Souvenir Photo Studio, by Al Bourassa

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Thursday November 28, 2019 Airport

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Thursday November 28, 2019

To paraphrase FDR, this is a day that will live in infamy, and a day that has forever altered our religious ideas, and the Christmas season. 2 years ago today, Cristina's son Christian was cruelly ripped from our lives needlessly on his 22nd birthday. Today he would have been 24 and on a path to success that we helped pave for him. Happy Birthday Christian.

This morning we were again out of the house at 7:30am to take 2 kittens for sterilization in Tulua. We came home and crashed again to get ready for the rest of the day. Cristina retrieved the cats with Claudia and Adiela's help later and then spent a lot of time at the gravesite.

I was tasked to help drive David and Irma to the Cali airport at 1pm and we were joined by Fabiola's son-in-law Alex for muscle and translation. Irma was starting her 32 -hour odyssey to Johannesburg, South Africa for 2.5 months. We mad the trip in an hour, well ahead of any schedule so she booked in her bags and got a boarding pass with no line-ups. We arranged to come back at 4:40pm to get a wheelchair ride. In the meantime we had a nice lunch and fun conversation.

There was method to our madness to get her a wheelchair ride... First she gets on the plane first and gets off last. In Bogota she needs to get her luggage and get to her right Avianca flight to Sao Paolo. This way, she has immediate help for all of that because she speaks little Spanish, no Portuguese, and gets flustered very easily. Hopefully things will go easier for her this way.... The waterworks were turned on for the tearful farewell as she got wheeled into the security area.

On the way home we came to a complete standstill for about 15 minutes, again with no options but wait. When we finally did get moving we saw that the cause of the problem was a rolled over sugar cane train truck on a merging curve. Then we had one of those in both lanes delaying traffic again. Grrrrrr. Other than that, we had a pretty smooth ride home.

The critters were certainly happy to see me about 6:30pm and then Cristina about 8pm.

I hope you enjoy the pictures. That was the day’s excitement.

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NOTE that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.

The check-in

Lots of snuggling before the trip

David will have to cope alone for 2.5 months

Oh-oh, stuck in traffic again. Cane trucks in front.

Bad shot in the rain of a cane truck on its side.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Wednesday November 27, 2019 Protests

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******

Wednesday November 27, 2019

Neither of us slept at all last night. I don't know why... maybe the heat.... I know that I looked at the clock every 30 minutes or so. I also noticed that our smallest dog had almost 1/2 the bed and I had maybe 1/8.....

I could not complete my chores this morning because Cristina had a last free sterilization scheduled for another adopted dog. We were out of the house by 7:20am and headed to Super Mascotas in Tulua.

Then we headed to Bancolombia and turned the corner just ahead of a Government protest heading down that street. We were just in time to beat them and get into a parking lot. We had a Certificate of Deposit due today which we rolled over for another 6 months and withdrew the interest. That took about an hour, which was good because the protest was long gone by then.

Then we met David and Irma at Bizcochito where we had a quick brunch. We were originally supposed to meet at 3pm at a new steak house nearby (delicious 1 lb steak for $6.50 according to Wolf) , but they don't open until 3pm and David gets too pooped by then. I have to be sure to try that place very soon.

Then we headed across Tulua to Olympica (back near the vet) to pick up livers for the dog food again, along with a few needed items. Then I absent-midedly went back across Tulua to go home, until Cristina popped out of her reverie to reming me to go pick up the darn dog... So I had to cross Tulua another time!

We grabbed the groggy dog and headed home. Then I noticed all the traffic on the other side of the highway was at a dead stop and most people were outside of their cars, so they had been there for a while. And the lineup was for at least 3 kilometers, with no place to veer off or turn around. That is exactly what I had been dreading and was glad we were not on that side....

We dropped off the dog,had a quick lay down and then had an early salad.

Tomorrow I am to help David take Irma to the Cali airport. We can only pray for a safe trip there and back without protests or disruptions.
Update: My nose has been running all day and that's a nuisance. I probably caught that from Zenaida yesterday. Anyway, I had nothing here at home so, when walking with Aram, I went by our usual pharmacy and asked how much a package of Loratadina was. I misunderstood. A package of 10 tablets was only 1,000 pesos, or 30 cents, so 3 cents a tablet!!! And they work! When was the last time you bought a drug for 3 cents??? Gotta love Ecuador and Colombia for the way they allow you to buy the drugs you need at a more-than-reasonable price....

I hope you enjoy the pictures. That was the day’s excitement.

******

If you want to borrow a picture to share with family and friends, Facebook or whatever, at least PLEASE give me credit for the photo.

NOTE that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.

We just missed being held up by this protest

This Government is in trouble

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Tuesday November 26, 2019 Irma

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******

Tuesday November 26, 2019

Cristina, with Claudia, tooka puppy named Simon into Super mascotas for sterilization and to deliver it to an adoptive family in the afternoon.

I finally decided to spruce up Christian's grave prior to the Thursday anniversary of his death. The plants are lovely and flowering but going a little wild and losing the neat nature of the gravesite. I tried to get Aram to come and help but he wasn't responding so I went alone. Wearing my back brace I completed the task in less than an hour. I had Turi along with me for company and , for the most part we had the place to ourselves. She is such a good dog. Only another dog could make her do something silly like go for an unauthorized run.

In the afternoon I went to join David and Irma, Wolf and Fabiola, Berthold and Zenaida for snacks and drinks. On the way, on the back road that I use, I pass the Police training center and they were working some horses today on their beautiful grounds. Such beautiful animals.

This gathering was an early farewell as Irma leaves Thursday for South Africa for 2.5 months and the trip is 32 hours. We had some good and humourous discussions on many topics. Everyone has such a good sense of humour.

I ate so many snacks that I did not bother with my usual salad tonight and still went for a walk with Aram. I really have to do something about my weight before I head to Canada.

Tomorrow will be a busy day....

I hope you enjoy the pictures. That was the day’s excitement.

******

If you want to borrow a picture to share with family and friends, Facebook or whatever, at least PLEASE give me credit for the photo.

NOTE that you may click on any photo for an ENLARGED VIEW.