About Epicatt2

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Some Forum Posts:

Colombia: Can you drink the water in Colombia:

Cafetero, After reading thru this involved thread which has attracted many differing opinions, I have concluded that there still must be a few cities in Colombia with water that's safe to drink. The tap water in most towns in Costa Rica is safe to drink and I've drunk it for nearly 40 years w/o a problem. Even so, I do filter my tap water at my apartment there, mostly because it makes it taste better and using it filtered produces a really great cup of fresh-brewed café. It's only a PUR faucet-end filter but it does remove that nasty chlorine taste from the water. That said, there are some towns in CR with unsafe water but there is usually a sign erected by the roadside as you enter these towns alerting people to the lack of safe water there. So hey, aren't there any of these sorts of water warning signs in Colombia for towns with poor water? Anyway Cafetero, back onto topic: What do you recommend folks use for a water filter? A pitcher type like BRITA, a faucet-end one like PUR. Or what? I have also heard of solid carbon block type filters which are supposed to be among the better sorts, which can filter out most all of the offending contaminants and the smallest particulate stuff including microörganisms, pathogens, and certain pesticides. One brand I was reading about is BERKEY ( http://www.berkeywaterfiltersystem.com ) which offers several sizes of portable gravity-fed filtration systems. I will wait a while and prolly go with one of their smaller models since new ones are a bit pricey but I can get a 'scratch&dent' of the model I want for quite a bit cheaper when they occasionally show up. So Cafetero, have you ever seen this brand (BERKEY) available in Colombia? Just FYI, I have no stake in this company. I've mentioned it only because it looks like a qualtiy product that will filter water thoroughly. Regards, Paul M. ==

Colombia: Bus Luggage Limitations?:

PRS, Some interesting work-arounds suggested, like buying extra seats for your items. Not sure if some of the bus companies might draw the line at that parctice, mayebe not though. But no one has mentioned the possibility of a sistema de encomiendas like exists in other LAmer countries. In Costa Rica at the bus terminals there a window with a sign 'Encomiendas' where you can ship things via the bus. I'd be really surprised if some service like that didn't exist in Colombia. Are any of the long-time residents living in Locombia aware whether a system of 'Encomiendas' exists there. It is generally a far more reliable option than the iffy national postal service. Just sayin' . . . Paul M. ==

Colombia: Med Airport at midnight?:

Hola Augie, Per your post about quoted taxi fare upon arrival: ¡Bienvenidos a Locombia! . . . Earlier in this thread it was posted: "The official rates for the taxis are also posted on a sign inside the terminal. The official taxi fare to Medellín is 65,000 pesos..." Checking the current tipo de cambio I found that COP$65,000 is equivalent to approximately US$22.60, not $65.00. Hey, I wouldn't've given the guy a tip either at that fare amount, since that was essentially THREE TIMES the OFFICIAL POSTED fare that he charged you. I'm wondering why you didn't cite the posted official fare to that taxista. (Or should we be calling him a 'pirata'?) I would have also, if possible, gotten his taxi number and reported him, then chosen another taxi. Certainly one of those other official taxis would have charged you the official rate. Seems to me like you have now been assessed the first round of 'tuition' in your 'School of Colombian Experience'. (Hey, this sort of thing has happened to all of us at some time or another.) So, be vigilant and you will graduate sooner than later. It's all a matter of "knowing the ropes –and the ones to skip!" (With apologies here to Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt!) ¡Buena Suerte! Paul M. ==

Colombia: translate money to English:

Just FWIW, Sunset Steve was correct. The official Panamanian currency is the /B or Panamanian Balboa, NOT the Panamanian Bolívar as others here stated. And yes, both the Balboa and the US dollar are used interchangeably in Panamá, and US coin is, too, for that matter. If I am remembering correctly Panamá does not mint its own national coinage and simply uses US coins. And the /B is pegged to the USD at 1 : 1. Regards, and hopefully that is not TMI . . . Paul M. ==

Colombia: Emails about posts.:

