Monday, January 13, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, slept through the night, finally waking/getting up at 6:15.

Since I was concerned that an hour and 40 minutes might not be enough time in Houston to get through immigration and get to our next gate, I inquired on Facebook and received this opinion:

I left the apt at 8am and completed my workout in Smartfit. I had a latte in Ganso y Castor then replaced a couple missing peanuts before returning to the apt.

I started looking into renting a car with Avis or Budget, using my USAA discount.

I left the apt just before noon and took a Didi to Mayorca mall. (Teresa had a gym class here earlier then she had coffee with a friend.) I took a table inside Crepes & Waffles and Teresa arrived 10 minutes later. I tried something new, Beef Thai Salad with a mango juice and Teresa had the salad bar.

The total came to 59,400 pesos ($13.75); looking at the receipt I think they forgot to charge for Teresa’s salad bar. We checked out a few stores and found 2 sleeveless t-shirts for me in Racketball for a total of 139,800 pesos ($32.35), not bad. I understand we’ll be keeping these for our trip to Chicago.

We had yogurt ice cream in Percimon before returning to the apt by taxi.

I received a text message from Innovation Corp that my package has arrived in Bogota. (Interesting that I haven’t had any back pain since I ran out of pills, maybe it’s healed?) I used Paypal to pay the $18.63 so my package will be released and sent here.

I googled how much I have to have on my credit card and found these:

So, adding 25% (for a Toyota Corolla for 19 days) means I’ll need between $1,962.08 and $2,190.50 limit on my USAA credit card. So, I guess I’ll be asking for a new credit limit of at least $2,500.

I think the rainy season is OVER.

 

JUST FUNNY

Sunday, January 12, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, had trouble falling asleep, the last time I looked at my watch it was just after 1am, woken up by truck hydraulics at 6am, finally waking/getting up at 6:15.

I met Glenn at 9am in Olivenza. I told him about my frustrations with DirecTV and no internet and my progress for our trip to Chicago.

He informed me there are other car rental options like Zipcar and Turo which I’ll be checking out.

He still hasn’t made an appointment with Teresa’s recommended gastroenterologist because he’s feeling better. I told him he should get started on the appointment as it’s likely to be months away.

He gifted me a couple of LL Bean t-shirts that he doesn’t like because they don’t have a pocket. They are only medium but they fit me but I don’t like the tight crew collar so I’ll probably gift them to Kelly.

I left at 11am and walked back to the apt.

I see from a message Glenn sent me that Zipcar charges about $90 a day. Not sure what the extras would be.

I forgot to mention it yesterday, but MT did get her January Social Security payment and I told her the first step in renewing her passport is to get a new passport photo.

I need to lift the security freeze on my account with Equifax then request an increase of my USAA credit account limit. I may need this in order to rent a car.

For lunch, Teresa wants to return to the restaurant in the mountains, Donde Albiero, Calle 36D sur #9-250.

I called Equifax and got a 2-week hold on my credit freeze. Then it will automatically revert back to a frozen account.

I put on my convo pants, a t-shirt and  some insect repellant and at 2:45 we took a Didi to Donde Albiero high in the mountains for 14,400 pesos. I thought these tables were overflow from the restaurant

but they are actually the line waiting to get in. LuckIly, there were only two of us so the wait was only about 15 minutes. As we entered the restaurant I felt the first no-see-um, a bite on my right wrist.

I ordered the ribs again with fries, and a Coke and it came with a small salad. Teresa ordered the sancocho again, ate half of it and got the other half to go (she brought a portable pot with her to carry it in).

While there I heard the Spanish version of the 1963 hit Sukiyaki over their speakers. 😊

The total check came to 120mil. I got my 2^nd bad bite under my left upper arm as we were leaving the restaurant. (I had a couple more bites but they weren’t as serious.)  I ordered a Didi for the suggested 15mil, got one after a 10-minute wait, he cancelled and they were expanding the search for a car. After another 10 minutes I cancelled and used InDrive to order a ride for 30mil cash. I got one and he was only 5 minutes away so we got back to the apt by 6pm, just before dark. I don’t think Teresa knows I paid so much for it. 😊

I submitted a request online with USAA to increase my credit limit to $5000 but now they want me to call them.

I watched some 60 Minutes in the evening before reading more of my current Kindle book.

