Saturday, December 21, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, took a little while to fall asleep, slept through the night (?), finally waking/getting up at 6:30.

Well, I stand corrected. I saw the Samoyed out on the balcony this morning so maybe they just have visitors.

After breakfast, at 8:15 I went back to bed and slept until 9:45.

I left at 10am and took the elevator down to the basement where I ran into Teresa returning from picking up her meds. She asked me to go to Exito with her to buy a swimsuit. I got a spatula out of the storage area, then returned upstairs. While waiting for her to get ready I cleaned up the area around the bathroom faucet. We took a Didi to the mall.

Troyclough resigned our game in 25 moves (I had a mate in one) increasing my rating to 1591.

Teresa tried on several swimsuits in Exito but in the end decided they were too expensive and the lines were too long to pay for them anyway.

In Auros I printed information about our airport pickup and saw this interesting t-shirt of a guy standing in front of me.

We went to H&M where she found a couple swimsuits for a total of 165,000 pesos ($37.50). We got in a long line to pay but there were four cashiers so it went quickly. We returned to the apt by taxi.

About 1:45 I was thinking of going out for coffee but it felt like rain. I checked Accuweather and it said no rain for the next 60 minutes. :)  I checked The weather Channel and saw this:

That’s not encouraging. And then it was soon misting then raining so we both went to bed but it stopped about 15 minutes later. I left at 3:15, replaced a missing peanut and had a latte in Los Portenos while working on more chess puzzles form my “big book”.

I left at 5:30 and bought a jar of Nescafe instant coffee in Tienda D1 for 11,900 pesos on my way back to the apt.

I tried to enter the Check Migration information for Colombia. First, I set up a “frequent traveler” account but now I can’t get Check Migration to accept my personal information for this trip. For example, it asks me to select the reason for this trip but there isn’t any drop down box and entering “vacacion” or “paseo” doesn’t seem to work. I’ll try again tomorrow and if that doesn’t work it looks like it will be another 30 minutes or so we’ll have to waste in the airport on Monday morning.

The Dominican Republic has a similar requirement but the two times I tried to access it I get a “1016 Error” message. ☹

About 8:45 it started raining.

Teresa informed me she’s going with me tomorrow when I meet Glenn for breakfast because she’s concerned about his stomach problems and thinks she can help.

 

JUST FUNNY

Friday, December 20, 2024

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

I keep a pad of paper on my nightstand and I wrote down the time I got up during the night but this morning when I checked it just said, “7 3”. 😊

ONEIPAMETATO1453 resigned our game on the 23^rd move increasing my rating to 1585.

Teresa left at 8am for her gym class and I left for mine at 8:30. I completed my workout, printed some chess notes at the Bancolombia kiosk then had a latte in Ganso y Castor. I left at 11am and returned to the apt.

Teresa returned at 11:30.

I left at 2pm and walked to Metrosur mall where I paid the DirectTV bill for December and January. (I’ve paid about 1,800,000 pesos last year for our membership and I don’t think it’s worked once. In January we had to either get it fixed or cancel it.) I walked across the street and waited in line in Auros to print some chess notes. I stopped in Home Center and asked about plumber’s putty. The girl walked up and down the aisles looking for it and finally asked another guy who said it was downstairs, as I expected all along. 😊  The down escalator was out of order so I had to walk down the up escalator. ☹ I found a girl who found another girl who took me to where the silicone was. It was only 8,900 pesos but I had to wait in line for about 15 minutes to pay at a self-service checkout.

I withdrew 2,000,000 pesos from a Daviviend ATM then deposited 100,000 pesos into Teresa’s Bancolombia account to pay for Netflix for the next 3 months.

I went down to Urbania and had a latte. I stopped in Exito and bought a bottle of salad dressing then got in a short line to pay.

Outside I got in a long line for a taxi. (I was too tired to walk back to the apt and also for security purposes because I had so much cash with me.) My taxi driver could whistle that mimicked exactly the whistle the transit police use. 😊

Back at the apt Teresa had finished her last massage with Kelly for this year.

I think the apt across the street has new owners. I haven’t seen the Samoyed sitting on the balcony as often lately and tonight the place is much more open with a couple chairs on the balcony.

Jack W: Marcos doesn’t play chess and he’s paying cash for the apt.

 

JUST FUNNY

Thursday, December 19, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 4:40am, finally waking/getting up at 7am.

Teresa left just before 9am for her gym class. I left at 9:15 in a light drizzle and met Marcos outside Bunuelos. We each had a small café con leche and got caught up on things. He’s going to transfer title to the apt he recently purchased to his girlfriend then try to get her a US Visitor Visa.

I checked my Accuweather app which said no rain in the next 60 minutes (it was still raining). I checked The Weather Channel and it said the rain would stop by 10:15.

He left at 10am and I moved down to Peccato which was just setting up tables and ordered a latte. Darn if the rain didn’t stop around 10:15.

I waited until 11am for my umbrella to dry then stopped at Mercado Madrid where I bought a small carton (6) of eggs for 7,300 pesos before returning to the apt.

