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Hola una vez mas a todos como siempre confiamos en que esto te encuentre en el rosa...................
We are getting on with life in Medellin - attending to our health which is much better than a year ago we are happy to say. Dentistry - a difficult root canal filling which involved a small amount of surgery as it is under a bridge, for Jean and an extraction for Jim. Getting on top of the Diabetes and blood sugar levels - a few days ago it was 128 and then the following morning 157 - both fasting. Normal range is 113-153 mg/dl, so that's pretty good. However, some days are higher than that. No idea why the levels fluctuate so much because we watch the diet and the alcohol intake goes on unabated! 2 whiskies per night (for Jim and an occasional one for Jean!) while we watch Fox News and regale ourselves with US politics. More on that later.
On one occasion during a visit to Dr. Oscar a few weeks ago, the nurse, who is another lovely Colombian lady, and Jean ended up doing the Salsa together in the IV/waiting room while Jim sat enthralled while the IV was steadily dripping away - into the blood stream of course. It's these spontaneous, joyful episodes which really make the life here.
We had been advised that it was necessary for one of us at least to obtain a Colombian driver's licence. Crazy stuff as we had been driving on our NZ licences in New Caledonia, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand and Turkey, but apparently if you are in Colombia just on a tourist visa, you can use your own country's licence, but if you have permanent residency then you need a Colombian one. Great logic - that!! With the standard of driving around here, one wonders just how many locals have licences - especially motorcyclists as they seem to be quite suicidal. We've seen some very hairy situations such as passing between 2 heavy trucks on the Autopista with barely enough room for the handle bars at 100 kph!! They don't seem to have any idea of possible consequences. The main thing here is to drive very, VERY defensively and to curb one's annoyance when someone cuts you off on a roundabout - which happens ALL the time. But provided you keep to those rules, then things are mostly OK. And remember to go around roundabouts anti clockwise and keep RIGHT!!!! With the steering wheel on the left, generally that's more or less a matter of instinct. But you cannot let up on the concentration and vigilance.
And we have the Waze app. which is internet based and which we could not do without to find our way around Medellin with its maze of one way streets. We are however starting to look at satellite based systems for travel outside and away from the city.
Anyway, the bureaucracy surrounding the getting of a licence has to be beheld. There is zero interest in any other licence that one might have. We employed an English speaking guy - Diego - to assist and it would have been impossible without him. Won't bore you with all the details but, as with all legal documents in Colombia, you must be fingerprinted. Only problem was that Jim's could not be read on these new-fangled electronic readers - maybe it's an age thing and possibly it's a consequence of all the sandpapering that was done on the boat over 10 years or so. Whatever - it was a problem. So at one stage we had to go to a handy Notaria and take the fingerprints manually and then get them notarised. Otherwise nothing would have happened. Anyway, the whole process took virtually all day, but thanks to Diego, although we registered at a driving school, we (Jim) do not need to attend classes - like reading a left hand arrow and saying that means the road goes to the left!! Jim has a motorcycle licence from the Cook Islands (1968!!), a Tongan car licence from the early 1970's and a heavy trade vehicle and a passenger service licence as well as a car licence from NZ and has been driving since he was 9 - sitting on Dad's knee steering the 1956 Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire!! That's almost 64 years ago!!
Anyway, at long last we did all the bureaucratic paperwork and now we have several weeks to wait for the licence to be issued.
The trip to Miami is now getting close. October 29th. for Jean and November 15th. for Jim. Back home on December 3rd. We haven't been there in November before so not sure what to expect with the weather - could be a bit cold. Miami is 26 degrees north, whereas here we are only 6 degrees north. However, the altitude here keeps it cooler and in fact the morning temperatures have been around 21 degrees C and we have even taken to having a light blanket on our bed. But Miami being at sea level will mean it is naturally warmer. Hopefully we will be able to swim in their pool which isn't heated, as this one here is. The main thing for Jean will be to spend about 5 weeks con los nietos and for Jim of course los nietos but also 50 cumpleanos de Perry, que tambien coincide con el Dia de Accion de Gracias (Thanksgiving). Now that we are almost 73, we have had to arrange expensive travel insurance because of course one cannot at any age go to the USA with no insurance. And arrange the ESTA which is a visa waiver document available to NZ passport holders which means that entry into the US should be trouble free. The ESTA can be obtained on-line and usually comes through in 2-3 days. Cost is USD14.