 

EL ARROYO

Saturday, January 11, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 5:45, finally waking/getting up at 7:15.

I took an Uber (Didi couldn’t seem to find the exact location) to Daniel’s new barbershop at Transversal 34DD sur #32C-05. It’s on a corner across from a church and a small park. It’s larger and very open with 2 barber chairs, a manicure/pedicure station, and a separate waiting area with television.

The haircut took about an hour but the manicure/pedicure took over 2 hours and I’m not very happy about that. The manicurist was a young lady with a nose ring and a few tattoos including one on her forearm in English that said, “Everything is going to be okay”. 😊 I paid Daniel the usual 50mil (included a 5mil tip) and the manicurist 50mil (also included a 5mil tip).

By the time I left, Daniel was working on another customer and the other barber had arrived and was working on another customer so it appears his business is successful. I told him I’d see him in four weeks.

I returned to the apt by Uber and Teresa informed me the Direct TV guy never showed up. ☹

Teresa received a call at 12:30 then informed me the Direct TV guy will be here about 1pm. He showed up just before 1pm and spent an hour here. 

He checked the wiring in the hall and I guess something must have been disconnected. We purchased a new remote (smaller than the old) for 25mil and got his personal contact information should we have future problems. 😊

I left the apt about 2:30 and carried my laptop to Ganso y Castor. Initially, I couldn’t log into their Wi-Fi either, but after I uninstalled the NordVPN I was able to get internet again.

I made plans to meet Glenn for breakfast tomorrow but I’m sure next Sunday Teresa will want to go to some pueblo like El Retiro.

I reserved June 27^th to July 8^th (July 9^th to the 15^th aren’t currently available) for

Private Loft studio above detached Garage - Guesthouses for Rent in Des Plaines, Illinois, United States - Airbnb

Which is walking distance from downtown and the train station.

I stopped in Ara as Teresa wanted me to buy 2 bottles of suero, whatever that is, for her but when I returned to the apt she said it wasn’t the right thing – it was a salad dressing. I had asked an employee and he went in back and brought it out so I thought I was the right thing.

When I returned to the apt I got internet; I’m so happy I won’t have to go to the Tigo/Une office or Monterrey mall.

I checked my bank balances to ensure they matched my excel spreadsheets then updated my blog postings.

ONEIPAMETATO1453 resigned our game increasing my rating to 1573.

My next task for our trip is to check on renting a car.

 

JUST FUNNY

Friday, January 10, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, woke up at 5am and got up at 5:30.

I left the apt at 8am and completed my workout in Smartfit which wasn’t as busy as usual today.

I replaced the missing peanut in the park then had a latte in Ganso y Castor for about an hour.

I exchanged a few texts with Alejandro but he didn’t have any advice about my computer internet problem.

We left the apt at noon, had the Didi pick up MT at her complex then drop us off at Santafe mall.

My brother reminded me that our mother passed away 30 years ago today – 1/10/1995. I really didn’t expect her to still be alive today at 102 but it would have been nice if she had lived another 10-15 years.

The ladies went shopping while I went to Valentina’s and had a couple lattes and a chocolate crookie. When they returned (Teresa found a pair of sandals in Zara) they had lattes while sharing a slice of yogurt cake.

We stopped in Medipiel because Teresa had a 50mil coupon but I guess the original price was too expensive as she didn’t buy anything.

We bought 120mil of groceries in Jumbo before returning to Envigado by taxi.

I received a text message from Natalia that our health insurance will increase to 228,100 pesos ($52.50) a month this year.

Alejandro believes it’s a Tigo/Une (router) problem. To make sure I'm going to take my laptop to an internet café: If my computer works there, then it's a Tigo/Une problem. If it doesn't work there then it's a computer problem. 

 

JUST FUNNY

Thursday, January 9, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, woke up at 4:22, getting up at 5am.

The rerelease (original release 2014) of Interstellar (8.7) is playing in iMax today at 1:30. Since it’s 2 hours and 49 minutes long Teresa isn’t interested. I also have a complimentary coupon for a free 100gr popcorn, 640ml soda, a hotdog, and a 30gr Jet chocolate bar so I told Teresa that will be my lunch. I’ll gift the chocolate bar to whichever guard is working when I return.

Do these airlines have non-stop flights between Chicago (ORD) and Bogota, Colombia (BOG)?

