Sunday, June 5th, 2016

At 9am someone stopped by for the quart of paint and I also gave them 23,000 pesos.  We left the finca at 10am and first we stopped at a nearby little store (tienda) for something for lunch later but it was closed.  We took a metro bus for the first time.  I actually got a little lost (turned around) as it approached the metro area.  Teresa stopped at a stand and for 500 pesos bought a cup of fruit.  A large dog came by with no apparent owner.  I forget what you call the type – you know – the ones that traditionally carry a keg under their neck in the Alps.  It was huge.

After a 5 minute wait for a bus we got into a private car (con effectivo).  Traffic was heavy as they had the express lanes closed for Sunday exercisers.  The driver took us through the back streets of Itagui and we ended up getting ahead of the logjam.

Between the Caldas turnoff and the sideroad to the finca there have always been 3 restaurants.  The 2^nd one closed because the highway will soon run right through its front parking lot.  I saw they have a sign up on top of the hill – Parilla – so maybe they’ve opened a location up there.

Teresa announced that the driver and his wife are her friends and they exchanged phone numbers.  I got a little nervous when we passed the sideroad and more nervous when we passed the spot where we would cross over to the other side of the highway.  They ended up taking us to the El Rancherito just south of the sideroad.  Teresa went inside and bought some food then they drove us all the way to the top of the hill.  They left their car there and walked down the hill with us.  I gave the black dog 6 small dog biscuits – he’s getting better at catching them.

At the finca, the renters have moved a lot of the plants from their crowded place in front to inside and around the outside of the finca.  They’ve moved some of their own furniture inside.

They moved the Direct TV satellite dish from the side of the finca to the roof and in its place put up one of those tents and has 2 motorcycles under it.  (The book I’m currently reading referred to them as open-sided tents.)  They have a small dog that after a little early aggressiveness got to like me after giving him several of the small dog biscuits.  They also have a kitten that can’t be more than a few weeks old.  Miguel, whose name I thought was Andres, was painting more of the outside of the finca.

In the chicken coop out back I saw Luna, Tony and Peluche.

I ate some frijoles that Teresa brought from the restaurant with a small bottle of Coke.  At 2pm it started raining and the woman ran in back and brought in the laundry but it stopped 2 minutes later.  I took a nap from about 2:30 to 3:30 in a nice Lay-Z-Boy (sp?) chair the man had.

At 4pm the man hooked up an old TV in the living room and just then they started showing another America Cup match – this time between Jamaica and Venezuela that was held in Soldier Field in Chicago.  It looked like they had beautiful weather today.

I gave Miguel 200,000 pesos for work he’s done thus far – painting and finishing the sideroad down to the finca.

We left the finca just before dark, Miguel carrying a box of something with Luna tied to a rope, and it was dark by the time we got down to the highway.  I don’t know how Teresa could tell the difference between car lights and bus lights but after 5 minutes she flagged one down.  We said goodbye to Miguel.

The bus was basically full so Teresa sat on the transmission and I sat on the stairs until some people finally got off at the La Estrella station and we got seats.

At the apartment Teresa had some sausage and arepas she brought from the finca and I headed to Carbón de Leña.  I noticed the side street leading to the park was barricaded closed and I thought there might be some doings going on at the park.  On the street was a huge crane and what looked like a couple lampposts lying in the street.  At Carbón de Leña I had a hamburger and strawberry juice with milk which was kind of like a milkshake.  Back at the side street I observed the crane lifting the 2^nd object all the way onto the top of a building and I thought I heard a woman say “antenna”.

T-shirt of the day: If you have something to say, raise your hand, and put it over your mouth.

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2016

The workers showed up at 7:30.

Don Carlos stopped by and after he left, Teresa told me we will pay him a small amount to stay in the finca.  He’s working nearby and can sleep in the finca each night.

At 11am it started to rain but it only lasted a couple minutes.  It started again about 10 minutes later and lasted about 15 minutes.

I understand we’re going back to Envigado tomorrow to look at the neighboring apartment.

