Getting on with life in Medellin.............

Hi to all,

Hope this finds everyone in the pink - as usual.

Since Linda returned to NZ we have been involved in bringing all our worldly financial assets to Colombia, investigating cars to buy and dealing with health issues.

Since the sharemarket collapse at the end of last year, we sold everything and had been sitting in USD cash ever since. Of course we've seen a resurgence in the market since then, but we still feel vindicated in getting out, as you cannot predict these things, and we like to be able to sleep at night. Suffice it to say, in the last few days the market has declined again - largely due to the ramping up of the US-China trade war, which in the circumstances, Trump is entirely justified in escalating as the Chinese only understand the other point of view once they are hit on the head with ever larger pieces of wood!! 

However, we do have to say that Trump's rhetoric needs to be toned down. His announcement that the US would impose 10% tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports to the US caused markets to move down and then only a few days later, the imposition of tariffs was drastically reduced/delayed and the markets rose again. He needs to hold off announcing policy if there is any likelihood of total or partial policy reversal, because the words of a President of the United States are taken seriously and often have an immediate effect on international economic decisions. Of course he was probably just trying to intimidate China into being more cooperative - but whether that will work remains a moot point for now. 

On that note, we also must say again how we feel about the extreme left targeting Trump, who is with the possible exception as above, doing a wonderful job against almost overwhelming odds. The Mueller Report clearly found NO collusion with the Russians and NO obstruction of justice. Nevertheless, leftist judges, most of the so-called leftist media being liars (CNN and the like), and lying politicians are still pursuing their agenda - to destroy a duly elected US President. They have absolutely NOTHING worthwhile to offer by way of policy and to disguise their own woeful lack of meaningful policies, they resort to straight out defamatory verbal attack. And their acolyte, Antifa, physically attacks people and property in the streets a la Adolf Hitler's Brownshirts of Nazi Germany in the 1930's.

The only possible good result from all this verbal and physical  thuggery is that if they continue with this appalling behaviour, next year Donald Trump will be re-elected in a landslide and the Republicans will re-take the Congress. Thus they will be able to jointly deal with this hypocritical political abomination once and for all with the lunatic extreme left Dems - they now call themselves the Justice Democrats. If ever there was a misnomer, that is one!! They are hell-bent on destroying the Democrat Party of old  - the party of JFK, LBJ and - dare we mention them - the Clintons and Obama - and the United States itself. The Justice Dems would be a disaster for the USA and also for the rest of us who value political and economic freedom. In the meantime and in the midst of all this, absolutely nothing is being done by the Democrat controlled Congress to target the massive problems bedeviling the US. Border security, opioid addiction and the extreme lawlessness of Democrat controlled cities, such as Baltimore to name a few. In fact, if anything, the Dems do their utmost destructive best to scuttle any initiative that the Trump Administration tries to advance.

And with the Justice Department's continuing robust investigation into the Dems determined efforts, along with top corrupt officials from the FBI and CIA, to firstly scuttle Donald Trump's election campaign and then secondly to destroy his presidency, at least most Americans will see the Dems for what they are, and hopefully transform their disgust at all these revelations into meaningful change at the ballot box in 2020. 

For those of you in NZ who only get the shameless propaganda lies of the NZ Herald and TVNZ via the Washington Post and other left leaning so-called news organisations, either you can receive Fox News through Sky TV or just watch the Fox News website on the internet. That will broaden your political perceptions!!

We have spent much time in the last 4 weeks or so interviewing banks, merchant banks and other possible investment destinations and discussing various investment options - from orthodox bank deposits to other more unorthodox options, but always doing our due diligence  And we are learning much about Colombian commercial practice - which is often very different from what we were used to in NZ - but no less acceptable for that. We are talking to large Colombian banks who have been operating since well before WW2 and in one instance the 2nd. largest merchant bank in Brazil. Better than the NZ banking system where the majority proportion of the industry is foreign owned.  

