I went into a rook and pawn endgame where I was up a pawn and I managed to turn it into a queen on my 48^th move and he resigned increasing my rating to 1574.

I left the apt at 8:30 and found Glenn with Bianca waiting for me when I arrived at Olivenza in Sao Paolo plaza just before 9am.

He has problems with 1. bats flying in his apt, 2. not being able to make an appointment with his cardiologist, and 3. His Bancolombia credit card not working right.

I asked if he’s still walking to Santafe mall’s Starbucks for coffee in the morning. He said he does it every day except Sunday when he has breakfast with me.

I asked if he tried taking the Calendula capsules and he said he has them but his back has been better and he’s taking so many other medications he doesn’t want to take the chance of upsetting his stomach.

I asked if he’s ever heard of Stuff Your Kindle Day on Amazon. He said he’s never heard of it so I googled it and found out it was yesterday. ☹

My breakfast, Desayuno Americano:

Too much food.

I left about 11am and walked back to the apt in a light drizzle.

I Whatsapped Teresa I will be going to the 1pm showing of Civil War (7.6). she said, “go ahead” because she’s still busy getting her eyelashes done.

I left the apt at 12:15 and took a Didi to the mall. I recycled a few plastic bottles then bought a preferred ticket for 8,000 pesos. I had a short wait then got in line at the concession counter 12 minutes before showtime. I chose the wrong line because the only person in front of me bought at least 4 large popcorns and 5 hotdogs, etc. and it was obvious they got her order wrong and had to redo it. I bought a large soda and got a free Platinum popcorn and still arrived at my seat in time but the coming attractions were over 20 minutes long. The movie was sad but good. Thanks to my Runpee app I made a trip to the restroom at about the 50-minute mark and didn’t miss anything important.

After the movie I went to Linea Estetica and bought another bottle of my shower gel, Bioderma Atoderm at a 25% discount for 141,676 pesos ($36). I’m not completely out yet but It’s getting near the bottom. As long as I was there I inquired as to the cost for my container of Cetaphil Urea 20% and she said 105,l00 pesos which is almost exactly what I paid (108mil) in Medipiel.

I returned to the apt by taxi.

I watched 60 Minutes in the evening and some more about the NFL Draft results.

I received an email from Smartfit officially notifying me that our gym membership is now 99,900 pesos a month.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

Saturday, April 27, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 2:30, final waking/getting up at 6:30.

I called Citibank and requested to close my account. Even though I see the $310.42 balance in USAA, they say it will take 1-2 days for it to clear Citibank and then they will close my account. I then cut up my debit card.

After breakfast I returned to bed and slept until 9am.

With the 122^nd pick in the NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears selected Tory Taylor, punter from Iowa.

Teresa and I left the apt at 11am and took a Didi to the Poblado Pricesmart for 9,800 pesos. We bought 938,892 pesos ($237) of groceries and renewed our annual membership but they didn’t have turkey breast, Bisquick, Saran Wrap, Heinz vinegar or strawberry preserves. ☹ (Wonder if they have these items at the Laureles location.) We returned to the apt by taxi for 13,200 pesos.

The Bears traded their 2025 4^th round pick to the Buffalo Bills for their #114 pick and selected Austin Booker, Edge from Kansas.

I left the apt at 2:30 and walked to Parva where I had a cafe con leche with a pastel de guayaba. It soon was pouring rain and I was concerned it might not stop because The Weather Channel had predicted rain for the entire afternoon. I was feeding crumbs to a pigeon on the floor at my feet. A muchacho working there chased it out once but it soon was back. Just before 5pm the rain seemed to lessen and I checked Accuweather and it predicted the rain would stop in 11 minutes

so I made a quick trip to the restroom then left. I still needed the umbrella because of drops falling off trees. I stopped at the mini market but strangely they had no milk and their fridges were stocked with soda. I asked the guy working there if there was a new owner and I understood “no” but nothing after that. I stopped in Ara and bought 2 bags of milk (no line) before returning to the apt.

I turned on the Washington Correspondence dinner at 7pm but by 8:45pm the jokes hadn’t started so I turned it off to start my pre-sleep routine.

