Have you heard about VirtaPay?

If you're riding the same horse downhill and not moving any faster, what do you think about changing the charger?

I’ve seen these ads and promotions that say: “During the last few days I’ve been making money without knowing it. Crazy, I know. But it’s true!” And I didn’t believe it until I did it myself. Sometimes you have to get off the old nag you’ve been riding and try a new one out for speed and comfort.

You see, yesterday I created an account with a new online payment system – and they paid me $100 just for opening it. But that was just the beginning. I had told a few people about it and  when I logged in next, to my surprise I had made a further $475.

How? Because you earn $25 for each new account you refer. You also earn money for helping to test the new features. And it doesn’t take long to add up!

This virtual currency can be used to buy items online and the company pays you for testing their products.

And that brings me to my reason for posting this news today. You see, I figured you’d like the opportunity to do the same. But more than that, this new payment system is building social networking tools into its system that will enable you to make a lot more virtual money going forward.

If you’re already spending time on the computer, wouldn’t it be great to have it be a little more worthwhile?

It’s all very brilliant. And it’s all very easy. In fact it really is “money for almost nothing”. And we know that money is illusory anyhow, so this is just another ’game’ but this one costs you nothing!

It costs nothing to get started. In fact you’ll be making a quick $100 just for opening an account. And if you decide it’s not for you, it’s easy to opt out.

Click on this link to see for yourself: http://www.virtapay.com/r/spiritwoman and I’d like to hear back from you if it’s all you thought it would be or if it’s been a waste of your time. So far, it’s been well worth my first visit.

 

 

Will you be at the Festival?

Overlooking the main plaza in Barichara is the Cathedral, built in the 1800's.

This week, September 20-24, there is the first Festival de Cine Verde, in Barichara, Colombia. It is planned for it to be a chance to bring up, discuss and possibly provide solutions for issues like preservation of habitat, water use and conservation, land use and development along with offering vendors who have organic and environmentally friendly products.

This is a critical time in this nationally recognized historic site which is on the verge of being internationally acclaimed as a ‘special place,’ which almost always results in huge changes and damages which make it less-than-special for those who can afford to move on to another ‘special place.’

This pueblo has had the support of the ex-president Bellisario, who believes in the value of artistic expression and established with his second wife a school to teach the residents how to construct things in wood, stone, clay, cloth and how to play the guitar. But few of the locals take advantage of all the free instruction and no one seems to know how to do a survey to determine why this is the case. My Spanish is horrible, but I’d be willing to create one in English and find some local folks to go out and ask the questions beginning with “Why don’t you come to the school?”

An early morning view of the northern Andes from Barichara, Santander, Colombia. The mountains off in the distance are about 12,000 ft. in elevation.

Perhaps with the festival this week, that idea will occur to a few key people and someone else will take that action. If not, perhaps my mission is still ahead of me. But I will be at the festival looking for you.

A Passion for Maracuya

About the size of an avocado, the yellowish fruit is determined to be fully ripe when the skin becomes wrinkled.

If you haven’t tried the juice of the Passion Fruit, also known as Maracuya by the Amazonian indigenous peoples, then you have missed out on better health as well as having a refreshing beverage.

There are over 200 varieties of this  flowering fruit, but the one I have come to know best is a yellowish skinned variety with an orange colored juice. Some people say it does’t have much taste, others say it is bitter. I have discovered that if the process of extricating the juice from the seeds is done too harshly, then the seeds will break open and make the juice bitter.

The seeds and the juice have to be separated in order to enjoy the juice.

Using a blender can create broken seeds if blended too long, but a quick (less than 15 seconds) rotation of the blades will separate the seeds and juice and then you can put all of it into a colander and push the juice through.