Elda’s workers showed up and took an armoire, the old stove, and 11 large bags of stuff Teresa had sorted out from the loft area.  (I guess she’s serious about getting out of here soon.)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Leonardo showed up at 12:30.  The workers left at 1:15.  I had a bowl of cereal for lunch.  Now we have no regular stove so Teresa will have to cook over the woodfire grill.

The two workers were still cutting grooves in the trail but Leonardo started laying rocks in those closest to the finca.

At 3:15 it started raining and didn’t stop until 4:15.  At 5:20 it started raining again.  Did I mention that May is the rainiest month in Medellin?  Second only to October, that is.

A man who lives further up the mountain stopped by to look at the finca.  While Teresa was outside showing him around, Tony got into a plastic bag full of fat that was on the floor in the utility room.  I understand the man is going to try to help us rent the finca.

Teresa is willing to either sell or rent the finca.

Teresa told me she sold the refrigerator for 600,000 pesos.  That will help towards buying a new one that will probably cost 1 million or more.

About 8:45 the man came back with a family to see the finca.  They really liked it and if I understood correctly on May 25^th they are going to sign the paperwork to rent or buy and something about a year so obviously I don’t know all the details.

Teresa received a call later and I understood that the family wants to sign a contract on Thursday or Friday to rent the finca.  I guess they don’t want to take a chance on losing out on it.

T-shirt of the day: Sometimes I pretend to be normal.

Wednesday, April 20th, 2016 :(

8 days and counting!

Still no internet.

The workmen showed up at 7am and started digging out the rocks closest to the finca.  I understand they’re going to build a better walkway with rocks and pour cement near the finca for a turn around area for Walter’s taxi.

A man named Arnan (sp?) came by and we bought a bottle of honey from him for 10mil.

I took a nap on the couch after doing a little Nook reading.  I woke up about an hour later at 12:30 and when I looked outside the finca, as far as I could see, all the rocks had been removed from the sideroad.

While in the finca, without wi-fi, I decided to read another book Michael gave me – Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger.  The only problem is I found the print is so small that I can’t read it unless the lighting is perfect – and in the finca the light isn’t perfect.

TV news reported that thus far they have found 11 Colombians dead in the Ecuador earthquake.  I think the other day they said there were 2 or 3 Americans also found dead in the earthquake.

Well, that was interesting! (An obvious understatement as you will see.)

About 3pm, 3 men came down the hill with the 2 men who had been working on our sideroad.  I saw one of the 3 men holding a revolver at his side and another man holding a knife.  They came into the finca and over the next hour they seated us on the couches with Teresa on the last chair, fastened all our arms together using those plastic ties, and ransacked the house looking for money.  Then they put plastic tape covering each of our mouths and put an electric cord around Teresa’s neck for some reason.  (Later she told me it’s because they threatened her to give them money.)  The man who put tape over my mouth repeatedly said in English, “sorry, sir”!  Fuck you!  I didn’t say it then but I’ll say it now.  Then they locked the front door with our strong Stanley lock and took the keys.  I had visions of spending the weekend like this.

I managed to wriggle one of my hands out of the tie attached to the man on my right.  Teresa and I went into the kitchen and used a knife to cut the one tying us together then I used the knife to cut the ties connecting the other two men.  But we were still locked in the finca.  The guys found a long piece of rebar that they used to pry off the lock.

It took us less than 20 minutes to get totally free but I understood we were warned not to leave for 60 minutes.  After time expired and the two men left we took stock of what they took.

They found quite a bit of cash in one location, money that I had converted to pesos while the currency exchange rate was high.  They also found the spare cash I take with me in my fanny pack when we go to town.  But they removed a small bag I had in my shaving kit that contained 1 million pesos and they obviously didn’t open it so we have that.

I thought they took my laptop but later I found it under blankets they had thrown on the bed.  They took both my debit cards that I can hopefully cancel tomorrow.  I have a new USAA card in the mail that should be at MBE any day now.  They took my cheap Timex watch but I have another one; it just needs a new battery.  They destroyed my 3 prong to 2 prong adapter unplugging my laptop power cord but I finally found an extra (otherwise my battery would die real soon).  They broke our nearly full (with 500 peso and 1mil peso coins) piggy bank looking for something more valuable but didn’t take them.  They also took the 2 small flashlights my brother brought me from the States.