United Airlines – No.

American Airlines – No.

COPA – Doubt it!

Delta – No.

Avianca – Yes.

As of now it looks like it’s going to be:

United Airlines, departing Medellin at 12:15am, a 1-hour 40-minute stopover in Houston, arriving in Chicago at 9:25am for $1,409.

OR

American Airlines, departing Medellin at 2:15am, a 3-hour stopover in Miami, arriving in Chicago at 12:25pm for $1,064.

Now that’s for a Thursday, next I’m going to check some other days of the week to see if there’s a difference.

I left the apt at 9:15 to meet Marcos in Tostao but he didn’t show so I just returned to the apt.

Friday, June 27^th looks the same but American increases to $1,790 and United to $1,552.

Wednesday, June 25^th the same but American increases to $1,777 and United to $2,258.

Tuesday, June 24^th the same but American increases to $1,777 and United to $1,856.

Monday, June 23^rd the same but the United price jumps to $2,350.

As of now, my preference is for United Airlines, departing Medellin at 12:15am, a 1-hour 40-minute stopover in Houston, arriving in Chicago at 9:25am for $1,409.

I told Teresa I’m tired of paying for DirecTV and it doesn’t work. Either we get it fixed or cancel it. She called and got their automated system and it was a devil to get through. I want to just stop paying for it but Teresa is afraid it will hurt her credit rating. I have trouble posting questions on FB so Sunday I’ll ask Glenn for help.

I left the apt at 12:30, recycled a plastic bottle and went up to Cine Colombia. I added 50mil to my account but when I tried to buy a ticket the only seats available were in the first row. (I did that once years ago for Paint my Wagon and I’m not doing that again; see how memorable that was?) I went to Ikea and had their albondigas combo for lunch 31,380 pesos:

For dessert I microwaved one of their cinnamon rolls which I had with a couple of cheap push button lattes. I took my time but when I left I stopped in Exito and bought their medium (18) size carton of eggs and returned to the apt by taxi.

Marcos finally got back to me. He was busy showing his visitor Harry Viva Envigado and forgot all about our meeting.

I disconnected and reconnected our router, like you’re supposed to do occasionally, but now I can’t get an internet connection. ☹ Our cellphones and television get internet so what’s wrong with my laptop that it can’t get internet?

Teresa talked to Esmeralda about our DirecTV problem and she troubleshooted it and said a technician should come look at it on Saturday between 11am and noon.

Amazon Prime is advertising a new season of Jack Reacher and from the description it’s the book I’m currently reading, Persuader.

 

JUST FUNNY

Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, woke up at 5:30, getting up at 6:30.

I left the apt at 8:15 and completed my workout in Smartfit. While there I met a gringo named Stacey from Canada. After, I had a latte in Ganso y Castor. I left a peanut in a close small tree and another in a further large tree. About 30 minutes later I took these photos of the red squirrel checking out the peanut and eventually taking it higher up in the tree.

SQUIRREL 1-3

He returned about 10 minutes later looking for another.

Does he think peanuts grow on trees?  I moved the peanut I had put in the small tree to the larger but he hadn’t found it by the time I left at 10:15.

I received an email with a Niles Public Library card which I can use to access ebooks.

I checked The Weather Channel and it predicted showers for the entire afternoon.

We left the apt at noon and took a Didi to Comfama in Itagui. From there we walked a block to the same new mall we visited before but this time there was a long line to enter the clinic. I think this trip was about getting the injection for her stomach. Teresa talked to someone and we left. We stopped at a couple pharmacies and asked about a medicine she needs for her stomach. We couldn’t find it so we took a taxi to La Bahia where we had a simple healthy lunch for 35,000 pesos ($8). We went across the street to the mall where Teresa told me she wanted to check out Ikea. I guided her to the back entrance and we went up to their restaurant. I bought a coffee for 2,900 pesos and got a machine-made latte. I did get a refill, not sure if that’s allowed but I did it. We checked out a couple more pharmacies but they didn’t have it; sounds like it’s been discontinued. We took a taxi back to the apt.

The day turned out to be sunny with no rain.

I managed to sign in to the new platform of Next Level Training.