We've arranged for the car to go to the local Mercedes dealership while we are away for some work - mainly front shock absorbers and rear brakes as well as a service. Then we will be set for Ushuaia in Argentina!! Won't be going via Chile though, just at the moment!! The riots that have taken place there over the last few days are very sad, but on reflection not too surprising to us. We didn't have such good vibes from our recent visit to Santiago and Valparaiso with Linda on our way back from NZ, although of course we are glad that we have seen those places.
Then there's the on-going saga of the bookcase. Thanks once again to Clara and Memo, we were taken to a furniture shop/factory up near El Retiro. We have given them a scale drawing of the bookcase and received a quote - 1.5 million - and paid a 50 % deposit so it should be ready for delivery when we get back. Many emails backwards and forwards and all in Spanish.
We have a near new queen size bed to sell, but as is the case everywhere these days, 2nd. hand furniture has very little value compared to original cost but we are still trying. We need the space in one of the bedrooms to make an office and we will get a sofa bed instead. We'll keep the bed in the other (3rd.) bedroom.
On the day that we were taken to the furniture place, we also went to lunch at a restaurant that Clara and Memo recommended and had some delicious and very tender steak. It was our shout for all the help with various matters that they had rendered over the last few months. They have been SO helpful in so many ways. Just another example was that our gas hot water cylinder sprang a leak as it would have been the original - 11 years old. Clara helped us to procure a new one (1.2 million pesos - NZD 550), although a bit smaller at 56 litres, but of course the new ones are so much more efficient. Natural gas is also used to power our clothes drier (which we hardly use due to the dry climate) and benchtop cooking. The stove is electric. All the hotwater cylinders live in ventilated cupboards in the lobbies of each floor so access is excellent.
We have also changed our communications provider from Tigo UNE to Claro as we had had endless trouble and frustration with Tigo who never seemed to take any notice of what we told them. Even after serving notice on them, they still keep sending us invoices for a non-existent service and of course claim that we have not paid!! But we have been going to the Claro shop in the new Viva Mall and we have found a lovely lady there who speaks almost no English, but is nevertheless very helpful. We also by coincidence met the CEO of Claro there the other day when he was visiting. He spoke excellent English.
We bought some kitset shelving for our storage unit at Pricesmart the other day and amid much arguing and shouting managed to work out how to assemble the unit! However, we did that in the apartment and then had to transport the finished product downstairs 6 floors to our storage unit. Had to almost dismantle it to achieve the move and then more arguments until it was re-erected in the storage. Now everything is much more organised and efficient. But it's Murphy's law - doesn't matter how much storage you have - you will always fill it up!!
We also now have some plants on our balcony. Jim amid some dissension, insisted on an orange flowered Bougainvillea (Buganvilla). These are much less rampant than the pink/purple variety and it has now reached from the railing to the ceiling in 3 places. Much admired by all who see it - even from the ground 8 stories below as it has also been very prolific with flowering. Growth is a bit slower now as it's a bit colder going into "winter", but still growing and should be spectacular next spring from March onwards. We also have a pot with some herbs - Basil, Chives and Thyme, but not much luck with the Thyme. It's the 2nd plant now and it is dying just like the first. Don't understand as the other 2 seem quite healthy.
We are still swimming - even in the rain sometimes. At 5,000' though, the rain feels freezing, especially after the body being in heated water. But Jim in particular needs to become much more diligent in swimming at least 4 times per week. Malo nino!!
Although we have made final and binding decisions, our investments are still not all placed due to a combination of, in one case legal red tape and simply demand for high quality commercial property investments, which means that we have to wait until some are sold, thus coming available on the market. We are about 50% invested so far. We are expecting the legal red tape one to be available before the end of October and the other as more units become available. But NOTHING happens quickly in Colombia and gentle reminders are necessary from time to time. And getting too insistent definitely does NOT help - patience here is a very necessary virtue.
We have unfortunately had to enter the Colombian tax system which is an allergic concept to us as we have been used to being stateless for some years on the boat. But we have found a good tax consultant (a German Swiss) so we can be as tax efficient as possible.
Another random bit of news - we have found that buying meat here, although pork and beef are very plentiful, is like a pig in a poke. No pun intended! It is displayed in retail fridges in great slabs and we really don't know what we are looking at. And the language difficulty hasn't helped. However, we have now, thanks to the salesman we dealt with when looking at the first Schnorcedes, discovered a butcher very close to that dealership and the prices are very reasonable. The steak is the tenderest we have ever come across, so that particular problem is solved. And they have wonderful oxtail which we cook in our German pressure cooker which we bought before we left NZ in 2011 and used many times on the boat. We haven't been back to the Mayorista wholesale market at Itagui lately but there is another good butcher there as well as health shops and everything else you can imagine. Now that we have the car, we must rectify that.