It was about 9pm when I looked out our bedroom window and saw a very active bat 1-2 stories below me. It flew into a couple trees and twice knocked down whatever fruit grows on it, about the size of an orange but the color of a lemon.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

Friday, April 26, 2024

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

We finished the arepas de chocolo so now I have to remember to buy bagels.

I put a peanut on the balcony railing but I don’t expect it will be taken.

Introducing the new members of the Chicago Bears, #1 pick Caleb Williams and #9 pick Rome Odunze:

Before Teresa left at 8am for her gym class I informed her I would be stopping at Mercado Madrid for more bananas. She asked me to pick up jabon de coco in Ara. She also asked me to ask Marcos if he could bring her the almond bar we bought at the chocolate store across from Prado museum.

I met Marcos outside Tostao at 9:30. We each had a small café con leche and I told him about our vacation and now he wants to go there. We talked a little about the NFL draft and politics. He and Johanna leave for Madrid next Tuesday and said he would be happy to buy a couple almond bars if I can tell him exactly what they are.

He left about 10am and I moved to café Peccato for another latte while I completed my Aimchess tactics for the day.

I left at 10:45 and walked to Ara where I bought 2 bars of jabon de coco and a few bananas. When I returned to the apt she informed me she wanted liquid not bars. Then she needed to tell me that.

I couldn’t find a photo of the almond bar but it’s called Turrón de Guirlache Almendras (Almond Guirlache Nougat) and it’s in the store Vicens across from Prado museum.

Teresa informed me she has a massage appointment with Kelley at 2pm.

It took several attempts but I managed to download the newest (open source) chess engine, Stockfish 16.1, to use in ChessBase 16. (I downloaded more than one copy but I think the main copy ChessBase is accessing is located at c:/users/terry/stockfish-windows-x86-64-avx2.exe)

About 12:50 a downpour started and I understand Kelley won’t be coming after all.

The rain stopped and I left the apt at 2pm and walked to Eduardo Madrid. I read some sports articles on my cellphone and studied my opening with White vs Jose. Teresa called and asked me to pick up coconut gelato. I paid for my latte and a sleeve of 6 fresh sesame seed bagels and bought a half liter of coconut gelato before returning to the apt.

I requested to transfer my current balance of $310.42 from Citibank to USAA. Once I know that has successfully completed, I’ll cancel my Citibank account and destroy my debit card.

An interesting optical illusion:

Squint and see the picture change.

I ate more peanuts and switched back and forth from CNN, MSNBC, and NFL Network. With the 75^th pick the Chicago Bears selected offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie from Yale.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

 

Thursday, April 25, 2024

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

Today is the NFL Draft! More specifically, Day #1 of 3.

The ice maker is working again. I see enough cubes for cubed ice but we might have to wait a bit longer (for more weight) for crushed ice.

Playing now in Viva Envigado Cine Colombia is Civil War (7.6) at 1pm, 3:30pm, 6pm, and 8:40p.

Marcos texted me that he sprained his ankle on the treadmill last night so we’re changing our coffee get-together from this morning to tomorrow morning.

I left the apt at 8:30 and walked to the mall where I printed the computer analysis of our (Jose and I) last 2 chess games in Auros. I bought a blueberry muffin in Starbucks and took it to Urbania. A new waitress spoke to me in English. I reviewed the game analysis, completed my Aimchess tactics for the day, and reviewed the basic opening Jose uses against me when I play the White pieces. I read on Facebook that the California Buffet restaurant closed. I’m not surprised, they had too many offerings and too few customers resulting in cold food.

Teresa called and asked me to buy dishwashing soap before I return to the apt. I left about 11:15, bought the soap and a large carton of eggs and returned to the apt by taxi. I noticed Doyle sitting in the porteria as I walked through.

We had a thunderstorm come through from about 1:15 to 1:45. I hope that’s not going to be a problem tonight for watching the NFL Draft.

2:30 and now we have a downpour which changed to a light drizzle but was over an hour later.

I finally got caught up on my blog. 😊

I sat down about 4:30 and started watching the pre-draft coverage.

At 6pm I took out my bag of peanuts and they still taste fresh. This is the bag my brother brought me back in February and I just put it in a cool dark place until today. I transferred a couple handfuls to a Ziploc bag for Glenn to share.

