Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Navidad at the orphanage

One of the ways that Ex-pats try to give back to the people of Ecuador is to host Christmas celebrations for the children.  Many of these kids have very little and struggle to get by; Christmas is one of those times when we (all of us) can celebrate with them and let them know that we care about them.

Before our last trip to the States, I had a request from my friend Jeffrey (just north of Jama).  He knows many of the kids in his town; they walk past his house on the way to school.  He wanted to have a gift for as many of the kids as possibly, so Emily and I went to a thrift store in Florida and loaded up half of a locker with Hot Wheels, Barbie dolls and Transformer trucks.  Used toys didn't cost us that much (about $50), but they are very appreciated by the kids here.

We also have some Hot Wheels for our own give-aways.  Between Christmas and New Years, two kids will stand on opposite sides of the highway with rope between them.  When a car slows down for a speed bump, they'll pull the rope tight to block the road and stop the car.  Once the car stops, they'll come up the window and ask for money or a treat; the Hot Wheels will be great items to give.

Two of the nicest people you'll ever meet, Bob and Roxanne, host a Christmas party at their place in Manglaralto every year.  What started as a small gathering years ago has turned into a massive production; this year, they served over 500 meals and gave gift bags to 375 of the neighborhood children.  You can find their blog entry here:

http://bobnrox.squarespace.com/journal/2013/12/22/the-kids-christmas-party-2013-was-fabulous.html

For the Ex-pats in our area, we held a party at the Saint Lucia orphanage just north of Montañita.  I say "we", but I didn't do much more than contribute financially.  (I'm still the new guy here; I'm learning as I go!)  Much of the work and coordination was done by our friend and fellow former-Minnesotan, Deb - she's in the middle wearing the hat:


The party started by playing Christmas carols and socializing while everyone settled in to watch the show:


First was the enactment of the Nativity story, beginning with the angel telling Maria that she would soon have a son:


Next came Maria and Joseph looking for a room at the inn:


Jesus is born!  The angel goes to the fields to tell the shepherds (Baby Jesus, Maria and Joseph are on the right):


This causes the boys to break out in a festive version of the "Little Drummer Boy".  I love the "Murphy's Irish Stout" drum - shameless product placement, if you ask me:


(I'm joking about the product placement, of course.  These kids get by with what they have.  Notice that they are all barefoot and none of the hats match or hardly fit.)

Following the Nativity enactment were two dance performances.  First, three young girls in their finest white dresses performing a choreographed number:






After this, a line dance by some of the other girls.  This one was, shall we say, not as choreographed (but still a lot of fun!):


After that, the big event - the visit from Papa Noel!  Each child's name was called and they would go forward and receive their gift:



(Yes, that is his real beard!)

Many of the boys received soccer balls, and many of the girls received jewelry sets. All of the gift bags contains treats and balloons:


After that lunch was served to all of the children.  I don't have any pictures because this was for the kids only.

It was a fun time had by all!

(pause)

But many of the children at the orphanage have not had happy lives at all. 

If you do not want to read about the real lives that a couple of these children have lived prior to coming to the orphange, please do not read any further.  These are honest statements about some of these children's experiences!

This was my first visit to the orphanage, and I'll relate what I've learned.  Children come into the orphanage from many different places.  Unless they have a mental or physical disability, I was told that they are allowed to stay only until they're 14.  After that, they're on their own.

I also learned about the backgrounds of two of the children.  The girl in the previous picture, Rosa Maria, was found alone on the streets of Montañita when she was four or five and has lived there for the past seven years:


She is a sweet girl but is very guarded.  She sat with Emily during the Nativity performance and wrapped herself around Emily's arm once she felt that she could trust her.  After she received her gift from Papa Noel, she said the only words that I could understand: "Mio! Mio! (Mine! Mine!)".  She seemed to warm up to Emily and I (especially Emily) and let us protect her things for her.  The orphanage is taking great care of her.

The second child's story is even sadder.  I never learned his name, so I'll call him "Jared" (that was the name on the back of his shirt):


Jared was found when he was five or six; he had been kept on a leash in his parent's back yard.  He had a wound in his forehead when he was found, and it's unclear whether it was a birth defect or had been inflicted.  (Children with birth defects are sometimes shunned in Ecuador because it is thought that it reflects negatively on the parents.)

He was socially reclusive when he arrived at the orphanage but has learned to accept other people and make friends here; he is making great strides in learning.  He does have difficulty speaking, but he does know how to communicate!  Once he got his soccer ball from Pap Noel, he made it quite clear that he wanted the other boys to go play a game with him.  This is their soccer field:


(That's Jared under the blue awning; the soccer field is the concrete area on the same level.)

Merry Christmas, everyone!


Friday, November 22, 2013

Coming out of the dark

Emily and I returned from our trip to the Esmeraldas province on Friday, November 15th.  We were checking properties further north than we had looked before, and I've got a ton of information that I'll be sharing.  Today is not that day, however.

On Saturday morning, the 16th, we heard a loud "BANG!" and the power immediately went out.  Emily and I (along with the property owners) looked around for the cause of the failure and it appeared to be on the main line running along the highway.  The owners put in a call to the power utility requesting service, but no one was available.

The utility offices are closed on Sunday, so the calls started again on Monday.  With the assistance of our housekeeper (it's best if an Ecuadorian makes these types of calls), we were told that someone would be out to look at the problem.  When?  They didn't know.

At 10:30p, a pickup pulled up next to the utility pole that feeds service to this property.  One of the guys climbed up a ladder (about 25 feet) and found a faulty switch/insulator device.  They had it replaced within an hour, but that didn't solve the problem.  They blamed it on the transformer on the spur line that feeds the houses.  After some discussions and skepticism, it was decided to replace the transformer.

(Why did they wait until Monday night to come out?  One of the line workers told us that Gringos are low on the priority list when it comes to getting service.  If it had been an Ecuadorian house, the utility company likely would have been here on Saturday.)

We were told that the new transformer would arrive on Friday, the 22nd.  In the meantime, Emily and I would load up our computers and phones once each day and head to a local restaurant to recharge and use the WiFi.  A special thanks to Jaibel at Patacon Pisao in Puerto Lopez and the Hotel Montanita (in Montanita, of course) for providing services.

We also adapted to living without electricity.  The stove and oven are gas, so cooking was no problem.  Candles and a kerosene hurricane lamp worked for lights:



The property is on city water, so no pumps are necessary for getting water or using the toilet.  The only drawback: the shower.  Since it's a suicide shower with the electric shower head, we had no hot water for showering.  No fun!  We did get caught up on our Kindle reading, however:



(To be fair, the property owner did have a generator and offered run an extension cord over to our cottage.  I thought it would be good practice to go without, however; infrastructure in Ecuador is still developing in most areas, and we likely won't have power available when we start building our place.)

Thursday night at 9:00p, four guys showed up in a pickup with the new transformer!



Here comes the interesting part: installation.  First, the old one had to be removed.  One of the guys climbed up a ladder (about 30 feet), hooked up a block and tackle pulley and unbolted the old one:


(Sorry about the water spots on the camera lens.)  Once it was down, they hooked up the new one to the same system:


This transformer is filled with oil and weighs about 450 pounds, way to heavy to lift by hand.  Once it was tied up to the pulley, the other end of the rope was tied to the truck through a lateral pulley:


Watch your toes, dude!


A friend of mine was commenting once on his zip-lining adventure.  Being a critical thinker, he looked at the setup and thought, "I wonder how many single points of failure there are in this system".  The same thought occurred to me here: old pulley, a single rope for lifting, knot failure, welded hooks on the transformer, no secondary/safety line, etc.  No problem - that's Ecuador!

Once it was halfway up, the rope was untied so that the pickup could back up and the rope could be reattached:


The guy on the ladder bolted the new unit in place, made the connections and, at 11:00p, the lights came back on!  Thanks guys - drive home safely!


No more excuses for me.  It's time to finish organizing the pictures and notes from our Atacames trip and find our new home!

Friday, November 8, 2013

House Hunters: Episode Two

Back to business.  The last few posts have been fun, but I want to remind everyone of our number one purpose: finding a place of our own in Ecuador.  We have been renting a very nice cottage for the past six weeks, but it's not our final destination.

I need to lay out some of the ground rules for buying property in Ecuador.  Unlike the States, there is no centralized or regulated process.  There is no MLS system for listing properties, and there are no exclusive buyer/broker or seller/broker relationships.  Brokers are not even required; property can be purchased directly from an owner with only a lawyer to ensure that all of the documentation is filed properly.

But it gets even more interesting from there.  First, the Manglaralto White House from my previous post:






 This property falls under a shared-ownership obstacle.  In this case, the property is owned by seven siblings.  One of them is still in Ecuador, but the other six are not here anymore; they live in the US, Norway, South Africa and other locations.  To sell the property, all seven must agree on the terms in writing; not an easy thing to do with this house.

Another obstacle can be an inheritance property.  When one of the original property owners dies (usually the husband - women live much longer here), the rights to the property are split 50/50: half to the surviving spouse and the other half distributed among any children.  To sell a property, all of the owners must agree to the terms.  Trying to buy a property in this situation can be tied up in the courts for years.

An aside: I know a woman who bought a property like this, vacant, and built a house on it.  One of the property owners showed up after all of the improvements had been made and reclaimed it.  She lost her entire six-figure investment.  She had been shown a false deed to the property and had accepted it without doing the necessary background work.

To purchase property, good lawyers are absolutely necessary.  They will not only ensure that the escritura (title) is free and clear, they will also check the previous six owners for any liens against the property.

Speaking of liens, anyone who purchases a property assumes any financial obligations tied to it.  Here are two such instances:

  • One owner left Ecuador and moved to the States after the government placed liens on his business.  Since he was no longer in the country, the liens fell to his property instead.
  • Many residents in Quito and Guayaquil owned property on the coast and used the electric service free of charge.  The electric company had failed to install meters on the property; the juice was coming in free from the electric lines that ran along the highway.  Once the electric company began cracking down and installing meters, the property owners abandoned the lots rather than pay their bill.  Many of these properties are currently for sale, but the back utility costs fall on the new property owners.  (Much different from the States where that cost would be incurred by the individual.)

Perhaps the most tangled web of debts comes from purchasing a previous business.  This is a property that Emily and I call the "Rio Chico Compound":




This lot is in a great location: Rio Chico is just south of Manglaralto and has great fish and vegetable markets.  It also has over 200' of beach front, almost unheard of in the area.  The buildings need some rehab, of course, but this place could become a Pacific front oasis for renovation costs under $30,000.  (Labor costs in Ecuador run about $15/day per worker and materials are relatively cheap.  New facades could be created for very low cost, and even teardown/rebuild prices are low.)

Unfortunately, there is a caveat.  (Of course there is!)  In the second picture, the brown building on the right is a hostel, and the people who run the hostel also live on the property.  (The also operate the little tienda at the front, right side of the property).

If we were to buy this, we would have three options with regards to the employees:
  • We could buy the property and fire the workers.  We would then be responsible for 25% of all income that they had ever earned on the job as severance pay, but we would then own the property free and and clear.  That wouldn't be too popular with the locals and might result in broken windows in the middle of the night.
  • We could require that the current owner fire the employees and incur the severance fee cost before we buy.  Since the owner is currently under financial hardship, this isn't likely to happen.
  • We could buy the property and keep the employess on board to run the hostel.  Do we really want to run a business on our property from the get-go?  Probably not.  They would probably expect continued housing to be included as well.

Another interesting note about this property and how it relates to the realty process.  We had two different brokers show us the property, and here's what they presented:
  • Hector, a broker we know and trust, told us the asking price.  He also mentioned that the workers on the property hadn't been paid in months and the price was very negotiable.
  • A second broker, a slick-talking local who runs a real estate business in Montanita offered the property with a $50,000 increase in price and made no mention of the current obligations that the property held.  He also said that the price was firm and that it would likely sell for much over the asking price.
  • Additionally, we've also recently seen this property for sale on a local website where the asking price is $110,000 over what Hector told us.

I do know people living on the coast here that have successfully purchased property and are very happy with what they have, but many of them have done so without understanding the full legal implications and trust their lawyers to handle all of the paperwork.  Emily and I want to know the property purchase process in as much detail as possible (like with our visa application) so that we don't get caught with any surprises.

Spoiler alert for those you that watch House Hunters, International.  It is an entertaining show to watch, but it's usually packaged together after a sale has been completed.  I've met a couple of the people that have been featured on the show, and they did not have the purchasing experience as it was presented on the show.  Again, it makes for good theater, but it's not that easy!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

A day in the life (revealed)

 [Including the title, my last post had 40 intentional Beatles references.  Here they are, along with a new one at the bottom that I couldn't work in at the time (and, technically, still can't).]

On our last trip to the States, my brother-in-law asked me what a "typical" day was like for us in Ecuador.  (In the town where I was born, not many people have had a chance to travel to other countries.)  After telling him, I thought that it might make for a good blog entry.  Since we're still adapting to our lives here, and with every mistake we surely must be learning, these aren't necessarily "typical", but it's what we do eight days a week.

Every day starts the same.  We make breakfast, I read the news today (oh boy!), and catch up on messages.  It might sound mundane, but it's wonderful to be here (it's certainly a thrill).  It's spring here so we have clouds and sometimes rain, but it's always warm and the people are friendly.  Who could ask for anything more?  It's a magical mystery tour that brings a new opportunity.

Last Friday, we met our friends Joan and Vic for lunch.  (Vic feels that he is a lucky man who made the grade, and I completely agree!)  They've been here for about a year and are willing to help out somebody new Living is easy with eyes closed, but they've followed many of the same procedures that we have and are a great source of knowledge.

On Saturday, we drove up to Puerto Lopez to have lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Patacon Pisao.  Our friend there, Jaiben, speaks very good English and helps us to improve our Spanish.  (He helps you to understand; he does everything he can.)  Great crepes!

Sunday was a day for doing chores around the house.  Washed the car, sorted things we had packed, etc.  We didn't have power much of the day; when your lights have gone, you break out the Kindle and read.  Some people can't go an entire day without internet, but it doesn't matter much to me.

Monday was a shopping day.  Yesterday, we had no power; today more of the same.  New power lines are being strung just south of us, so it's a temporary situation.  We need to register the new car, so we needed to get jumper cables, reflective triangles, etc. (required for registration).  Ask me why we need these things; I can't tell you.

Last week, we opened a savings account at Banco Pichincha in Guayaquil.  On Tuesday, we decided to take the bus to GYE (about three hours) to get the ATM card for the account.  (No, they don't issue the card the same day.  Many of their practices are helter skelter, but I have to admit it's getting better.)  The bus leaves Olón at 5:30a, and there is a local bus that picks up everyone along Ruta Del Sol to catch that bus.  Again, though, we had no power in the morning and missed that bus.  Walking up to the road in the pitch black darkness, we lost our trail on the driveway and almost walked off a six-foot drop off.  Help!  Emily caught us in time though (she's not a girl who misses much) and we decided to abort the bus mission for the day.  (Gee, it's good to be back home.)

Instead, we decided to go to the ANT office in Santa Elena to register the car.  With a little help from my friends Joan and Vic, we found the office in the new bus terminal.  However, the registrar at the ANT told us that, "You can't do that"; the car was already registered when we purchased it.  Unnecessary trip; we drive my car back home.

On Wednesday morning at 5:00 as the day begins, we successfully make it to the bus terminal.  We get a ticket to ride the 5:30a bus to GYE and arrive at the bank at about 9:30a.  It was a relatively comfortable day in GYE for a change (that is I think it's not too bad).  We stop and say hello to the guy at the service counter to pick up our ATM card, but he told us their computer system was down and we would have to come back later.  You know my temperature's rising when I hear this, but Emily and I just smiled and said, "Okay!".  There were things we said today that we wouldn't ever say to the locals, but I'm learning to just let it be.  I'm adapting to life here, and I'm doing the best that I can.

(I feel some sympathy for the people working at the bank.  They know that one and one and one is threeYou tell me it's the institution, and I'll agree.)

We went back to the bank at 11:30a, hoping the system was back up.  (I'm thinking, "Please, don't let me down!".  We want to catch the 1:00p bus back to Olón.)  The service rep saw us at the back of the line and waved us to the front.  After signing a couple of forms, my heart went "Boom!"; we have our ATM card!  Do you want to know a secret?  In over a dozen trips to the bank, that was the first time that we actually left with smiles on our faces.  Could the trip back home have been any better?  I say no!

Thursday, we visited a new friend, Dave, and saw the house that he's building on the beach in Curia.  Nice place.

Every day in Ecuador brings new opportunities and experiences, and for Emily and I, we are doing tres bien ensemble.

Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on.

[One of my favorite Beatle's titles was, "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey".  I still don't have a monkey, but Emily made a new friend this week.]


 

Friday, October 25, 2013

A day in the life

On our last trip to the States, my brother-in-law asked me what a "typical" day was like for us in Ecuador.  (In the town where I was born, not many people have had a chance to travel to other countries.)  After telling him, I thought that it might make for a good blog entry.  Since we're still adapting to our lives here, and with every mistake we surely must be learning, these aren't necessarily "typical", but it's what we do eight days a week.

Every day starts the same.  We make breakfast, I read the news today (oh boy!), and catch up on messages.  It might sound mundane, but it's wonderful to be here (it's certainly a thrill).  It's spring here so we have clouds and sometimes rain, but it's always warm and the people are friendly.  Who could ask for anything more?  It's a magical mystery tour that brings a new opportunity.

Last Friday, we met our friends Joan and Vic for lunch.  (Vic feels that he is a lucky man who made the grade, and I completely agree!)  They've been here for about a year and are willing to help out somebody new.  Living is easy with eyes closed, but they've followed many of the same procedures that we have and are a great source of knowledge.

On Saturday, we drove up to Puerto Lopez to have lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Patacon Pisao.  Our friend there, Jaiben, speaks very good English and helps us to improve our Spanish.  (He helps you to understand; he does everything he can.)  Great crepes!

Sunday was a day for doing chores around the house.  Washed the car, sorted things we had packed, etc.  We didn't have power much of the day; when your lights have gone, you break out the Kindle and read.  Some people can't go an entire day without internet, but it doesn't matter much to me.

Monday was a shopping day.  Yesterday, we had no power; today more of the same.  New power lines are being strung just south of us, so it's a temporary situation.  We need to register the new car, so we needed to get jumper cables, reflective triangles, etc. (required for registration).  Ask me why we need these things; I can't tell you.

Last week, we opened a savings account at Banco Pichincha in Guayaquil.  On Tuesday, we decided to take the bus to GYE (about three hours) to get the ATM card for the account.  (No, they don't issue the card the same day.  Many of their practices are helter skelter, but I have to admit it's getting better.)  The bus leaves Olón at 5:30a, and there is a local bus that picks up everyone along Ruta Del Sol to catch that bus.  Again, though, we had no power in the morning and missed that bus.  Walking up to the road in the pitch black darkness, we lost our trail on the driveway and almost walked off a six-foot drop off.  Help!  Emily caught us in time though (she's not a girl who misses much) and we decided to abort the bus mission for the day.  (Gee, it's good to be back home.)

Instead, we decided to go to the ANT office in Santa Elena to register the car.  With a little help from my friends Joan and Vic, we found the office in the new bus terminal.  However, the registrar at the ANT told us that, "You can't do that"; the car was already registered when we purchased it.  Unnecessary trip; we drive my car back home.

On Wednesday morning at 5:00 as the day begins, we successfully make it to the bus terminal.  We get a ticket to ride the 5:30a bus to GYE and arrive at the bank at about 9:30a.  It was a relatively comfortable day in GYE for a change (that is I think it's not too bad).  We stop and say hello to the guy at the service counter to pick up our ATM card, but he told us their computer system was down and we would have to come back later.  You know my temperature's rising when I hear this, but Emily and I just smiled and said, "Okay!".  There were things we said today that we wouldn't ever say to the locals, but I'm learning to just let it be.  I'm adapting to life here, and I'm doing the best that I can.

(I feel some sympathy for the people working at the bank.  They know that one and one and one is three.  You tell me it's the institution, and I'll agree.)

We went back to the bank at 11:30a, hoping the system was back up.  (I'm thinking, "Please, don't let me down!".  We want to catch the 1:00p bus back to Olón.)  The service rep saw us at the back of the line and waved us to the front.  After signing a couple of forms, my heart went "Boom!"; we have our ATM card!  Do you want to know a secret?  In over a dozen trips to the bank, that was the first time that we actually left with smiles on our faces.  Could the trip back home have been any better?  I say no!

Thursday, we visited a new friend, Dave, and saw the house that he's building on the beach in Curia.  Nice place.

Every day in Ecuador brings new opportunities and experiences, and for Emily and I, we are doing tres bien ensemble.

Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Buying the car

In my last post I mentioned that Emily and I had purchased a vehicle here in Ecuador, a Chevrolet/Suzuki Grand Vitara:


It's been working well for us and we're getting about 50 km/gal!  It doesn't have excessive power and it's not four-wheel drive, so we won't be driving it on the beach (which some people do), but it does everything we need.

Buying a car in Ecuador is a much different process than buying one back home.  In the States, the car dealership provides one-stop shopping that covers everything.  In Ecuador, we get to run all over the place to get it done.  There are multiple times where I had to suppress my inner Lewis Black and exercise patience:



The Chevrolet (pronounced "sheev-ro-let") dealership, Autolasa, was about a half mile from our apartment at El Patio Suites.  We worked with a very nice and informed dealer, Diego Villacis.  He speaks some English and was very helpful in getting us through the process.

The first step was to pay for the vehicle.  Diego gave us the account number at Banco Pichincha where we could wire the money, but he didn't give us a routing or SWIFT number for the bank.  No problem, we thought.  We went to the bank to confirm the incoming account number (didn't want the money to go to someone's personal account) and ask about the SWIFT number.  No one at the bank could tell us what it was.  We looked up the bank online and couldn't find the number either.  Back to the dealership.

Diego gave us another account that Autolasa uses, this time at Banco de Guayaquil.  Again, we went downtown to the bank to confirm the account number, and we also verified the SWIFT number that Diego had given us this time.  It all checked out.  We were able to transfer the money from the States, and the next day we went back to Autolasa to confirm payment.  The money had been received, so they told us to come back the next day to complete the sale.

The next morning, we were excited and looking forward to picking up our new vehicle.  Not so fast!  Before we can purchase a vehicle, we had to prove either that we voted in the last election or were not eligible to do so.  If we violated this law, we would need to pay a fine before conducting our purchase.  This time, it's off to the Conesejo Nacional Electoral to register as voters.  Diego was kind enough to drive us there, and we cleared in about ten minutes.  (To pay the $3.00 fee, we went to a separate cashier's window.  Diego told us that this was a new feature; normally a person would have to go to the bank to pay the fee.)

Next up, getting the matricula (title) for the vehicle.  Back at the dealership, Diego produced a sales record showing that we had purchased the vehicle, but it was up to Emily and I go to back to the bank to get the matricula:


Now we're good, right?  Wrong!  We also have to purchase a SOAT ("so-at") for the vehicle.  This is basic insurance that every vehicle in Ecuador must carry; it covers other parties in the case of an accident - it does not cover the driver's vehicle or passengers.  Fortunately, they sell this at the dealership (and at small shops all around town):






Now can we have our car?  Yes, Diego said.  It will be ready tomorrow.  (Insert suppressed Lewis Black here.)

We also decided to get full insurance for the vehicle (collision, comprehensive, etc.).  Diego has a friend (of course) that works for Ecuadoriano Suiza that can do that for us.  We went and met with Leticia ("leh-ti-si-a").  She spoke no English, but we were able to complete the process anyway.  We paid and were told that the documents would be ready the day after tomorrow at 2:00p.  (I don't know why, but 2:00p is a magical time in Ecuador.  That's when everything will be ready.)

(FYI - insurance rates in Ecuador are about the same as they are in the States.)

The next day, we went to Autolasa and were finally given the keys to the car!  After a walk-around with Diego and a demonstration of the security system, we drove off the lot.  It was only a half-mile to the apartment, but Plaza Dañin is a busy street and it seemed as though everyone was targeting us, especially since we didn't have insurance yet.  There were no issues, though, and we arrived at El Patio Suites with our car unscathed.

On Thursday, October 3rd, we were ready to head to the Pacific.  We loaded the car in the morning with everything from our apartment and went downtown at 2:00p to get the insurance paperwork.  (We took a taxi.)  Was it ready?  Of course not!  (Full on suppressed Lewis Black here, complete with cussing and finger pointing.)  The person that we talked with (not Leticia - she was out that day) said that the paperwork would be ready "tomorrow or Friday".  (Tomorrow was Friday.)  We cheerfully said "Gracias", went back to our apartment, got in the car and headed for the ocean.

We're going to go get the paperwork this week.  Last Wednesday was "9 de Octubre" or Guayaquil's independence day, and, from my experience, I know that very little got done at the insurance office.  It should be ready when we get there.

By the way, did I mention that the matricula says our vehicle absolutely rocks?








Monday, October 7, 2013

'zuki and the beach

We are out of Guayaquil and living on the beach!

Last Thursday, we packed up all of our things from our apartment in Guayaquil, loaded them into our new car and headed for the beach.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at our apartment, http://www.elpatiosuites.com in La Fae (it can be revealed now), and I highly recommend them for anyone seeking a long term stay in Guayaquil.  Delia the manager and Narcisa the housekeeper are very accommodating and took very good care of us.  There are also many good shops and restaurants in the area with many interesting people to meet.

Here's the new car, a Chevrolet Grand Vitara SZ:


It's actually built by Suzuki and OEM'd by Chevrolet in Ecuador.  The car buying process is so arcane to the US buyer (that would be me) that it actually requires it's own blog entry.  That's coming up soon.

After we loaded all of the luggage and lockers, we still had plenty of clothes, kitchen items and other things that we put into plastic bags and stuffed into every available corner behind the two front seats (sorry - no picture here!).  When we were ready to go, there wasn't a spare inch of storage in the back of the car.  Emily even had to hold two backpacks in her lap during the drive.  At 3:30p, we left Guayaquil and headed for the beach; it took about three hours to reach our destination.

We are renting a great two-bedroom cottage on the beach in Olón:


Cool - an authentic thatched roof!  The thatch actually sits on top of corrugated cement board underneath and minimizes the sound from any rain hitting the roof.  The cottage is fully modern on the inside, including a kitchen with all modern appliances:



Our hostess was even so kind as to make us feel at home in our new cottage:


 
To our good fortune, a friend of mine recommended us for this place.  A former colleague of mine from Stanford Hospital had made the move to Ecuador almost three years ago, and he (and his wife) knew of an ex-pat couple looking to rent out this unit.  They referred us to our new hosts and they accepted us sight-unseen.  Our new hosts, who are very accommodating and generous, are also quickly becoming good friends.

I learned a fun lesson the first morning that we were here.  At around 9:00a, there was a man on his motorcycle at the end of the driveway honking his horn and yelling that he had fish for sale.  Our hostess invited him in, telling me that the locals are often trying to sell things but will never enter a property unless invited.  She asked him to come in and see what he was selling.  It turns out that he had three freshly caught fish for sale and that it was the last of his catch.  (I didn't recognize either of the two species, but they were about 20" long and weighed probably 1.5 lbs each.)  He started off asking for $20 for each fish, but, at the end of negotiations, she bought all three fish for $15.  (That's a skill I have to learn!).  That night, we all shared in the grilled fish, cooked to perfection by our host.

The next day, Emily and I decided to walk the beach to get an idea of properties that might be available in the area.  Should we go south:


or go north:






We went north.  We walked about 4km to where the beach meets the outcropping in the distance, looking at houses currently built and empty lots prime for opportunity.  Now that we are on the beach, our house-hunting begins in earnest!


Sunday, September 29, 2013

Cedula - the final frontier

We have finally received our cedulas!








The cedula (pronounced "se-doo-la", not "sed-ju-la") is the national registration card for all residents in Ecuador.  This was the last "document" that we needed to get before leaving Guayaquil and heading to the Pacific, and it didn't come without some drama (of course!).

When we received our visas (the day before our trip back to the States), Emily's name on my visa had been misspelled as "Emili".  (Her own visa was correct.)  On the 24th, we went to the Visa office to request a correction; we were able to pick up the updated copy the next day.

On Thursday, September 26th, we took the MetroVia downtown to apply for our cedulas.  Locally, the MetroVia is called "light-rail" when, in actuality, it's just a big bus with a dedicated traffic lane:


The cedula applications are submitted at the Registro Civil building, across the plaza from Iglesia San Francisco (San Francisco Cathedral):





Emily and I decided to try this on our own - without our facilitator.  (Brave, I know!)  The person that we met with spoke little English but he was very helpful.  We couldn't apply for our cedula because we were missing a document.  We had the following documents:

  • Passports
  • Color copies of our passports
  • Color copies of our visas

but we didn't have

  • A Declarición Juramentad (sworn statement) of our parents' names and their birthplaces

You might have noticed on the back side of my cedula above that there is a place for both my mother's maiden name and father's name.  In addition to knowing my information and place of birth, we needed to provide a statement of our parents' names and birthplaces.  I have no idea why they want this information, but family ties are strong in Ecuadorian culture and this might just be a cultural holdover.  Cedula applications in years past required birth certificates, possibly because they have this information.

To get our statements, we needed to go to a notary.  (Notaries are probably worthy of their own blog entry; it's a very elitist industry.)  On Friday morning, we went with our facilitator's daughter, Sierra, to get our statements.  Sierra not only knows the registration process; she is also an accomplished translator.  (She also found the apartment that we are currently living in.)  We met her in the same plaza; one of the local notaries is just off the square.  I'm glad she was there; we would never have found it otherwise.  To get to the notary, we had to find the front door:


go up the stairs:





down the hall:





where we could get our statement.  We provided the notary's assistant with the information required (parents' names and birthplaces - no proof required), and four hours later we had our documents:


(The acutal document is three pages long.)  For $44, you would think that the page text would align with the paper sheet.

After that, Sierra accompanied us back to the Civil Registry to apply for our cedulas.  With all of the paperwork in order, the application was accepted!  We were photographed and fingerprinted and told to return at 4:30p to pick up our cards.  We were pleasantly surprised; we had been told previously that cedula processing took two days; now, it takes two hours!  At just past 5:00p, we had our cards.  We are now fully registered as residents of Ecuador.  Many thanks to Sierra and Dana (our facilitators) for helping with the visa and registration process:


After that, back on the Friday night rush hour MetroVia back to our apartment:


We are now finishing our plans to move out to beach - Wednesday is our target move date.  Can't wait!


Friday, September 20, 2013

Back in the saddle...

I'm sorry that I haven't posted anything recently.  Emily and I have been in the States for the past three weeks, and I didn't want to announce that our apartment was sitting empty.

As I mentioned in my last post, we have finally received our residency visas.  It wasn't without drama, of course.  Our flight from Guayaquil to Miami was booked for Wednesday, August 28th.  We had submitted our final visa request on the previous Thursday (August 23rd) and were told to return on Tuesday, the 27th, after 3:00p.  (Visas are not processed on Mondays.)  We arrived with our facilitator, wondering if this would actually happen or if we would have to reschedule our trip; fortunately, however, our visas were ready!  Back to the apartment to pack.

Our arrival in Miami was interesting.  The customs agent that we met asked what was in the four storage lockers that we were packing.  When we told him that one had our clothes and the other three were empty (for our return trip), we were sent to secondary inspection.  After explaining our case to the second immigration officer, we were allowed to leave.  (Who else flies with empty suitcases?)

We spent the next few days with our daughter, hubby and grandkids in Fort Myers.  They had recently purchased a house there, and we were able to spend some time reconnecting with them.  The new house also has a pool, a very welcome addition on hot Southern-Florida afternoons:






From there, a drive to Minnesota!  (What's a visit to the US worth without another 2500 mile drive?)





We needed to do this to get the truck back to Minnesota.  It was necessary for unloading our storage locker and other tasks.

The primary reason for our visit to the States was to attend my brother's wedding.  Lee and Erin had a simple and very beautiful ceremony in their backyard with about 70 people present:





While we were in Minnesota, by the way, we rented a house through AirBnb.com.  This is Katherine's house in North St. Paul:




(The picture was taken through the windshield of the truck; it doesn't do it justice!)

Emily found this service, and, for a long term stay, I don't think I'll ever purchase a hotel room again.  $57/night, fully furnished and a yard to walk around in.  It was also walking distance to Cub Foods (a Midwest grocery store fixture) and a local pub where we did what the locals do:


We also spent a great deal of time with other family members and a weekend down on Emily's folks farm. That's my niece, Olivia, in the "apple picker":



With that done, however, it was time to finish phase two of our move.  We had placed a great number of items in a Bloomington storage locker, and it was time to pack it up:





We were able to pack almost everything into the storage lockers that we had brought with us.  In addition to clothes and kitchen items, I was able to pack some of my hand tools that I would want here in Ecuador.  That, however, made the lockers quite heavy:





(A special shout-out to my brother for taking us to the airport at 3:00a in the morning.  He is a police officer who works many long days, not only doing his job but also providing training for others in his field.  Thanks, Lee!)

We flew business class from Minneapolis to Guayaquil specifically for the luggage allowance.  In business class, Emily and I were each allowed three bags, and the weight limit of each bag could reach 70 pounds without penalty.  (Yes, we weighed each locker as we loaded them to make sure that we didn't exceed the limit.  The other suitcase was only 45 pounds, so it didn't require the special weight tag.)

I also had possibly the most interesting carry-on bag in my history.  It had DeWalt batteries for my drill, gloves, sandpaper of all grits and more wires (cables) than AT&T.  It passed the TSA inspection twice (in MSP and MIA), but not without question.

Finally, on Tuesday, September 17th, we arrived home in Guayaquil with our stuff.  This is a photo of our luggage carts in GYE while we're finally relaxing and having a Heineken:


I think the Ecuadorian customs agent was going to inspect the bags, but once I mentioned that I was "con mi esposa" and he saw that she was pushing a similar cart, he let us go.

We're back home!  Next on the todo list:

  • Get our cedulas (residency cards)
  • Purchase a vehicle (we're shopping this weekend)
  • Get to the Pacific!  (Can't call it "the coast"; thanks to Jos Lips for giving me the right terminology)

Back in the saddle and moving forward!