One thing here which is also encouraging to us - interest rates and inflation are higher than in NZ - and almost every other so-called western economy. Inflation is currently running around 3.7%, but expected to come back down to the low 3%'s later this year. If a local wishes to borrow on 1st mortgage to buy real estate, they would be looking at a minimum deposit of 30-40% and an interest rate of 10-12%. This may seem draconian with all western central banks currently trying to outdo each other in a race to the bottom with ever more slashing of central bank prime rates. Now Europe is actually in negative territory - below 0%. Where do they go from there - more quantitative easing, which is actually just a vaguely legal excuse for counterfeit money printing? If you or we did that we would probably be in jail for the rest of our naturals, but these unelected bureaucrats can do whatever they like. Talk about a corrupt system - and if you ever get a chance you should read "The Creature from Jekyll Island" by G. Edward Griffin. ISBN no. 0-912986-21-2. This book chronicles the period leading up to and beyond the formation of the US Federal Reserve in 1913 on Jekyll Island - a resort island off the Georgia Coast which was chosen for a very secret meeting between officials of the US Treasury and various New York banksters to cobble together the agreement and associated legislation that allowed the formation of the Fed which became the monster that it is - along with virtually every central bank in the world today - including the Reserve Bank of NZ. Even the hitherto conservative RBNZ has been joining the chorus extolling negative interest rates as being good for an economy. If an economy is not producing enough to sustain a fair interest rate regime, then that economy is fundamentally in bad shape indeed.   

When President Woodrow Wilson signed the empowering legislation for the Fed to be formed in 1913, he is reputed to have said - "my God, what have I done?". Enough said - just read the history.

Anyway, with much higher interest rates in Colombia, it enables savers and investors to obtain a decent return and ensures that the "bubbles" that have plagued "western" economies in recent times do not occur, thus ensuring a much more stable investment and asset climate.

Now we have the absolutely egregious and  scurrilous situation of the so-called "suicide" of the already convicted pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein. The situation is so bizarre and absolutely redolent of extreme criminal behaviour (possibly including murder), that one cannot believe anything. We certainly will not speculate as the USAG, William Barr, will no doubt get to the murky bottom of all this in time. But the high profile ex associates of Epstein, including Andrew, the Duke of York and ex president Bill Clinton will not be resting easy in their beds.

We are still looking for a bookcase (bibliotheca), but still have not found one.We have hopes of spending a day up the hill from here in el Retiro where there are many furniture makers and retailers. About 40 minutes drive from Envigado. We haven't been able to do things like this before due to the lack of mobility with not having a car, but we have dealt with that problem now.

We say that because we have been down a few dead-end trails to date, but on the 10/08 we saw a very nice 2007 B200 turbo Mercedes Benz B Class. It's a private sale and now we have to get it checked out, but we feel sure that it will be OK. We had become very keen on a 2007 C Class (180C) which had a very low mileage, but there was a problem with an airbag warning light and so the insurance company wouldn't insure it until the problem was fixed. A part has been ordered from the US, but could be a while yet. In the meantime we saw the B, which is a quite different vehicle (SUV), but much more practical and will be great for touring. It's done a higher mileage (71,000 kms) but that shouldn't be problem. Very pleasant couple who own it - they want to buy a bigger Mercedes! Now we repeat the process with insurance checks and all the rest of the bureaucracy. It's a little cheaper than the C as well at COP 34 million  - NZD 15,500 approx. Jim especially is keen because he had a loan B Class from Giltrap North Shore back before we left NZ in 2011 while the transmission on the old 1987 420SEC was being re-built. Was very impressed at the time. Only difference is that here in Colombia the steering wheel is on the wrong side!!! Watch this space. This will be number seven Mercedes for Jim since 1978!! This is number one for Jean!

Update - we have bought the B. Still haven't taken possession - that takes place the day after this was written. It is a very well kept and maintained vehicle and we are sure that it will be a major asset in our further explorations.It is now the day after and the vehicle was delivered to us by the previous owner who had lunch with us in our apartment. She is a delightful person with 2 young adult children and she works for the major utility company, EPM, which is owned by the City of Medellin. EPM has a few problems with the construction of a major hydro dam on the Cauca River, but hopefully these will be overcome in a couple of years and then Medellin's power supply will be secured. 

On the health front things are fairly mixed. Jean has had a recurring digestive problem which seems to come and go, but some time ago we made the acquaintance - through a mutual friend - of Dr. Oscar Sanchez who specialises in treating patients by way of IV. Jean has been having regular treatment which has now been extended to treat Jim's blood sugar levels and also to encourage more pancreatic insulin production. We will have to wait to see whether this regime works and in the meantime Jim continues to take Metformin. We really want to get off that because it's been 20+ years now and like many pharmaceutical drugs, it tends to mask the underlying problem of pancreatic sluggishness. We have hopes. 