According to many sources, there are tremendous benefits to drinking the juice (or making a jam or jelly of the fruit) including: heart tonic, reduction in anxiety or depression, an anti-inflammatory, and because of the high amounts of potassium, it is great to drink after having a stomach distress or diarrhea to bring your electrolytes back into balance. The indigenous peoples use the leaves for the heart tonic and drink the juice to enjoy increased libido or have a more tranquil day or night.

After the seeds are removed, you can see how Mother Nature has designed the packaging to protect the juice!

I have heard that other parts of the fruit are used as well, but I haven’t discovered the recipes for how to utilize the fleshy part or the skin. Perhaps there is a reader who knows about this?

The orange colored juice needs a bit of sweetening for my taste buds, so I use Stevia liquid or powder which mixes well with the juice. This is not a liquid which keeps well – you want to make it and drink it right away to get all the benefits, or another way to preserve some of those qualities is to turn the juice into frozen cubes, which can be added to another beverage or can be melted down for a fresh juice later on.

While I cannot attest to any of the beneficial properties directly, I can say that I enjoy this Colombian fruit and if there is any proof to be had, maybe it’s that I haven’t been ill with a cold since I came here seven months ago. It’s the ‘other’ orange juice.

A Decade of Changes

Does anyone remember what it was like to travel a decade ago? How we just carried our baggage on with us and the planes arrived and departed without much fuss? How it didn’t matter what was in our pockets or backpacks? And no one looked at you funny if you were dark-skinned and wore something that looked like a towel on your head? And you could make jokes without risking being arrested?

Lots of changes in ten years in all areas of our lives, not all of them good in my opinion. The huge loss of privacy can never be regained and the even greater level of governmental controls on all aspects of life make this frog feel rather hot. Wonder what another decade will bring?

 

Friends Matter

Who says cats and dogs can't get along?

 

When I first moved into the casa where I am living, there was already a dog living here with the fellow who takes care of the property. He told me that his dog hated cats and I couldn’t have one. Unfortunately, I am not inclined to believe people who make blanket statements and there is something about being told I cannot do something that makes me want to investigate why that is so.

Now, when it comes to bungee jumping or jumping out of a perfectly flying airplane, I would tend to agree that it is something a grandmother might think very carefully about. But a dog not liking cats or vice versa?

I became friends with the dog and it was clear that he was lonely. Some of his barking behaviors about the cats that came and went were due to a frustration of being alone at night and sometimes being scared by the thunder or, as is just as common here in Colombia, fireworks.

What happened next was that I was given a male cat who had absolutely no fear of dogs at all. He walked right up to the resident dog, put his nose on the dog’s nose and said (in Cat), “Hi, I’m here, we don’t need to be enemies.” From then on there was no issue, no barking at the new resident cat and no chasing, either.

But sadly this beautiful cat energy died within a few weeks, and so a kitten was introduced. The kitten, not having any dog experiences, swore in the worse Cat way with Pfffffts, hissing and etc., making the poor dog think that perhaps he had done something wrong. But in a few weeks, all that bad language was forgotten and the two became friends.

When we are lonely, a friend is what helps us get through that tough time. When the world seems to have it in for us, we turn to a friend for reassurance. There is a day in South America called El Dia del Amigo, ‘Friend’s day,’ and although it isn’t until September, it is well worth taking time anytime to call a friend and say, “I was just thinking about you…” because it is really wonderful to hear that from a friend.

Tourist Visas in Colombia

This is a view of the Cathedral in Socorro in the state of Santander, Colombia. Built in the 1800's, it is soon to be decommissioned due to serious structural failures.

If you are thinking about visiting Colombia, you can come here for 60 days, as of this writing, without any additional paperwork.If you want to stay longer, you need to get in contact with the Colombian Embassy in your own country, or make a visit to DAS once you arrive here.

DAS stands for Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, a division of the Colombian agency for central intelligence and as such they are the department of the Colombian government responsible for keeping track of who is coming and going in their country. Like any government officials, they are limited in what they can do by the established rules, but they seem quite helpful within those limitations.