ALWAYSWANNAFLY041724 (1430) resigned our game in 12 moves, increasing my rating to 1581.

We left the apt at 11:45 and took a Didi to the main Fed-Ex center in Medellin – Calle 10 #41A-16. As we approached, I saw a sign on the door and Teresa said they were closed. The sign was something about only 5 people inside at once. I pushed on the door and entered and Teresa followed me. She handed a clerk her cedula and he went in back and brought out a cardboard envelope and she signed for it. Outside we crossed the busy street and many occupied taxis passed us. Terresa recommended we walked down a block to the intersection but I asked to give it another minute. Soon an empty taxi arrived and took us to El Tesoro mall. She opened the envelope and there is an impressive looking US Visa stamp inside, good for 10 years. 😊

We had a nice lunch in Natto Bowls for 104,000 pesos.

She shopped in Zara while I waited outside but didn’t find anything. We moved to H&M and she looked inside while I waited outside on a comfortable sofa. She called and asked me to come inside and meet her by the cashiers. She exchanged a few clothing items for an extra 50mil then looked at swimsuit bottoms that were only 29,900 pesos. One of her favorite sayings is “mira los precios tan barato”, her other is “todo feo”. There was a long line at the cashier and I didn’t want her to waste time picking out a swimsuit only to then decide against getting in line again. She ended up not buying anything more. We went up to Valentina’s where we had lattes (good and hot) and shared a slice of fresh yogurt cake.

We left at 4pm and got in a line (the number machine wasn’t working) to catch a taxi. By 4:30 we were in a taxi but going down one of the side streets we were pulled over by the police. Just a typical Colombian “no probable cause” stop. The policeman asked the driver something then Teresa and when she answered with her cedula number then name I understood what was going on. He asked my number

and after giving him all 6-digits he was obviously waiting for more but before I could say anything Teresa said it was a foreign cedula number. He didn’t ask my name but told us we could continue on our way. We arrived at the apt by 5pm for 20,200 pesos.

The rest of the night I just watched the news on IPTV.

 

JUST FUNNY

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, woke up at 6:22am (but didn’t make a trip to the bathroom), finally waking/getting up at 7:45.

Teresa skipped her 7am-8am trip to the gym, she said her butt still hurts from yesterday’s class but she’s thinking of going to class later in Mayorca.

I looked out the window and noticed this red-headed woodpecker eating a neighbor’s suet.

I left the apt at 9:30 and completed my workout in Smartfit. Today attendance seemed to be back to normal after Monday’s smaller crowd. I saw Nebraskja and told her that Teresa got her US Visitor’s Visa and we’ll be visiting Chicago next summer. She was happy for me.

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor for about an hour. There was a young lady sitting 2 tables over working on a laptop and I heard her speak English on her phone but I was ignored when I tried to talk to her. I replaced all the missing peanuts.

At 11:15 I returned to the apt.

I sent Christmas presents to my son and daughter back in the States.

I took a closer look at our flight and hotel reservations. I emailed our hotel, gave them our flight information and requested airport pickup.

Teresa called Kelly’s (our woman FBI driver in Bogota) son here in Medellin and arranged 61m pickup next Monday for our 9:53am flight to Punta Cana. (We’re afraid Bryan’s car is too small to hold our two large suitcases, carry-on and backpack.)

Per Fed-Ex, Teresa’s passport is “out for delivery” in Medellin.

I left the apt at 2pm, printed Teresa’s medical appointment in the Bancolombia kiosk then had a latte in Los Portenos returning to the apt at 4:30. Teresa was getting a massage from Kelly.

I checked Fed-Ex and Teresa’s passport arrived at their Poblado location at 1:28pm and is awaiting pickup. We plan to go there late tomorrow morning to pick it up then on to El Tesoro mall for some shopping.

About 6:30pm I heard someone blow one of those plastic oogah horns. Per google, Atletico Nacional has a match starting at 7:30 against Deportes Tolima.

I spent the rest of the evening watching the news.

Per google, the soccer match ended in a 1-1 tie.

 

JUST FUNNY

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 11pm, got up once during the night, finally waking/getting up at 6:07 before my 6:30 alarm.

I resigned a game against Troyclough lowering my rating to 1573.

I arrived at Unicentro mall 10 minutes before their 8am opening. Jose joined me a few minutes later. We both had French toast and coffee. We adjourned to the food court where I started with the Black pieces. I don’t mean this as an excuse but lately I haven’t felt like I’ve been “in the zone” chess wise. Remember I had a rating up to 1630 and now I’m down to 1573. I seemed to be “in the zone” when I was working on the difficult “mates in 2” in my large book. Anyway, I asked Jose to play d4 and e4 and his first 2 moves and I played the Czech Pirc opening. He made a tactical mistake on his 7^th move and I was attacking his king the rest of the game, he blundered a rook on the 46^th move but being in a little time trouble I missed it, finally he resigned on the 82^nd move.

