Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night (it was raining), again at 4:30am (no rain) with a mild calf cramp, finally waking/getting up by alarm at 6:30am.

Teresa and I made plans to meet for lunch in Santafe mall between noon and 12:30pm.

I left the apt at 8am, walked the 2 blocks to Ave Poblado where I caught a Sabaneta bus after a 5-minute wait. I got off at Calle 38 Sur, walked across the street and 2 blocks east then turned south and less than a block away I was outside the Tigo office. It was only 8:22am and I was the only one outside their door. Then I noticed a line a few yards away where people were just trying to stay out of the rain. I went to the end of the line and the doors opened right at 8:30. We all reformed the line inside. There were about 10 in front of me and when it was my turn the girl took my name and cedula number. She then sent me to chairs in the back of the room in front of one of those turn screens. About ten minutes later it was my turn at the desk right in front of me. I explained to the girl I’m a gringo and I don’t understand a lot of Spanish. I told her I wanted to cancel my Wi-Fi service. She showed me her screen with my cedula number but the corresponding name wasn’t mine. I told her obviously that wasn’t correct and I guess she spent the next few minutes fixing it. She asked me for the reason I’m canceling and I told her I now have Movistar fiber optic internet.

She wrote down on a piece of paper, “Retiro 30 Mayo. Ultimo factura Junio.” which google translated to “Withdrawal May 30th. Last invoice June.” I asked her how I can return their router and she wrote this on my google translate screen:

I left just after 9am (rain had stopped completely) and walked 4 blocks to the used bookstore only to find it closed. (I may be keeping this last paperback book I have of theirs.)

I walked back to Calle la Buena Mesa where I had a latte outside Ganso y Castor while going through my cellphone.

I left at 11am and returned to the apt.

I left at noon and took a Didi to Santafe mall. I arrived at Crepes & Waffles by 12:30 and Teresa arrived 10 minutes later. She had their Mexican chicken and I the Cesar salad with chicken. With each of our fresh juices and a shared Suprema dish of ice cream the total came to 93,950 pesos ($22).

We stopped in Medipiel to see if they have sales on Teresa’s SPF cream. I told her I would check the price on my skin cream: 80mil would be inexpensive, 120mil would be expensive. It was 110,000 pesos on sale for 77,100 so I bought 2. Teresa also got a package of SPF cream and the total came to 311,250 pesos ($73.50).

We stopped in Valentina’s for lattes and I checked Medipiel’s receipt:

The 110,000 pesos and 29.9% discount are correct but why wouldn’t they include/print the discounted price of 77,100 pesos? Weird!

We left at 3:15 and returned to the apt by taxi just as some raindrops started coming down.

It turns out I didn’t delete the old IPTV app so I had to enlist Rob’s help in fixing it.

At 8:30 a downpour started.

It was still raining when I went to bed at 10pm.

 

FUNNY

Monday, April 28, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, slept through the night, finally waking/getting up at 6:45am.

It’s still raining at 8am which is a little unusual. I’m going to give it until 8:30 and if it’s still raining, I’ll just do a few in-house exercises with my dumbbell.

At 8:30 there was still a light drizzle so I completed a few exercises with my dumbbell, took my shower, dressed and left the apt at 9:15. There were still a few raindrops as I walked to Ganso y Castor. I had a latte while going through my Chess Life magazine.  A squirrel took my peanut before I was ready but at least my camera settings are back to normal and I figured out how to turn off the 2-second delay.

I left at 11:15 and there was no more rain as I returned to the apt.

As soon as I walked through the door, I remembered I needed to buy milk. Teresa added a couple more things and I went next door to Ara. I bought a bag of milk and head of lettuce (but forgot the broccoli) and returned to the apt.

I moved the Movistar router from behind a chair to give it a more direct route to the TV and computer. My Amazon 4K Fire Stick is connected to Terry Plus (5Ghz) but today my speed test showed only 59.21 Mps. It also said, “Based on your latest speed test results, your internet speed can support up to 4K video streaming without interruptions.” ☹

I disconnected the Tigo/Une router to see if it had any effect on my Movistar WiFi. None.

