First it was the rain that was delaying me getting started on outside work, and now its the neighbours again, having built their shop with apartment above, which created dust, you wouldn\’t believe, now they have taken down the last part of the old finca, they were using for storage, and are building a new lean to, onto the back of the new building… more dust, so I can\’t even think of starting to paint the outside of the house until that is finished.
Saying that, I won\’t be sitting around doing nothing. Yesterday, I received confirmation that my new Resident Visa has been issued, along with a copy, so that confirms my visit to Bogota a week tomorrow.
I will now be kept busy for a day or two, tracking down all the paperwork I am going to need for this years Colombian Tax return, which has to be submitted in August, once I have it all sorted and categorised, scanned and printed, I will have to make an appointment with my Accountant, and take it all to her, hoping that she can continue to work her magic and keep the bill as low as possible, she has certainly been worth her weight in gold up until now, I dread the day she decides to retire. You have to employ an accountant to submit your return, it is the only way they will accept them, it keeps all the accountants in business, the only problem is finding one that is honest and reliable, and when you do, you guard them with your life.
Today, I went off to the City in the hunt for shoes, I thought it was going to be easy, there was a Branch of Hush Puppy in one of the Malls, but it has closed, and I was informed that they have shut down their operations in Colombia! 😪 I have yet to find a really comfortable pair of shoes in Colombia, most of mine I am glad to get off my feet by the time I get home, and my favourite pair, I bought about eight years ago in the UK, and are only just hanging together. I searched the other shoe shops in the Mall, then gave up and returned to our Mall in Bello, again with no luck.
I have a real problem with shoes, because of my back problem, I have to ensure they are really comfortable, which is a problem in itself, especially finding the width, but the more pressing problem is finding my size, I need a size 44 here, and usually they only go up to 42 / 43, occasionally I find a pair that fits, but that\’s as far as it goes… Colombians must have small feet, or maybe that expains why so many walk around in Wellington Boots, even in summer!
Tomorrow, I\’m going to go and look in Copacabana, sometimes you find what you are looking for in the most unlikely places, if not it will be back into the city sometime.
An Englishman in Colombia 