From his 6^th move to 7^th move my advantage went from 0.17 (even) to -2.80 (Black has a decisive advantage).

I had White in the second game and I asked him to reply 1…Nf6 to my 1.d4. I played 2.Bg5 and got to practice an interesting line of The Trompowsky Attack. (The computer later said that after the 8^th move, “White is Better”.) He blundered on the 20^th move losing a piece and resigned on the 52^nd move.

I don’t often win both games against Jose so I was very happy. Maybe the few daily puzzles I’m doing on Chess.com are helping after all.

We must have been playing quicker than usual as it was only 1pm. We said our goodbyes as we won’t be playing again until next year and I ordered a Didi to take me to Viva Envigado.

I checked Only Roastbeef but it looks to be closed permanently. I went to Pergamino where there were a few seats available and I had my usual bowl of granola, yogurt, and acai berries with a small latte.

I had brought at least 2,000,000 pesos in 100s with me and I withdrew another 2,000,000 from a Davivienda ATM; it was a nice mix of bills. I paid our apt rental, my health insurance, the gym, and both our cellphones. I had a latte in Urbania while texting the receipts via Whatsapp for the apt and my health insurance.

A new clothing store opened across from Urbania and I shared a photo of it with Teresa later.

I received an email from the US Embassy that today they’ll be handing off her passport to Fed-Ex and gave me the tracking information.

About 3pm Teresa called me and asked me to go to a stand outside Exito and buy 2 Nutella de Bunuelos for her and meet her at Wilson’s bar.

I paid the epm utility bill and after overcoming a little communication problem I managed to buy them for 16mil. I found Teresa with MT at Wilson’s bar.

A Colombiana sitting at the next table with a laptop overheard my broken Spanish and we had a short conversation in English. Her English was very good. I told her a joke in English than the only one I know in Spanish.

At 4:15 Teresa and I returned to the apt by Didi.

I wasn’t monitoring the time but it must have been about 5:45 when the TV went blank. It’s red light wasn’t on so I knew it hadn’t completely lost power. A minute later a screen came on like it was searching for our Wi-Fi network. The lights started getting a little funky, like half power, the bedroom lights didn’t work at all and the bathroom light was also half power. The building across the street seemed fine. I had Teresa call the porteria and a portero explained that power was out in our area. It finally came back on at 7:15, the TV was back to normal and all was good again.

I finished reading Lee Child’s The Affair (Jack Reacher #4) on my Kindle.

 

JUST FUNNY

Monday, December 16, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 5:22am (it was pouring but seemed to stop soon after returning to bed), finally waking/getting up at 7am.

I forgot to mention 2 things from last night: 1) I heard some cheering but not enough for a win and after a google search I saw that Atletico Nacional drew Americas de Cali 0-0. 2) There was a lot of fireworks and they were still going on when I went to bed at 10pm.

I left the apt at 8:15, put a peanut in the tree next to the birdfeeder and proceeded on to the gym in weather between a mist and raindrops. Fortunately, it had stopped by the time I left the gym.

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor before returning to the apt.

I found an unknown payment in my USAA account of $61.19. I called USAA and while they were checking for more information, I checked my blog and found was the payment for my cedula. Mea culpa!

Glenn has been having speed problems with his new Movistar fiber optic service but today a technician came out and he now is getting 700 Mbps.

And yesterday I showed him the new google lens feature that allows for live written translations from Spanish to English.

Teresa and I left at 3:45 and took a Didi to Arkadia mall. Our driver’s name was Aura and she was a young lady that drove very tentatively like she had just gotten her license. Oh, and her Didi photo was an older man, maybe her father?

As soon as we entered the mall Teresa there was a Mimo’s stand and we both got a soft serve ice cream cone with chocolate and peanuts.

We waited a couple minutes outside the elevator where we finished them before we went up to the 4^th floor. It only took about 10 minutes for Teresa to pick up her mammogram results and get an appointment for next year.

We were sitting in Peregamino having a latte (cold) and we each had some type of pastry. I checked the .pdf they emailed me and the date for her next appointment was today’s date. I asked her why it doesn’t have the year 2025 on it so we returned to the clinic and Teresa talked to someone who convinced her that it was okay.

We walked across the street where we bought a bag of groceries for 392,700 pesos ($90.50). There were four families ahead of us for a taxi which turned out to be a 30-minute wait. We returned to the apt in heavy traffic which took about 35 minutes.

With a bag of salted-in-the-shell peanuts and a Coke, I watched the Minnesota Vikings pummeled my Bears 30-12 for their 8^th loss in a row. ☹

I went to bed right after at 11pm.

 

JUST FUNNY

Bob Burford - Part VII

I just found out that Michael Moore's "Sicko" is now free for the taking on YouTube. If you have never seen it, it is well worth the time. If you have already seen it, chance are good you'll want to see it again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbEQ7acb0IE

Moore took some 9/11 first responders down to Guantanamo. He saw in a Senate hearing that the inmates at Guantanamo received bi-weekly health screenings. That's a helluva lot better than what the first responders to get, so he decided to take them on a cruise. All of the first responders wound up with serious medical issues. I remember one of the women in the movie was spending $120/month for an inhaler, without which she would die. They went to a pharmacy in Havana and the same inhaler was only 25 cents. She went back to NYC with a bag full of inhalers.