I left the apt at 2pm and ordered a latte in Los Portenos to be delivered to my concrete table outside in the park. I set up my tournament chess set and started going through some lines in my English opening book. Just before 3pm there were intermittent raindrops then it started coming down more seriously and I quickly moved everything back to my usual seat on their protected patio.

About 3:30 I started this conversation with Rob Abshear, “How many Mbps should my Amazon 4K Firestick be downloading in order to get buffer free viewing on IPTV and Stremio?”.

The rain had stopped by the time I left about 4pm and returned to the apt.

That started a conversation that ended up with him helping me download newer versions finally completed at 6:30pm.

I watched some news while Teresa got a massage from Kelly (and the rain had started again).

I went to bed my regular time, 10pm; no rain.

 

FUNNY

Sunday, April 27, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, slept through the night, finally waking/getting up at 6am. I made a trip to the bathroom then went back to bed for a few minutes. Next thing I know it’s 8am so I got up, took my shower, shaved and dressed and headed out the door.

I met Glenn with Bianca in Olivenza at 9am. We had a long discussion about my Amazon 4K Fire Stick problem (only 65.37 Mbps) download speed. He has an Amazon 4K Max Fire Stick so I asked him to check its settings and see what speed he’s getting. He demonstrated again the benefit of using the ChatGPT app on his iPad.

I left at 10:45 and walked back to the apt.

I confirmed my 2pm attendance for this games get-together today in Laureles:

I changed my TV to use my new WiFi but for some reason it only found Terry (2.4Ghz) but not Terry Plus (5Ghz).

I’m still trying to figure out why I only get about 75Mbs for my Amazon 4k Firestick.

I left the apt at 1:45 and took a Didi to Jamaiquita in Laureles for 17,300 pesos. I was greeted by Anasia, the owner of the Jamaican restaurant, and she led me upstairs to a large enough table for my chess board. We played 4 games, she wasn’t very good but she did win one of them.

A young man then joined me, he had a Doctorate in Sports Medicine, and he wasn’t very good and I won both games.

Then a middle-aged man took the opponent seat and there was quite a bit of trash talking as I won three of our four games. During the next game I told him there would be an additional game only if he won. 

He played a fierce game but I won but allowed a last game which I also won. His name is Lawrence from Georgia and he’s visiting here for two weeks and would like to play again so we exchanged contact information.

I left at 7:30 and returned to the apt by Didi for 18,800 pesos.

As I walked in the door just after 8pm I thought Teresa would give me hell but she was at the dining table working on her latest bracelet project.

Soon after I returned it started raining, but ended by the time I went to bed at 10pm.

FUNNY

Saturday, April 26, 2025

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

The street’s wet so obviously we had rain overnight although I didn’t hear it.

Teresa left at 8:45 to get a manicure then she will meet Esmeralda in El Hueco to buy more craft supplies.

I left at 9:15 and walked to the mall. I recycled a few plastic bottles then had a latte in Urbania while going through a Chess Life magazine. I made plans to meet Glenn for breakfast tomorrow as I have a few questions for him.

I left just before 11am and walked back to the apt.

I tuned in to ABC Chicago on Medellin TV.

I left at 2pm and had lunch in Tierra Querida. I had a single patty burger with fries and a Coke for 25,800 pesos ($6). This time the burger was much more manageable.

I moved to Los Portenos where I had a latte while continuing with my Chess Life magazine.

I left at 4:30 and returned to the apt just before a downpour started which lasted about 45 minutes.

Well, here’s the Chicago Bears 2025 draft class:

1st round #10 – TE Colston Loveland, Michigan.

2^nd round #39 – WR Luther Burden III, Missouri.

2^nd round #56 – OT Ozzy Trapilo, Boston College.