Of course Teresa was very distraught but for some reason I was pretty cool through the whole thing.  She started crying again when she thought about the fact that they could have slit our throats but I told her not to think like that.

Teresa wants me to buy a gun but I hate guns.  Even if I had had a gun with me and had it in my hand I might have had to shoot one of the workers to get to the only bad guy carrying a gun.  I told Teresa I understand it’s difficult to buy a gun legally in Colombia.  She told me that people who live in fincas have a right to buy a shotgun.  (It better be more than a double barrel or the 3^rd guy would get me before I could reload.)  Now I know why so many gringos live in gated communities with 24-hour security.  Well, we won’t be keeping a lot of cash in pesos here in the finca; just enough to appease any thieves that might do this again.

So, tomorrow we’ll go to Carbón de Leña in Envigado where I know they have a strong wi-fi signal and hopefully I’ll be able to use my iPad to cancel my debit cards.  Then we have to buy a new (inexpensive) cell phone and call MBE to see if my new debit card is waiting for me.  At least I won’t have to wait 3-4 weeks for the banks to issue me a new card to be able to access my cash again.

I really wonder if this was a random thing or were we targeted in some way.

Teresa borrowed the cell phone of one of the men before they left but there were almost no minutes on it.  She called Wilson but I don’t know what transpired and then there were no minutes left.  That was our one call so I hope she used it wisely.

Teresa asked me if this happened in the US would we call the police and I said absolutely.  She said, here no!  She made me swear not to tell anyone about this and I replied “only gringos”.  She seemed to be ok with that.

It took us some time to put the house back together.

Teresa spent about an hour counting all the coins – a total of something like 300,090 pesos.

We talked a bit about how to protect ourselves in the finca.  Teresa thought we should put up a camera but I figured they would just find the recorder and destroy it.  I thought about getting a loud horn for above the entrance to the finca with a panic button just inside the door.  I also decided it would be a good idea to keep my backup debit card at another location like Wilson’s apartment.

T-shirt of the day: Sometimes when I reflect back on all the wine I drink I feel shame.  Then I look into the glass and think about all the workers in the vinyards and all of their hopes and dreams.  If I don’t drink this wine, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered.  Then I say to myself, “It is better that I drink this wine and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver.”

Friday, April 29th, 2016

Tonight is rounds 2 & 3 of the NFL draft beginning at 7pm ET.

Among today’s new US movie releases, I would like to see A Beautiful Planet (9.6).  Locally, there isn’t anything I want to see.

I forgot to mention that I found my Safeway Dill Pickle Chips at Exito last night.  Yay!

More Expat Exchange comments regarding our home invasion:

Dcventures: I am glad you had that experience as I think it may be an experience that wises you and your girl up to the realities of remotely living as a gringo in Colombia. I know the dream: ours was initially a finca where our kids could come and visit from the states, Peace and tranquility abounds. What a bunch of crap! I also know what happens when you have an experience like you had and how we were never again able to spend any tranquil time at our finca in parcelation Popalito, 40 kilometers north of Medellin after such. A very nice psuedo "gated community". Our hearts had been changed and the dream destroyed. Ours was a little more complex, but I think it saved us from a worse fate. We weren't finca people anyhow and an apartment in Sabeneta better fits our needs today. Colombia is a wonderful country where I expect to die. But I have lost much of the naivety I brought into Colombia from the states, And most all of the Colombian people are good. There is just a small percentage of the population that’s evil. Unfortunately, you can not really know who they are until it’s to late. So you limit your exposure as best you can. That’s what everyone who has anything of value does in Colombia. DC DC.

CAtoMDE: Well said DCVENTURES. For 4 years I own a sizeable dairy farm out by San Pedro. I rarely go out there as it causes too much commotion and unwanted interest. So to be safe I nor my paisa wife, who manages the operation, never have a routine, always travel with a few other Colombian friends and stay low keyed. I have never even walked in to Colanta, so no one would see this big gringo and get any ideas. We never, never even mention the Spanish word that they use for a man or woman who owns a large farm (don't even write it here) nor do we show anything on our Facebook or any other communication tool that hints of what we have. After reading this experience from the OP we now will become more careful, we will never mention when we travel to Colombia or leave, we come and go like a ship passing in the night. I too plan on retiring in Colombia in the next 6-8 years and hopefully a new president will clean things up in a grander scale but that too is wishful thinking. Key points: Be low keyed/low profile, know your surroundings, don't trust anyone, enjoy.