Visiting Dr. Oscar involves a trip right across town to Laureles. We have alternated between taxi which can cost up to COP 20,000 (NZD 9.09) each way and the metro which involves some walking. It's roughly a 10-15 minute walk from our apartment to the Ayura metro station (estacion). The train then whisks one north via about 6 stops to the Estacion San Antonio where one is obliged to change trains to get to Estacion La Floresta which is very near Oscar's clinic. Cost is only COP 5,200 (NZD 2.40) each way for both of us so is only 26% of the taxi cost - but at some cost in time, inconvenience and sore knees!! The disadvantages of the Metro these days are that it it usually very well patronised so it is rare to get a seat and access to the overhead stations is usually by way of some steep and extensive stairs which can also have detrimental effects on the knees! However, when time isn't an issue, we manage the Metro from which you get some commanding views of the downtown city area as much of it is on an elevated track. The electric trains themselves are spotlessly clean and modern. The main line roughly runs north-south and follows the Medellin River. 

However, now that we have a car........................!!!!!!

The annual Medellin Flower Festival  has been on during the early part of August but this year due to our busy schedule, we have only seen the Classic Car Parade again. Nowhere near as pleasant as in previous years because the route was shifted to the main Autopista (motorway) through Medellin with God knows how much related traffic congestion on other roads. And standing alongside the Autopista in blazing sun and fumes was not very pleasant. Even if Jim had his Colombian sombrero!! Still, good to see the usual collection of 1950's - 1960's Cadillacs, Buicks, Chevrolets and Pontiacs, etc. Even an MGBGT!! And an Austin Healey. And several 1970's - 1980's Mercedes. Nostalgia for Jim!!

And finally a comment about the political scene in Colombia. We won't say much as we are not Colombian - although possibly we are becoming Paisa (!) - and we have only lived here permanently for about 14 months not excluding the 2 months when we were in NZ. However there is continuing disquiet - 

- The current regime is headed by the right wing President Ivan Duque who is becoming more and more unpopular and according to some stories, barely able to even control his own government, Some ministers are even taking orders from the former even more hard right President Alvaro Uribe, who himself is under criminal investigation relating to his nefarious association with paramilitary groups, who for the most part are just murderous thugs.

- The continued persecution and murder of leaders of indigenous peoples. These leaders are trying to undo the land thefts of the past, but of course there are some very powerful vested interests who have no interest in seeing these injustices righted. So far in recent months 158 indigenous leaders have been murdered, which is shocking enough in itself. The amount of stolen land is estimated to be equal in total area to the country of Belgium! 94 of those assassinated. Of these leaders (60%) have lost their lives since the current president came to power 12 months ago.

There is potential for Colombia to degenerate into socialism (a la Venezuela) if they do not get their act together and actively move to right these injustices sooner rather than later. This means reversing the Duque government's opposition and obfuscation as regards the Justice Commission's investigation and ordering restitution as regards these land claims based on outrageous injustice.  

Since the Spanish arrived in 1492 (Columbus) approximately 70% of Colombia's indigenous peoples have been exterminated. Well exceeds the 6 million who died in Europe in the Nazi Holocaust and even maybe comes close to the 70 million who died under Mao tse Tung in China. Of course there are many other examples of totalitarian massacres in history.  

- crime and homicide rates are skyrocketing everywhere in Colombia, but as long as you are not in the drug trade and don't take stupid risks, you are quite safe - even in Medellin! However, even under the watch of the current Mayor of Medellin, Gutierrez, these crime figures have increased dramatically.

- Finally there was a quote in Colombia Reports (www.colombiareports.com) which probably sums up the current situation: "if Colombia's most inexperienced president in history believes he can continue the way he has, both he and Colombia are in for some very hard times".This is a  worry for the future.

Colombia Reports is certainly a left of centre publication, but they do seem to have some good knowledge of just what is going on behind the scenes. But of course one needs to read and hear most "news" with a certain amount of common sense. Including even Fox News!!!

Apart from all the foregoing, which certainly has exercised our minds lately (bibi Alzeimers!!), we have been refining the living in Medellin. We have made the acquaintance of Pricesmart lately. This is a cash and carry business (which you have to join at COP 90,000 - NZD 41)  which has very good bargain prices for all sorts of groceries - many imported - but in wholesale type containers. But nevertheless very good value and over 12 months will well recompense the joining fee.

Apart from all the above, we have continued to be so appreciative of the wonderful people we have encountered on our discovery of life in Colombia. There isn't room to enumerate all of them here but they know who they are.

We hope that all is well in your worlds and that all is as you would hope. We can't ask much more than that.

With lots of love from us in Medellin..........................

Jim and Jean

Medellin

Colombia