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Hi to all,
As usual we hope that everyone's still in the pink.
Now that we've been in our Jardines de la Maria apartment for just over 4 months, we felt that some soul searching in respect of 2018 would be in order.
We never want to repeat a year like that - it was truly our "annus horribilis" year. But definitely a highlight was obtaining Colombian residency.
It started in Langkawi, Malaysia when we finally decided to ship TT3 from Phuket, Thailand to (first choice Genoa), but then fatally changed our minds to go to Fethiye, Turkey. We had been trying to sell the yacht for about 2 years, but even with substantial price reductions, nothing was happening. Living mainly on Langkawi was becoming somewhat boring and too "easy" - even the occasional visa runs to Thailand were becoming old hat. So we decided we had to try and make things happen - hence the decision to ship to the Mediterranean where we had (correctly) deduced that the market was somewhat better for classic wooden yachts.
All the details are in previous blogs, but we sailed to Phuket in late January where we prepared the boat for shipment and awaited the arrival of the m.v. Annegret. Apart from some annoying delays to the loading process, the experience with Seven Star Yacht Transport was perfect and all happened as it should.
However, our woes were just about to begin when we hauled out at a recommended boat yard in Fethiye, Turkey. This has all been well documented in previous blogs so we are not going to bore you with the details, but things became so bad with the Turkish yard owner and his English female partner side-kick that we felt forced in a terrible emotional state to make the very difficult decision to leave Turkey and abandon our home of the previous 9 years. Among other things, this involved several early morning dawn visits to the yard to remove personal possessions before the yard personnel arrived, because we did not want them to know what we were contemplating. We simply could not see an end to our enforced captivity by the yard, and in the meantime we were continually incurring more yard costs, accommodation and car hire, with no end in sight. It certainly crossed our minds that the crooked yard owner was scheming to steal the yacht and, if that was the case, he very nearly succeeded. Jim's brother, Alec, had organised listings for our old girl on Trademe and Ebay which in the end sadly did not result in a sale but happily though, due to a short article Jim wrote on the Cruisers and Sailing website, we made contact with a 2nd British buyer who visited Turkey and made the decision to buy her. The deal did not give us much money, but did involve him in meeting the yard costs and getting her seaworthy enough, after the hull had opened up during a punishing Turkish summer, to get her to Crete, where she is presently lying. We felt so relieved that it seemed as though she would receive the TLC she needed - hopefully that is about to happen right about now. Barry is knowledgeable about planked wooden boats and is another wooden boat enthusiast. He has an excellent wooden boat at a cheap price, but also got us and the old girl out of a nasty hole in Turkey.
We have mentioned him before, but must again express our gratitude to Murat Toplak, a yacht broker in Bodrum, without whose help TT3 would never have left the yard. Murat is a great guy and with great integrity.
In the meantime (early June) we decided to return to Colombia much earlier than we had intended, but we were now homeless! We had let our apartment in Medellin and it appeared that the earliest we could legally move back in was early November. We travelled via Werneck, Germany - just 2 hours SE of Frankfurt by train - to spend 2 restful weeks staying with Jean's old friend from Hong Kong days, Josie and her retired schoolteacher husband, Reinhart. A tranquil and most welcome respite after the events of the previous 6 months recovering from our emotional and financial scars. Their breakfasts are legendary - hams and wonderful German bread!!
We then flew from Frankfurt to Madrid which was really just a stepping stone for Medellin. We spent a day and a half and toured central Madrid, before flying on to Medellin direct by Iberia - arriving early July. It really felt like coming home when we flew in and were met by Mauricio - our property manager, Noelia's driver. Jean had contacted an agent we had previously met (David) who at very short notice had organised a one bedroom apartment in the Suramericana district. We stayed there a month and enjoyed the extremely eclectic neighbourhoods around there. By this time we were starting to feel a little more "normal" - whatever that is. In the meantime we had been invited to stay with Janet in "our" building as her husband, Hugo, was permanently away working in New York. Many Colombians live, or have lived in the US. During our time with Janet things were starting to move in the boat sale department - some morning emails were very discouraging, but then success at last. We can only wish the new owner the best of luck with her. We feel confident she is in good hands and maybe in the not too distant future we may see them in Cartagena when they come to the Caribbean. Jim's emotions in particular were fluid to say the least during this period and it all took its toll.
