Rain Shelter. November 2021

My budget grew by $300 in the first week thanks to quick, wise and lucky investments on airline companies; which are still recovering from the pandemic. Most of the tourism sector is... Most other sectors are eitherlucky to be online platforms, necessary to normal consumer comfort levels, or indispensable. Others are experiencing inflation due to overhead production, public hype (or mass hysteria) or demand bubbles in order to fill the gap for the last two years of a crushing economic stand still.

My mother sent me an extra $500 and I was able to muster $2,000 by over drafting my old college bank account. I still count on 4 brand newsmartphones, sealed in their boxes, which I managed to acquiere cheaplywith what was left of my credit before leaving Miami, each retailing for $1,000 brand new, and a few gadgets that I can afford to sell. These operations will take care of what is left of my credit score in the U.S. which at this point is almost non-existent. Two years of quarantine withoutwork, unpaid and delinquent credit cards, bills and unexpected expenses made my perfect credit score and credit/lending history nothing but a useless 3 digit number that won't even get me a consolidation loan to rescue it.

I decided to rent a semi-permanent place to live and since last weekI have been searching all over Google. I came across some issues like creating a new account on the local online retailer (mercadolibre.com), where they ask me for a Colombian ID card; meaning I am not able to contact renters, post an ad or buy/sell used goods. I'm sure I can attemptto, or resolve it over the phone. Either way most places have signs on the windows advertising their sale or rent, accompanied by a phone number or realtor contact information. All you need to do is walk around an area you like and call the number on the sign or take pictures. Getting a cellphone plan was easy, I used my passport and subscribed to an unlimited talk/text plan with 30GB of 4G data for $55,000 pesos a month, or $15 USD.

It is still a very small world, meaning Google returns few serious sitescontaining the content and style I am accustomed to or comfortabe with. I am also in Latin America, where things used to be and still are much more personal. Tourists can find an overly generous selection of places tostay, with prices ranging from $15 dollars a night in a comfortable area to the millions of pesos per night. My strategy however demands a comfortable habitat for me and Anuket, high speed internet and infrastructure, room for stretching, privacy, a sense of ownership and the feeling of a brand new HQ in which I am 100% in charge. My computer equipment takes up space, broadband, storage and I like exercising creativity without inhibition. I am also a 30 year old man of 6'3" who occasionally dances to salsa while brainstorming, likes premium appliances and building materials, open spaces, and a feeling of adventure even within four walls. And as a matter of fact I was thinking of utilizing one of the rooms as a personal movie theater and design/music studio.

To my surprise, the price boundaries I set are perfect, and a (100m) home with three levels, four rooms and a balcony in a middle class neighborhood will cost me $300-$400 dollars a moth. I also researched listings in other cities like Barranquilla where I found new properties for the same price which match my lifestyle and exceed my expectations. The site metroscuadrados.com made it abasy for me to locate homes in all cities without the need of an ID to create an baccount. Most inner city homes within my budget I found to be comfortably small but small nonetheless and renting a communal house with my dog is out of the question. For reference, a modern apartment with a worthy view and ampe space for both would cost me $1000 dollars a month. I have spoken to a few realtors or 'aseguradoras' and they accept my U.S. passport as an ID; I also need proof of income (twice the monthly rate) and due to my lack of co-signers, some ask for a deposit of differing amounts.

Bogotá, Colombia. October 2021

After two years of self-induced reclusion due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided to grab my dog, camera, computers and idea-filled notebooks and move out of Virginia, USA and venture into the never ending path. Counting with savings of only $10,000, an investments account, a laptop and a couple of  cellphones, I decided to stay at an Airbnb in the Rincon de Los Andes neighborhood in the NE of Bogotá, with a majestic view of the mountains.

Before arriving I drove 15 hours from Virginia to Miami, and after a weekend spent between Miami Beach and the Airport, I drove another 15 hours back to Virginia to drop off Anuket, my female Weimaraner dog, at my mother's house. Only to spend another 15 hours on Interstate 95 the next day on my way South to Miami, so that I could cheaply fly into Colombia. I booked the earliest flight to Bogotá that morning, deciding which city to invade first at a CVS parking lot. And a few hours after turning in my rented car, I boarded a 777 plane headed for the Colombian Capital.

The planning stage took me a week or two, I had to inventory all my physical goods in order to gather as much money as possible, make sure my dog was healthy enough to fly and that my COVID-19 vaccines were up to date. I visited several Pawn Shops to rid myself of several years (andthousands of dollars) worth of electronics, for a very minimal resale price of course. I sold my 2007 Ford Explorer SUV which I bought for $2,500 after totaling my very special (Reef Metallic Blue) 2016 R-Edition VW Passat. Lucky for me, the insurance company paid me a fraction of the car's original value, which I used to retake and fund my old investments accounts. After boxing up my extensive, and very expensive book and media collection, I sealed my old bedroom, rented a car, and at midnight on October 19th 2021, left for my island outside my island: Miami, Florida.

I figured it would be easier to fly with my dog out of Miami and into Colombia however due to her protective nature, and miscommunication with the Airline, I ended up overstaying at several hotels, motels and Airbnbs, a deficit of $6,000 and flying without my favorite second officer (Anu). And finally after 10 very long, tiring and expensive days, I found myself at El Dorado Airport in Bogotá, Colombia. I hired a cab, and rented a curious and nostalgia-filled studio for the entire month of November; where I set up my provisional HQ in South America, planning to utilize thatentire month to acclimatize to the Andean heights (2,600m) and lifestyle, and construct a strategy for my financial, emotional and intellectual success.