Sunday, December 15, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 5am, finally waking/getting up by alarm at 7:30.

I met Glenn with Bianca at Olivenza at 9am where I filled him in on our Bogota adventures. He still has a stomach problem but all his test results are negative and he’s trying to decide what to do next. He just had coffee and a homemade muffin while I was there. He told me about a faucet leak that took him 5 years to deduce and finally fix. He gave me some advice about my VPN problem. We may pursue getting new routers for about $90 next year as he has a make and model that he had investigated.

I had calentao with scrambled eggs and 2 lattes. I left at 11am, stopped and bought 2 bags of milk before returning to the apt.

Shite. I can’t find my USAA debit card. I remember Teresa putting it in a safer place but she’s sure she returned it to me. ☹ I finally found it in my toilet kit with my passport. Mea culpa.

I mainly vegged out the rest of the day.

I still haven’t figured out how to turn off Nord VPN but I did find a button that allowed me to pause it for an hour and then NFL Game Pass (DASN) worked. 😊

On Netflix I watched the first episode of Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War (8.4), Carry-On (6.6), and the first two episodes of Lost (8.3).

Teresa listened to something on her cellphone then shared her interest to go to a nearby 5:30am mass tomorrow. She’s afraid of going out in the dark alone so she seems to have resigned herself to not going.

 

JUST FUNNY

Saturday, December 14, 2024

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

No internet connection this morning. ☹

We had a simple breakfast in the hotel then hung out in the lobby a while. At 10am we returned to our room for some final packing. At 10:45 while waiting to check out I thought I noticed a sign, from a little distance, about free shuttles to the airport every hour on the half hour. We went downstairs and while waiting for Ricardo to arrive I thought I saw the gray and white hotel shuttle. By 11:10 Teresa called Ricardo and he said someone else would be picking us up in 15 minutes. I thought why should I pay someone 35mil to take us to the airport when the shuttle bus was right here. I confirmed with the bus driver that he was going to the airport and we soon climbed into the van and Teresa called Ricardo, the liar, and canceled the pickup. We were soon on our way to the airport.

At the Avianca area I saw lots of Paso 1 terminals but had to ask where to find Paso 2. Of course there were only two at the end of the others. I started entering our data and an Avianca employee quickly took over. Of course, she asked for my passport but I handed her my cedula. She put it under the scanner and got a not read message. She asked for my passport and I dug it out of my backpack but that didn’t work either. Obviously, the scanner wasn’t working right. She directed us to an Avianca desk where a rep quickly scanned our cedulas and gave us boarding passes. As we were walking away I asked what is our gate and Teresa said to look at the departure screen. For our flight, AV9318 it said D15C so we started walking down the aisle. Of course D15 was the last terminal and C was downstairs. We took an escalator downstairs and had seats just outside the gate an hour before our flight. Teresa surprised me and asked me to bring her 2 chantilly donuts from Dunkin Donuts. Knowing she will eat part of the second and expect me to finish it I just bought a strawberry donut for myself, also a bottle of water to share. Back downstairs we consumed our donuts and about 2:45 I looked at our boarding passes and didn’t see assigned seats. I looked back over my shoulder and the gate rep wasn’t busy so I asked Teresa to go ask about it. She did and came back and told me to hurry because we have to go to gate D5. We did and entered the plane right after the 3rd pilot, the navigator. I had seat 26E and she had seat 28B so we both had middle seats but luckily the flight only lasts an hour.

Bryan had already handed us off to Manuel and I texted him that we took off on time and since we don’t have bags to claim we should be out of the airport pretty quickly after landing.

I won a game in 21 moves vs Troyclough increasing my rating to 1587.

We were back in our apt for 150mil by 4:15. Our portero said we had a package so I went down to get it. It was a pair of ripped jeans from Studio F that Laura had ordered.

I watched Captain Phillips again on Netflix as it leaves their offering at the end of this year.

It was pouring by the time I went to bed at 10pm.

 

JUST FUNNY

Friday, December 13, 2024

Last night we went to bed at 9pm, I got up 3 times during the night, the last time being 2:30 and I couldn’t fall back asleep. Finally, Teresa got up and asked me what time it was and it was 4:45am. We both got up to start our day.

Today is US Embassy Interview Day!

Teresa swears she can see a line already at the embassy but I don’t see anyone. (It turns out I was looking too far, at the embassy itself, instead of outside their gates.)

To Jack W.: I think we have similar religious beliefs.

We left the hotel at 6:20 and walked across the street and down a block and there was already a crowd of a few dozen people.