2^nd round #62 – DT Shemar Turner, Texas A&M.

4^th round #132 – LB Ruben Hyppolite II, Maryland.

5^th round #169 – CB Zah Frazier, Texas San-Antonio.

6^th round #195 – OL Luke Newman, Michigan State.

7^th round #233 – RB Kyle Monangai, Rutgers.

Teresa returned at 6:15 and told me she’s hungry and wants to have dinner in Chiclayo.

I opened the balcony window and looked out to see if it was raining (it was) and a bat zoomed across the balcony and turned away about 2 feet from my head. ☹

I set my Amazon 4k Fire stick to our new WiFi network but setting showed I’m only getting a download speed of 65.37 Mbps.

☹ Obviously something else is going on here. TBC.

I took out the never used Shedrain umbrella we got for free for Teresa and I took our large umbrella. We left the apt at 7:15 and walked to Chiclayo where there was a line outside (in the rain). Luckiuly, there was soon a table for two available and we got sat outside on their patio.

 I had their Lomo Saltado (ate half and got the other half to go) and the total check came to 135,800 ($32).

The rain had stopped as we returned to our apt.

 

FUNNY

Friday, April 25, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm but got up once to put medicine on my itchy lesions. I got up at 6am to use the bathroom, finally waking/getting up at 7am.

I left the apt just before 8am, walked down the hill to Mercado Madrid where I bought an 18-pack carton of eggs for 21,980 pesos ($5).

Teresa made me scrambled eggs with an English muffin now I just have to wait an hour for my food to settle before I head to the gym.

I left the apt just after 9am (yeah, earlier than planned) and while Smartfit wasn’t very busy, I had to wait several times to use machines and I had to reverse the order of my last four due to unavailability.

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor where I met a couple and their son from Seattle and Boston, respectively. I left at 11am and returned to the apt.

Teresa pointed out this pretty little bird on our balcony wall that we haven’t seen before.

I see I haven’t done a Rosetta Stone Spanish lesson in 3 years so I completed 4 lessons; speaking seems to be most difficult for me mostly because I can’t remember the sentence I’m supposed to repeat in Spanish.

Teresa talked to Esmeralda who recommended we keep DirecTV and only switch our internet.

Pre Movistar, I did a Speedtest.net and got 190.40 Mbps download and 31.21 Mbps upload.

We finished lunch and now we’re waiting for Movistar to arrive.

At 1:45 Teresa sent me next door to Ara to buy snacks for the muchachos de Movistar. I bought a large bottle of Coke and packages of Doritos and some type of mayonnaise potato chips for 19,000 pesos.

At 2:30 a thunder storm came through with a little rain.

At 3:15, two Movistar guys showed up and started the installation. We told them we only wanted the fiber optic internet without television but they had me download their Movistar TV app to my cellphone anyway. They did all the rewiring from the same hole/outlet where we have Tigo/Une Wi-Fi and DirecTV cabling. (They also did some rewiring in the 3^rd bedroom.) Fiber optic cable is noticeably thinner and they installed it without bothering our other wiring so now I have fiber optic and Tigo Wi-Fi internet networks. They gave me two Movistar networks with this explanation:

Post Movistar, I did a Speedtest.net and got 252.37 Mbps download and 374.76 Mbps upload.

The muchacho said I’ll get closer to 700Meg when I have a newer computer.

I connected both our cellphones to the network but I still have to connect my Amazon Fire Stick and see how much better Medellin TV works.

They left at 5:15 so the install took 2 hours.

The real test will be if I can watch Medellin TV without any buffering.

At 6pm I connected to DAZN to continue watching the NFL Draft.

 

FUNNY

Thursday, April 24, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm but got up at midnight to put medicine on my lesions that were itching so much. I got up at 3:30 to use the bathroom (it was pouring outside), finally waking/getting up at 6:15 (still a light drizzle).

