Sunday, February 16, 2020

Last night I went to bed at 10:45, woke up briefly about 5am, finally waking/getting up at 6:30.


Last night we couldn’t get the small fan that Jim left behind to work in the bathroom outlet.  Teresa tried the living room outlet and it worked fine there.


As usual, I plugged in my notebook to recharge overnight but when I got up in the morning the battery was still empty because Teresa had disconnected the power cord last night to test the fan.


I left the apt just before 8am and quickly was on a Sabaneta bus.  My back was still bothering me and the jolts of the bus didn’t seem to help, although by the time I got off it was back to normal.


When I arrived at the Dann Carlton Bilfort, Jim, Glenn, James, Reg and his wife Erica were there.  Only Joan was missing due to some stomach issues.


We all enjoyed the buffet which was about 41mil for us outsiders.

As usual Glenn, James and I left in a Didi car and I got out in Envigado.


I stopped briefly in the Justo & Bueno grocery store and saw bags of cold milk but no Fab laundry detergent.


Teresa and I took a nap from about 2:15 to 3:30.


I spent most of the day learning more about my new notebook, Windows 10 and my new chess program Chessbase.


3,834 steps today.


Joke of the day

A businessman was in a great deal of trouble.

His business was failing, he had put everything he had into the business, he owed everybody-- it was so bad he was even contemplating suicide.

As a last resort, he went to a priest and poured out his story of tears and woe.

When he had finished, the priest said, "Here's what I want you to do: Put a beach chair and your Bible in your car and drive down to the beach. Take the beach chair and the Bible to the water's edge, sit down in the beach chair, and put the Bible in your lap. Open the Bible; the wind will rifle the pages, but finally, the open Bible will come to rest on a page. Look down at the page and read the first thing you see. That will be your answer; that will tell you what to do."

A year later the businessman went back to the priest and brought his wife and children with him. The man was in a new custom-tailored suit, his wife in a mink coat, the children shining. The businessman pulled an envelope stuffed with money out of his pocket, gave it to the priest as a donation in thanks for his advice.

The priest recognized the benefactor and was curious. "You did as I suggested?" he asked.

"Absolutely," replied the businessman.

"You went to the beach?"

"Absolutely."

"You sat in a beach chair with the Bible in your lap?"

"Absolutely."

"You let the pages rifle until they stopped?"

"Absolutely."

"And what were the first words you saw?"

"Chapter 11."

Saturday, February 15, 2020

I woke up at 7:30 and still with a tight back I showered and dressed.  We had a nice breakfast in the hotel and about 9am we checked out – my charge was 135mil.  At 9:30 we had a large van take us to the Simon Bolivar airport.  Their runway parallels the sea and is only about 200 feet away.  We boarded at 10:30 for the 11:15 flight.  We took off and landed early.

Leonardo picked us up and dropped us off at the apt. Jim and Joan picked up their suitcases and moved to the Dann Carlton Bilfort. Teresa and I had lunch at La Bahia then took an hour nap back at the apt.

I uninstalled some Microsoft software from my new Notebook computer.

I estimate our trip cost about $450 for the 3 days.

Friday, February 14, 2020

I woke up at 5:30, Teresa got up at 5:55 to hit the beach and I got up at 7:50.  The shower was interesting as it was difficult to figure out what direction to turn the handle to get hot water and in the meantime you can’t step out of the water.  The electricity went out very briefly a couple times.


I found Jim and Joan at a table next to the pool and Teresa was still at the beach.  She returned at 8:45 and we all had breakfast at the other end of the pool.


The hotel staff set up a makeshift cabana on the beach for us to use.  We could see what looked like an oil rig and tankers in the distance.  I dipped in the sea (Caribbean) a few times but Teresa spent most of the day there only emerging at 5:30.


My osteoarthritis was acting up making my back quite sore and I got a little burned on my front.


We had been reading about ELN activity and hearing about Colombians not venturing out of their homes this weekend so we had dinner in again tonight instead of our original plan to go into town.

Thursday, February 13, 2020

I woke up at 3:45 and got up at 5:30.


I finished my last chess download.  I put on my combination shorts and we left the apt at 7am using Leo as our private driver.