I set my VPN to the United States and went to the Niles Public Library Niles-Maine District Library - Niles, IL and, “Niles-Maine cardholders can download or stream books, movies, documentaries, music, and more from a computer or mobile device. Watch video tutorials for easy-to-follow overviews of each service. Apps are available for most services.  Libby, Hoopla, Tumble Book Library, and LOTE4Kids. 😊  LOTE stands for “Languages Other Than English Online for Kids” so I’m going to skip that one.

They had device-specific instructions that included my Kindle e-Reader and it only took 2 minutes to complete. When I finish my current book I’ll give it a try. I see they also have an Ancestry Library. Cool!

Next, I’m going to look at direct flights from Bogota to Chicago although I have a mathematical aversion to flying from Bogota to Chicago when we’ll be flying over Medellin to get there. The only nonstop I found for my dates on Google Flights was a 6 hour, 15-minute 7am-1:15pm Avianca flight for $1,099 for 2 round-trip.

According to last year’s blog notes, “I checked Google Flights and it looks like Avianca has almost hourly flights to Bogota”.

Now I’m going to check to see which airlines have direct flights from Bogota to Chicago.

Daniel now has manicure and pedicure service, 25mil for one, 45mil for both so I’m going to give it a try.

About 4pm Teresa told me Esmeralda is coming over and how about we go for gelato? Great idea.

We left the apt at 6pm and met Esmeralda outside Antonio’s. By then Teresa and I had already decided we’d go to Gloria’s instead for pizza. A block away on Ave Poblado we quickly caught a taxi but when we arrived at Antica Pizza, it was closed. I guess they were on holiday. We returned to almost exactly where we started and had pizza in Piccolo’s right across the street from Smartfit. We got the Executive size which feeds 2-3 and we got half chicken and half mixed. We each had a Coke and the total came to 121,000 pesos. We left at 8pm and returned to the apt.

 

JUST FUNNY

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

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

One of my blog readers wrote me, “There are no non stops out of MDE to ORD. Avianca fly BOG-ORD and that will be your shortest time route, but the outbound is fairly early at 0700 so that either means an early departure out of MDE at 0435 to BOG or staying in Bogota the night before.”

I left the apt at 7:30 and Gonzalo, my Didi driver, took Ave Ochenta pointing out the non-moving traffic as we rode over the Aguacatala bridge. I was on time and met Jose in Parmessano in Unicentro mall at 8am.

I had the French toast again and Jose had one of the egg casseroles. We adjourned to the food court for our weekly battle. I had the Black pieces in the first game and he made a mistake on the 3^rd move of the game and I traded queens resulting in gaining a pawn and he no longer being able to castle. Still, he managed to beat me in 66 moves. ☹

I had the White pieces in the 2^nd game and slowly built up an advantage but lost it in the middle game and I resigned on the 32^nd move.

At 2pm I took a Didi to Viva Envigado arriving by 2:30. I went up to Pergamino where I had their granola with yogurt and chia berries and a small latte. While there a rainstorm started but when I moved down to Urbania I had no idea when the rain would stop.

I received a text message from Innovation Corp that they have my package in Florida and they’re asking for the contents and value. I took a screenshot of my Amazon order and sent it to them via Whatsapp. Interesting that I haven’t had any lower back problems despite running out of my calendula flower tablets but I am not going to risk it.

I read that The Blue Man Group had their last show in Chicago this past Sunday. ☹ I had it on my list of things to do. They’re still performing in Boston so I guess we’ll have to wait until then.

I called Teresa and she confirmed the rain had stopped. I went up to the banking area to make a withdrawal but there was a long line to use the Davivienda ATM. I withdrew 2,000,000 pesos from Servibanca and received it in all 100s.

I stopped in Exito and bought a few gala apples and outside there was no wait for a taxi but there was a light drizzle. Traffic was heavy returning to the apt.

I relaxed the rest of the night and watched some television.

 

JUST FUNNY

Monday, January 6, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, again at 5:15, couldn’t fall back asleep so I got up at 6:30.

Today is a holiday, Epiphany.

Delta does not have nonstop flights between Chicago and Medellin so I guess no one does.

Finally, after so many days of rain and/or overcast skies, today is a sunny day.

Teresa wants us to go to El Correo for lunch today. Fine with me.

The gym was more crowded than usual but I completed my normal workout without any problem.

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor for about 90 minutes while restarting my online correspondence chess games.