A Colombian policeman seemed to be in charge and Teresa listened to his instructions. Just after 6:30 he allowed the US Residents to go in first. (I’m talking about behind the fence to the embassy property.) I would say there were dozens if not 100 people waiting. Then the policeman had most of the others line up next to the fence, and Teresa was near the front. I moved to the 2^nd restaurant on my side of the street named El Embajador.

There were dozens of tables, each identified by a different US state but I didn’t see Illinois (maybe it was occupied) so I sat at the Massachusetts table and ordered a café con leche. Soon a different waitress came over and asked if I had been served. I said yes and she complemented me on my green eyes. Teresa returned after about 30 minutes and said she was approved. She was only asked, 1) How long have you and your husband been together? 2) What kind of work did your husband do in the US, 3) What kind of work does Teresa do here in Colombia? 4) Do you live in your own apartment? That was it. He didn’t look at any of the photos, documents, or other stuff we had painstakingly gathered together. Like I tried to tell her they already decided ahead of time if you’re going to get a Visa. Teresa told me she saw lots of people, mostly younger women, ahead of her being rejected without looking at any of the documents they brought. I paid 8mil for my café con leche and we left.

We returned to the hotel and had a simple breakfast in their restaurant. I asked to see her passport and she said they took it and she handed me a piece of paper with Spanish on one side and English on the other which said her passport with Visa will be delivered to the “Applicant Service Center or at the courier office you selected during registration”. I hope 2 ½ years ago I opted to have it delivered to Medellin. 😊

I just realized, how can Teresa go to the Dominican Republic if the US Embassy has her passport? Her paper from the embassy had an email address for questions regarding the delivery of her passport so I dashed off an email to them. There was also a website “to obtain the status of your passport” but I found it was “under maintenance”.

Teresa talked to her lawyer Marisol and she said Teresa’s passport is scheduled to arrive in Medellin on the 18^th or 19^th so that sounds encouraging. She later texted us the address which is a few blocks up from Parque Poblado.

We left the apt at 10:30 and took a hotel van to downtown Bogota. We agreed with our driver Ricardo to be picked up at the same location at 4pm.

Of course, the first store Teresa hit was Zara but after searching both floors she declared all the clothes the same as Medellin – black and gray. We went outside and across the street to a large mall and took escalators up to the to (4^th) floor and selected a cute restaurant named La Grand Garden for lunch. At first they gave us breakfast menus but when we asked for lunch menus they switched them but informed us we’d have to wait until 11:45 to order lunch. It was now 11:25 and Teresa was starving so she ordered a croissant and coffee to tide her over.

At 11:45 as soon as we could flag down a waiter, she ordered a Greek salad bowl and a side of mashed potatoes and I their crispy chicken sandwich with a mango juice.

 It took a while for our food to arrive and they warned me my plate was hot. Was it ever, I couldn’t even pick up my sandwich without touching the plate for quite a few minutes so I started with my fries. Later I even had to remind them I’d ordered a mango juice. The total came to 150,778 pesos ($34.50).

We walked clockwise (to make sure we didn’t miss anything) around the 4^th floor then moved down a floor and continued all the way down to the main floor. This is a Christmas display in their atrium:

We found a Cruz Verde and were allowed to buy a 20-pack of Zopiclona for 60mil, giving us a better chance of sleeping well tonight. I recognized most stores from the same in Medellin. We walked out of the mall and were bombarded by beggars and people selling sunglasses, watches, lottery tickets, etc. We checked out a few more stores but by 3:30 we were ready to leave. Around 4pm Teresa talked to Ricardo and he was far away so he would be sending another driver around 5pm who would call us when he was close. We went into a smaller mall and checked it out but we were both exhausted and I was at my standing/walking limit. We chose a café/restaurant named Philipe on the first floor with a view of the street and ordered lattes and a slice of cake with raisins and nuts. Teresa talked to Ricardo a couple more times. Soon my cellphone battery was down to 8% and I had to shut it off.

Ricardo finally called Teresa at 6pm and said he was outside. I had already paid our 30mil cafe bill so we just had to drag ourselves out to the car. It was Ricardo in the same van. I asked him if our hotel had a courtesy van to take us to the airport. He said no so I made an arrangement for him to pick us up at 11am tomorrow for 35mil. On our way back to the hotel he turned down a side street and I thought, “good, he knows a shortcut”. He stopped at a building and another man came out and I thought we were going to get another passenger but they just switched drivers. That’s why he wanted me to pay the 45mil bill early. It took 50 minutes in bumper-to-bumper traffic from downtown Bogota to return to our hotel.

We had a simple supper in the hotel restaurant for 89,100 pesos ($20.50).

We were both very tired but managed to stay up until 9:30.

 

JUST FUNNY

Thursday, December 12, 2024

Last night we went to bed at 10pm, I got up several times during the night, finally threw off my side of the duvet and just used the thick sheet under it, finally waking up at 6am and getting up at 7:30.

Today is Photo and Fingerprinting Day!

Another day filled with adventure.

Did I mention I don’t like duvets? I don’t need a 2 sheet and 1 blanket combo to keep me warm, usually a single sheet is enough. Did I mention I experienced my first duvet 35 years ago in Moscow? Well, that’s another story.

