bikesadhu has left 21 comments

bikesadhu comments on bilingual schools for kids in santa marta...expensive?!

isnt there anything in colombia for the "middle"classes, and doesn't the different regions make up a big difference in the price? when i graduated from my "top" level private school ( gonzaga,washington d.c.,high school ) the only payoffs for college were based on your athletic ability or race !

bikesadhu comments on bilingual schools for kids in santa marta...expensive?!

$600 not expensive in the U.S.?? at the moment my kid goes to a private school near washington d.c.(montessori) and its only $8k a year,there are of course expensive schools around but i think the most expensive in my area of northern virginia is 5k more $13k (elementary level)... i would have thought colombia to be ALOT cheaper for education,especially the coast....i wasn't thinking of " top notch",only an average range for a "decent school"...how bad (or good) is the public system?

bikesadhu comments on Washington DC- Colombian Food

back to the topic...my wife and i who is colombian have always had great food at monseratt...then again some people can have a horrible experience anywhere,i had a friend tell me the other day he could not get a decent meal while he was in paris(!?),but everywhere he goes he always has a "bad experience"...i dont know,man...i would definately not listen to the negative and check out the place...its not 5 star but the food is darn good,and the colombian owner has always treated us right,but to each his or her own.

bikesadhu comments on Washington DC- Colombian Food

there is very good colombian food in arlington,va. monseratte on glebe road, just past route 50, colombian owned and operated. the empenadas are out of this world!

bikesadhu comments on capitan_centella

capitan gracias por tu mensaje donde vives en australia bueno benito y yo vivimos en alexandria virginia cuando quieras escribeme a riveros.elsa at gmail.com abrazos y todo lo mejor elsa

bikesadhu comments on capitan_centella

capt. just saw your comment about pasaporte and elsa...very cool,she'll be very happy to read it!! i posted a video igor penelope the other day...shes still singng,only thing is if she wants to get something going we have to move to colombia,which is what we are planning to do anyway next year(to santa marta,its so damn boring here in the states,especially for her). andres cepeda did come to d.c.(where we live) to do a concert with her though,and that was pretty thrilling for her. if you want to write her direct you can e mail her at riveros.elsa at gmail.com cheers! bennett

bikesadhu comments on Sr Tertius

Don Ramon o Mr. Tertius: que clase tomamos juntos??? cual es tu nombre que felicidad saber de ti abrazos de oso elsa feliz 2008 escribeme cuando tengas tiempo

bikesadhu comments on anyone remember the eighties band pasaporte(igor y penelope)?

Don Ramon o Mr. Tertius: que clase tomamos juntos??? cual es tu nombre que felicidad saber de ti abrazos de oso elsa feliz 2008 escribeme cuando tengas tiempo

bikesadhu comments on anyone remember the eighties band pasaporte(igor y penelope)?

thats great! hey,write me at my e mail and i can forward it to elsa's,she'd be happy to catch up! bikesadhu at yahoo.com bennett

bikesadhu comments on una pregunta vacana. . . ALGUIEN RECUERDA AL GRUPO PASAPORTE?

captain centella, elsa RIVEROS was the singer of pasaporte...she lives in the states,has a 6 year old son,who is a singing prodigy,and is 43 years old...hardly a "vieja"...she also happens to be my wife!

bikesadhu comments on moving to santa marta,any expat advice for a few questions

re; thanks again everyone....robbi,i,ll give you a buzz when i arrive via this site,thanks for all the advice..i,ll steer clear of where the black chicken flies until i get a good perspective on things...im not terribly gringo looking,i do have a fair amount of tattoos on my arms and legs,not of the low quality jailhouse variety.