Per USAA, they appear to have car rental discounts up to 35% with Hertz, Avis, Enterprise and Budget. When I was looking outside of USAA for car rentals it looked like they require a credit card (not a debit card) as a rental condition. My current credit limit is only $500 so I’ll need to raise that, but first I’ll need to know what to raise it to.

And before that I’ll need to book our flights so I guess that’s my first priority. It looks like my main options are American, United, and COPA. For the date in question, Thursday, June 26^th: American leaves Medellin at 2:15am and COPA arrives in Chicago at 12:34am so those aren’t attractive. United leaves Medellin at 12:15am and arrives in Chicago at 9:25am so that might be our best option. Interestingly, the United flight has a 1 hour and 40-minute layover in Houston (IAH). (COPA would have the advantage of an early layover in Panama and the bulk of the trip would remain and we might be able to sleep.) So, back to United, we would arrive at 9:25am, collect our bags, rent a car, go for lunch then check into our Airbnb just after noon. (I assume we would have gone through Immigration in Houston, no?) Next, I’ll check the other days of the week and see if they have a different schedule.

We left the apt at 1:15 and took a Didi to El Correo in Provenza. Terresa had their chicken and I their pepper steak. We both had baked potatoes but they weren’t hot and some of my steak was too chewy and other pieces were rare so I got the later to go. We shared a bottle of water and the check came to 169,569 ($39) but my debit card was declined twice so I paid in cash.

We walked down about 4 blocks to Carrera 37 where we found Epoca Café Bar.

We had lattes and shared a strange looking tiramisu. We left at 4:30 and returned to the apt by Didi.

I watched the TV series Band of Brothers.

 

JUST FUNNY

Bob Burford - Part VIII

 I've seen a post floating around facebook a couple of times lately asking to name a song that tells a story well. For me that would be "Old Shlep." I doubt that I've heard it at all since Elvis recorded it. When I was a little boy on a farm, my older brother and sister used to chase me all over the place singing that song just to watch me bawl. :D Give it a listen. Eh?

Sunday, January 5, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 5:15, couldn’t fall back asleep so I got up at 5:45.

I met Glenn with Bianca for breakfast in Olivenza. I told him about my using Airbnb to find a place for us to stay and he recommended I look for a “superhost”. His health is the same but he’s going to make an appointment with the gastroenterologist that Teresa recommended. He told me about NYC now charging $9 for a car to enter the city.

I started looking at Car Rentals at O’Hare Airport. I can rent a Kia Rio (or similar car) for $1218.04 from ACE Rent A Car.

I mentioned to Teresa that our flight to Chicago will take about 9 hours and now she wants a Miami stopover to rest a few days. I’m trying to convince her that just complicates things.

Does this airline have non-stop flights between Chicago (ORD) and Medellin, Colombia (MDE)?

United Airlines – No.

American Airlines – No.

COPA – No.

Delta – I’ll have to check this one tomorrow.

Teresa saw an Amtrak ad and now she wants to take a 48-hour train from Miami to Chicago. Lol. I checked and its $113-$260 per person one-way for coach. I asked her why she doesn’t want to sit for 7 hours in a plane but she’ll sit for 48 hours on a train and she said on a train she can walk some. She also mentioned getting off at a station and taking a later train. Lol. I tried to explain that it’s not like taking the metro in Medellin. 😊

On Airbnb I also found a private loft studio in Des Plaines for $54 a night.

I guess the first priority is to choose an airline and book our flights.

I watched the Chicago Bears upset the playoff bound Green Bay Packers 24-22. 😊 That was fun and I ate half a bag of peanuts.

 

JUST FUNNY

Saturday, January 4, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 2:45 and was awakened by the noise of a truck next door at Ara at 6am. I got up at 6:15.

At 6:30 a downpour started ☹ and between then and 7:30 it varied between a downpour and just a few raindrops.

I started investigating flights between Medellin (MDE) and Chicago (ORD). Spirit, United, American and COPA all have flights for that route.

I left the apt at 8:30 and walked to the mall. I recycled a few bottles then cut through the garage to the escalator that took me up to Urbania. They still had all the chairs on the tables so they hadn’t officially opened but I took a seat anyway and they soon opened and I ordered a latte.

I completed some chess puzzles and downloaded the Airbnb app to my cellphone. I found a condo in Rolling Meadows for $116 a night that I’ll be exploring further.