We have finally got around to unpacking the boxes we sent from NZ - even though we have still not got the bookcase. But it's been great reading all the old letters - especially for Jim the letters from his old shipmate - Capt. Andy Thomson - and letters from his parents when he was living in the Cooks. Still, everything is now out of the boxes and stored for the meantime in wardrobes with the empty boxes back in storage.
NOW for the bit you have all been waiting for - POLITICS!! -
With our unfettered access to Fox News we have become fascinated and horrified in equal measure by the on-going developments in the US with Trump and the Democrats' shenanigans as well as watching and listening to Nigel Farage of the Brexit Party on LBC Radio in the UK. As far as NZ is concerned, we find the Newsroom website to be far more informative than the socialist Washington Post/Amazon (Jeff Bezos) derived drivel that the NZ Herald spouts forth.
Colombia -
we still have problems understanding Colombian politics, having only lived here for a relatively short time. But we do feel entitled to comment occasionally as we have made a considerable commitment to Colombia. All we would say at this point is that we feel uneasy with an extreme right wing government which is not doing much to address the land thefts of the recent past and on-going drug dealing. Inequality ultimately will be the downfall of any country - this is exactly the reason for what is now happening in Chile - and, while we do not preach socialist/communist "equality", we do think that righting previous wrongs and having a system in place that looks after the disadvantaged is not only desirable, but necessary.
Anyway, for those who are interested, the website - colombiareports.com - is a worthwhile read. Some of it is very disconcerting, but all we can say is that we have never felt threatened anywhere - either in Medellin or Bogota or on our recent car trip with Linda. But of course, as with anywhere - you just need to exercise common sense and don't go walking down dark alleys at night - as you definitely would NOT do in Auckland or many other places. However, that aside, the local economy needs some good stewardship and we do not think from what we hear that the current government is doing a good enough job. There are serious headwinds for Colombia with Venezuelan forced immigration - between 1.5 and 2 million at last count - and of course the price of oil. The situation calls for economic competence and lack of corruption, but unfortunately neither attribute seems to be coming to the fore to any great extent. The Venezuelan forced immigration figures need to be put in context though; the whole of Colombia has a population of 50 million, so 2 million is only 4%. And the Venezuelans are Spanish speaking and more or less share the same culture and religion so integration is much easier than for example Syrians in Europe. This is not to minimise the problem though - health, education, housing, migration/law enforcement, employment and feeding put a great strain on an already somewhat fragile economy.
New Zealand - good old Godzone -
In spite of our comment re the NZ herald above, there was one article dated Oct. 6th. which we felt finally shone some common sense on US politics. It was still - unjustifiably in our opinion - critical of Donald Trump, but advancing the correct conclusion that there is a cataclysmic battle currently going on between nationalists (Trump and Johnson) and globalists (the Democrats, some Republicans and the European Union) with a very dangerous and seductive dose of Socialism thrown into the mix.
As far as Newsroom is concerned, the best thing to do is read their daily reports which tend to be fairly well balanced and often cover topics that you will not often find in the Herald. One recent one that comes to mind is that of Chinese National Party list MP - Jian Yang. This individual was, until coming to NZ, a lecturer at a People's Liberation Army Academy in Beijing which teaches the art of espionage including cyber. How on earth is such a person granted NZ citizenship, let alone become a member of one of our major political parties? Talk about a Trojan Horse!!! We question the National Party's links to the Chinese and in particular the Leader's reported comments on his recent trip to China where he extolled China and its leaders with never a mention of the concentration camps for example where over a million Moslem Uighur people are incarcerated to be "re-educated".
We also read that the wheels are a bit wobbly on the government and that the Ardern roller coaster is slowing considerably. The next 12 months will be interesting to watch.
And breaking news is the convention centre fire in Auckland. When one remembers the duplicitous and underhand dealing that went on in the Key Government to obtain the property to build on, maybe it's poetic justice! But that's not to minimise the adverse economic effect on Auckland that will now undoubtedly occur. The whole sorry business is regrettable all round.