The primary DAS office is in Bogota, the capital of Colombia. That is where one goes for permanent visas. But on the local level, most of the departments (states) have a regional DAS office to deal with tourist visa extensions. Bucaramanga, the capital of Santander, has such an office and that is where I went the first time. It is located at Carrera 11 No. 41-13 in the area called Centro de Governamente.

The hours of operation are supposed to be from 7-12 and 2-4, but it is not unusual for them to turn people away at 11 a.m. and tell them to come back at 2 p.m. due to the numbers of people already inside. On most days there are only three agents to provide the services. So, get there early! Also, you will have to leave DAS to go and pay the extension fee at Banco Davivienda S.A five blocks away (DAS will give you a slip of paper with the address and details before leaving their offices.) and that bank may close at 11 a.m. Believe me when I say it is critical to be among the first people going through the DAS security point early.

The listed phone number for DAS in Bucaramanga is 6-339426 if you want to check the schedule before planning to visit.

Here is what you need to have:
1) Your passport (duh!) with at least three pages free for stamping.
2) Two B+W copies of the main page of your passport.
3) Two B+W copies of the page showing your entry date into Colombia.
4) Four recent color photos approx. 1 inch tall in size. (This can easily be done near the DAS offices and they know which color background to use – critical!)
5) Two copies of your return ticket or reservation.
6) A blank deposit slip for the bank, of which you will need to get 2 copies once it is stamped at the bank.
7) At least $80,000 CPs for the extension fee. At the last visit it was $73,400 (April 25, 2011).
8) You can expect the photos and copies to cost around $20,000 depending on which tienda you use. (We used “Oscar’s” which is the first one to the left of the DAS building, if you are standing on the street corner looking at the DAS sign.) This is for Bucaramanga so I don’t know if other states are about the same for fees or not.

There is a form to be filled out in the DAS office which is basically providing them with the information of where you are staying in Colombia, the name of a Colombian reference and their phone number, your passport number, a phone number if you have one, and the reason for your visit. They were quite helpful to the non-Spanish speaking American, but their English is limited.

If you have a cell phone, you may NOT use it inside the DAS offices. You cannot receive or make calls except outside the gates. They did let us keep it with us, but this could change. Be prepared for that. In Bogota no cell phones are allowed at DAS or at the American Embassy; you check them at the entry point.

When you arrive in Colombia, the DAS/Customs entry official stamps your passport for the first 60 days. If you don’t go to DAS for an extension BEFORE that expiration date, you had better have a very valid reason and proof as to why you did not or you could be facing a serious fine. They will usually give you another 30 days without any issue and occasionally 60 days, but that is rare. Tourists may only be in the country for a total of 6 months per year. That can be in segments of days or all at once, which is why some people travel out of this country to another one for a period of time and then return.

A view of the countryside outside the city of Barichara in Santander, Colombia. The mountains in the background are the northern Andes, covered in clouds.

Anything I have posted here is valid as of this date and I take no responsibility for changes made afterwards. Every traveler must stay informed for his or her own safety and economic control. But I can assure you that 60 days in Colombia will certainly make you want to come back for more!

Easter in Colombia

Life in Barichara, Santander, Colombia is ruled by the Catholic calendar in great degree, so it should come as no surprise that the Easter week (Semana Sancta/Sacred Week) is both a big holiday for the church as well as a big tourist draw for the pueblo.

Although this picture is taken on Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week, the streets are virtually empty because everyone is either in church or sitting outside listening to the sermon and the mass via the loudspeakers.

Anyone with a modem looking to use his or her computer  during these big holiday weekends will be out of luck because so much of the modem service is by cell phone and with hundreds more users in the area, the cell phone access is limited and slows the modems terribly.

In April we had a lot of rain, so the roads were, in some places, hampered by earth sliding down. But that didn’t stop the Easter crowds from coming and the streets were filled with strange faces for over a week. It was my impression that the Palm Sunday events were a far bigger deal than the subsequent Easter day, ending the Holy Week activities in this nationally protected historical pueblo.