With the #1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears selected Caleb Williams, QB, USC. With the #9 pick the Bears chose Rome Odunze, WR, Washington.

I stayed up a few more picks until the Vikings chose J.J. McCarthy with the #11 pick then turned off the TV to start my pre-sleep ritual.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly but was awakened at 3am by a cramp in my left calf. I worked it out, ate a banana and returned to bed by 3:30. I was awakened at 6am by another cramp starting in my right calf but managed to work it out before it developed.

Breakfast was a couple scrambled eggs and an arepa de chocolo with cheese spread on top. Note to self: Buy Bagels! Oops, Teresa informed me we need to finish the arepas first.

I’m skipping gym this week to give my body time to return to normal.

Teresa believes I could have used the Colombian Citizen Immigration line if I had shown them my cedula.

I defrosted the ice maker; I think I’m going to have to repeat this every couple months before it frosts up.

I left the apt at 9am and had a latte in Los Porteños for 2 ½ hours before returning to the apt. My friend is back:

I had a 30-minute nap after lunch.

I posted more vacation notes to my blog.

Tomorrow is the NFL Draft!

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, I got up once during the night, was awakened by Teresa just after 6am before my alarm went off at 6:30.

It was raining lightly so I checked The Weather Channel and it predicted the rain would stop by 11am with more showers possible later and a high today of only 80 degrees. It’s obvious to me that we’re in the rainy season.

I dressed in my convertible pants, shoes with socks and a t-shirt. I took a Didi to Unicentro for 16,100 pesos. I arrived a few minutes before opening and then went up to Parmessano where Jose soon met me.

We each had their French toast with a latte and I got a bottle of water to go for 40,000 pesos.

We played two long competitive games but he got the better of me again.

We finished by 2:30 and Didi wanted 30,000 pesos for a ride to Viva Envigado so I switched to Uber where it was only 22mil.

I had the yogurt with granola and chia again with a small latte in Pergamino. Teresa called and asked where I was and when I told her she asked me to meet her at Wilson’s at 6pm. I did but she had already gifted Wilson the bottle of rum and MT her bracelet and purse gifts. ☹ This is the purse that's supposedly made from coconut shells:

We left about 7pm and returned to the apt by Didi.

After completing computer analysis on both our games I created a .pdf so we can analyze our games again next week using the computer comments.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

Monday, April 22, 2024

Last night we went to bed at 10:30. I got up once during the night finally waking/getting up at 6am.

Now we’re in “use it last and pack it” mode. We had a delicious breakfast in El Matador.

We finished our packing, stopped in the VIP reception desk to check-out and had our bracelets removed, and ordered a bell hop to pick-up our bags. We sat in the main lobby a while because we were so early then I ordered an Uber which again was a minivan that took us to the airport. Later online I saw that our 30-minute ride cost $38.

At the Avianca machine I checked-in and printed our boarding passes but not the luggage tags because I’ve yet to see exactly how they attach to the suitcases. An Avianca employee soon repeated the process, much faster, and printed our luggage tags and boarding passes (again). At the next station we had to download that stupid form again but this time the Avianca rep did it for us in between helping others. We dropped off our bags – 20# for Teresa and 19# for me.

We went through rather long immigration and TSA lines and finally found our gate. We still had about an hour to kill so we looked for someplace to eat. They had a Wendy’s and Pizza Hut but Teresa chose Nathan’s (hot dogs) because they had chicken wraps. We each ate one and she wrapped one each to go.

We went through immigration and TSA and with 30 minutes before departure they changed our gate.

We took our seats, 16C & 16D, on the plane. The flight was 2 ½ hours but we saved an hour when we crossed a time zone.

I texted Manuel (Bryan’s 2^nd) after we landed in Rionegro. At immigration Teresa had a short line but I was in a very long line.

It took me 1 hour and 45 minutes to get to the front and then it took only a minute to approve my Visa and stamp my passport. Almost two hour standing with a heavy backpack really wasted me. At customs the girl just waved me through and I found Teresa sitting with our suitcases. I’d been in touch with Manuel the whole time (although at the end of the immigration line there’s a sign that says cellphones are prohibited). We had to drag our suitcases from Door #1 to Door #4 and across the street where Manuel soon met us. The drive to Envigado in a light rain took about an hour.

