Still no news from Spain, hopefully my Representative there, returns on Thursday, so there may be news next week, if we don\’t have contact with the Gestor before, I have not sealed the Christmas decoration box just yet!
Pépe has been having more tooth problems, I don\’t remember any of my puppies having this much trouble in the past, he seems to have an unending supply of new teeth, hopefully it will come to an end shortly, as Pépe has chewed away one corner of the leather sofa, he\’s lucky to still be alive! He is at the Peluquería at the moment (Pet\’s Parlour) having a wash, trim and brush up, so hopefully he is in a better mood when he returns!
Now for another oddity about Colombia, nearly all the large Stores, and many shops as well, expect purchases to be made on credit, many having their own Credit Cards, therefore the price you see is the price you pay on credit, before the interest is added. If you intend to pay on the day, you can take on average 10% off the price shown, and think you are walking away with a bargain, however the other way to look at it, is how you would be ripped off if you bought it on credit, after all, you are already paying the interest payment, you don\’t need them hiking the initial price as well.
Why do the Stores do this? well it has a lot to do with the wages earned, most people can\’t afford to walk into a store and make a major purchase, so the Stores have to accept credit or make no sales.
We were in town yesterday, when we heard a loud speaker trawling the streets, Marcela, being someone not to miss a thing, found out that they were advertising that the Mayor of Bello, is giving out free vaccinations this Saturday, so she is making enquiries to get her Flu jab, and my first Tetanus free, it will save a few bob! she has also phoned around the family to inform them. The strange thing is that this is not given to the elderly, who you would think being vulnerable, would be high on the list, but maybe they get them under some other scheme, if the years keep flying by, it won\’t be long before I find out…! I know it\’s not really free, and that we are paying for it out of local taxes, but the Mayor is trying to win sympathy, because there is a big campaign running to oust him, because he spends more time holidaying abroad, than running things here.
An Englishman in Colombia 