The U.K. -
Brexit was voted for by a considerable majority in 2016, but by stealthy and underhand means, many anti-democratic members of the House of Commons have thrown up every trick in the book to frustrate Brexit and the democratic will of the British people. The actions of many MP's constitute a betrayal of the people and democratic principles. Nothing exemplifies the struggle going on right now between nationalist and globalist ideologies more than the Brexit debacle over the past 40 months. There are two hopes as far as we are concerned. The first is that as a result of yet more shenanigans in the Commons last Saturday the 19th., and the resultant legal requirement for the PM to request yet more delay from the EU, that the EU will not grant such an extension and the UK will have a clean break from the undemocratic and financially unprincipled clutches of the EU on October 31st. This seems the least likely scenario though.
The other much more desirable and likely possibility in our opinion is that the EU will grant a short extension to enable a General Election to be held. From what we've heard of Nigel Farage, the leader of the Brexit Party, and his entirely reasonable conversations with members of the British Public, his party would romp home and the Labour and Conservative Parties would suffer severe losses - deservedly so after the shameful way they have both behaved over the past 3 years. Possibly an outcome would be a coalition between the Brexit and Conservative Parties which would immediately repeal all anti Brexit legislation and take steps to leave the EU on WTO terms as soon as would be possible.
Boris Johnson's "Deal" is just a re-heated version of Theresa May's and is unacceptable as it would mean Britain would remain tied to the EU for at least another 3 years. Even their foreign policy would be dictated by the EU. A "clean break Brexit" is the only way out and let's hope that it can happen SOON.
The USA -
What can we say as it's all been said before. The Dems are just ensuring their resounding defeat in November 2020. With regard to their so-called "Impeachment Inquiry", their unconscionable actions in refusing to divulge the "whistleblower's" identity - if even such a person exists - as well as denying normal legal rights to republican members of Congress is unprecedented and a disgrace to such an institution as the House of Representatives. In the meantime Speaker Pelosi, and Congressman Shifty Schiff and their cohorts have all flitted off on a US taxpayer funded junket to Jordan of all places to discuss the US withdrawal from Syria. What on earth can a bunch of wholly discredited Dems and the Jordanians hope to achieve by such a stunt. Still, stunts are what they are all about.
And then there's the outright flagrant corruption of the former Vice President, Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, who appears to have been corruptly elected to the board of a Ukrainian energy company when he is a recovering (?) drug addict who was kicked out of the US Navy for drug addiction and has no qualifications for any role in the energy business. He has received over USD80,000 per month from the Ukrainian company and then there is the reputed 1.5 billion USD he received from the Chinese in a blatant effort to buy the office of the Vice President of the United States. And how much did Obama know about all this? He would have had to have known - in it up to his scrawny neck! These actions are nothing short of traitorous.
In the meantime China was tacitly allowed to get on with building its military bases in the South China Sea, which are direct threats to Australia and NZ, and to continue with their theft of intellectual property from foreign, particularly US, companies.
However, thank goodness Trump is putting a stop at long last to these corrupt practices with his insistence on fair trade - including stopping intellectual theft from hi-tech US businesses - which was often being used by the Chinese to bolster their military abilities.
At least there is finally another inquiry coming to a head - this time led by a well respected US Attorney for the District of Connecticut - John Durham - who was appointed by the Attorney General to inquire into the origins of the fake allegations that Trump and his campaign colluded with the Russians in the 2016 Presidential race. Hopefully he will once and for all have exposed the Clintons, Obama and the heads of the FBI and CIA for fomenting this biased and unsubstantiated witch hunt and that at long last there will be some well deserved prosecutions. If it weren't for double standards the Dems would have no standards at all!
So far there has been one law for the Dems and one for Trump and his team and it's high time it came to an end. But the Dems will never go away. They'll just crawl under the nearest rock, only to re-emerge sometime later when they sense another opportunity to do some political damage. The real tragedy is that that in doing so they are not attending to the country and its real problems. All they are interested in doing is hog-tying the President and throwing every obstacle in his way in doing his genuine best for the country. November 2020 - bring it on.
Finally, we highly recommend listening to Mark Levin who has a regular slot on Fox News, but he can also be found on U-tube. Well worth making the time to listen to some of his interviews (particularly his interview with Peter Schweitzer) and monologues as regards the shameful state of US politics. And it's all about the Deep State globalists versus genuine nationalist patriots like Trump. Make no mistake - we are involved in undemocratic attempted coups and revolutions. They are not as overt as armed revolutions, but no less dangerous for all that.
On that happy note we will love and leave you and hope that life is treating you well.
With all best wishes and lotsaluv from us in Medellin...................................
Jim and Jean