I left at 11am and bought a small (6) carton of eggs in our favorite brand; I can’t believe they didn’t have the large carton.

Omg, somehow I deleted all the photos I had backed up to my laptop. ☹  and they’re not on my backup. I do have an older backup taken at the beginning of 2024 so at least I have that.

I left the apt at 2pm and found café Peccato closed. Why? Because it’s raining? Because they’re still on vacation for the holidays? I stopped in Mercado Madrid and bought an 18-pack of eggs in our favorite brand. I dropped them off at the apt and continued on to Los Portenos where I had a latte. It’s been raining on and off all day but finally, when I left about 4:30, it looked like the skies were clearing.

I finished reading Lee Child’s Without Fail on my Kindle. I started reading the paperback Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini but gave up after a couple chapters. I know it’s #1 New York Times Bestseller but I just couldn’t get into it.

We had more rain in the evening and it was still raining when I went to bed at 10pm.

 

JUST FUNNY

Friday, January 3, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm and was awakened by my alarm at 5am. (I set it for our trip to Santo Domingo last Friday and forgot to turn it off.) I tried falling back asleep but gave up at 6am.

We had some rain overnight and it’s still quite cool so I dressed in pants and t-shirt.

I had my last bagel with strawberry preserves and scrambled eggs for breakfast.

I don’t recall if I already mentioned it but the bathroom faucet seems to be sufficiently glued to the porcelain sink. I told Teresa to be careful with it when she’s cleaning.

I also forgot to mention that at the end of December I stopped playing chess games online. I just got tired and needed a break. I was in the middle of 5 games but since I’m a Diamond member they automatically put me in Vacation mode.

Teresa had me make a trip to Ara to buy Fab laundry detergent and Blancox bleach.

I was ready to make a trip to Inter-Col to ask about my Visa but luckily I checked my blog notes and saw I received it on November 13^th and printed it the same day. I checked both my email accounts and Messages for that date but nothing. So where is it?  I mentioned it to Teresa and she brought out the plastic envelope with all the stuff we took to the US embassy in Bogota and there was the copy of my Visa. I also finally found it in a Whatsapp message from Inter-Col so I could have shown it to the official last night. ☹

I left the apt and stopped at Eduardo Madrid where I ordered 6 sesame seed bagels for 4pm this afternoon. I saw and heard these Macaws up in the trees across the street.

I stopped in Gana where I paid the Tigo-Une bill.

I placed a peanut in a tree then took a seat in Los Portenos where I had a latte.

Lately, every time I try to log in to Capital One I get their 2-part authentication so I tried calling them to change that but one of us appears to have a communication problem as I can’t get past their automated greeting.

After lunch I had 2 lattes and a slice of carrot cake in Eduardo Madrid while waiting for my sesame seed bagels. More Macaw noisiness. 

I can’t believe I let myself run out of Calendula Flower capsules. I tried ordering them direct from Swanson, got redirected to iHerb but it still wouldn’t trust my location. I ended up ordering them from Amazon.

I applied online for a Des Plaines, IL library card.  They’ll probably come back and ask to see my driver’s license so I’m ready for that. My goal is to be able to download books using the Libby app.

I checked the Cine Colombia app and 1) it looks like Interstellar will be arriving at the iMax next week and 2) they are continuing my Platinum card for another year even though I didn’t qualify by seeing 30 movies.

I spent the rest of the evening watching CNN & MSNBC.

 

JUST FUNNY

Thursday, January 2, 2025

Last night we went to bed at 10:30pm, I woke up at 6am, but stayed in bed until Teresa woke up at 6:30am.

We had our last breakfast buffet in their restaurant then stopped in the Vacation Center and reserved our ride to the airport for 11:30. The airport is 30 minutes away so we should have time for everything.

We finished our last-minute packing…then brought our bags downstairs and had our last coffee. During check-out I happened to mention we didn’t touch anything in the refrigerator. I understood from the look on her face that that’s included in the All-Inclusive price also.

We took a van to the airport and it was 25 minutes from our hotel.

Teresa received a text from Julian that he was passing us off to a friend named Jorge for airport pick-up.

At the Avianca machines we printed our boarding passes and luggage tags. We checked our 2 suitcases without any problem.