I can’t seem to get any internet connection this morning.

Teresa finally realized we’re only staying one night so we’ll be checking out at noon.

We had a nothing special buffet breakfast: cold coffee, cold French toast, lots of strange things I didn’t recognize but they did have fresh fruit, juices, rice and scrambled eggs.

The lady at the front desk spoke English and she printed some documents that Laura says Teresa needs to have with her. I asked if after we check out at noon, we could leave our bags for a few hours and she said no problem. It looks like we can take a Didi to the CAS (Applicant Service Center) and even though its close by, one-way streets and highways kind of get in the way.

We left at 10:30 to go for a little walk. I was in pants, undershirt, long-sleeve shirt, and jacket. I led the way in the direction of CSA, soon took off my jacket and after about 20 minutes we arrived at Connecta 26 which is like a campus with office buildings (I noticed Teleperformance which I think is the large telemarketing office in Vizcaya mall), stores and finally we found the line outside CSA. The note on the building indicated the form they required but everyone in line I noticed had a photo attached. ☹ I had Teresa double check with the man in charge and I understood all she needed is her passport and the application. It was now about 11:15 and we had to check out of our room by noon.  Teresa needed some skin cream so we stopped in a Farmatodo where she finally chose a small container. I also asked about Zopiclona because Teresa took some of mine last night but the pharmacist asked if I had a formulario (doctor’s order). I replied, “yes, in my apt in Medellin” so I didn’t get it. When we came out of the pharmacy if we had made an immediate right we would have retraced our steps back to the campus entrance but Teresa led me straight ahead. When we arrived at the other end of the campus we both realized we were lost. When we got back to the main road, still inside the campus, we saw two opposite entrances and didn’t know which one to take. We ended up choosing the wrong one and after walking a bit I insisted we take a taxi and let the driver figure out the way. We did and I gave him the name of our hotel. After a bit the driver was in the outer lanes and passed our hotel. I asked to drop us off there and we would walk back. He did and we soon found we were at the wrong Marriott, we needed the one by the airport. We had a hotel driver take us to the right one and it cost 40mil. It was now 12:30 so I apologized to the desk clerk and we quickly packed up and I returned the room card. We had lunch in their restaurant; Teresa had chicken and I ordered the beef ribs. 

Wrong move; when will I learn not to order beef in Colombia? After a few bites of the ribs I just finished the fries and vegetables. I made a last trip to the restroom, charged 329,890 pesos ($75) for our two meals and Teresa requested a hotel van to take us to CAS. Our driver was a tallish (5’7”), thin, 40ish woman dressed in a black suit with her hair in a ponytail, small earrings and aviator sunglasses. My thought was we’ve got a female FBI agent for our driver. 😊  Bogota, like Medellin, has lots of one-way streets and after numerous cloverleafs and other turns she dropped us off 100’ from the CAS office. We grabbed a table in Starbucks and while I was setting up my laptop Teresa talked to a man at a nearby table and he clarified the few things that Teresa needed for her appointment. Now I’m sitting in Starbucks listening to original Christmas carols like Gene Autry’s Here Comes Santa Claus and Frosty the Snowman.

I kept her carry-on in a corner next to my backpack while working on my blog and she went to get in line.

Teresa returned by 3pm and said all was good. Step one is complete. I think it took about 20 minutes, most of that in line.

Teresa called Kelly for pickup and we went to the corner where she had dropped us off. I was watching for her van and when it was 100 yards away Teresa said, “there she is”. I asked how she could tell and she said she could see her ponytail. Wow, she’s got better long-distance vision than I do.

Kelly took us to the Wyndham Hotel for 46mil. She pointed out the US embassy across the street and the stoplight where we can cross. She also said something about a mall behind the hotel. We went up to the 2^nd floor lobby where I checked us in without any problem and paid for the 2 nights.

We put our bags in our room and Teresa looked out the window and asked why can’t she see the US flag? I pointed to it as she wasn’t looking high enough. 😊

We went back down to the 2^nd floor to their restaurant where she had fish and I had a bowl of minestrone soup and a limonada de coco for 129,800 pesos ($30). I paid for it with my Capital One card without a problem and I understand I have to pay for each meal separately instead of charging to our room and paying everything at the end like the Marriott.

We moved to more comfortable chairs in the lobby and looked at our phones when I should have been in our room working on this blog.

Well, the Wi-Fi here appears to be better than Marriott, which sucked, so I should be able to post something soon.

We were very tired but managed to stay up until 9pm. I set the alarm for 5:30am as we’re planning on leaving the hotel at 6:30 for her 7:15 interview.

 

JUST FUNNY

Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, again at 4:15, finally falling back asleep and waking/getting up at 6:30.

I left the apt at 8:30 and stopped at the Bancolombia kiosk but it hadn’t opened yet. I sat on their stoop and she opened fifteen minutes later. I printed Laura’s green card and her letter of extension. I had a latte in Los Portenos, replaced a missing peanut and returned to the apt.