BrianBunuelo: Thank God you and your g/f are physically unharmed. I know the experience left you both traumatized. We really appreciate your courage and for sharing the details with others. As I prepare for my relocation, I often think of preparing for this reality. I think there are great resouces online of how to enjoy Colombia and more to follow. But it seems there is a need for a site/app dedicated to security tips and news as more foreigners visit and relocate.

If I wasn’t clear yesterday, I think we’ve found our apartment.  It isn’t perfect but we can fix it up some and we can always move after 6 months.

Today we’re going back to Envigado so I can pay my health insurance premium for May.  I believe we’ll also revisit the apartment where I will take photos and room measurements.

Teresa told me we have to go into town next week and buy cement, sand, and water pipes for the work on the sideroad leading to the finca.

I received an email from MBE that I have 3 documents waiting for pickup.  I’m pretty sure one of them is my new USAA debit card.  Hopefully, we can get there sometime early next week.

Teresa received a call and then told me there are 2 different people possibly interested in renting the finca.  Someone is coming by about noon to take a look at it.

Teresa didn’t want to go out today so I had her call Natalia and we have been given permission to pay my health insurance on Monday, May 2^nd.  So we’ll probably go to MBE the same day.

We took a nap for about an hour.  I understand the guy who was going to look at the finca got lost.  The guy from Agency #1 called and said he wasn’t interested in the finca.  Not positive if it’s the same guy.  (I forgot to mention I emailed Laura photos of the finca and she was to send them to the agencies.)

I checked the address of the apartment and it looks like it’s about 10 blocks from Parque Envigado.

Laura emailed me some links to a few apartments but I’m busy watching the NFL draft.

The Bears traded their 2^nd round pick to the Seattle Seahawks but I don’t know yet for what.  Maybe picks next year?  I finally learned they traded down 5 spots and also got an additional 4^th round pick, then they drafted Cody Whitehair, a versatile guard from Kansas State.

Teresa informed me that the apartment we saw yesterday is no longer available as the store next door is going to expand into that space.  :(

T-shirt of the day: Take every change and drop away fear.

Saturday, November 18, 2017

As usual I fell asleep quickly, got up once or twice during the night, fell back asleep quickly, woke up at 6:30 and got up at 7:30.

I think it rained most of the night.

Our 3^rd plan for today was that I would leave the apt at 9am and by 3 Frischuletas and Pepsis at Frisby.  Then we would have them for lunch with Alex at the finca.

As I was lying there in bed it occurred to me that Frisby doesn’t server breakfast so they probably don’t open until 11am or 11:30.  I shared that with Teresa and she said that the muchacho working on the finca can go to Caldas and buy food for everyone (plan #4).

She talked to him about an hour later and reported that he has to leave about 1pm because he has something he has to take care of in Medellin.

Teresa finally came up with the idea that we would have lunch in El Rancherito which is just a short walk from the finca (plan #5).

About 9:45 I went downstairs and waited for Alex who showed up a few minutes later by taxi.

He said he’s lost about 20 pounds and was noticeably slimmer.

Upstairs I introduced him to Laura for the first time and showed him around the apartment.

Outside we quickly caught a taxi that took us all the way to the highway down the hill from the finca.  On the way we drove over the new bridge and went through the new tunnel.

We walked up and down the hill to the finca.  Not a dog in sight.  I understand Guillermo’s place is still unoccupied.

When we got to the finca I learned that the reason Alex had a hefty backpack with him is that he thought we were going to stay overnight.

Teresa unlocked the place, the muchacho soon arrived and he started working.   For example, I noticed him filling holes before we start the repainting.

Alex looked around and said he really liked the place.  I told him he could buy it for 300 million pesos (about $100,000).