We arrived at the airport at 7:45 and and our 9:30 flight was on time.


I felt great in my short pants but I was feeling alittle cool in my sleeveless t-shirt.  We landed at the Santa Marta airport at 10:25.  Per Accuweather the temperature was 90 degrees but RealFeel was 103.  A van picked us up and brought us to our hotel – the Casa Verano Hotel Boutique.  It’s a small hotel - only 14 rooms - right on the beach.  We walked a couple blocks away to the Jireh restaurant we I had a nice lunch of chicken and rice.  It was HOT, HOT, HOT!  After lunch Teresa and I took a nap then she finished my chicken and rice.  It got surprisingly windy at night so we just stayed in the hotel for dinner.

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Last night I went to bed at 10:30pm, woke up once during the night and got up at 7:15.


Jim, Joan and I left the apt at 9:30 and walked to downtown Envigado.  We were surprised to see Carbon de Leña closed; temporarily or permanently we had no idea.  We had the cheap breakfast at Chuck’s Mart, we had our boarding passes printed at the paper store and we bought flip flop, travel bottles at Dollar City.


We walked down to the mall where Joan bought a bathing cap.  At the metro I added 50mil bo my civica card and we took the metro to La Estrella station.  Only I didn’t notice when we arrived and we started heading in the opposite direction.  At Sabaneta we exited and crossed over to the other side and finally got off at La Estrella.  We found the Lomitas bus that should take us up into the mountains but we were running out of time.


We used Didi to call for a private car that took us to Otra Parte where we had lunch and drinks until meeting Teresa back at the apt.  We took another Didi car to Deportivo Polidportiva Envigado where Chris Cajoleas was waiting for us. He gave us all a Tejo lesson and we played 2-3 games.  Teresa dropped out after a little bit due to pain in her right side.  Jim came from behind to win the first one and Joan won the second.  We took a Didi car to Antica Pizzeria where we all had pizza.


17,492 steps today.


Joke of the day

Once upon a time, there was a man who was peacefully driving down a windy road.

Suddenly, a bunny skipped across the road and the man couldn't stop. He hit the bunny head on.

The man quickly jumped out of his car to check the scene.

There, lying lifeless in the middle of the road, was the Easter Bunny. 

The man cried out, "Oh no! I have committed a terrible crime! I have run over the Easter Bunny!" 

The man started sobbing quite hard and then he heard another car approaching. It was a woman in a red convertible.

The woman stopped and asked what the problem was.

The man explained, "I have done something horribly sad. I have run over the Easter Bunny. Now there will be no one to deliver eggs on Easter, and it's all my fault." 

The woman ran back to her car.

A moment later, she came back carrying a spray bottle.

She ran over to the motionless bunny and sprayed it.

The bunny immediately sprang up, ran into the woods, stopped, and waved back at the man and woman.

Then it ran another 10 feet, stopped, and waved. It then ran another 10 feet, stopped, and waved again.

It did this over and over and over again until the man and the woman could no longer see the bunny. 

Once out of sight, the man exclaimed, "What is that stuff in that bottle?" 

The woman replied, "It's harespray. It revitalizes hare and adds permanent wave."

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Last night I went to bed at 10:30pm, woke up once during the night and got up at 7am.


We left the apt and walked to the mall where I made a withdrawal and paid my cellphone bill and the epm utility bill.


We took a Didi car to Dann Carlton Bilfort where Jim straightened out his hotel reservation for this weekend.  We took another Didi to a salsa radio station about 4 blocks west of Parque Poblado.  We got a tour of the station and Jim bought some souvenirs.


We walked up to Parque Poblado where we were quickly on a Sabaneta bus but it crawled throught the gold mile and it was nearly an hour before we returned to the apt.


We left the apt at 2:30 and took a Sabaneta bus that crawled through the gold mile traffic.  At San Diego mall we only had a 5 minute wait for an airport bus and we arrived at the airport by 4pm.  Joan’s plane landed 20 minutes early and she came out about 25 minutes later.  Bryan had handed off our ride to his partner Leonardo and he took us back to our apt for 90mil (10mil tip).


14,284 steps today.