We went through customs, TSA check, and immigration without any problem.

We had about 40 minutes before our boarding time and Teresa chose Wendy’s to get something to eat. I believe last time we were here we had chicken wraps but they didn’t have them this time so we each had a simple burger and Coke for a total of $22.  (In the DR they take DR pesos or American Dollars.)

We were at our gate and it seemed to take a while to start boarding.

We had aisle seats across from each other and Teresa told me the guy sitting next to her was sick. After takeoff and as the plane was climbing the guy next to her frantically pulled out a plastic bag and started throwing up repeatedly into it. The woman next to him (wife?) helped him get cleaned up. He then went towards the back of the plan I suppose to use the restroom and his wife soon followed him. They didn’t return to their seats for the rest of the flight.

We landed about 4pm and as usual lots of people got on their feet and stood in the aisle so I followed their example. When nobody moved 5 minutes later a broadcast was made and most people returned to their seats.

It was another 15-20 minutes before deplaning began.

In Immigration Teresa went to the Colombians only line while I made a trip to the restroom then got in the Foreigners line. Her line was so short maybe that’s a reason for me to pursue citizenship. From where I was I figured it would be about 90 minutes to get through like last April.

At 5:25 she texted and asked if I was nearly finished. I told her it would be probably another 45 minutes. About 10 minutes later a female official caught me at a turn and asked how old I was. When I replied 79 she said to follow her. She led me to the other side to the blue line for pregnant, ill, handicapped, children, and old people.

I now only had 3 families ahead of me but there was only one officer working us so it still went slow. For some reason there was a line of people sitting against the wall. When it was my turn I handed the officer my passport and my paperwork. He went through and asked for my Visa. I pointed to my paper and he said that isn’t a Visa, where’s my Visa and the only one in my passport had expired this year. He didn’t speak English so I tried to communicate to him that I had my Visa renewed through an agency. He said, “call them”. I did and got voice mail with each number I tried. I really thought he wasn’t going to allow me to enter but he told me to get my Visa and he let me proceed.

I quickly found Teresa who had been waiting about 2 hours and she called our driver. He arrived in person about 5 minutes later and helped us with our bags to his car in an upper-level parking area.

The trunk of the car wasn’t large enough for everything and Teresa had to ride in the back with one of our suitcases. The car didn’t have much power and at one point the driver moved into a wrong lane and someone gave him the horn.

Back at the apt I gave our driver 200,000 pesos because he had to wait so long at the airport. Teresa and I discussed it and we’re tired of riding in these little cars so next time we’ll probably take an airport taxi.

I made a trip to Ara and bought a bag of milk, a small carton of eggs, and a package of arepas and Teresa made arepas with scrambled eggs.

She went to bed at 9:15 and I managed to stay up until 10pm.

 

JUST FUNNY

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

Last night we went to bed at 9:30pm, I woke up at 5:30am, but stayed in bed until Teresa woke up at 6:30am.

Happy New Year!

My New Year’s Resolution for this year is to make it to another New Year. 😊

We were on the beach and a guy came by selling coconuts. I paid $5 and he used a machete to cut off the top, cut it in half and dug out the flesh for us to eat.

I guess this beach is called Arena Gorda (Fat Sand):

Late in the afternoon I took my googles and went into the sea for the first time; you can really feel the power of those waves.

At 6pm we returned to the apt and we didn’t have electricity. I dialed 0 then tried calling the Front Desk but no immediate answer for either. I left our room to go to the front desk when I ran into a girl wearing a hotel uniform. I told her our problem and she reseated the card in our thingy next to the door and electricity came back on immediately. 😊

I completed the e-ticket to leave Punta Cana and it was much easier this time.

Capital One emailed me that my SS check with the additional COLA has arrived in my account.

After supper I asked at the front desk about scheduling our ride to the airport and was told to show up at the vacation desk after 8am.

We went to the theater to see the Michael Jackson show but Teresa couldn’t keep her eyes open so at 9:30 we returned to our room.

Teresa started packing, I just had to control her from putting away things I will need tomorrow morning.

 

JUST FUNNY

Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Last night we went to bed at 10:30pm, I got up twice during the night, finally waking/getting up at 6:45am.

It’s New Years Eve!

I’ve finally gotten a bit of a tan so I can expose my skin to the sun a little more than before.