We must make mention of all the help we received once we were back in Colombia. Astrid, our lawyer was wonderful in assisting us with our Cedulars de Extranjerrias which means we now have 3 year's residency which we can renew at the expiration of that time. This process also involved a trip to Migracion Colombia in Bogota, which was a welcome diversion. Astrid also helped us in opening a local bank account with Bancolombia, which was an experience indeed. Of course the language issue doesn't help but the convoluted way in which these banks operate on-line is something to behold.
Then there was Noelia who continued to manage the apartment until the new expiration date for the lease, which would allow us to move in. The tenants (a Dutch couple) were exemplary and it was just as we had left it. Somewhat of a relief. Noelia also helped us to set up the ability to pay various utilities on-line - again what a performance! They seem to delight in making Colombian websites something of a maze!
Medellin is such a friendly city and so many pleasant people. Even the 24/7 security guards at the building's porteria and we must make special mention of Jimenez who is always unfailingly cheerful. He tries his limited English on us and we respond with the same level of Spanish. Can be hilarious at times. All of this certainly helped our spirits. We are getting to know many of the stall holders at the Mercado Campesino where we go every Sunday morning to buy fresh provisions. The guy who sells jellied collagen for the knees - Jim always enjoys practising his Spanish there. And the young lady who has beautiful homemade Basil pesto and Hummus plus an array of other items.
We met our friend, Monica, there and she has lived in the US for a long time. She has come back to Colombia to care for her ailing father who is in his late 80's. Family ties and obligations are very strong here. The other day we went with Monica and her father to a clinic where they specialise in IV treament with vitamin C and other vitamins and additives as they deem necessary. Yours truly didn't avail himself of the treatment having had less than fond memories of the antibiotic IV's in Vietnam and Thailand where, without the prompt treatment (thanks to Jean), there was a reasonable chance of losing his lower left leg due to Cellulitis and Gangrene in a relatively short time. However, they all said they didn't feel a thing, so, in spite of not believing them, he'll probably try the vitamin IV when we return. Jean has been very sick with what turned out to be a bad case of H-Pylori infection and which was diagnosed by an Endoscopy. She'd also suffered 2 bad falls when out walking and hurt herself quite badly, so she's been in the wars. She had to go on a course of strong antibiotics but a subsequent test showed that she thankfully is now free of the pest. Jim had the same test and he is free of it too. She was still feeling rundown after probably months of having had it and the effect of the antibiotics themselves and so decided to have the vitamin IV treatment and she says she feels like a different person. Dr. Mauricio Arias at the Clinica Las Vegas had been very attentive and organised all the HP tests we had done. Clinica Las Vegas is a modern hospital with an international office where they steer you through all the difficulties associated with an alien language. On that note, after 8 years out of NZ, we have finally organised some health insurance to cover against hospitalisation and/or surgery so feel a little less vulnerable. But since we are over 70, there is no cover available to us except through a local company (Sura), but it seems OK and Sura is part of a very major commercial group in Colombia.
After staying with Janet for August and September, Jean travelled to Miami to see her family there and Jim went to Santa Marta to check it out. Then after 2 weeks Jean came back to SM from where we eventually returned to Medellin. A short stay in a hotel in Itagui (which raised some eyebrows amongst our friends and acquaintances!!) and we were once more back in apartment no. 804, Jardines de la Maria 1.
One more problem started raising its ugly head - we had some Sterling investments, but with Brexit being such a shambles, we felt it would be prudent to sell. We haven't regretted that decision. Then there was what appeared to be something of a melt-down on US markets, so we sold all those assets (such as they were after 9 years of international yachting!). Unfortunately we sold at nearly the bottom, but at least we can sleep at night. We are now all cashed up (apart from the Medellin apartment) and looking for alternatives. The greatest difficulty now is trying to predict future market trends. Some commentators, with some justification, say there is a greater crash than the GFC of 2008 coming; others say the good times will keep coming. In the meantime we are just biding our time. A tax change in Colombia has all but ruled out further investments here, which otherwise would be a good investment. Interest rates are higher giving better returns and property values are buoyant, but the change to the Colombian tax regime has caused us to revise our ideas.
That more or less covers our 2018/19 experiences and we are now looking forward to seeing friends and family in NZ. More blogs to regale you with all the fascinating details. We leave Medellin in the early hours (0400) of tomorrow and arrive in NZ on the 15th. via Santiago, Chile.
Lotsaluv from us in Medellin (for now)......................
Jim and Jean
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