It's 7pm and we’re in the Courtyards of Marriott Bogota Airport. Now to recall our latest adventure.

At noon I noticed I had an email from Avianca that our flight had changed to a 3:58 departure. I notified Teresa that we can wait another hour or so before leaving and I texted Bryan that our flight had changed and to come at 1:30 instead of 12:30. He texted me a photo of our porteria and said he was already here but he would wait for us. I asked him to give us a few minutes. We were already packed so it was just a manner of finishing up a few things and we went down to his car. On the drive to the airport he explained he’s divorced and his wife got the truck (and some other “business”) so he’s starting over.

At the airport we had no bags to check and an Avianca rep helped us use the machine to get our boarding passes. She asked for my passport which was deep in Teresa’s carry-on. Luckily, I looked at the machine and saw, “documento de identificacion” and I took out my cedula and she accepted it. The time we’re supposed to be at the gate was 3:13 so we had some time to kill. We had a simple “menu of the day” lunch at a new restaurant as J&C Delicias appears to be permanently closed.

We still had some time but better to get through the TSA checkpoint first. We didn’t have to take off our shoes or our belts and once again they didn’t catch the portable scissors in my backpack nor my keys or change as I walked through what I thought was supposed to be a metal detector. As we were waiting in line to board I saw this young lady with her little dog.

About to go through the gate to get on the plane I noticed my boarding pass had a “no” under where it says “carry-on luggage” but no one said anything. I stowed my backpack and her carry-on in the bin right over us. Our flight took off on time and when we arrived in Bogota it seemed like we spent more time taxiing in Medellin than we spent in the air.

We were able to skip baggage claim and at the exit doors Teresa decided she wanted coffee. She asked a cleaning lady who recommended Juan Valdez or Oma. Right after that we noticed a Starbucks so we ordered lattes and took a nearby table next to another couple. I noticed his dog and I said, “Samoyed” and he said in English, “yes, it is”. I asked where they were from and he said Canada although their dark features told me they are most likely originally from India. I asked if the dog was able to ride in the cabin and he told me it was a Service Dog and then I saw the harness. I didn’t want to embarrass him and ask what service the dog provides.

I double checked our hotel info and a hotel bus is supposed to arrive every hour at gate 5 on level 2. We just passed gate 4 and we were right across from the escalator. At 5:45 we gathered up our stuff and headed up and outside. I had a jacket but Teresa’s was in her carry-on. I offered to open her suitcase but she elected to wait a few minutes. I checked the nearby buses but didn’t see one for Marriott. We waited until just after 6pm when Teresa suggested we take a taxi. We walked across the street and took the first available taxi. The driver crammed my backpack and Teresa’s carry-on in his trunk and as we were pulling away I saw the Marriott bus parked at the curb we had just left. The driver asked me for the address and it took a couple attempts to find it as he stopped at the curb and the traffic police sounded their siren. After a ride through heavy traffic and a payment of 26,900 pesos we arrived at the hotel and checked in to room 215. It was more expensive than I thought, 722,687 pesos ($220.50).

I had a problem connecting to their internet but after a call to the front desk they suggested another network and that worked, although it’s very slow.

We had supper in their large sprawled out restaurant. Teresa had some type of fish and I had their small pasta and we shared a bottle of water for 185,990 pesos ($43). I did notice beef ribs on their menu, something I haven’t had in a long time. I certainly wasn’t hungry enough tonight but maybe lunch tomorrow. Then again, they might be too chewy to enjoy.

I looked at google maps and I can see the airport, our hotel, and the CAS fingerprint site all relatively nearby. However, it’s hard to get a sense of distances.

We went to bed at 10pm.

 

JUST FUNNY

Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up twice during the night, finally waking/getting up at 6:15am.

Teresa left at 8am for her exercise class.

I left at 8:40 and ordered a Didi to take me to Daniel’s for a haircut. Because I usually go at a routine time every 4 weeks, Didi suggests where I want to go including his address. It didn’t today so I had to enter it manually. Now I know there are several routes to his place but this time it seemed to be further north and up in the mountains. I figured the driver was approaching the shop from uphill instead of the usual downhill. But when I expected him to turn right and head downhill instead he turned left and went uphill. I stopped him right there and told him we’re heading in the wrong direction. I called Daniel and it took a few minutes but we eventually got headed in the right direction and I arrived only 7 minutes late for my 9am appointment.

After my haircut Daniel gave me a present wrapped in Christmas paper. He said i was for being his best customer. He also gave me an Apice baseball cap which I really like and will come in handy in Punta Cana and our own upcoming warmer weather.

I took a Didi to Todo Drogas and was surprised to run into the man from our building who is renting our apt. He said something about paying for December and January and I told him we leave for Bogota tomorrow for 4 days. He said he would stop by this afternoon. I purchased my medication and supplements for the month for 303,200 pesos ($69).

I walked over to the copy center where I had our hotel confirmation printed and bought 2 money envelopes.