We had the porteros turn our water back on, we unpacked some, and it was still raining when I went to bed at 10pm.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

Sunday, April 21, 2024

Sadly, this is our last full day here in Punta Cana ☹ but Teresa has a nice tan and I have a little tan myself.

Last night we went to bed at 10:45, took me a while to fall asleep, got up twice during the night, and was finally awakened by Teresa leaving at 6:20. ☹

I got up right away and got ready for the day and met her for breakfast in Elcano at 7am.

I had some pineapple slices, a banana, a bowl of corn flakes and 3 scrambled eggs with 2 small cups of coffee.

We chose our spots on the beach but soon had to move because of the changing position of the sun. (I know, I know, it’s due to the rotation of the earth.)

About 11:15 I saw dark clouds coming in from the north so I recommended we leave. Teresa wanted to wait until she felt raindrops but I packed up and left and she followed me. My key card didn’t work but thankfully hers did. She moved to our back patio and told me she would be out on the recliner. I told her to let me know when she felt raindrops so I could come out and retrieve the towels drying on the rack. She laughed but not a minute later a downpour started and I grabbled the towels and got them in before they got too wet.

The rain stopped about an hour later but now it’s almost time for lunch. I made a quick trip to the VIP Reception desk where I got a new key card made.

We had lunch in the large buffet restaurant, El Matador. I had a bowl of beef vegetable soup that Teresa recommended then pasta with ground beef and tomatoes stuffed with ground beef. For dessert I had a little rice pudding and strawberry and cake ice cream.

Teresa returned to our outside patio while I went to the lobby where I had a café con leche. I heard a taxi guy looking for his customer so I asked how much for a ride to the airport and he replied, $40.

 I finished the paperback, Triple Cross by James Patterson and returned it to the VIP Reception area.

When I returned to the room Teresa wasn’t there but I found her on the beach close to the restaurant. She said she’s waiting for the salesman to return with bracelets she believed would be less expensive than the beach store.

I told her to let me know when the guy arrives as I’ll go get cash from the safe and then wait on the patio outside the restaurant. I ordered a piña colada at the bar and while waiting I saw an old guy try to use the narrow submerged walkway from one side of the pool to the other but he fell in holding his dry clothes. I’m just glad it wasn’t deep and I didn’t have to save him. I took a seat (the furniture here is all rattan) and immediately realized the pads were missing.

One of three ladies sitting nearby came over and asked if I was all right and we chatted for a while. They are three sisters from Toronto and one has a time share so they come here every year. Sadly, the same sister has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

I decided I’d better see what Teresa is up to. I went to her spot and she was gone. I checked our room but she wasn’t there. I decided to go to the beach store but on the way found her in the VIP area. We walked to the beach store where she bought 4 more “coconut shell” purses for family for $35.

ONEIPAMETATO1453 resigned our game on the 23^rd move. On my 17^th move I had an advantage of 0.81 (almost one pawn) but there was one move that would increase my advantage to 4.28 (more than a piece) and I can’t believe I found it. The computer said my play was “flawless” and my rating increased 5 points to 1580. 😊

Troyclough had a sure win but missed the move and now I can fight for a possible draw.

Teresa has already started packing although I could be packed in 5 minutes if I didn’t have to worry about separating clean clothes from dirty or her adding her stuff (purses) to my suitcase.

I ended up losing to Troyclough lowering my rating to 1570.

About the Punta Cana “dress code”. You can wear almost anything you want for breakfast and lunch although a shirt (sleeveless is okay) is required. For supper you need a shirt with sleeves. As far as footwears, sandals and even flip flops are acceptable.

All the food here in VIP Cayena Beach (buffets and special restaurants) is noticeably better quality than the Grand Bavaro Princess. But their “shows” leave much to be desired although I can’t compare it to our first hotel because we never stayed around until 9:30pm to see one.

We had supper in the buffet restaurant, El Matador.