At one point I led Alex down a path but I kept hitting cobwebs.  (I hope I didn’t get bitten by any of the few spiders I saw.)  After going down a bit I couldn’t see where the trail continued so we turned back.

I went another way that I’ve used before but I kept slipping on what looked like wet grass but ended up just gouging out mud on the side of the hill.  We eventually got down close to the bottom and we could hear the stream nearby.  By this time Alex had taken the lead and he headed a different direction than I intended.  There was a drop off next to me and I stepped 3-4 inches away from the edge when it gave way and my body weight with me being off balance carried me down the hill.  I ended up with my head about 6 feet below the ground level where I had started.  Looking down I couldn’t see any way to continue so I knew I had to get back up.  I was next to a small tree but most of the branches I grabbed were rotten and just gave way.  I saw a black tube maybe an inch in diameter poking out of the ground and by using that and the tree I managed to get myself up closer until Alex came with a tree branch and helped me get up and roll onto the edge. 

We still had to work our way up the slippery hill but by the time we got to the top my shoes, jeans, and arms were filthy.  Alex wasn’t much better and we washed off using the outside hose.

The muchacho left about 12:15 and we left soon after.

Down at the highway we walked about 20 minutes to El Rancherito where we had lunch.  Alex and I had a large slab of ribs and Teresa had their mixed seafood plate.  It rained on and off for the hour or so that we were there.  We all had tiramisu for dessert.

Across the street we waited about 10 minutes for a bus back to Envigado.  I timed the trip from the road to the finca back to the Envigado station and it was about 25 minutes.

We took a taxi from there back to the apt.

Alex and I walked to the park and I pointed out some things on the way.  At the park they were just starting to play some music so we moved to the bakery across the street.  He had a vanilla ice cream cone with raisins and I had a café con leche.  He said he really liked the atmosphere of the area.

Back at the apt he picked up his things and after a 5 minute wait across the street he was in a taxi back to his place.

Someone has moved into one of the 2 apartments that were for rent across the street.

At 10:15 it started raining again and it continued for most of the night.  I went to bed at 10:45.

T-shirt of the day: Today is just yesterday’s tomorrow.

Friday, January 22nd, 2016

I got up once at 2:30, again at 5am, and the alarm went off at 7am.  Right away Teresa begged for more sleep.  I told her “no” and got up and took my shower.  She got up a few minutes after I got out of the shower.

Still no internet.

We left the finca at 8:10, got past the G-dogs undetected, and were on a bus after a 10 minute wait.  

First we stopped at Bancolombia which was open at 8:45am with almost no line.  I made my downpayment of 227,000 to Hotel Golden Palermo.

I took a photo of my Hotel Golden Palermo bank receipt using my iPad.  Now I have to wait for an internet connection in order to email it to the hotel; probably Monday.

We stopped at an indoor ATM machine where I tried to withdraw 600mil.  It didn’t work and what bothered me is that it accepted my Pin# before telling me.  We went outside to another ATM and it kept telling me to rescan my card.  I tried the next one and finally it worked without a problem.

We walked a couple blocks away to Aymará where Teresa had scrambled eggs, an arepa with cheese and hot chocolate while I just had a cup of coffee for 11,500.  I would have had more had I known we were going to have breakfast here but I was still full from the bowl of cereal I had back at the finca.

We went next door to La Barra Hogar y Tecno (Calle 129Sur #50-59) where we ordered a stovetop (cubierta) for the finca for 564mil.  The saleslady checked the measurements I brought against her salesbook.  I noticed it said “natural gas” so I questioned that and I learned that for 20mil they will make a conversion to “liquid propane”.  I put it on my debit card.

We walked a few blocks to the nursery where Teresa picked out 3 large ceramic pots, 2 large bags of potting soil, and 2 plants for 195mil.  Walter showed up, we put everything inside and we were on our way.

As we were leaving town I reminded Teresa that we need more dog food.

On the way to the highway I noticed a couple tents with a sign that said “Silver Circus”.  They looked like circus tents.

We arrived back at the finca by 10:40, Walter helped carry everything down to the finca and even assisted Teresa with placing the pots and filling them with potting soil.  I gave him 30mil for his efforts.