Well, it’s finally here, today is NFL Draft Day. The Chicago Bears have pick #10 in the first round, plus #39 & #41 in the second round and #72 in the 3^rd round that they could use should they want to trade up in, or back into, the first round.

One of my readers, Expat, commented “If you are over 60 you will be exempt from any sort of vaccine requirement.” That’s good to know.

I met Marcos outside Tostao at 9:30. We talked about the NFL draft, uncertainty in this presidential administration, Yellow Fever vaccination (he says you only need it if you’re going to sea level areas), and Movistar fiber optics. I recommended he return to the gym so he can stress his bones.

They leave next Wednesday for Spain, returning Thursday, May 29^th so we’ll get to meet once or twice before we leave for Chicago.

I had a latte in Peccato while reading more of my Chess Life magazine.

I stopped in Mercado Madrid and bought lettuce and half a dozen tomatoes before returning to the apt. Aargh, I should have bought a carton of eggs.

Teresa said I had to be in the apt this afternoon, something about Movistar, 3pm, and a form.

Jeannie has her 20-week ultrasound tomorrow so we should have new photos. She said his month she’s starting to show but still doesn’t feel any movement.

About 3:30 a thunderstorm came through followed 30 minutes later by a downpour. I had to disconnect my laptop but hoping this will be over soon so I can watch the NFL Draft at 7pm.

I don’t usually answer unknown calls (those not in my contacts) but this time I did and it was a Movistar rep. He spoke a little English and I understand future calls will be to Teresa’s phone and they will come out tomorrow afternoon for the installation.

With Medellin TV I checked ABC but Green Bay and Chicago weren’t available but I did find it in Milwaukee but I would have to deal with the Packers slant. I also found it on DAZN, I see my subscription doesn’t expire until August 1^st. I also found it on ESPN 4 on DirecTV but the coverage would probably be in Spanish. I settled on DAZN but had to turn the volume all the way up to 100 to hear it without my headphones.

With the 10^th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears selected TE Colston Loveland from Michigan.

At 8:30 I turned everything off and started my pre sleep routine.

 

FUNNY

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up three times during the night, finally waking/getting up with Teresa at 7am.

After breakfast Teresa returned to bed saying her back was a little sore so I guess she’ll be skipping gym today.

I left at 8:30 for Smartfit which seemed less busy than usual. I completed my machine workout 5# less than my previous maximum except the Butterfly I put on the maximum because it has only 15# changes, unlike 5# with the others. I increased my walk on the treadmill today to 12 minutes.

I had a latte outside Ganso y Castor and took this photo of the red squirrel right after he took my peanut:

I left at 10:15 and bought a bag of milk in Ara on the way back to the apt.

Teresa cleaned my desk while I was away, it certainly needed it. 😊

I see my DAZN subscription doesn’t expire until August so that gives me another option for watching the NFL draft this weekend.

Teresa left the apt at 2:30 for her craft class. I left at 3pm for Eduardo Madrid but unfortunately their coffee machine wasn’t working today so I had a Coke instead. (Which did feel much more filling.) I completed another 12 puzzles in my book.

Just after 4pm I received this cryptic message from Movistar (copied and translated):

I have no idea what the purpose is of this password.

Teresa arrived just after 5:30 and we shared a chicken sandwich for 13,900 pesos. I paid 40,000 pesos ($9.30) for my 16 English muffins and we returned to the apt.

Teresa left at 6:45 to show her mother her latest bracelets, finished and just started.

She returned at 8:30. She told me someone from Movistar called asking for my contact information so I told her Paola has it.

 

FUNNY

BOB BURFORD - PART XVII

 

Sent from my Galaxy

Elections Matter. This damaged human being will be President of the United States for 1,407 more days. Elections Matter. The midterms are November 3rd, 2026:

Trump facts:  

64 Times Mentioned In Epstein Report.

97 Times Pleaded The Fifth.

34 Felony Convictions.

91 Criminal Charges.

26 Sexual Assault Allegations.

6 Bankruptcies.

5 Draft Deferments.

4 Indictments.

2 Impeachments.

2 Convicted Companies.

1 Fake University Shut Down.

1 Fake Charity Shut Down.

$25 Million Fraud Settlement.