I walked to Ganso y Castor where I had a latte. I replaced the two missing peanuts and a few minutes later observed a red squirrel already enjoying one of them.

The dogs in the 2^nd photo let me know the squirrel was there.

I left at 11am and returned to the apt.

Teresa opened the gift and its some type of skin care for men I’ll never use so I asked her to regift it.

Whoever Teresa is talking to (Laura, lawyer, friends) she sure is putting demands on me. Now she wants a copy of my passport. I’ll be happy when this embassy trip is over.

Teresa wanted to go to Santafe mall to meet a friend. Okay with me I need to use the ATM for more bills smaller than 100s. I waited until 2pm and nothing came of her friend so she told me I could go to Viva. I left at 2:15 and walked to the mall. I recycled a plastic bottle, printed a copy of my passport page, and withdrew 2,000,000 pesos, a mix of 10s, 20s, 50s, and 100s. Perfect!

I was having a latte in Urbania when Teresa called and asked for the address of where we will be staying in the US. I don’t know but she was insisted on an address so I gave her my brother’s.

About 4pm I decided I’d better get back to the apt so I returned by taxi, no wait.

Teresa showed me what she wanted to wear for her embassy interview, blue jeans, white top and blue jacket. I said that looked good. She then comes out wearing a different jacket, a red one asking me which I liked better. (insert eye roll emoji here) I told her the red one because she’s now got all the colors of the American flag. 😊

Teresa complained her purse didn’t fit into the carryon. She wanted to bring a purse on the plane and another for the embassy. I told her to bring one, the one she wants for the interview, and carry it with her as her personal item. ☹

Laura sent us a copy of her green card and a letter addressing her extension which I’ll print tomorrow. I personally don’t think this is important. Like the US doesn’t know her status.

I watched the first couple episodes of the four-episode series Churchill at War on Netflix.

 

JUST FUNNY

Monday, December 9, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, woke up at 5:30, tried to fall back asleep, gave up when I heard a generator outside Ara at 6am.

I left the apt at 7:30 and completed my workout in Smartfit. Today wasn’t very crowded and I saw Michael.

I stopped at the copy center but it was only about 8:30 and hadn’t opened yet.

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor for about 90 minutes. I found another Bob Burford article on Facebook and later posted it to my blog. I replaced the missing peanuts in the trees. I took a photo of this talkative/noisy bird that is common here in Medellin, Colombia.

I left at 9:45 and printed a few pages of chess notes in the now opened Bancolombia kiosk on my way back to the apt.

I was sitting at my computer when I got a call from Inter-Col at 10:34, It wasn’t Angie and the woman didn’t speak English. Soon Teresa was standing behind me and took the phone. I only understood the words, “immigration” and “11:15”. Teresa hung up and was all in “we gotta hurry mode”. I asked her if this was for me or for her and she didn’t know. (I thought she was going to have a kitten (is this a Chicago expression?)). She called Laura for some reason and I called Inter-Col. The same woman answered and after getting a few questions answered I understood it was for my cedula, I have an 11:15 appointment at Immigration in Belen and I have to bring certain documents. I grabbed my passports (new and old) and debit cards and ordered a Didi. My ride arrived at 10:40 and by 11am dropped me off around the corner from the Immigration office. I stopped across the street and had 4 documents printed that Inter-Col sent me via Whatsapp. It was exactly 11:15 when I told the guard I had an appointment and he let me in without even looking at it. I took a seat and there was only one person ahead of me. I handed him my documents and my passport and he had me write my address, email address, phone number and blood type on one of my pages. I took a seat and waited for the next stage. A girl (25 maybe) after me seemed to be having some trouble. She took a seat next to me and I asked if she had problems. She said, “her medicine won’t arrive until September. Their website doesn’t work. Their email doesn’t work” except every other word was F*ck**g. She was a real ray of sunshine. At the next station the rep showed me my personal information and I verified its accuracy. I took a seat again for a couple minutes. He then called me up to pay the cedula fee of 267,000 pesos ($61). I handed him my Capital One debit card and the machine asked for my pin. I entered it and it said, “incorrect pin”. We tried again with the same result. I told him, “funciona en todo tiendas de Medellin”. Luckily, I had also brought my USAA debit card and that one works without needing a pin.

I took a seat again for a few minutes then he called me up, returned some papers and told me to return the 2^nd week of February with my cedula or passport to get my new cedula and I won’t need an appointment. Outside I called for a Didi to return me to the apt and I was back by 12:30. I didn’t even miss lunch. 😊

Teresa informed me that Kelly is coming around 3pm to give her a massage.

I left the apt at 1:15 and had a latte in Los Portenos. I left at 3pm and returned to the apt. Teresa was busy getting a massage from Kelly.

Using Booking.com I booked us one night in Courtyard by Marriott Bogota Airport for 591,400 pesos + 112,300 VAT (Value added Tax?) = 703,700 pesos ($159.46). It’s close to the airport, obviously, and appears to be walking distance from Teresa’s first appointment for photo and fingerprints.

 

JUST FUNNY