Still no internet.

We took a nap from 12:15 to 1:15.

Teresa told me that her sister Vicky invited us to join them in their finca in Santafe.  I told her we’ll be there next weekend and anyway more important for me is to get internet back.

Since I don’t have internet to check, I scrolled through the Direct TV channels for Saturday & Sunday looking for the NFC & AFC Championship games and I found they are both on Sunday.  Teresa was taking another nap and I was going to tell her that if she wants we can go out tomorrow but not Sunday.  In the meantime Teresa got a call and told me that Une should be here tomorrow so I guess we’ll be staying in.

Teresa spent most of the afternoon and evening planting flowers in the new pots.

I took 3 sleeping pills with my Tamsulosin at 11:15 and went to bed at 11:45.

T-shirt of the day: Hugs and donuts.

Wednesday, January 27th, 2016

I fell asleep quickly but was awakened by one of the terrier’s barking.  It was still dark outside so I thought it was probably 5am.  After a trip to the bathroom I turned on my cell phone and it was only 3am.  Groan!  I set the alarm for 7am and went back to bed.  I was awakened by the alarm and Teresa told me she wanted to get up at 7:30 but we both got up at 7:15.

Still no internet.

We left the finca at 8:15, I gave the black dog 2 dog biscuits and we ran into Guillermo with his Styrofoam cooler at the highway.  We only had to wait 5 minutes for a bus to Caldas.  Guillermo told us that someone’s 12 year old daughter died of cancer.  When we got off the bus we walked a few blocks to a mortuary.  There was a small casket, open over the face with a plastic or glass cover but I didn’t go over and look.  We left after about 5 minutes. 

We stopped at a BanColombia ATM to make a cash withdrawal.

While we were walking across the street to Parque Caldas I observed 2 horses crossing the street without anyone noticeably leading them.

We stopped at Aymara for breakfast.  Teresa had scrambled eggs, arepa and hot chocolate while I had my usual strawberry waffle and coffee for a total of 19,100.  I had my iPad and I found an open wifi connection so I turned on my Nook and downloaded the book I had purchased previously.  Now I can read it on either my iPad or my Nook.  Teresa pointed out Teresa’s professor was there; the pretty one with the nice figure that I saw at Laura’s graduation.  Only today she didn’t look so pretty not being in full makeup and nice clothes.

We were walking down the street to Merkepaisa when we passed 2 young ladies – the first pushing a stroller with a young child and the other carrying a young child.  Just as the second lady passed us she popped out her boob to breastfeed the child.  I didn’t get more than a glance but it looked like a nice boob.

In the grocery store we ran into Alberto Magallon the owner of the Casa Pomplona restaurant in Caldas.  I told him my brother is returning for a visit this weekend.  He gave me his business card and told me we should call a day ahead if anyone wants to order paella or mariscos.  I understand he is open every day from noon to 3pm and 5pm to close.  He also said he has a friend with a Spanish restaurant called Casa Lara a block from Parque Poblado.

 

We bought about 106mil of groceries at Merkepaisa including food for the lunch we will be having at the finca next Monday.  Walter met us with his taxi after a 5 minute wait.

We stopped at the nursery where Teresa picked up 4 small pots, some potting soil and mulch for 68mil.

We got up the sideroad to the finca on the first try.  Walter spent about 45 minutes putting up the flower pots on the side of the finca.  He even managed to open Teresa’s “frozen” drill.  I was afraid I was going to have to buy a new one.  I paid him 25mil for his services.

Still no internet.

On the news they showed some type of new card that can be used on some buses and the metro.

We did some reorganizing of the finca and I moved the coil of TV wire from inside the finca to outside.

Teresa and I took a nap from 2pm to 3:50 and then we got a call from Une.  They claim they will be here tomorrow morning.

Teresa made an appointment to have her hair done tomorrow at 3:30 in Envigado.  I’ll need a wifi connection to take care of a few things and then I can go play chess in the park.

I started watching Brazil from my hard drive but after 6 minutes I decided it was too ridiculous to continue.  I skipped Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Breaking Away and started watching Bridesmaids 

I took 2 sleeping pills at 11:30 and went to bed at midnight.