Hey SkyMan, I had a problem just like yours: Shortly after joining this group I elected to receive notifications to a particular thread which I had responded to and of course bagan receiving the email notifications.like you did. After a time the thread lost its interest for me and the notification emails became an annoyance but also like you, I was unable to find a way to stop them. Then there were a couple of new posts to that thread which re-sparked my interest in it again and so I made another reply to it and discovered that after I had hit 'reply' and typed my message and scrolled down to hit 'post reply' I couls see a section with a little heading, "Subscription' below which there were three radio buttons, one of which that was labeled 'none' that I could select to unwatch the thread, so I immediately selected it, after which I hit the 'post reply' button.... And 'lo, the notifications stopped! So with the notifications ended, halla-LOO!, I now just check manually online for new posts and threads and read only those which interest me. Remember, those 'Subscription' options are not visible unless you are in the process of replying to a thread. Also, you will have to unsubscribe from each thread/topic one-at-a-time, but it can be done. Sorry my post got a bit long but I hope it helps you SkyMan, and any others who so far haven't been able to discover how to stop email notifications. ¡Buena Suerte! Paul M. ==

Colombia: Importing My Parrot:

'Lo SkyMan, If you are aware of any of this below, sorry, please ignore it. But if inot, knowing about it may save you a montón of grief! Something you must be sure of is whether Colombia has ever had an epidemic of avian flu. If so, then there are likely restrictions on bringing in birds –or also even prohibiting taking them back out once they have entered the country. I say this because this was the case in Costa Rica until recently when the restrictions were partly relaxed. So what's iportant to know is whether –in the event that you should happen to become disenchanted with Colormbia and decide to leave– will you be able to take your bird back out of the country home with you. I would strongly enourage that you access the AP.H.I.S. Pet Travel page: [ https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel ] and familiarize yourself with the HPAI (Avian Influenza) requirements for moving pets between the US and foreign countries, and back again. And if you have not yet done so, ask you bird's Veternarian what he knows about HPAI restrictions about movement of birds OUT of Colombia or other HPAI affected countries. Fore-warned is fore armed . . . Hope this helps! Paul M. ==

Colombia: any thoughts on the NASA moon missions:

Que no demos pábulo a los duendes. No vale la pena . . .

Colombia: Digitalisation arrives in Colombia:

Ah-HA! Costa Rica just in the last couple years has put legislation thru to do the same thing, as a tax avoidance method. And so, it was only a matter of time for Locombia to take up the same arms, as it were. And it nothing else it will be a big boon for the accountants! I'm just sayin' . . . Paul M. ==

Colombia: Cubanos Libres:

Brandon Et Al, There was an interview late this afternoon on NPR I heard while driving back home from picking up an Rx at the farmacia. The interviewer, a women, was asking a young local woman in the Little Havana area of Miami what all the celebrating was about that we could hear in the backgroundwhich was going on all around there, and the woman replied something to the effect, "We are celebrating on behald of our parents and grandparents who are no longer alive to see that Fidel is no more. We are celebrating for them because they cannot." We 'gringos' may not readily understand that but I felt that was an on-target explanation, nor can I really blame all those Cubans for those celebrations. They still feel the displacement from their homeland, for better or worse, those 50-some-odd years ago, and they still long for a true Cuba Libre. Regards, Paul M. ==

Colombia: Gout remedy:

Hey Joe, Far be it for me to pooh-pooh your remedy, but if you cannot find Yerba Maté for some reason, you would be able to substitute the items below. (It's good to know about Yerba Maté as an option. Unfortunately I have never been able to develop a taste for it, don't know why. ) So... When I had some recent episodes of gout –prolly caused by my CKD– I did a lot of research online for remedies & found these things recommended: 1] the juice, fresh, of a lemon (or lime) in 8oz of tepid water (no sugar, but I've used stevia to make it more palatable) Drink a glass once or twice a day. 2] green tea - one or two cups per day 3] sodium chloride, i.e., baking soda, a teaspoon stirred into a glass of water & taken once or twice a day. ( I used sodium bicarbonate tablets 650mg x 2 x2 times per day) 4] fresh cherries or strawberries, at least a cup a day 5] fresh pineapple (helps with the inflammation) The above things help dissolve the oxalic acid crystals which cause the irritation and inflammations of the joints -or prevent them from forming to begin with. Most all of them should be readily available and inexpensive in Colombia. I have used all of the above items successfully and repeatedly for treating this truly miserable condition! I've also learned to learn to eat differently. I can still eat all the foods I like but just less of them at a sitting. Doing this for me has greatly minimized the episodes of gout. And if I feel an episode coming on I start with the above things to waylay the episode. OK — HTH — ¡Buena Suerte! Paul M. ==

Date Joined:

8/24/2015

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70

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