We stopped at the theater but left about 10am and returned to our room,

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

Saturday, April 20, 2024

Last night we went to bed at 10pm, I fell asleep quickly, got up once at 3:30 and was awakened by Teresa leaving at 6:15. ☹ I got up and got dressed and we met at Elcano shortly after their 7am opening. I had a few slices of pineapple (I love it and don’t know why I waited so long to have it), a bowl of corn flakes, a couple scrambled eggs and the usual 2 cups of coffee. This is Teresa’s breakfast sandwich:

We found places on the VIP beach area, mainly sun for her and as much shade as I could find for me.

At 12:30 we returned to Elcano where we ordered off the menu and I had chicken fajitas and a couple Cokes.

I thought this photo was special. It’s not a painting, but the view of the beach and sea from one of the restaurant windows.

Back on the beach we both moved around following (or not) the sun. I’m on page 300 (of 400 pages) in my book. I left about 4pm and returned to the room. I still got burned on my chest. ☹  I showered and worked on my blog notes until Teresa returned just before 6pm.

I completed online check-in for our 12:55pm Monday flight back to Medellin, choosing the same aisle seats as before - 16C & 16D.

We got dressed up again and returned to Trattoria, this time for Mexican food. Teresa had fresh fruit and ordered a beef taco but didn’t care for the latter. I had a few pieces of fresh fruit and chicken enchiladas that were pretty good. Teresa had a taste of mine then ordered them for herself.

She ate half of one of the two enchiladas. I had 3 small delicious churros for dessert.

We walked over to the theater; tonight’s show was billed as Dominican Folklore.

Their show always starts out the same way with this Dominican dance:

Teresa dancing with one of the professional dancers:

We watched only a few minutes of the show then returned to our apt for the night.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

Friday, April 19, 2024

Last night we went to bed at 11pm, I fell asleep quickly and was awakened by Teresa at 6am. ☹

We left for the beach at 6:30 and went to Elcano as it opened at 7am. I was told I couldn’t enter without a shirt on. Teresa took a seat while I returned to our room. The plastic card key didn’t work. ☹ I checked the hours for our VIP Reception office and they don’t open until 8am. We returned to the beach until 7:50 when I returned to the office and they quickly made me a new key. I returned to the room and put on a t-shirt and returned to the restaurant. We had a nice breakfast, I had fruit slices, a cup of yogurt then an omelet with a couple cups of coffee.

Back at the beach we both sought our preferred spots, sun for her and shade for me. Internet access is spotty, usually I know when it’s returned when I hear the sound of a notification arriving. I reached the halfway point in my book.

I noticed this lizard camouflaged in the grass.

At 12:30 we returned to Elcano for lunch. I had their ribs (3 meaty) with fries and a couple Cokes.

We returned to the beach but by 2:30 I’d had enough of the heat and returned to our room to shower and work on my blog.

Teresa returned at 5pm and took her shower and got dressed and I changed also. She’s in her “Greek” dress and I’m in white pants with a nice shirt. All the clothes I have with me are dressy or very casual, nothing in between. 😊

We went to La Trattoria but their menus said, “Estrella del Mar”. We both ordered the chicken breast with baked potatoes and mine was good but Teresa said hers was too hard. ☹

This birthday celebration was going on a few tables away.

We went to the theater and took seats and waited an hour for their show, La Noche Latina to start. It was a disappointment mainly consisting of bringing a few ladies on the stage and having them “walk sexy”, etc. we left after about 45 minutes. How lazy of them, they can’t even put on a production.

We were in bed by 10pm.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

 

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Last night we went to bed at 10pm, I fell asleep quickly, was awakened by the alarm at 6am. Teresa tells me she can’t get up yet so I made a trip to the bathroom, did my Kegel exercises and tried to fall back asleep. She got up at 6:30, made all sorts of noises, then cuddles up next to me and tells me to get up. She got up and I got up a minute later.

We had our usual breakfast in El Matador

then we hit the beach. Being a little late we only had a few places available with both sun for her and shade for me but we found something workable.

About 9:15 we returned to the same tienda we were at last night. Teresa chose 5 of the “coconut” purses (1 for her and the rest for family) and a neckerchief for a total of $53. I gave them $100 but they couldn’t find exact change until I gave them another $5.