$5 Million Sexual Abuse Verdict.

$2 Million Fake Charity Abuse Judgment.

$93 Million Sexual Abuse Judgements.

$400 Million Fraud Judgment.

First President in history to serve a full term increase the deficit every year he was in office.

First President in history to maintain a debt to GDP ratio over 100% for his entire term.

Highest annual budget deficit.

Most added to the national debt in a single term.

Most new unemployment claims.

Largest single day point drop in the history of the Dow.

First major party candidate in half a century to lose the popular vote twice.

Longest government shutdown in history (and he did that while his own party controlled both chambers of Congress).

First President in the history of approval ratings to maintain a net negative approval rating for his entire term.

First President to be impeached twice.

First President to have bipartisan support for his conviction after impeachment (which happened both times).

Most indictments, guilty pleas, and criminal convictions of members of an administration.

First president to have a mug shot.

Please go ahead and lookup every claim here.

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 12:30am, finally waking/getting up at 5:30am.

After breakfast I went back to bed for a 90-minute nap. When I got up I found we had had a little rain but soon it was just a few raindrops.

I left the apt at 8:45 and walked to the mall in a light drizzle, glad I was in pants, t-shirt and jacket. (When are we going to have summer weather again?) In Auros I had my cedula scanned and copied to my USB drive. I bought a blueberry muffin in Starbucks for 9,500 pesos. (As I had read online, they are back to taking your name again.)

Also, some English on the back of the bag.

I had a latte in Urbania with my muffin while reviewing my Dutch defense book.

I left at 10:45 and bought a couple items in Exito. I looked all over trying, unsuccessfully, to find Mexican salsa although I did come across Hunt’s Diced tomatoes in 3 different locations.

I returned to the apt by taxi.

I sent Movistar’s Paola my contact information but with my cellphone number and I told her someone needs to call me in English or text me via Whatsapp. She replied that she needs contact information for someone she can talk to in Spanish so I gave her Teresa’s name and number. Teresa is giving me lots of pushback about they can only install it in the living room and they can’t make any more holes. We’ve already agreed and discussed this several times but Teresa had to go over it again. I understand right now Paola is checking with Bogota to see if they can put the account in my name. I’m expecting the biggest problem is going to be paying for it. I don’t have a Bancolombia account but why would I need one? I just put cash into their Bancolombia account as I do with our health insurance and Smartfit. Maybe it’s a credit thing, we’ll see.

I left at 2pm and returned a bag of plastic containers to Eduardo Madrid bakery and ordered another 16 English muffins for pickup tomorrow afternoon. I had a latte while completing another 12 chess puzzles.

I received a Facebook post from Bob Burford’s estranged daughter challenging a few things he said that I had posted on my blog. She asked me to delete 2 specific posts (can’t remember the dates) but now I can’t find her post. (I’m far from an expert on FB.)

I left at 4:15 and returned to the apt just after Kelly had arrived to give Teresa a massage.

I watched some news on CNN & MSNBC.

I finished reading Lee Child’s book of crime short stories Safe Enough.

FUNNY

Monday, April 21, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 4am, finally waking/getting up at 6:15am.

Well, if the goal for our trip was to get tans, we failed spectacularly. We spent most of the time in the shade, Teresa working on her craft projects and I reading, studying and playing chess.  (As usual I brought 2 tubes of SPF cream and didn’t use either of them.) Teresa wants to return around Mother’s Day to work on a tan before we visit Chicago. We’ll see!

I left the apt at 7:45 for Smartfit which seemed not as busy as usual. Because I missed a week I completed my workout using 10# less on each of the machines and I only did 10 minutes on the treadmill. I had a latte in Ganso y Castor where I took this photo of the red squirrel after the peanut was already gone.