Highly recommend that if you decide to come to visit during this time that you make your hotel reservations well in advance!

The Palm Sunday procession through the village with the stations of the cross is a huge event for the city of Barichara in the state of Santander, Colombia.

Sunset over the Andes

This sunset shot over the northern end of the Andes Mountains in Colombia has a cloud formation that looks like a whale spouting to me.

I was out with a couple of artist friends and we were painting the view and as the sun was setting, I took this shot…. one of many. But when I got home and downloaded it, I noticed it looked rather interesting – at least to me. What do you think?

Can you run for 15 minutes?

How many people can run for 15 minutes? If you knew that your life depended on it, I’ll bet you could… but if you are over 65, I’ll bet you are out of shape and would be panting after 30 seconds. I know I am. And yet, that was the time line for the coastal residents of Japan when the earthquake hit at 2:46 p.m. From that moment, they actually  had 16 minutes until the tsunami hit with a 33 foot wave traveling at 800 km/hr.

It was a couple of days after the event that the actual time frame was published and I could see the impossibility of so many people getting out of the way in time. No power, no TV, no radio (unless you had one that automatically turned on with batteries) and no idea how long it would take to get to higher ground.

Even getting in a car and driving for 10 minutes – assuming that was possible – was unlikely. I watched a segment on a video where a driver was trying to outrace the tsunami. It did not show what happened next, but I can pretty well imagine the outcome.

I am working on getting into shape for whatever life might throw at me, although I don’t live near an ocean right now. I may just want to be able to run for longer than 30 seconds.

A glass of wine at sunset in Santander is surely beneficial for the heart.

Becoming an ex-patriot

After visiting Colombia three times over two years for about two months each, I decided that it was in my best interest to investigate becoming a full-time resident.

Since I am retired, I only had to document my income and while the Social Security is really small, I had other income to offset it and I was awarded a “pensioner visa” for a year.

This process sounds simple enough, but the U.S. Embassy failed to tell me at the outset that I needed to have proof of my Social Security and you cannot get that by going to SSA.gov as they have to mail you that sort of information and that can take weeks! However, an angel must have been watching over me and someone said, “Get a copy of your bank deposits and print that out,” and that was good enough for them. Whew.

If you are thinking about living abroad as a ‘resident,’ you will want to get all the details before you are in the country, as the U.S. agencies are not cooperative with the U.S. Embassy of that country. Not that the people at the embassy do not want to help, but they are restricted by various ridiculous policies.

This U.S.Embassy sign invites you to contact them 24/7, but read it closely. There is something missing - like a phone number?

I was able to find a small casa to rent for a year and when I returned to the U.S. to get a few more things, I found my house stripped by the renters who also skipped on the rent.

This was a shock and a betrayal of a supposed friendship which I have had a hard time letting go of. More the loss of the friendship than the loss of the goods.

Betrayal for money. Perfidy for things. I am glad to return to Colombia where, at least as far as I’ve seen, people are glad to share what they have, however little it might be. Where friendships are more important than things. Where strangers will stop to help you, like they used to do in the Old U.S.

This has been a year of betrayals and perfidy since my fiance lied about so much and then used my computer to look for someone new, where he wanted to take back the few gifts he had given me, and refused to repay me the debt he owed.

I don’t normally share these life-changing events on a public blog, but I think it is important for readers to start looking at the trends in behaviors which signify the breakdown of society as we have known it.

Strangers become friends and friends become strangers… it is a sign of the changing of the times, the blowing of the winds. If you think you are immune, you are not. Perhaps for now, but when society as a whole begins to disregard honor, begins to allow and even encourage theft and lies, then it will not be long before the society crumbles.

These lovely Red and Blue Macaws are part of the landscape of my new country. I am eager to leave behind the lawlessness of the U.S.