Back at our beachfront Teresa bought a coconut with “meat” inside from a wandering vendor for $5. I didn’t have the exact amount but he was happy to take €5.

Teresa left to use the restroom. She didn’t return for at least 45 minutes then informed me she had a second breakfast in Elcano. ☹

I noticed this worker trimming a palm tree.

Coconuts lying on the ground.

Teresa told me the muchacho at the store said she could exchange her too large beach cover-up (that she bought somewhere else) for a smaller size. She left and returned about 30 minutes later.

By 12:20 I’d had enough sun and returned to the room agreeing to meet Teresa for lunch at Elcano at 1pm.

I charged my phone a little, took a shower, put towels out on the patio rack to dry, changed clothes and found Teresa still at the beach. I reminded her it was 1pm and she gathered up her things and we moved to the restaurant by the pool, Elcano. She headed to the buffet right away while I saved a table. The waiter came by and dropped off menus. Teresa returned with 2 full plates while I ordered chicken tika masala and a side of rice off the menu. I also had 2 Cokes.

About 1:15 we had a shower that lasted about 15 minutes. (We had moved to the restaurant just in time.)

Teresa returned to the room while I moved our towels so they would dry better (they were almost dry already) and then returned to the room.

I had a drawish game against ONEIPAMETATO1453 until he blundered his queen on the 23^rd move increasing my rating to 1574.

Today I got to page 130 in my book.

Teresa returned to the beach store and bought another beach coverup for $36.

One week remaining until the NFL Draft. 😊

For supper we went to La Trattoria for their Italian night. Teresa had fish which she loved and I had their meat lasagna which I loved. For dessert I had a slice of tiramisu.

I stopped to check out the menu for tomorrow night, International night, and it’s the same menu as Estrella del Mar, seafood. I saw something for me so we’ll probably return tomorrow night.

It was only 8:15 so we walked to the theater where a sign said tonight was the Michael Jackson show at 9:30. We took seats well in the back and the show started right on time. It started a little slow but got better. The music was too loud for me even though we were as far as possible from the speaker. The guy dancing as MJ was incredible. Not only his foot action but sometimes he would move his feet and legs but his torso would be still. We left about 10:30 before the show ended and returned to our room and I was in bed by 11pm.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

 

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Last night we went to bed at 10pm, I got up at 4am, took quite a while to fall back asleep, ultimately awakened by Teresa just after 7am.

Finally, a beautiful day.

Today we had breakfast in Elcano, a much smaller restaurant (next to the pool for VIPs only) but they still had fruit, toast, cereal and eggs made to order.

Teresa told me we were going to go for a walk on the beach so I prepared by putting on SPF cream but when I returned to the pool she changed her mind and we spent more time on the beach in the VIP section. At one point I made a trip to the restroom and when I came out I saw a cangrejo (crab) at the entrance to the women’s restroom. It was pink and about 6” long and stared at me as I stared at it. I made a move forward and it skittered sideways behind a waste basket.

We had lunch back in El Mirador. We’ve seen a few cats around and one sat outside while Teresa tossed food to it.

Back to the beach.

Looking down at the breakwall:

About 4pm Teresa wanted something to eat. We went to the snack bar and I got a slice of pizza with a few fries and a Coke and she surprised me by getting a hotdog (no bun) and a Coke Zero. She didn’t want to try my pizza because of the “fat” but I commented she’ll eat a hotdog. She gestured that she wasn’t finishing it but in the end she did because it was “delicious”.

We went for a walk on the beach but a couple hundred yards away we found some shops. (I’m betting she knew they were there.) after checking out 3 side by side shops she found a purse decorated on the outside by different colors of coconut. The salesman said it was only $10 but I had no cash with me. He offered to go with us back to our room so I could get the cash but I declined. He said we could take the purse with us if we returned tonight with the cash but I declined again.

Today I got to page 94 in the new paperback. I figure if I don’t finish before we leave I’ll just take it with me and leave behind the one I just finished.

Somehow, I got a little burned on my chest; I don’t know when and where that happened. The rest of me, other than my back, is well on the way to being tanned.

We had supper in the main buffet restaurant again, El Mirador. I had a salad, pasta Bolognese, a dab of potato salad, frijoles with rice, and a huge coconut macaroon with a large cup of vanilla ice cream.