Oops, I guess I accidentally delete the photo. ☹

I don’t know what I did to my camera settings as they aren’t the same as previously. I used to be able to zoom in 1, 2, 4, 10 times but now I’m only on a 2-second wait to take a normal photo.

I read on my news feed that pope Francisco passed away this morning.

I left at 10am and bought a bag of milk in Ara on my way back to the apt.

Time to take stock of my health: 1) the Calendula capsules I get from the US work wonders for my lower back but the Calendula tablets here don’t seem to work the same; 2) my dry skin problem flared up again now that we’ve returned to Medellin so I’m thinking Teresa is probably right it’s because of the cold(er) temperatures here; 3) my eyes seem to be affected by Medellin’s pollution as they felt more normal in Santafe de Antioquia; 4) I didn’t seem to have much leaking on our trip, not sure if it’s just because we didn’t move around much or is it because I did the Kegel exercises twice a day?

Teresa returned at 11:15 with a bag of groceries.

I checked my files and the last Claro (paper) bill I have is from June of 2019. I checked my blog notes and my Claro plan was set up June 1, 2019 for 4GB. That gives me a good idea of what I should ask for (4GB) when I load our sim cards for the month we are in the States.

I got permission from Teresa to switch to Movistar fiber optic internet (and television) as long as its contained to the living room and they don’t make any more holes.

I texted Paola at Movistar with the conditions and I’m ready to make an appointment. She needs from me a photo of both sides of my cedula, my address, my email address, and phone number. She repeated that the cost is 62,000 pesos for this year and after.

I left the apt at 2pm and paid the Tigo/Une WiFi bill of 129,722 ($30) at the Gana kiosk. I continued on to Los Portenos where I had a latte while solving 12 more chess puzzles.

This young girl must have spotted this red squirrel because she ran through the park:

I left at 4:15 and stopped at the copy center to scan my cedula to my USB drive but the lady said she can only scan to print, not direct to my drive. I thanked her and returned to the apt so I guess I’ll be making a trip to the mall tomorrow morning.

Someone posted this on Expat Facebook.

I’d hate to be trapped in the US because I don’t have a Yellow Fever vaccination.

Esmeralda came over about 7pm and we walked to Piccolo’s where we shared a half mushroom, half tomato pizza and we all had Cokes for 113,565 pesos ($26.50). I noticed across the street Smartfit was quite busy.,

When we returned to the apt, I watched (actually just listened) the news and commentary on MSNBC before going to bed at 10pm.

 

FUNNY

Sunday, April 20, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 9:30pm, got up once at 4am, finally waking/getting up at 7am.

We took our showers, had our last breakfast in the hostel, finished packing and went down to the office. The final bill came to 3,332,000 pesos ($774) which included something like 80mil in snacks so figure just over $100 a night.

We walked outside the hostel and encountered another procession:

We eventually maneuvered our way across the street and about 6 blocks away we were a block from the bus station. Teresa talked to a man and he offered to take us directly to our apt in Envigado for 100mil which we accepted. If the guy’s speedometer was working correctly we only did about 30km/hr but were back at out apt in an hour and 15 minutes.

I took a Calendula capsule and felt relief 20 minutes later. 😊

I tried again to order the chess book from ThriftBooks.com, this time using a different debit card and different browser but still got the same error message. I switched to their offer of using Paypal and still got an error message so I gave up.

About 2pm I took a nap for an hour and in the meantime, we had a thunderstorm come through with a little rain.

I went onto the balcony to clip my fingernails and on the ground level saw a few kids with their parents looking for easter eggs. First time I’ve seen that here. I asked Teresa if that was a custom here and she thought I was crazy.

Tonight I remembered to watch 60 Minutes, a very good episode which highlighted the potential future health risk of H5N1 aka Bird Flu. The current presidential administration will probably drop the ball again and thousands of Americans will die.