bikesadhu comments on moving to santa marta,any expat advice for a few questions

the black chicken(s) sounds like protection money in a nutshell......we paid that in guatemlala...if its a "reasonable" amount i,d have no problem with that...when all is said and done its probably as you said not a bad thing,really.
the manager of our complex has a big business in rodedero so i,ll make it a point to ask him about this....maybe hes in charge of it all!
as far as dishonest employees,thats something that comes with the territory,i manage a business in the states now and ive dealt with it here,(never happened in guate though,our staff is the best!)i would be very particular of who i would hire,as i am here....but i really dont want to end up living in a stressfull nightmare,as you portray quite vividly...maybe i could grow my hair out to dreads and sell little baubles and homemade necklaces on the beach.
thanks again for the info,anything concerning is good stuff.

bikesadhu comments on moving to santa marta,any expat advice for a few questions

B.T.W. the location is near rodedero,just past the airport.

bikesadhu comments on moving to santa marta,any expat advice for a few questions

the black eagle?? robi666,
what,who the hell is the black eagle?sounds like a mafia.......if it is i probably know who their leader is(not really,but i met a guy who would fit the description) we had a character in guatemala like that but he went by "el pollo gordo",all joking aside can you clarify and elaborate a bit.
what about rodedero,thats where i want the biz,its sort of a ice cream shop,without giving it away.
square footage i dont know offhand,its 3 bedrooms,2 bath balcony,lrg.kitchen,overlooking the pools.
we paid $20k plus $2k taxes.
we had it renovated,new air cons,new appliances...total cost $26k

bikesadhu comments on moving to santa marta,any expat advice for a few questions

mamancana yeah,mamancana is pretty sweet....check out their site www.mamancana.com
the remate was alot of paperwork and red tape but all worked out perfectly in the end,we ended up getting it at 40% of the original cost,if you can believe it!!(im still buzzing over it)...we didnt even have to make an offer,it was suppose to go to auction but we ended up paying the lawyer $500 to send everyone else away.."manana" not our idea but his,i didnt ask any questions...he tried to get a little more with the bamboo furniture(the place was furnished)but dropped that in the end.
for some crazy reason while we were buying ours the manager of the complex told us about another smaller one for a lot less that the bank wanted almost nothing for so my woman and her sis and bro scooped that one up without any fuss.
i dont know if this was a regular remate deal but i do know that the next time around another one comes up im damn sure going to have the cash handy.

bikesadhu comments on moving to santa marta,any expat advice for a few questions

mis-type above actually i meant to write "people love her",not lover her...im the only one doing that!

bikesadhu comments on moving to santa marta,any expat advice for a few questions

thanks robi666,
thanks for the info,good stuff....i realized from my last recent visit and with the beaurocracy involved in purchasing my place on forclosure that the dealings are quite different than bogota,which is where my wife is from....although guatemala isnt exactly straight and narrow either....also my ole lady is pretty sharp with matters,she was a pop star in colombia in the early 90's and people on the streets still recognize her and lover her.
bufalo,check out my guatemala site at www.bikeguatemala.com ,i recently sold my ownership but im still involved spiritually.
ive seen mamancana in santa marta and checked them out,they seem to have it going on there.

bikesadhu comments on transferring money

$ transfer my bro in law didnt have to be "abilitated",he only had to show his cedula i.d. and recieved the money without any problem....implanning on sending more the same way.
sounds as if the lawyer has to "declare" the money for her own personal reasons(and gain) to me.....

bikesadhu comments on transferring money

transfer hi,
according to my records the wire fee was $13.50....it went from my personal checking in the states to a CITIBANK savings account,picked up in barrenquilla actually,no citi bank branch in santa marta...i dont see the $45 fee anywhere on my side,and my bro in law told me recieved the entire amount in 4 days.

bikesadhu comments on transferring money

wire money with your bank hi,
i recently wired $20,000 from my bank in the u.s.to a colombian bank in santa marta,no hassles,no fees,no problems....ask at your bank,also have a bank account or a friends in colombia.
cheers

bikesadhu comments on transferring money

wire money with your bank hi,
i recently wired $20,000 frommy bank in the u.s.to a colombian bank in santa marta,no hassles,no fees,no problems....ask at your bank,also have a bank account or a friends in colombia.
cheers