william williams

topspinwilly

william williams

Hi I am William from Vancouver, BC. Retired and divorced and I have just started a 2nd trip to Medellin, Colombia, from Jan. 6 to Mar. 12.
The 2 girls are my daughters Melisa and Christine and I am waiting for a foto with my granddaughter Jordyn in it.

I will blog about what my day is like to hopefully keep in touch with friends and family and travelers who have similar interests may find it interesting. I will eventually, I hope blogging about buying realestate and living in Colombia either Santa Marta or Medellin I am pretty sure.

Interests at home in Vancouver, Canada are probably much the same as they will be here. That would be windsurfing, off-road motorcycling, tennis, spinning classes, hiking and biking, sidewalk cafes, pub food, tutoring English/ learning Spanish and just making a day interesting.

Vancouver's has rather boring, cold and wet winters (then again there is good skiing etc it really has a lot to offer).

Colombia is under war-time conditions to some degree most often anti-criminal activity involves military. All home entrance doors are metal and all windows are bared as are mom and pop grocery stores. You often get your groceries though a window. But to be honest I thinnk the traffic poses the biggest risk!

This is the obvious downside, I don't think it is that big a downside at this point. The people here are super friendly, the prices and quality are good & the tropical weather is great and Colombia has come a long way controlling crime in the last 10 years. I feel very comfortable almost all the time.



South America » Colombia » Medellin April 15th 2011

1st I should say I plan to return to Colombia fall 2011. Stay in touch if you like. I will reply to comments as I revisit here once a month or so but a personal message comes to my email for quick communication. On Fri, Apr 15, 2011 at 2:39 PM, Barry Belau wrote: Dear william williams, You have been sent a message from Barry Belau ============== Hello, I enjoyed your blog about Medellin. I am also divorced and planning to visit Medellin to learn Spanish/volunteer and explore Colombia. So is it true that there are many beautiful women in Medellin? What did you like best of the city and what didn't you like about it? I am from St. Louis MO. Keep on blogging in the free world... -- Barry I really like Colombia ... read more

South America » Ecuador » West » Salinas March 20th 2011

Let me 1st qualify this with I only spent 16 days total in Guayaquil, Salinas (which includes Libertad and Montañita. I don't want to bemoan the fact that GENERALLY Ecuador is getting less safe by the day and Colombia is doing better (I never felt at risk when I followed common sense in Colombia). That said, I heard many stories in Ecuador, by people affected and 2nd hand of friends affected by robbery and shaky medical care. One hostal owner told me "If you don't use something for a while most workers don't consider it stealing if they take it". Theft is a constant problem, employees generally take little stuff daily worth a dollar or 2. The stories are endless. By the way a "hostal"is not necessarily a hostel, in Ecuador it is usually a small ... read more

South America » Ecuador » West » Montañita February 27th 2011

I am back in California, Left Ecuador a week ago, Didn't have good internet in Ecuador. This is from the point of view of a retired, divorced, Spanish student, with an eye out for a retirement lifestyle, not into Indigenous culture , don't lay on the beach and I didn't get to many traditional places especially colonial places. But I was in several small towns, one big city and one little city (libertad). Salinas area is considered a resort for the Guayaquil rich (who are looked down upon by even the well to do who I met) , & about 200 expats mostly USA. I would have been bored silly in days if I had not got lucky and met Sonia from the Couchsurfing website. She took me places and introduced me to educated interesting people, ... read more
Beautiful Ecuadorian Waitress
Little Girls Cross Street
Salinas Beach

South America » Ecuador » West » Salinas February 25th 2011

The fotos say it all, well almost. Apartments on the Malecon rent for $1,000/minth 3 bedrooms. Small apartment facing the malecon maybe $60,000 ?? A block back maybe $40,000. $170,00 luxury 2,000 sq. feet facing the malecon (ocean). Asking price, in newer good big buildings.... read more
Want to live here? Of Course!
No joggers. Quiet ..Maybe tooo quiet!!
Davids Maelcon