 

FUNNY

Saturday, April 19, 2025

Last night we went to bed at 9pm, slept through the night, finally waking at 5am and getting up at 5:30.

Teresa really wanted a torta de pescado (fish cake) for breakfast and someone recommended Piel Roja in the main park. We left our room at 7:45 and walked to the park where we easily found it. (It’s the first place we stopped when we arrived on Sunday and Teresa didn’t want to have lunch there so I guided her across the street to Jumaye)

Teresa had a tinto for 2mil and a torta de pescado for 12mil and I had scrambled eggs which included an arepa and my café con leche for 15mil.

The total check came to 29mil ($6.75) and I tipped our waitress 1mil (I’m guessing tipping isn’t common here).

Down the block we found the other hostel that was recommended to us, Villa Guadalupe Colonial. The receptionist showed us a video of a room and it looks quite a bit larger than what we have now. Teresa said something about 2million pesos. Their ala carte menu is large so if food is included it’s a good deal. It has a small pool and an old colonial feel to it.

We walked a block away to Comfama where Terresa found a table and worked a little on her bracelet project and I scrolled through my phone.

We left just before 10 am and returned to the hostel in time for her to have a tinto and I another café con leche. We adjourned to the shady area off the pool where I worked on my blog and she on her (almost finished) bracelet.

I googled Villa Guadalupe Colonial but the only one I could find was in Mexico. I’ll try again later.

I was sitting at the table when I felt something graze the hair on the top of my head. Assassination attempt? No, a blue bird just out of the nest landed on the fence next to us. He looked to be gasping for air; maybe wondering where he is. Our waiter went to catch and it flew into the “tree” next to us. The “tree” is potted and looks like the not eating part of a carrot. You can probably see if if you zoom in on this photo

Late afternoon we went for a walk the opposite direction from the park and Teresa found a store where she bought some more craft supplies.

On our way back we stopped in the small church and sat for about 10 minutes.

We returned to Café Canelo where we shared another yucca waffle with ice cream. I also had a latte while she stuck to water.

When we left I reminded her we need more Zopiclona so we walked around the corner and encountered this procession coming toward us:

Teresa said she would wait here at the curb while I went down the street to the pharmacy. I did and the pharmacist brought out an opened package. The box was our usual brand but I only saw 20 inside. It took me a second to understand I could buy a sleeve of 10 which I did for 7,000 pesos.

Back at the curb with Teresa we stayed ahead of the procession and it turned in front of the small church:

We returned to the hosteria where we had a late supper.

Teresa started packing and we got to bed about 9:30.

 

FUNNY

Friday, April 18, 2025

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

I suggested we have breakfast back at Café Canelo but Teresa wanted to eat breakfast in the hotel because we already paid for it.

After our usual simple breakfast, she shared with me that there’s another restroom in the basement. I went down and checked it out and she’s right, one small room with a urinal and another with a toilet. And it has a toilet seat!

I retrieved my computer and moved to the shady area with the tables closer to the main pool. Teresa soon joined me and started work on a new bracelet.

I played some games of rapid (10 minute) chess.

My phone has been quiet all week but this afternoon I received a couple phone calls from Isable Aspen of Botswana, 😊 needless to say I didn’t answer.

At 1:15 I got the battery low warning on my laptop, only 30 minutes left, time to recharge the battery. I returned the laptop to our room and plugged it in. I returned to the pool area with my Kindle and read a few crime stories.

Lunch was goulash with rice.

Teresa almost always selects the second choice which is some type of fish. There’s been a little repetition but we’ve both been happy with the food.

This is a short video I took of the neighborhood.

We took showers then had supper in the dining room.

Supper was pork with a nice sauce, similar to what we’ve had before.

There’s a chess book I found on ThriftBooks.com,  Horowitz’s How to Win in the Chess Openings. One of the first chess books I had as a kid. For memories sake, twice I tried to buy it but there’s something about my payment details it doesn’t like.

We were both tired so we went to bed early, 9pm.

 

EL ARROYO