Ray's Adventure: Settled in

With January coming to an end we are happy to report all is going well. The search for a car has ended with our purchase of a 2013 Nissan Tiida Hatchback. Quite a process. After checking classifieds for weeks every time we found what we liked or a good deal it was gone before we called. Automatic transmissions are not common here, I think it is a luxury. It seemed like we might have to travel to Bogotá or Medallin, many hours, just to find one. We checked all the small dealers with no luck. Finally we visited the big Chevy dealer, they had two used automatics on the floor, but we soon found out they were too already sold. But she said they are cleaning one and we could see it the next week. Thinking it too would be gone by then we paid a deposit based on approval after seeing it. It turned out great and after one week we took delivery. Lots of paperwork, fingerprints, trips to the notary, the transit dept (DOT), more papers. The collision insurance is optional, but is 100% coverage including roadside service with no deductible for $300/year. Pretty cool.
Now Gloria has renewed her license and we are good to go, she even had to get a medical and psychiatric exam, very thorough.
Gloria's house sold right away in January so she was relieved. The apartment is working well but we are slowly looking to buy a place here. The dollar is very high which makes things good for me but is tough on the Colombians. But it is a good time to buy, even with the peso low, Pereira is the fastest growing city in Colombia so prices are rising. From what I've seen, we can find a very nice place for $40-45,000. It's hard not to.
The only concern I have in the apt. is the noise I make in the workshop/bedroom. No one has complained and I only do it during the day for short periods of time so maybe there is no problem. It sure has been fun to putter around with some small projects. Just starting to understand the local woods so I have lots of ideas.
Many people ask what does it really cost to stay here. So here are the details for the last month, keep in mind the peso is now at 3,300/dollar compared to $3,100 when we paid the last bills.
Rent $284
Cable $35 includes 5 gig WiFi, TV cable and house phone
Water $15
Electric $28
Gas $6
This totaled $368 for November. We each have cell phones with sim cards, so service here is $6.10 for one month at one gig, add $3.05 if you want another gig per phone.
The beauty is the savings are just the icing on the cake. The climate, friendly people and natural beauty is the best part.
Headed to Florida for a week starting Valentines Day starting with a visit to Craig and Sue in Cape Coral.
Happy February to all.