South America » Ecuador » West » La Libertad February 24th 2011

Going to Libertad from Salinas 25cents by bus . A Northern Californian couple is staying with us Matt is going scuba diving to Ayange about 20 miles up the coast I think. Terry just got $12,000 worth of work on her body (especially arms) from a renowned plastic surgeon in Guayaquil ($35,000 in the USA). There is another area maybe 3 hours by bus at Puerto Lopez that is called the Poor Mans Galapagos" as there are some creatures not found elsewhere..Boobies I think. For those learning Spanish, my biggest problem is probably intonation and accent plus remembering correct tenses. Yesterday in Libertad I was having a drink on the malecon and I said to the lady next to me "Traiga sus hijos al la playa por la dia" She said sorry I don't speak English. ... read more
Libertad is a bit rough.
Bonaventura Mall or  "Cholo Mall" in Libertad
Bonaventura Centro Commercial

South America » Ecuador » West » Montañita February 22nd 2011

Note: there are 2 pages of fotos. Click them to see detail Big, Big day Sonia took me on a trip (1 to 1.5 hours drive) to Montañita. Montañita was exciting, colorful, fun, tranquil,full of mochileros (backpackers, neg. term I think), druggies, serious students, surfers, etc. Dilapidated buildings are restored or torn down make way for new Hostals (small hotels in Ecuador are Hostals), restaurants, shops etc. The place is full during the week, on the weekends it gets completely out of hand apparently, as does it every evening where people here are serious partiers who dont stop until between 3 and 5 in the morning. Luckily my Cabañas (little cabins pronouce the ñ as nya) are a couple of blocks from the heart of the town. There is a street called coctail street, with little ... read more
Mantanita Colorful Everywhere
Click foto 2C Mantanita Eccentric
Mochileros

South America » Ecuador » West » Salinas February 21st 2011

Went for breakfast this morning. Might have ordered wrong as it cost about triple the menu items. I will try again tomorrow but I definitely want the Montechristo sandwich again.... read more
Had to laugh. I am stereotyped
They smiled and laughed
Montechristo 3 eggs and 2 cafe

South America » Ecuador » West » Salinas February 21st 2011

23:12 in Salinas Ecuador We just came in from a pleasant evening at the "Hostal Aqui" an expat type of hangout/cafe/bar, owned by William. He has only single rooms (no dorms) from $20 with A/C, TV, bath in a great tropical setting. A hostal is not a hostel in Ecuador, it is a small hotel, but could be both. 6 hour wait in the Bog airport. The time goes well: occasional beer/snack/conversation/free wifi. I should have brought a towel to lay your head back against the wall in comfort and grab a few winks (also for the plane when trying to sleep. Pretty good day in these circumstances. Trailmix, an empty bottle for water.etc. Saying something to someone every once in a while. usually leads to a conversation. In the usa it is common to have ... read more
Mangoes Cut With Salt Pack
Avianca fokker 100
Salinas Beach left view

South America » Colombia » Medellin February 14th 2011

Marta has a bedroom for1 person for rent in Calasanz 20 minute walk to Estadio, and 10 minutes to the Floresta Metro Estacion. ($220 USD)$400,000 COP's/month or $150,000/week, this includes some Spanish practice for you and English practice for her. You can contact me as she would like me to help her with the rental. She has mobile internet that costs about $1 for 2 ours I think (if your a heavy user). Also Sol would like to rent a bedroom in Itagui that is about 20 minutes from the metro. Well I am sitting in Bogota airport waiting for my flight to Guayaquil Ecuador (biggest city). It is on the coast and about 2 hours from Salinas where I really want to start my tour and investigation of about a 60 KM strech of coast ... read more
Ceasar's Internet Cafe
Brick Dust spread before it's needed
Tennis wall set up for a game.

South America » Colombia » Medellin February 12th 2011

Don't forget to click on the photo to see it more clearly (bigger). To film a crash as the people are still laying on the ground it helps to know what to listen for. Cars colliding are loud but hitting a motorcycle is not so loud but does sound like metal on metal. One guy told me he saw 3 motorcycles get hit all at once by a cab. That would have a totally different sound I guess. Bit of excitement for me, I booked a trip to Salinas, Ecuador. It's on the coast I am excited. If I decide to hang out there next winter I may have a chance that Brigitta and others will visit. Of course I am pretty sure I have to be within 3 blocks of a good beach to get ... read more
Llittle shops below every house
Pets fixed upstairs.
Bus gets a ticket.




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