T-shirt of the day: Lost in Ireland.

Friday, May 6th, 2016

I slept well until 5am when I got up to make a trip to the bathroom.  About 5:30 the dogs started their barking and the workers arrived at 6am.  It rained from about 8 to 8:15.  I got up at 8:30.

Teresa told me the worker forgot to bring the milk so we’re going to Envigado for breakfast.  When I came out of the shower another worker showed up with the bag of milk.  After a breakfast of scrambled eggs and beans (calentao) without arepa and coffee, we’re waiting for the thunder & lightning (no rain) to pass before we go to Envigado.

Teresa told me she’s called 6 different people but can’t find anyone to move our stuff to Envigado.

I found the number for Carlos, the man who brought my stuff here from Laureles, but Teresa tried it and told me his number doesn’t work.  I sent him an email and asked him for his cell phone number.  We’ll see.

Among this week’s new US movie releases I would like to see Elstree 1976 (6.9) and Pelé: Birth of a Legend (8.0).

I received an email from a Russian man I casually knew more than 10 years ago.  He said he was in Milan, Italy and needed to borrow $3,500 for an operation for his sister.  (Of course he would pay me back later.)  For identity purposes I asked him where I live and he said Chicago.  I told him I don’t live in Chicago so he probably has the wrong person.

At 10:55 it started raining hard but stopped 5 minutes later, started again 3 minutes later, and stopped 20 minutes later.

Teresa packed a small suitcase with her perfumes and stuff and we left the finca at noon, got past the G-dogs undetected and were 

on a bus after a 10 minute wait.

For lunch we had the special of the day at La Bahia for 19,000 pesos (about $7).

We met Laura at Wilson’s apartment and we all walked to the new apartment.  Teresa stayed there to tidy up while Laura and I went to Exito.  I paid the Une bill (electricity) for the finca while Laura picked up a mop, broom, glass cleaner and wipes.  While she went back to the apartment I walked to the pharmacy where I bought my prostate medicine for the month.  I also stopped at a Gana store where I added 20mil to the cell phone.  (A couple old ladies really stared at me with my Spanish.  Must have been my accent.  Lol)

Back at the apartment I cleaned the sliding glass window in the living room as best I could reach.  I understand a man will come Monday to clean the outside better.  Laura forgot to buy soap to clean the floor so she went out again but found a closer store.

We left the apartment but after we got a block away Teresa realized she left the keys to the finca in the suitcase she left in the apartment.  (I’m glad she didn’t wait until we were at the finca to discover that!)  They went back for the keys while I waited where we were.

We walked to Exito where we picked up about 6 bags of groceries while Laura paid Wilson back for the money I borrowed from him.  I was wondering how we were going to carry everything until Laura showed up again.

We stopped at a small store outside where we ordered 3 turkey sandwiches and 3 sodas with the plan to eat everything on the bus.  We took a taxi to the highway and after a 15 minute wait we caught an express bus back to the finca.  Unfortunately, we got the last 3 seats in the back and all crowded together with our plastic bags we were unable to eat until we got back to the finca.  We got past the G-dogs before they realized we were there.  We got back in the dark at 7:15.

At 10pm it started raining.

T-shirt of the day: Nobody trains to get their butts kicked.

Saturday, January 2nd, 2016

I got up at 3:30, again at 7:30 finally getting up at 8:30.

We left the finca at 11:50 and got past the killer dogs undetected.  It looked awfully quiet there.  At the highway while we were waiting for a bus Guillermo appeared from across the highway carrying a large Styrofoam cooler.  He talked to Teresa for a while and I understood that the boxweiler killed the puppy, the way predators kill their prey, by grabbing them by the throat until they asphyxiate.  He also said something about last Wednesday cars or dogs weaving along the highway but I didn’t understand everything.  Our bus came after a 20 minute wait.

About 5 minutes later it started raining hard and we didn’t have an umbrella.  I understand we left the small red one on the bus and the larger one is still back at the finca.  Instead of getting off the bus at Aguacatala station we went to the end of the line to the south bus station.  This is when I found I couldn’t open my Nook book; battery is probably too low.  At Frisby Teresa had the Frischuleta, soup and juice.  I helped her with that and I also had a Friburrito and Pepsi for a total of 38,800.