When I returned to the room to change for lunch it was obvious the cleaning lady had been in our room. The bed was made, new towels were exchanged and the hotel left this little gift.

Since neither of us really drink I won’t be surprised if we leave it there.

There was another pool party today from about 3:30 to 4:30. This is a video taken from the other side; notice the line at the end of the video.

We left the beach about 5pm and even though we have a 6:30 dinner reservation, Teresa wanted to stop in the lobby for coffee. We left just before 5:30 and returned to the room to get ready. She told me she’d be ready at 7:30 so I hope the restaurant doesn’t mind our tardiness.

While waiting for Teresa I noticed my computer gave me the “low battery” warning. I checked the power connection and it was good. So, what’s changed? The cleaning lady was here so maybe she did something? There are two outlets under the desk, one I use for the lamp and the other for my computer. The lamp works so obviously that outlet works so I just switched them. Strange, the computer still doesn’t get power but the lamp works. Very strange! There is a wall-mounted TV a few feet away with an unused neighbor outlet so I tried that and now the computer is charging.

I finished reading Lee Child’s Echo Burning (Jack Reacher #5). That makes 5 books I’ve read this month, my usual average is 2.

Teresa showered then ironed some clothes and started working on her hair. She was finally ready at 7:15 and we walked to the other side of the pool area to the Italian restaurant. I don’t think the Dominicans were pleased with Teresa’s Colombian time but they did seat us. I had an Angus steak that was the best steak I’ve had in a while and Teresa had the lobster. Though the quantities were chic small everything was tasty and service was excellent.

She warned me she wanted to dance the night away but she crashed at 9:15 and we were in bed by 9:30. 😊

 

JUST FUNNY

Monday, December 30, 2024

Last night we went to bed at 11:30pm, I got up once during the night, finally waking/getting up at 6:45am.

An observation: my eyes are much more comfortable here than in Medellin as DR doesn’t have the pollution trapped in a valley.

I found a blister on one of my toes, probably from all the stairs at the cave.

Several times during the day we came off the beach because of light showers that only lasted 5-10 minutes, except about 3:30 when we had a real rain that lasted about 30 minutes.

I resigned my game against ONEIPAMETATO1453 losing 13 points down to 1580 and resigned my game vs mekael965 lowering my rating another 13 points to 1567. ☹ The 2^nd game especially hurt because I was winning then made two bad moves in a row but I’ll get the points back eventually.

We walked over to the theater but I understand from Teresa talking to someone that it’s closed. It was open, but no lights even though I saw a few people walk in and down the stairs. Maybe it’s just not open until later.

We were returning to our room from the pool area when we happened upon a show that just started by the pool area.

 

JUST FUNNY

Sunday, December 29, 2024

Last night we went to bed at 11:30pm, I got up once at 3:30am, finally waking/getting up at 6:45am.

At breakfast there was a short line outside the restaurant for New Years Eve dinner reservations so we chose the 6:30 seating in the Italian restaurant, Via Venetto.

My main objective today was to stay out of the sun to let my chest heal. At 4pm we moved to the beach and I spent a few minutes lying on my stomach to get a little sun on my back.

We left at 5:30 and stopped at a bar where we had cappuccinos; we miss the days when we would go for afternoon lattes in the Princess resort’s café. (But I have no intentions of returning to the DR as long as they require that stupid e-ticket form.)

This is a view of the pool area from a 2^nd floor window by the elevator:

The dinner theme tonight is Gala and the show in the theater is karaoke so we’ll probably skip that.

Tonight’s dinner, for me, was great. I had a slice of roast beef (Teresa reminded me it’s called posta and she’s made it before), roasted potatoes, a dinner roll and a Coke. I also found a delicious slice of cake.

I received a text message from Daniel that he moved his barber shop to Transversal 34DD Sur #32C-05 but he says it’s not far from his old location.

After dinner we walked around the 3^rd pool area until we eventually found the Italian restaurant. From there I found a shortcut that we’ll use on the 31^st.

We stopped at the Mexican restaurant but the tables I had seen outside are used by the restaurant so we didn’t linger. We hung out by the 1^st pool for a while.

Around 9am we returned to our room. The previous nights the lobby music stopped by 9:30 allowing us to get to sleep easier. Tonight the music was still playing when we went to bed at 10:30.

 

JUST FUNNY