We stopped at the Trattoria restaurant and learned that tonight is Mexican, tomorrow is International which means Friday will be Italian. Across the hall was Estrella del Mar which was closed but I didn’t understand if it was permanently closed or it would be open on Sunday.

We stopped at Elcano where Teresa had a drink while I went upstairs and checked out the pool table.

Teresa had me set an alarm for tomorrow at 6am so we can have breakfast early then hit the beach early.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

 

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Last night we went to bed at 10pm, I got up at 5:15, couldn’t fall back asleep so I stayed up.

I found the map of our resort on the internet and thankfully it’s one I can read.

Teresa finally got up and we left at 7am for breakfast in El Mirador again.

Teresa broke her $20 pair of sunglasses; I’m guessing they weren’t very good quality.

On the way back to our room I noticed another restaurant we’ll have to try. (I checked the map and it’s the Italian restaurant Trattoria next to the ala carte restaurant Estrella del Mar. The other buffet restaurant (VIP) for breakfast and lunch is Elcano.)

At the beach Teresa put SPF cream on my back and I on my chest and I clocked 40 minutes on my stomach in the sun. In the meantime, Teresa went for another walk, this time counter clockwise. I turned over and did a half hour on my back and by then Teresa had returned. She had a hamburger patty and a few French fries with her. I tried the burger and it was much better than Princess’. I asked her where she got them and she didn’t know. After further questioning it appeared she got it from our buffet restaurant.

I left about 1pm and I took a shower then returned to collect Teresa. We had lunch in El Mirador again but they had no burgers and fries. (I think she got them from the snack bar, Bucanero. Tomorrow!) I had beef with rice, half a beef burrito and a few beans and ice cream for dessert.

She wanted to check out the stores in the Mini Market and they were either the typical touristy shite or clothes that were too expensive. I noticed an internet center that’s closed; probably because Wi-Fi is so prevalent now. Also what looked like 3 telephone stations that were now vacant.

She returned to the beach and I made a trip to the room to exchange a few things.

I stopped at the reception center and picked up a paperback book, Triple Cross by James Patterson. I figured if I read 80 pages a day I should be finished before we leave. Back at the beach I sat down and almost read the first page of the book when it started raining lightly. Teresa wanted to leave but I resisted as I was sure it would end soon – couldn’t see any dark clouds from where I was sitting. Finally, she coaxed me into leaving but as we walked back to the room the rain had stopped. She wanted to turn around but I wasn’t going to be playing ping pong so I refused.

Teresa took a nap. I’ve noticed my eyes don’t seem tired here on the island which may confirm my suspicion that it’s Medellin’s pollution that bothers them.

After working on my blog awhile I laid down for a nap and 5 minutes later she tells me she wants to return to the beach. I told her to go without me which she did but 5 minutes later I got up and returned to the beach. It was very blustery and 5 minutes after I sat down she tells me she wants to go to the restaurant for coffee. I asked her why she thinks the restaurant is open now. I led her to the snack bar next to Bucanero and she confirmed this is where she got her burger and fries earlier. She had another burger patty and I dressed a burger and fries for me. In Bucanero we took seats out of the wind and I got a Coke with ice.

We returned to the room and I confirmed El Mirador opens at 6:30.

There is no rain at the moment but it is very breezy outside.

For supper tonight I put on a t-shirt with sleeves, shorts, and shoes and socks.

We left at 6:30 with umbrella up and battled wind and a light rain to the buffet restaurant. As usual I let Teresa go first while I saved the table. She came back with a bowl of soup and I asked her if it was vegetable and she replied, “yes”. I looked at their soups and they had fish soup and the other was “3 steaks” which appeared to be vegetable if you didn’t dig too deep. 😊 I found a muchacho carving up turkey. There were 3 other full turkeys yet to be cut up so I took some pieces of turkey breast but unfortunately they didn’t have turkey gravy but an orange sauce. We took our time but eventually we had to leave. Teresa wanted to walk a little so we headed to the theater where they were showing TV bloopers and we sat and watched the stupid stunts for a while.

Here's hoping the weather is better tomorrow.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

Monday, April 15, 20241

Last night we went to bed at 10:30, I got up once at 4:15, finally waking/getting up at 7am.

