Not much to report today, we planned on leaving the house at 9am, and the man arrived with our security fence for the rear of the house, about 8.20am, he had brought all the materials, so that John\’s men could cement in the posts, and he was returning next week to erect the fence itself, I think he\’ll turn up, he has only had 50% payment!
We then waited in the road for the bus, this was a Vereda bus, probably what we would refer to as a Midi-bus, held about 24 people, we expected to go straight down to the Autopista, where we would catch another bus, but no… we went on a sightseeing tour of the Veredas, I have to say, it was quite impressive, there are some very large Estates in the area, obviously people with money, of one sort or another, I can\’t say that I could compliment the standard of driving, I was feeling quite queezy by the time we reached the Autopista, much further along, than our access.
We only had to wait a couple of minutes, and a standard Bus pulled in, asking people where they were heading, we said the Metro (train), and were told to jump aboard, although this was on the motorway, by the time we pulled into the Metro, I was struggling to stop myself throwing up, I have never had a problem in the past with public transport, but now I know why I hate buses!
We then jumped on the Metro, and headed for Medellin, we had to change once, and then walked to Hernan\’s Garage, to collect the car, he has done an excellent job, it is now running very smoothly.
From there we headed to the Commercial Centre in San Juan, I had to get to the Bank, to draw out enough to pay John, the last payment for the land stabilisation project, at the rear of the house, which is now finished, and the next payment for materials for the parking area, fortunately and unusually, there wasn\’t a queue, so it was painless.
We then went into the Supermarket, to replenish much needed supplies, had our lunch, then headed off to the DIY store over the road, where my credit card took a battering, and that was just buying a gallon of wood stain, and ten gallons of white paint, plus a few bits, I don\’t know whether I was just lucky in Spain, but the price of paint and stain seem ridiculously expensive here, and explains, why many houses don\’t get painted.
We phoned John, who had said he would be in Medellin, and he came on his bike, with his wife on pillion, to collect his cash, we then headed home, but being week-end, traffic was heavy, and it took us ages, however Pépe was fine, the workmen has fenced off the back, and let him off his chain, so he was patrolling the garden.
We no longer have a parking area, they have broken up all the concrete and brick, which were the foundations of the old finca, ready to lay the new parking area, hopefully starting Tuesday, as Monday is a fiesta! So we now have a rubble area, and will have to be careful both with car tyres, and walking across it, that no one turns their ankle.
We then walked up to La Chosca with Pépe, Marcela had a beer, and I had a gaseosa, whilst Marcela made some enquiries, it appears, that the Authorities have to come out at intervals, in our case I believe it is every five years, to inspect the septic tank, and decide if it is up to the job, whether it needs emptying, or replacing, unfortunately, from the papers we obtained two days ago, it looks as if our septic tank is overdue, and is not two years old as we we lead to believe. Marcela is going to go to the Office in Medellin to make some enquiries.
Next week, probably Wednesday, I am going to have to go to the Immigration Office / Migración Colombia, in Medellin, to notify them of my change of address, before I find myself in trouble, it\’s only been two weeks, so I don\’t think I have a problem at the moment, but if I were to forget…
An Englishman in Colombia 