Joke of the day

Joe passed away. His will provided $30,000 for an elaborate funeral. 

As the last guests departed the affair, his wife, Helen, turned to her oldest friend. 

"Well, I'm sure Joe would be pleased," she said. 

"I'm sure you're right," replied Jody, who lowered her voice and leaned in close. 

"How much did this really cost?"

"All of it," said Helen. "Thirty thousand." 

"No!" Jody exclaimed. "I mean, it was very nice, but $30,000?" 

Helen answered. "The funeral was $6,500. I donated $500 to the church. The wake, food, and drinks were another $500. The rest went for the memorial stone."

Jody computed quickly. "$22,500 for a memorial stone? My God, how big is it?!" 

"Two and a half carats." 

Monday, February 10, 2020

Last night I went to bed at 10:30pm, woke up at 5:30 and got up at 6am.


Jim and I left the apt at 10:30 and walked to the mall.  Jim had coffee at the inside Juan Valdez while I tried, unsuccessfully, to withdraw cash from 4 ATMs.  At the last I stood back and watched a young lady withdraw some cash so at least I knew it wasn’t empty.  I guess I’ll have to pay my bills another day.


We walked to the metro and had an OJ at Herman’s stand (still no Herman).  We were directed to the last bus at the south end of the station.  Our bus had a “Las Palmas 3,100” sticker on the front window.  We left at 12:15 and it first stopped at Parque Envigado so now we know we could catch a bus from there.  I believe the bus went up Loma de Escobero and 50 minutes later we got off at Las Palmas right after the toll booth.  I noticed a “Pavezgo Luz y Hogar” sign overhead.  We had a 15 minute wait for a Sotra Retiro bus.  Quite a few school kids soon got on and crowded the back fo the bus.  


We had lunch at restaurant Donde Klavo across the street from the park.  We then had coffee a couple blocks away at Aroma a Café. 
 A block from the park Jim inquired at a taxi stand as to how much it would cost for a ride back to the toll booth.  For 30mil we got a ride and on the way I noted we were at an altitude of 7,400 feet.  A Metro Bus arrived immediately and for 3,200 we got a ride back (40 minutes) to Parque Envigado.


We took an Envigado bus to the Esso station and went into Parva to find most of their electricity was out.  We each had a bottle of water while sitting out on their patio.  I bought a loaf of their Sano bread.


About 5:30 we returned to the apt.  I called my bank right away but they assured me there was nothing wrong with my card or my account.


Teresa came back at 6:30 and we left for the mall at 7pm.

I managed to make a small ATM withdrawal, I paid my Claro bill then we had supper upstairs in the restaurant area.  After, Teresa bought some calcium pills in the Exito pharmacy, I paid the utility bill and we bought a few groceries.  We lugged everything back to the apt.


13,520 steps today.


Joke of the day

A country preacher had a teenage son, and it was time the boy should give some thought to choosing a profession. Like many young men, the boy didn't really know what he wanted to do, and he didn't seem too concerned about it. 

One day, while the boy was away at school, his father decided to try an experiment. He went into the boy's room and placed on his study table four objects:

A bible, a silver dollar, a bottle of Jack Daniels, and a Playboy magazine.

'I'll just hide behind the door, the preacher said to himself, 'and when he comes home from school this afternoon, I'll see which object he picks up.'

'If it's the Bible, he's going to be a preacher like me, and what a blessing that would be! If he picks up the dollar, he's going to be a business-man, and that would be okay, too. But, if he picks up the bottle, he's going to be a no-good drunkard, and Lord, what a shame that would be. And worst of all, if he picks up that magazine, he's going to be a skirt-chasing bum.'

The old man waited anxiously, and soon heard his son's footsteps as he entered the house whistling and heading for his room.

The boy tossed his books on the bed, and as he turned to leave the room, he spotted the objects on the table. With curiosity in his eye, he walked over to inspect them.

Finally, he picked up the Bible and placed it under his arm.

He picked up the Silver Dollar and dropped into his pocket.

He uncorked the bottle and took a big drink while he admired this month's centerfold.

'Lord have mercy,' the old preacher whispered in horror, 'He’s going to be the next president!'