By the time we left the bus station it had stopped raining.  We took a taxi to Calle 50 and Carrera 47 where Teresa picked up some face cream.  Across the street were 6 barber shops in a row (what a country).  We stopped in one and I let Teresa have her way with my haircut.  My beard is a now smaller and shorter.  After cutting my hair the barber opened a new blade for final trimming around the edges.  The entire procedure took 20 minutes and cost me 8,000 pesos (less than $3).

We walked about 3 blocks west to Avenida 80 and about 6 blocks south to Calle 44 (San Juan).  I stopped at the internet store to print something but it was closed.  We walked to Viva CC where I left Teresa downstairs to have a set of finca keys made for me.  I went across the street to Mall Laureles where I told the man who organizes Santafe tours that there would be 6 people wanting to go there on Saturday, January 30^th.  I also picked up another one of his flyers.  The price is still 60mil (about $20) which includes transportation both ways, tour of a bridge on the way, lunch there, and use of their facilities which includes a pool and jacuzzi.  Not a bad deal.  They leave Medellin at 10am and leave Santafe at 7pm.  I walked across the street to Hotel Golden Palermo where I picked up their business card.

Back at Viva CC Teresa informed me they weren’t able to copy her keys for some reason.  She waited at Nohelia to have her nails done and I picked up a complimentary 2016 calendar at Western Union.  Upstairs in Exito I dropped off a used battery and some partially used medicine I no longer needed.  I picked up 2 packages of underwear (3 pairs in each) and a bottle of Pepsi for tomorrow’s game.  (We had finished the other bottle a couple days before.)  I asked a saleslady where I could find a bottle of strawberry syrup (salsa de fresa).  She asked me if I meant fresco and I said no, fresa.  After we went back and forth a few times I took her over to the strawberries and she finally understood.  Sigh!  She showed me a plastic package of arequipe and asked me if this was what I wanted only with strawberry inside.  I told her yes but the bottle is made of harder plastic.  She asked someone else who got on her cell phone.  I told her I would keep looking while they are checking and right away I found the bottle – Smucker’s Strawberry Syrup – all in English.  Checkout lines were pretty busy and after a 10 minute wait I paid 104,820.  I picked up a large mango, banana, and papaya juice for 6,400 ($2) which I took downstairs to share with Teresa.

We decided that after she had her nails done we would go to Pizza Americana for pizza.  

Finally she got her nails done and as we were walking through the parking garage she saw a kiosk selling shrimp cocktail and of course she wanted one.  I was concerned she would spoil her appetite for pizza but she said I could order one just for myself.

(It was 6:40pm and believe it or not an hour later we were on a direct bus back to the finca.)

As we were walking out of Viva mall we saw it was still drizzling and we forgot to buy an umbrella.  After a few seconds thought I gave her 50 mil and told her to go buy an umbrella at Exito and I would go downstairs and have a hotdog and then we would leave directly for the finca.   She said we could meet at Mimo’s (ice cream shop) after we had both finished.  At Dogger’s I tried their hamburdog hoping it might be something like a Chicago all beef hotdog.  Not.  It also included a bag of chips and medium Pepsi for 9,900 ($3.25).

Upstairs at Mimo’s Teresa showed up empty handed after a minute wait.   She said the lines were too long to purchase the umbrella besides it had stopped raining.  We walked across the street and immediately a private car arrived (con effectivo) which took us to Aguacatala station for 4mil.  There was a very pretty young lady there waiting for a bus.  After about a 10 minute wait, at 7:40pm, we were on a bus back to the finca.  There were a few pretty young ladies on the bus and others got on at several stops.  What a country!  

It still wasn’t raining, we got past the killer dogs undetected and were back at the finca by 8:30pm.

The plan tomorrow is to leave early (8am) for Caldas, have breakfast there and buy meat, fruits & vegetables at Merkepaisa.

I took 2 sleeping pills at 11pm and went to bed.

T-shirt of the day: You’re my inspiration.