It’s moving day! But it’s also a very overcast day.

As usual, we dropped off our towels on our chosen cabana with chairs and had breakfast in our usual buffet restaurant, Trapiche.

It started misting and I had to move my chair closer to our umbrella table. It started raining so we left about 9:30, exchanged our towels for the cards and caught the next tram to Café Capaccino. It was raining hard while we had lattes and shared a couple coconut macaroons. About 10:30 we caught the next tram back to our room.

 I took a shower while Teresa continued packing.

It's now just after 11am and while we are supposed to have a noon check-out, we’re in no hurry because our next hotel appears to be close and their check-in is at 3pm.

We completed the rest of our packing then I called the bell hop and he arrived 10 minutes later.

There was still a light drizzle as he took our 2 suitcases down to the luggage tram and I brought the carry-on and my backpack. He took us to the lobby where we quickly checked out (no line) and returned the towel cards. I was a little surprised he didn’t cut off our bracelets which meant we probably could have gone for lunch. We sat in some comfortable chairs until about 12:45 when I ordered an Uber. Luis was only 4 minutes away and I was happy to see the resort allowed him to come up to where we had our luggage otherwise we would have had to drag everything a very long block to the resort entrance. He put everything in the back and we got in his minivan.

It was only a 10-minute ride to the other hotel and only cost $11.

Our 2^nd hotel, VIK Cayena Beach, is much smaller and looks a little dated. The lobby had sofas and chairs and a do-it-yourself coffee machine and I quickly found a Wi-Fi signal. I checked in at the desk and the muchacho informed me we are VIP guests. Sounds good to me. He allowed us to leave our bags there while we went to lunch. It was in the next building, a buffet restaurant with a separate building with the food and 3 adjoining buildings with tables and chairs.

The food here was more limited in choices but seemed to have more things I recognized. Teresa liked the food, loved the fish so I guess all is good. There were some desserts so I took a cookie and a cup of ice cream, strawberry and pistachio, which tasted like artificial flavors.

In a steady light drizzle we walked to the VIP Reception building (I noticed our bags inside the entrance) and we checked in. The receptionist gave us wrist bands with the word “Cayena” on them and 2 plastic cards for keys and cautioned us to keep them away from magnetic sources like our cellphones. She explained that this section of the property is for VIP guests only but we can go anywhere. She explained that one restaurant switches every night from Italian to Mexican to International. She pointed out different areas on a map she gave us but later I found the print so small and blurry it was useless. She gave us key cards for room 103 and a bellboy carried our bags there. I tipped him $2 and explained I no longer live in the US so I don’t have many US dollars.

We like our room, it’s large with 2 queen sized beds, a separate sitting area with couch, chair and mini-bar. The bathroom was nice size with 2 separate sinks. It also has A/C and it’s set to 24C which seems to be sufficient, especially since there is also a ceiling fan.

I easily connected to the internet on my laptop. 😊

Outside, we walked around a little and checked out a restaurant and the pool and beach areas.

The beach has a break wall (I think that’s what it’s called) to keep storms from eating away at the property.

Teresa found a dry spot at the pool while I returned to the room for something.

I hadn’t sat down for long when Teresa declared it had stopped raining and she wanted to go to the beach. (Now to explain we aren’t in any area with sand. There’s a grassy area with a few wicker loungers with umbrellas (now closed due to the rain) and a little side table. About 3 feet down is a short walkway and if you walk about 10 yards there are steps down to the break wall and other steps down to the beach/sand/water. We found a couple recliners in the VIP area with a little table next to them. Teresa went for a walk and was gone a little over an hour. I couldn’t get a WiFi signal so I continued reading my Kindle book. When she returned, she reported she had walked to the Princess resort. 😊

We returned to our room to get ready for supper.

Troyclough resigned our game increasing my rating to 1567.

We had supper in the same restaurant, El Mirador. The choices were limited but I found several things I liked and it was all delicious. 😊

We walked around and sat down by the pool for a bit (I was joined by a cat that cuddled up nearby; maybe I was in his seat) and finally about 9:30 Teresa was suddenly tired and we returned to our room.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS