Monday, December 10, 2012

Half Way Point Pro's and Con's

So here we are, half way through our trip here. We've had the highs and lows the funs and I want to go home. So here is some of the good, bad and ugly.

Biggest Disappointments: Let's start by saying my biggest 3 disappointments are coffee, beer and cheese.
     Coffee: This is beautiful country with amazing coffee BUT for some reason restaurants insist of serving nothing but instant. When 4 hours out of the city some of the best coffee I've ever had is grown. And if you don't ask for the right thing you will get a cup of hot milk to put your instant coffee in.
     Beer: Again. I was coming here looking forward to trying all types of new and exciting beers. Upon my arrival I find out there are 3 types of beer, Pilsner, Club, and Club Rojo. On one trip I was able to order some beer from Peru which was a nice change. But seriously, this country needs more beers.
     Cheese: What they have you don't want to eat. I can't say it any better. Plus if I want something half decent and by decent I mean something equivalent to a Kraft cheddar then I need to go to the supermarket. Can't get it at any of the local stores. I shouldn't have to walk to 6 stores to find a half decent block of cheese. 

Pro's: So here are so of the pro's from this beautiful country.
   People: The people are kind and always ready to help. They will even go the extra mile to help you out. Many will try and speak English when possible. To try and help you understand them.
    Country: Its beautifully here. Surrounded by mountains all the time, but with a 2 to 3 hour bus trip you are in a completely different climate. Be it the beach on one side or the jungle on the other. This beautiful country comes with a con. Unfortunately as with most things we hum as don't appreciate what we have so there is litter everywhere. Unfortunately many don't care about their surrounding and just throw trash where and when they feel like it.
    Travel: You can travel the country side for next to nothing. Take a bus from one end of the country to the other for $10. Where else can you find this.
    Amneties: Unlike what you may have read there isn't much you can't get here. There are bigbox stores in every major city. If you need it, its available here. So moving here is not moving to the jungle where you have nothing.  Fact we have friends that moved here from Nicaragua for the fact that at least here they were able to have the required items they could never get in Nicaragua.
    Cost of Living: Cost of living here is nice. Its not as cheap as we had expected but that being said people who blog about the cost of living here do not have kids with them. What you may not realize coming here is almost all costs are per person. So as example you don't pay for a room for the night at a hotel/hostel its how many people for the night. So many of our costs are times 4 rather than times 2.
     Health care: Dental work is great. Yes you need to find the right doctor but it can't be beat when consider $25 for a cavity and $30 to have a tooth pulled its a good opportunity to have long needed work done. And if you need to see a doctor for other problems at $30-40 a visit it won't break the bank.
      Weather: I can live with 25 degrees everyday for the rest of my life. With the odd afternoon showers.

Con's: I hope I have less of these than pro's.
   Travel: I miss my car, what more can I say. As cheap as travel is here, it feels that many times you are taking your life in your hands. Taxi drivers driving 60 miles an hour on a side road, bus drivers who pass into on coming traffic, or for some reason feel that they must drive 40 miles an hour between stops and lights. Then there are the long haul buses who don't want to give you access to their washrooms until they feel you should have access.
    Food: I'm tired of chicken and rice. Again for a country with so much variety they don't know how to do anything outside of the box. Chicken and rice 3 times a day. And when you have something else here its quite bland. And what's with not being able to make a real hamburger.
    Internet: Wow this has been a tough one. Unreliable, slow, and did I mention slow. It turns out the company here offers a 6gig service but can only guarantee 4 gig and when you actually test it, its more like 1.5gigs. Sad to say if you need internet to work here, have a back up. Very been fortunate enough to have a back USB rocket stick for emergency situations but it really makes it tough when you need it.
    People: Unfortunately the people can be a con as well. As nice as Ecuadorians are, there are 2 areas that require major improvement. When they drive they feel like they have every right of way. Pedestrians don't matter, street signs don't matter, rules of the road and common courteousy doesn't exist. And this uncourteousness carries into other aspects of their life. I stores and restaurants if there is no official line then just hope in where you want is fine.
    Hot Water: Who knew it could be so difficult to get hot water in a home or a hotel room.

Well this is a few items I love and hate about here. I understand that pod casts are the thing of the year for 2013 so I say watch for the next few blogs to convert to pod casts with interviews from friends and people we have met here.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Health Care in Ecuador

One concern many have is what is it like if I get sick or need something medical in Ecuador. Well have no fear, here are a few examples of health care here. And Heidi probably already wrote about some of it so sorry if I'm repeating.

First let me say, if you need dental work come here for it. I finally made a visit to a dentist that had been recommended to us. When I called to make the appointment I thought I was going to struggle explaining what I needed, funny thing was the dentist answered in English. On my first visit I had a cleaning and 1 cavity filled. I have had both those procedures done back home but will say this was my best experience. I have found that some dentist back home can be quite rough but this guy was great and there was no need for freezing and no bleeding either. Cost was 50$. I had to go get an X-ray for the dentist cost was 20$ and I was given the results. I had a follow up appointment to remove a tooth that I broke about 8 years ago(hence the X-Ray). This tooth was broken below the gum line and badly abscessed. It took him 20 mins to remove it and I was fine by that afternoon. Again the cost was 30$. Last tooth I had pulled cost me over 150$. Lastly I need 4 wisdom teeth removed next week. Back home the cost to me even with insurance is 1500$ here my cost will be 120$ maybe 150 as one tooth is impacted.

What about doctors. Well if you've ever had a blood test how long did it take to get the results? One maybe two weeks. Heidi went for blood test and had the full results in her hand in 5 hrs. Everything she needed and wanted to know and they gave her the results not the doctor. Next she went to a cardiologist and he gave her the results instantly. Cost for both visits 80$. No three hour wait in the waiting room. No we'll call in two weeks, everything instant. Health care here is not something to be concerned about. Pricing is good. Doctors are good and many speak or understand English as they are expected to learn it in University.

BTW it is our half way point here. So in one of my next blogs I will write about the pro's and con's and see who those change between now and when we leave.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

The Middle of the World

Inside Convention
What a weekend! Dad got all the blame this time. And I guess he deserved it. First we took the day bus from Cuenca to Quito. Not the funnest. We left at 7 AM from Cuenca on Cuenca Taxi bus line and arrived in Quito at 5PM. The bus was actually not bad. The washrooms were automatic doors, ring the bell and the driver lets you in. That being said if you try and self close the door like Aidan did then you may get squished as it is a pneumatic door. Seat space is a little less than Imbambura Flota but otherwise I think it's just as good of a line.

Upon arrival in Quito we needed a Hotel/Hostel. First tried a hotel called Ricks hotel in the Mariscal area which I had stayed at the previous week. Unfortunately it was full. It was raining. And I had no back up hotel. Heidi had a hostel app on her phone and so in the rain off we went looking for a hostel. Unfortunately most were full. Finally we stumbled upon a cute little bed and breakfast called the Maple B&B in the Mariscal area. We got a good clean room with a single bed, a bunk bed and a double bed for 40$ a night. Shared washrooms and a descent breakfast.

Middle of the world
Sunday we woke up to go to our special assembly day. Again a bit of a disaster. Up at 5:45 to be at the bus for 7. Bus ride was about 1 hr from there. Beautiful building I must say but with only 173 pubs in the circuit if you are active you are busy. Every brother pulled double and triple duty. So sitting with the family for the day doesn't happen. It was nice though to have 284 in attendance and 1 baptized. We got back home again in the pouring rain around 6 PM to go for supper. Taxi over drove our hotel and we had to walk back 2 blocks. Then after walking to where we wanted to have supper we found out it was closed.

See the line
Monday was somewhat better. I say somewhat. I started off with 60$ in my pocket and no debit card or Credit card PIN number. After walking for about 25 mins and trying to find a way to get cash Banco Pacifica did a credit card cash advance for me at the teller. Thank goodness. We wanted to go to Mindo so headed to the bus station Ophilia. Upon arrival we found out that the next bus to Mindo was at 4PM and that a taxi there would cost 50$. Scrap that idea. We had 12 hrs to kill and what to do. We went to the middle of the world.

The taxi driver offered to drive us there for 8$ and we did. We arrived and had a good time FINALLY. There were several parks for the kids and quite a few gifts shops that were to our surprise very reasonably priced. In fact I think we made one shop keepers day when we bought 30 some key chains (so don't be surprised when we bring you back a keychain). Lunch there was good as well and by 2 PM we were done. We hoped on a bus just outside the center which brought us to a larger bus station and from there hoped a double bus to the center town.

What time is it?
It started to rain again. So with help of a local lady we made our way to a mall instead, were we spent the next few hours. I felt bad for this lady though she got soaked as did we but she didn't need to. She just kindly wanted to get us to where we were going and then refused a coffee or anything from us. Our final stop before leaving was the kids treat McDonalds. They have been begging for McDonalds for 3 months.

We had the taxi take us to the bus station, which turned out to be the wrong bus station of course. Fortunately there was a direct bus from that station to the south terminal which was where we needed to go. The ride home was no joy either. We rode Imbambura Flota home and the drivers assistant was a jerk. We had to ask him 3 times to open the washroom door and it wasn't until Heidi stood beside him and waited for him to come that he finally did. It's the biggest down side here on buses is having to wait for them to feel like they want to do something before they do. And although most of our bus experiences have been good that one or two can make things bad.






The real middle of the world according to GPS
I guess with all the bad we finally made a good and got one more thing done that we wanted to see.


Friday, November 9, 2012

Phone Service is Ecuador

Keeping in contact with friends, family or business aquiantances can be a little challenging in South America so here are a few tips I have tried and used that may be of value to you.

Magic Jack - This seems to be one of the most popular options. There are 2 different models available. One plugs into your computer and as long as your computer is on you can receive phone calls to an American or Canadian phone number. The other model plugs straight into your router and your phone. With this option be sure to use the cable that comes with the magic jack and not just any network cable. It will not work if you use a standard network cable. A good internet connection is required.

VOIP Apps - Again there are many of these available. Some are free and other cost you money. The problem with some apps is if they are not design right the sound will not carry and you will have spotty phone conversations. Also to consider is how good your internet will be with these apps.

Toll Free Forwarding - Do you have an American or Canadian number you want to keep. Try this option. Cost varies but basically at 39$ a month you get an 800 number. You forward your home North American number to the 800 number, next you forward the 800 number to your local South American number. The nice thing with this option is that no internet is required and since incoming calls are free in ecuador on prepaid service then you only pay for the 800 number.

Skype - Skype has many options for phone service. In some cases you can even have a Skype number.

Rogers Canada - If Canadian I have gone through ups and downs here BUT finally Rogers seems to have fixed everything. They have a app for the tablet that gives full access to your rogers cell number. Rogers one number seem to work well to keep your old number plus with this option you have access to text messages.

Text Message Options - This can be a big deal to many, so here are a few options.

What's App - Available for Android, iPhone, and Blackberry. Simply install and have your contacts install then whenever and wherever they want to contact you they can. No international charges. Only require wifi or 3G service.

Skype - If your contacts have Skype then you can text back and forth.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

To Vilcabamba We Go

Park Jipiro
Time for another tour of a new area so off to Vilcabamba we went. We decided to take the Sunday afternoon bus from Cuenca to Loja. The bus left at 4:30 and cost $7.50 ea. Kids were half price. We arrived in Loja and grabbed a Hostel for the night. We chose The Metropolitano. What can I say it had 2 beds, a shower and Wifi. Not the best place we've stayed in and not the worst. The Hostel was in the downtown area so we woke in the morning grabbed some breakfast and spent a half a day or so in Loja.

Castle in Park
Loja is basically a small Cuenca. Old buildings, clean streets and nice people. We did however find a park for the kids. The park was Park Jipiro. It was a free park and had buildings in the shape of world monuments. There was a large castle, the Taj Ma Hal, and an Eiffel Tower to name a few. From the park we  made our way to the bus station. Buses from Loja to Vilcabamba run every 15 mins and the cost is $1.25 ea.

The trip took 45 mins and we were in Vilcabamba in time for lunch. Once you arrive in the center of town you have seen the town. It's really quite small and everything is within a few blocks. As much as I don't remember the name of the restaurant we had lunch in I will say the food was good and even though the nachos were made with Doritos they were quite good.

Courtyard of Hostel Escondido
Our first 2 nights were spent in the Hostel Jardin Escondido. It was nice. Private washrooms, TV room if you wanted, Wifi through out, and a nice little pool. Breakfast was included and it was a good breakfast. Dinner on the other hand was not what we had hoped for. The food was over priced and it was a poor attempt at Mexican food. All and all it was a good spot and I would return. Cost was $40 for 4 people a night.

We then moved hotels for our last night. We stayed at Izhcayluma. This hotel was very nice top notch spot. It is a 5 minute taxi ride out of town but for $1 I will not complain well worth it. Breakfast in the morning is included with lots of variety. Through out the day you have access to the restuarant and everything is added to your bill at the end. Also available was a pool, games room with billard, ping pong and darts, as well as a massage therapist. There are several options for rooms from a private room to rooms with shared washrooms and a dorm room.

View from Hotel Izhcayluma
Our trek through town brought us down an interesting path. In Vilcabamba there is a Ecopark. We took the walk which was about 20 mins out of town. We arrived at Rumi Wilco. There, there is several trails you can walk but even more interesting is the have cabins you can rent. For $30 a night you can stay in a beautiful private cabin on stilts with a outdoor shower. We wished we had seen it sooner. Well that will be for next time.

Horseback Riding




River in Ecopark














Things to do Vilcabamba - As mentioned it is a small town but for 4 days we kept busy. We had an opportunity to ride on horses, a first for 3 of us. It was nice 2 hr ride and for a first timer the horses were great. Even the two boys were fine on their horse. And for those who want you can take 2 or 3 day hikes. There are a few different restaurants to try and it is a great place to just see nature at it's greatest. Definately a place to return to.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Things to do in Cuenca

So you're living in Cuenca or visiting and looking for things to do on a rainy day. Head on over to the Mall Del Rio. All the fun you want in one place.

Bowling - On the second level of the mall is a game center bowling alley. There are 5 lanes and the cost is 2.50 per game plus 0.70 for the shoes. The lanes are quite new and up to date with gutter bars for kids and computerized score keeping. The lanes are also kept in good shape.

Super Trampoline - It's fun for all. Anyone can go. Kids especially love it but for the big kid in you give it a try. Basically you are strapped to Bungee cords and the attendant helps you jump from the first level up to the second level and at the top you can do a front or back flip. Don't miss this exciting fun.

Go-Karts - The track is small the carts are slow, but if you want 4$ fun then it's a good way to go. Race around the track for 5 mins and no one says much if you crash into each other or the tires.

Movie Theater - We haven't tried this option yet but there is a Multi Scene in the mall as well. Plays only Spanish movies but if you are trying to learn its not a bad thing to go to.


Mall del Rio is easy to get to. Just hope the 7 or 13 bus and you are there is no time. The nice thing with both those bus lines is that the mall is the end of the line so ride the bus till everyone gets off and you are there. And if hungry there is a large food court with KFC, Pizza Hut (coming soon), Subway and several ice cream shops (big surprise).

Friday, October 12, 2012

A Trip to the Cajas

The back of a pick up at 100km/hr
Have you ever wanted to visit another planet. See different plants, experience weather changes in seconds or climb amazing landscape. Well then visit the Cajas. Cajas National Park in Ecuador is truly special. Some call it amazing, awesome and even majestic.
The View

 













The forest from the Wizard of Oz
Our trip started at 9 am on Wednesday. We took bus #13 from Cuenca till the end of the line. Once there we waited for a bus to Guayguil but none came. It seems it passes every hr not half hr. Not long later we were offered a ride in the back of a pick up. So in all 8 of use hoped. For a charge of 1$ each and signing our life away we got a ride up to the Cajas. Small tip, if accepting a ride do not be afraid of driving 100 KM an hour in the back of a pick up truck going up long windy roads where tires are squealing and you can't see around the corner. If you have no problem with that then you are set to go. If you do WAIT for the bus. Not a lot better but at least you have some protection.

We arrived at Cajas National Park around 10:15 and begun our hike. We chose the second entrance to the park as there is a little more to see. Our hike started at one of the many lakes and the weather was cool. As we made our way up and down the hike we saw many different flowers, plants and cactus. But the most amazing was the paper tree forest. It kinda reminds you of the forest in the Wizard of Oz. I was just waiting for the flying monkeys.

The Climb
We stopped for lunch on a little island/causeway. Then continued our hike. After making our way up the side of a small waterfall we decided we had time to climb to a peak. Off we went. We made it to the peak at about 1:30. At this point it was time to go home so we made our way down and off we went. The entire hike was about 5 hrs. And quite the 5 hrs it was. If in Ecuador the Cajas  is a must do. There are several paths to take and if a little adventurous then you can go off the beaten track.

The peak we climbed




One note on the weather wear layers. In a span of 5 hrs we got weather that was near freezing point, heat of 20-25 degrees and hail. So be ready, pack a lunch and enjoy the scenery.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

A Trip to the Zoo

The path through the zoo
Well this week we decided to field trip it to the zoo. And a very interesting trip it was. First we took bus 13 from our place to what we thought was the hospital Del Rio. It wasn't, so we walked about 2 km up the highway to the zoo, where we found out our bus did go. The trick was we had to change buses to another 13 and finish the ride. Either way we now know what bus to take. Upon arrival at the entrance to the zoo we found out you had to walk up another 600 meters, and by up I mean UP. See the zoo is located on top of the hill.

Loose Monkeys
Baby Tiger
Entrance to the zoo was reasonable $4 for adults and $3 for kids. But as mentioned the zoo is on top of the hill so the whole time you walk up. We had a chance to see many animals including lions, a baby tiger,several types of monkeys, and birds. There was one type of monkey that was wondering around lose, it took a piece of bread from Heidi. And you had to walk through the peacock cage to get to the other side of the zoo which was kinda neat.




The Lion Cage

A View from the Top
Our trip was well worth the $14 spent even if the lunch cost us another $14. If in Cuenca take the 2 hour tour of the zoo but be ready. Have sunscreen, hat and hiking shoes. It's a good chance to get in shape.

Friday, September 28, 2012

A Trip to the Coast

We made our first trip to the coast. Off to Puerto Lopez we went. First stop Cuenca Bus station to purchase a ride to Guayguil, cost 24$ for 4 people. The bus ride to Guayguil was 4 hrs down the mountains and through the beautiful Cajas.  Upon arrival in Guayguil we found the ticket booth for the bus to Jipijapa. This bus takes you right into Puerto Lopez. Again a low cost of 16$ for the 4 of us. This bus ride stops in Jipijapa for about 15 min and then continues on to Puerto Lopez, altogether about a 4 hr ride as well. So all in all an 8 hr trip but well worth it.

Upon arrival we checked into a nice little Hostel about a 1 minute walk to the beach. The room had a double bed, and a bunk bed which worked perfectly. We also had a private shower. After a good meal of burgers and salchipapas on the beach it was time for bed to prepare for our big day tomorrow.

An early morning start is hard in some small towns. I've never had as hard a time to find a good breakfast stop as I have here in Ecuador.  Finally after finding one and paying nearly 17$ for 4 breakfasts we were off to the beach. First stop whale watching. And what a scene it was.  Not the clearest picture but by the time you click the camera they are already back in the water.

Next stop Ilsa de Plata AKA the poor mans Galapagos. This was a beautiful walk on an undisturbed island. Animals just sitting and not worried about us the people. On the island you will find several animal. They have the Blue Footed Boobies, some small lizards and some nice Turtles.  

 We enjoyed our lunch on the boat with these beautiful turtles all around us. It was truly a privilege.  Next off we go around the island to do a little snorkeling.  Now this was my first time trying snorkeling and was quite interesting. Some beautiful fish were in the water, Keefe even claims he saw Nemo (the clown fish).

Around came 3:30 and it was time to go home. Everyone was tired out and sleepy on the trip home. The boat ride back is about 50 mins.

As much as the island trip was beautiful, we are told that during the months on Jan - April the vegetation is much more lush and it is a good time to visit. You just need to watch for rain showers during those months as they can come out of nowhere.


The next day we did decide to go home as it was quite the overcast day and the beach would not be as enjoyable. We hopped a bus to Jipijapa then a second bus to Guayguil. Once in Guayguil we decided to stay a few hour and check out Iguana Park. If in Guayguil you must make the  trip. It's about 10 minutes from the airport and bus station and something you will never forget.

Seeing both this and the Isla de Plata shows one thing, man and beast can live in peace. In both the areas the animals had no fear of us and were fine walking side by side. And with the Iguana's you could even  touch them as seen above the old man is feeding them.

Home we go. A short trip but one none of us will ever forget. In fact so enjoyable we will do again. This is just one of the many different things you can do here in Ecuador. The land with many lands.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Experiences

I know this is why many return looking for the Experiences. So here are a few more that may interest you.

We have a friend that recently moved in who is about to be a teacher in English. The last few weeks she was quite sick and didn't know what to do. She told her son who has decided to not have anything to do with the truth to go to the meeting. After arriving and talking to a few he had the opportunity to see the love and help that is given to those around us. He has even expressed interest in coming more regularly.

Friday morning service is only about a 25 min walk away, Keefe and I decided to walk it this week and try and find English speaking people on the way. No English but many Spanish who we offer tracks to. Keefe learned how to offer a track in Spanish. Later that morning we were on the corner of the area we were going to work and waiting for ours friends. Time went by and people passed us several times, and then out of the blue Keefe grabs a track from my bag and offers it to the next lady who walks by. She takes it and walks away only to turn around and come back to us. She proceeded to tell us that just yesterday she had been told that God didn't have a name and she wanted to know more. As our Spanish is quite limited for that complex of a conversation we did have Spanish speaking friends who went to her home and were there for over an 1hr. Really anyone can be used.

Heidi was given a study this week. Funny part is that the study is in French. Now if you know Heidi she lived in Quebec for 17 years but doesn't speak French the greatest. In fact she has quite the accent. So of all the studies she could get we laugh that it is in French.

This final one may not be as exciting or encouraging but I find it shows that no one will be able to say "I didn't have a chance to hear." We were out one morning and ran into some Spanish friends. One kind older sister asked us to follow her to a home she knew to be English that she met that morning. We went along. Upon our arrival he knew who we were and why we were there he made it very clear he did not want us there. All that being said. This gentleman had a chance to speak to us in the States, he was then given a chance here in Spanish, and finally given a opportunity in Ecuador in English and still made his stand Very Clear. There is no question that all will have a fair chance.

Monday, September 17, 2012

The Thermal Pools of Banos Cuenca

Another week gone by and a busy one it was. It's nice to be in a regular routine in our new home. This week we toke off on Friday to Banos (Cuenca). This is a thermal hot spring about 10 minutes out of town. There are 4 different resorts that we found out there. The nicest appear to be the one we choose which was called Piedra De Agua. It was $10 each and $5 for the kids. For that you have access to the Turco (steam bath), Hot pool, and freezing cold pool. There is also a $20 upgrade to get into the Spa. The Spa gives you access to a personal assistant who walks you through the Turco, the Red and Blue mud bath. He then takes you below ground where you sit in the hot tub for 10 minutes and then a freezing cold tub for 2 minutes, and finally you have the steam box. A nice experience and I bet it's even better if you don't have any kids with you.



The picture above is the mud bath area of the spa. To the left this is the hot pool with basic access. There is also a eating area as well as massages available. Definitely worth the visit if in the area. And for us worth several visits as it is a 10 minute bus ride. We walk 5 minutes up the road grab the #12 bus and 10 minutes later we are there.

We didn't do much exploring this week. But we did have an opportunity to meet many of our neighbors. And what's quite interesting is that most of them speak English, in fact in our building of the 7 families it appears 6 speak English.

The question does remain is life here feasible? We found several things out. If looking to maximize your stay here you can take a 1 year Spanish class at a University for between $1000-1500 including books. This will allow you to apply for the student VISA. That being said we understand laws to change quickly here But technically you could come in on a tourist Visa, Apply for a 6 month Visa, after which you could take a University course and then apply for a 1 year student Visa. Giving you a total of near 2 years in the country.

Looking for work during this time? You have options. One I found the other day is called oDesk. At oDesk you sign up for free, post a resume and search for jobs that are done online. It can be anything from writing reports or proposals to being an admin assistant or even posting products online. Everything is done and logged online. There are hourly jobs as well as contracts. Another option is Open English, this is an English teaching online opportunity. You sign up and get paid to teach online. There are quite a few friends down here doing this option. Another teaching opportunity is Tutor  ABC. The difference with the two is that Tutor ABC is teaching to Chinese where as Open English targets South America.

So can life down here work? Yes, how free you want to be depends on how much you want to spend, and how simple you want to live.

Monday, September 10, 2012

A trip to the Museum

Life is surprisingly busy here. For one thing anything you need takes time. The other day I needed a few items and by the time we went to the grocery store and hit the downtown area for a 1 lbs of coffee for $3.50 it took about 1.5hrs. So with a schedule of up and out every morning for 3 hrs and then work for 2hrs it doesn't take long that your day fills up. Before you know it, it's 8 o'clock and your ready for bed. All that being said Friday's are family day.



View from the bottom
View from the top
Monday to Thursday Heidi schools the kids each day. And it's quite amazing how much they are learning. Aidan can now add and subtract and Keefe is learn multiplication and division. But Friday's are special, we take a field trip. So on Friday we went to the Bank Museum. The name was very deceiving to me. I thought why would anyone go there. Turns out it is a history museum and it goes through the different tribes that lived in Ecuador and how they lived. They even had real shrunken heads in the Amazon section of the museum. Then you make your way outside and there is a Inca ruin, still not sure if it was just a  reconstruction or whether there was an actual burial site there as there is a tunnel which is closed off that are what appears to be burial grounds. And as a bonus it's FREE to go in. Imagine that a free museum that is interesting.   
A Inca house





Sunday's are always quite interesting. There is always such a flavor at the meetings we have American's, Australians, Canadians, and local Ecuadorians. All giving comments and participating. This week was special because we had friends come down from the coast who had just finish pioneer school and were actually in the July study issue. The very one we were studying. After we had the pleasure of going for Lunch - Almoerzos of course and had soup, chicken, rice, beans, and fresh juice for $1.75.

Our new celebrity friends
After lunch it was off to some friends house for board games and snacks. Life here keeps us busy. But the fun is always as a family. Something you don't get to do as much back home. To see the unity with the friends. The interest in the people, and the time you spend as a family truly is a blessing beyond compare.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Our new home

So here we are our new home in cuenca. It's a 2 bedroom fully furnished apartment. It even came with washer and dryer which you don't get everywhere, plus utilities are included. Even internet is included, finally unlimited internet with a decent speed. The area is great, a park 2 minutes away where we take the kids to play soccer or I should say futbole and let them run around. There's 4 bakeries in the area. Buses are a 5 minute walk away and we can get anywhere in the city within 25 mins on the bus. There's even a shopping mall a 20 minute walk away.
Kitchen
Livingroom


Up the street we found a little restaurant like a st.hubert and got a half chicken, fries, rice, sauce and some kinda of vegetable we couldn't identify for $9 in a nice little to go box. We also found a little tailor that fixed our sons coat for $1 and a shoe repair shop that fixed 2 pairs of shoes for $8 although I'm pretty sure he gringo taxed me should have been $5 at most.

Sunday we went for Almouzos which is the term for a standard lunch which includes a soup, rice and chicken and a glass of juice. All that for $1.75 and if you want to have it in a fancy restaurant it's between $2-2.50. Anyways we were 9 of us and lunch cost $20 for all of us. Today we went to the market and stopped at another little lunch stop and had Salchipapas which is a bowl of fries with a hotdog and lettus for $1.00 and that was the large one, could have got the small for $0.75 and would have been enough. Juice was another $0.50.

The last thing I needed to setup was a mailing address. So how do you get mail here especially things you need. There is a service called Club Correo and basically it gives you an American address in Miami after which your items get imported here and they call you when your package arrives. And the nice part with this is that it is all setup online and after paying with PayPal you're ready to roll and start receiving packages. All that being said it's setup, we'll see how it works I've ordered my first package. I'll keep you posted.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Experiences

So we are getting settled and thought I'd share a few exciting experiences with you.

This first one was about 3 weeks ago. We were in Quito and doing some survey work looking for English speaking people on Saturday morning before our meeting. As we were walking down the street and meet 5 taxi drivers one who turned out that they spoke English. After speaking to him for a bit we left him with an invite to the meeting and he showed up. Not only that but he has come every Saturday since.

A few days ago Heidi was out and they went into a garage. Upon entry they were told that no one spoke English but upon looking at one gentleman he then actually said he spoke English. They sat down with him and he proceed to tell them that he was just talking on Facebook with his sister and was having issues with is ex-wife. His sister told him he needed to look into God and find religion. He then looks at the girls and tells them that they then just walked in. They proceed to demonstrate a study and he accepted an invite and said he would be there Sunday.

This one happened yesterday. We are house sitting for a few days in a high rise building with a security guard. As we got the keys to our new home 2 blocks away I started to move yesterday. The guard was curious and I explained we were house sitting but now have our apt and would be moving in. He asked a few question and realizing that my going out every morning I must be studying the bible with people. he asked where we were doing this and I explained it was in home. He then asked if I could study with him so I said yes of course and brought him the book as well as an invite to the meeting.

We will keep you posted on more.

Monday, August 27, 2012

A Drive Through the Andes

The dilemma get from Quito to Cuenca with 2 kids and 8 bags. The choices. Overnight bus, airplane, taxi/busetta, or rent and a car and drive. After trying for several days to locate a busetta we started to think about the plane as the trip would have cost for all 4 of us under 200$ problem being, bring all the bags and loading and unloading. More pain then it was worth. So we decided to rent a car and drive ourselves. Those who know me know I will drive almost anywhere and anytime. I mean after Mexico how bad can Ecuador be. We decided to go with Avis rent a car. Probably paid more then we should have but I felt with a national name we should be good. We got a a 4 door Mazda BT-50 pick up truck. All I can say is gut less.

Rolling Hills
Land Slide
We left Quito at 7am and arrived in Cuenca at 2pm so basically 7 hrs. The drive is something special in so many ways. To drive through the country side and see the beauty all around it really makes one marvel in awe at creation. Rolling hills that only to see can explain. Homes on the side of beautiful picturesque mountains. And people cultivating the grounds with donkeys and there hands. Upon seeing that you can only imagine what paradis would be like. Although living and driving in the mountains does pose its problems. As we headed out we ran into a closed portion of highway due to a landslide. And then not to mention crazy drivers. At one point we were following a trailer that was pulling a airplane and as he felt that the bus in front of him was going to slow he decided to pull out and pass into oncoming traffic. Of course realizing he couldn't he pulled right back in. Finally he managed to pass into on coming traffic of course but this time the traffic was slower and moved over for him and me. Yes as much as the road is good it is only 2 lanes all the way. Since the up and down is really steep at some points some cars are only going 20km/hr so people get inpatient. Not to forget the trucks or cars with 10-15 people in them. And here's where my gut less pick up comes in, 3rd gear doing 70km/hr going up the mountains. All said and done it was quite worth the $230 we paid for the rental.
Airplane

So here we are in Cuenca where we will spend the next 8 months. We are housing for a week and then get our new apartment which us literally 1 block away from where we are house sitting in fact we can see our new home from the bedroom window. Tomorrow we start our new schedule. And already our new friends have put us to work.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Internet Frustrations

The good old internet, who can live without. When we have cell phones, tablets, wifi, cable connection, to come here and balance internet use is tough. A prepaid cell phone gets you for $10 about 300mg. If carefully it can last you the 30 or so days, just turn off the network when not in use and only check emails when necessary.

But home internet is the catch. So the lesson of the day is, IF possible rent a home with working internet. This home has working internet But - the wifi computer was to far from our unit to be able to pick up. We ended up buying a rocket stick from Movistar. For a $110 we got the stick with 500mg a month as long as we buy a $3 refill every month. Yes the stick is prepaid. I have so far put $26 on the stick and once again have nothing left. In fact I'm fortunate I downloaded the Blogger app on my tablet so I can write this and then when I go to the store later I will get another $10 or $20 refill. Hopefully that will last us till we get our new home in Cuenca that has unlimited internet included (yeah). I guess if your not a big internet user then the prepaid will work for you but for a family of 4 who want to keep in touch with friends, family and clients then you need more.

Now the prepaid phone is something else. Here's a trick for all, watch for a 2 X 1 day sticker or cardboard on the doors of stores. These come every month it seems for both Claro and Movistar. I have both. What this will do is on a $3 refill you will get $6. The bonus $3 is valid for 15 days and only on calls within the circle. So that means Movistar to Movistar or Claro to Claro. Also as it is only valid for 15 days they will use your principal before using the bonus time so let your phone run out. This is okay because incoming calls are always free. I have put $16 on my Movistar phone this month and with it have been able to send and receive emails with caution and use it for calls.

Another thing with phones to consider before coming is buying a dual chip phone. It seems that everyone here carries 2 phones one for Claro and one for Movistar. This is because calling within a company is cheaper than calling another company. Apparently legislation is passing that will change that I will wait and see what happens before going down to 1 phone company.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

A successful trip

It was an easy decision. The apartment was right. The price was right. And we will be able to help the way we wanted. It quite amazing how things can happen. We were worried about finding the right place. So we saw the apartment and it was perfect. The area was nice and felt good being there. A kind American couple showed us the apartment and we got a good feeling from them right away. We left them with an offer on the apartment and met our friends on Sunday. Only to find out that the couple who showed us the apartment were friends of our friends. And they were worried about renting the unit to the right person as well since they were only managing the apartment for a gentleman in the US.

Sunday we met new friends who we hit it off with almost immediately. After spending some time together we headed out for lunch at a little seafood place. Another lesson learned if eating with friends in a group make sure the waiter/waitress knows in advance that there is going to be more than one bill. This is the second time we go out in a group and end up having to split the bill manually. From lunch we walked down to a little ice cream shop on the edge of center town. Actually there are about 5 ice cream shops in the little square. The one we went to had 80 different flavors of ice cream.
A Panoramic View of our New Home Town


On Monday we had a full day to kill so we went on a double Decker bus ride to check out the scenes. Very nice town Cuenca. And its a good size too. Not to big and not to small. Has everything you need and then some. We walked every where. Even to the bus stop at 8pm which was about a 20 min walk from downtown. Not to mention that everyone speaks or understands English. Good for teaching not good for learning. We will have to make sure we carry more English literature with us.

The bus ride home was definitely the most exciting part of our trip. It all started right at the bus terminal.  They had over sold the bus to standing room only. And in Ecuador kids are not entitled to a seat they sit on their mothers lap but they don't pay for kids either. Of course a older native lady comes over and tries to sit on aidan to get him to move over and sit on me. Difference is I did pay for my seats even Aidans. She finally found something at the back. The adventure continues at the next stop in the next town where the police boarded and checked everyone's cedula. Its an ID card all Ecuadorians must carry. Thankfully before we left the ticket guy said something to me back in quito about having ID with us, as I have been using my drivers license as my cedula and it has been working, that being said I brought our Visas with us and it went well. The police here are really nice so no problems so far. After that unlike our ride up the bus stopped in every town on the way home so the lights kept coming on and people kept getting on and off so sleep was impossible. We got home at 5:30 in the morning just beat. I hadn't had the chance to work much on Monday so I had about 2hrs of work to do first then I finished painting this apartment for our landlord. Today I think we will try and rest. Keefe has an English reading tonight so we will work on that with him.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Here we are in cuenca

So we took the overnight bus from quito to cuenca. We left on the 9:45 bus from Flota Imbabura which is basically a grey hound with washrooms and reclining seats so we can rest. We arrived in Cuenca at 6:30 in the morning. We took a 2$ taxi ride from the bus station to the downtown area.  Now the only problem with arriving so early is that it was next to impossible to find a coffee shop that was open at that time. Finally after much walking we found one. Coffee was good but the pastries were better.  From there we walked up and down to the streets to find a descent hostel. We found the going rate to be between 60 and 80 a night for a family of 4. But we finally found a cozy little place called hostel Chordeleg on the corner of Gran Columbian and General Torres. The owner gave us a room with private bath and 3 beds for 45$ a night. The going rate for the room was 60$ a night, really gave us a good price and no Gringo tax. The rooms are built around a center court or patio where you enjoy the complimentary breakfast and wifi was included. Really for the price what more could you ask for. The owner allowed us to check our bags early and we got access to the room at 9 am after it was cleaned. So you could say early check in.

Inside the Hostel

After dropping our bags it was time to tour the city. We made our way around the downtown and found a nice market and lots of scenic areas, a change from what we've seen in quito. We also made our way over to the Rio mall. A full service mall where we enjoyed a Mega meal lunch at a chicken and burger shack for $10 which gave us 2 burgers, fries, chicken nuggets, 2 pieces of chicken and an ice cream dessert. From there we looked at an apartment another $2 taxi ride. Arriving in the area we found a park for the kids and quite the nice homes. The apartment is quite new perhaps 3 years at most and has 2 bathrooms and 2 bedrooms along with everything we need including a washer and dryer, something not all units have. The owner wants $400 a month and will include hydro, water and unlimited internet. I would say sold. So all goes well we will be moving here Sept 1.

Now that we found an apartment time to explore the town. I found a little coffee roaster in town who grinds and bags his coffee at 3.50 a lbs. Might have to see about exporting some of that. It was a good coffee and I brought a bag home. We also found a nice pizza joint where we had lunch. Three slices of pizza, 2 burgers and a Pint and I mean a pint of beer all for $8.50. So yes there are good prices for food here you just have to look. Its very easy to spend money without paying attention. Supper last night was 25$ but here's the difference. Basically for a keg type meal you pay a Montana's price for a Montana's type meal you pay a Mc Donald's price and then if you want look a little harder and you can find the local flavor for below 10$ for the family. All three are good choices it just depends on what you want and how far you need your money to go.
Tomorrow we meet new friends here again before we head back to quito for our final few days. We have a decision to make this week. Stay in quito in one of the valleys, move to Otovalo which was really nice or move to Cuenca. We'll keep you posted.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

In the crater of a volcano

Well its been a few days and eventful it was. Where to start.
Friday we had the pleasure of meeting some friends who were our first contact in Ecuador from Canada. They have had the pleasure of traveling the country and in the 12 months they have been here the have seen everything from the amazon to the coast and everything in between. It was nice to hit it off right away with them. all this thanks to to friends who had spent 6 months in costa rica and met a and a in Panama. As I mentioned they have had the pleasure of traveling all over.

Thursday and Tuesday we had the opportunity to work with Spanish friends in the area doing survey work searching for English speaking people. As we were placed 1 English speaking with 1 Spanish speaking it forced us to practice and learn our Spanish even more. What a pleasure that was.

Saturday after our meeting we went for dinner at a mall and enjoyed some good American food - burger and fries. Boy the jungle is hard. Funny story I decided to take a picture of the pizza hut and I had a guy staring at me thinking I was from the jungle and had never seen a pizza hut before. After that we went to a fair which was great as it was free entree and rides were 0.35$ each for kids and $1.50 for adults. After which we went go carting for $6.50. Of course I won.

Sunday we made our up north to a town called otovalo were we went to the market. Wow. Spent to much and by too much I mean maybe $100 for alpaca scarves, hats, blanket, and a shale. So that being said I would like to see about setting up distribution if interested. Its almost a better deal than my Chinese silk ties for those who know about that. In otovalo we met up with our friends a and a again who had scouted the area on Saturday for the big market. Almost double the size of the rest of the week. We went for pizza in a little non Italian Italian restaurant. Again we met a gentleman there from Montreal who was scouting the land. Had an interesting conversation with him. After which we headed back to the hostel for the night. Nice place just very hard beds. That being said it looked like they were slowly replacing the beds in the rooms.

Monday brought more travels. We went up to Cotacachi and had the opportunity to go to the JW leather goods store. I have yet to see the online prices but apparently we got our items at a third the regular price. Picked up book bags for me and heidi. We also went up to a crater of a volcano. It is now a beautiful lake the is protected and the colour is amazing. In the middle of the lake is 2 islands that are pretty much untouched by man - kinda reminds me of the Jurassic park movie. We took a boat ride around the lake and met a couple of Jewish guys who were on a 7 month tour of south America and gave them a ride back to Cotacachi from the volcano. Poor them stuck with the 11 of us and having to listen to us about the bible. It was a good time. They even seemed to enjoy it.

We finished our day a nice restaurant on the side of the water. I would say kinda like a keg just better. And the pricing was good. After which it was a long drive home but well worth the drive. So much so we are considering moving out there as our new home. Just waiting on a few call backs.



Wednesday, August 8, 2012

We are now legal

It's official, we are now legal for the next 6 months. If you are Canadian and want to make your way down here this is my recommendation. When in Canada make your way to the Ecuadorian Consulate and apply for the 6 month 12-IX. This will make things much faster. All we ended having to do is go to the immigration office on Friday which took about 2 hrs. We needed our approved VISAS from the consulate in Canada, our Passports, full color copies of our passports of both the picture pages and the entry stamps all three of them, and we also had to fill out the Direccion General de Extranjeria. From there we waited and got pictures taken and had to pay a 4$ fee. We then had to return on Tuesday to pick up our Certficado de Empadronamiento which was about another 1.5hr wait. But this time all that was needed was to confirm the info and sign for. Interesting enough here you need ID for everything from getting a rewards card to using your credit card at a store.

Speaking of reward cards we went to the movies on Monday to see Madagascar 3 in Spanish and it was great. the cost was 4.25 each but because of the reward card we paid 2.99, so 12$ for the whole family that's the cost of 1 person back home. Then we got a 6$ combo of 1 Popcorn, 1 soft drink, 1 hot dog and a 3$ phone card which I needed for my phone as my time had run out.

Yesterday we went out again and met a English speaking Ecuadorian who owns a restaurant. He was very pleasant to speak with and even accepted a study. So as much as we have to search for those who speak English when we do they are always kind and want to talk about the bible.

I will say that after yesterday there are 2 things back home I will not complain about anymore. 1) The traffic, it took us 1.5hrs to get from the South end of the city to the North in the morning and that was on a bus. 2) I will not complain about Ottawa bus. The bus here at traffic time make the 95 look like a walk in the park. None the less, it was fun just makes for long days.

And as per my last Blog, we got a TV. The landlord here knocked on our door a few nights ago and said she had a gift for us and gave us a TV to use. We get 4 local channels but they are good to a tune our ears to the language.

Next week we will begin to see the rest of the country side. We have a trip Otavalo and hopefully Cuanca as well.

Asta Luego

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Adjustments

It's a amazing when we think of the need of water. A minor adjustment here and it makes you realize what we need clean water for. Everything here is done with bottled water from making coffee to brushing our teeth, simple things that we were use to just going into the kitchen or bathroom and turning on the water to complete our task has changed. That being said bottled water is cheap enough a 20L bottle is $2.50. But it's the mind set, get a glass of water go to washroom and brush the kids teeth. The shower IF it's going to be hot MUST be on a low pressure setting as it runs through a small on-demand heater cup. And I think the toughest has been shaving. I have 2 choices cold water or no mirror. The sink with Hot water has no mirror and the sink with cold water has a mirror. I've tried both not sure which is better.

Service was another interesting adjustment. We arrived on a street corner for our rotating service group where about 20 of us met. From there we proceed to do some survey work looking for English speaking foreigners in the area. That being said we were 10 of us walking up the street knocking at every door. Definitely different. We had one local cab driver who spoke English accepted the articles and then came to the meeting at 2PM at the Kingdom Hall. After the meeting said he would be back every week, so this was quite exciting. Heidi also had the opportunity to speak with a gentleman in English, French, German and Spanish. Not something we get to do every day.

This is a view from the street where we toke the bus to go to the service group. There's another adjustment. Bus ride of 50 mins and then a 5 min taxi ride to get to where our group was. That being said the whole trip cost us $2.00 for the 4 of us. And to give you an idea it would be like going from Orleans to Kanata by bus and then taking a cab to Stittsville.

After service and lunch it's off to the meeting which was a 5 min car ride and we were with friends who had a car and are actually from the Kemptville area so that was neat. They have lived here for 9 years. Nice to meet friends like that as they can give us direction as to where to go and not to. The meeting was good we had a speaker from New York and his wife were there. They are leaving to go back home in 3 weeks as they have been here for a year and now are going home to pursue the goal of BSCC. 
This is inside the hall. Very Nice.

We got home after a long day tired but not wiped, had dinner with the boys a relaxed for a bit before going to bed. And that is the final adjustment We have no TV and our internet is pay per meg so not really going to stream video and pay for it. So we are stuck talking to each other :). Not so bad, I still enjoy Heidi's company. That being said I may splurge and buy a TV before we leave.

Well time to paint the house today. Our landlord has been very helpful and since she is renovating we figured the least we could do is paint the house for her. The fun begins.

Chow



Friday, August 3, 2012

So here we are in the Southern Hemisphere. Our first 36 hrs and it's been quite interesting. Our Journey started with a 3 AM wake up to go to the Montreal airport on Wednesday and after spending 1.5hrs in 3 different line ups our plane left at 6 and off to Miami we were. Upon arrival at Miami we had a 6 hr layover not bad, but we had to exit and wait in lines for another 1.5hrs to get tickets and go through security again, a bit of a pain but it was done. The plane to Quito was quite nice, in fact probably one of the better planes I've taken. Captain even invited the boys into the cockpit to take pictures

Our arrival in Quito was interesting. Wind made our approach difficult and we had to turn around and try again so we were delayed in landing by 30 mins. The plane also had many Americans which were in town for the Ecuador Conference from International Living. We had the pleasure of meeting a few who were excited about what we were doing.

Now the fun stuff. Our contact/friends were patiently waiting for us with balloons and flowers it was really nice. We took a bus/taxi home which was about a 30 min drive and of course this is were we lost our first and only piece of luggage. Keefe in his daze left his carry-on, on the bus. Fortunately all that was in it was his Nintendo DS, a blanket, and a few books. I nice little tip for the Taxi/bus driver. We got to our home and went pretty much straight to bed after working out a few kinks.

Our first day. We woke in the morning to explore our new home and on our roof top we found this beautiful view   A snow capped mountain and many more around us. Not snow capped though. No snow here except on the mountain. We went by taxi for our first shop, the taxi cost us $1.48 each way. The grocery store was basically a Cosco called SuperMaxi. Having to get the regulars plus our monthly items our first shop cost $100. But of course we forgot items. So at supper we were making spaghetti and salad but had no dressing or spaghetti sauce so I attempted to go and buy some at the local depanneur. I came home with Ketchup and Vinegar, Heidi had a good laugh now we have a 2 month supply of ketchup.

All said and done so far so good and the coffee and beer is has good as or even better then I thought it would be. We will keep you posted with more fun and pics. Stay tuned.