Final Farewell

The last week is here. I must say I don't think I will miss the buses here. Thursday we went down to Cuenca for a convention and a chance to see our friends on more time. The bus ride was nearly 8 hours and long. No matter how many times it happens, I will still not get use to a lady sitting down beside me, pulling out here breast, and feeding her baby, then just letting it hang out for a while in case the kid gets hungry again.

Aidan and Monica

In Cuenca we had a chance to spend some time with new and old friends. I must say that our organization is truly the greatest in the world. Who else can have true family, Anywhere, Anytime, with Anyone even though they don't know anybody in a given town or country. The friends and family here of every race and culture that we have made will be there forever. So good are these friends that Sunday was a difficult day to say goodbye. I think we were among that last 15 people to leave the convention.

Back in Banos for our final few days, we have now had a chance here to say goodbye to friends. Again a difficult thing. We've only known them for a few months but it seems like forever. To have people who you've only spent 2 months with coming to you, hugging you, and asking WHEN not IF

The boys are back in town

Our Family in Banos

you will return. Again last night I think we spent about 45 mins taking pictures with different families. I can only say that we truly have an international family.




Today and tomorrow we will try and relax a little and Friday night Saturday morning is the big day. See you soon. And to the next adventure we go. Or start to prepare for our next one.

The cost of going home

Sad to think down to the wire and less then 10 days left on an incredible journey. Off to Cuenca for one last visit tomorrow for a convention and then we head home and have 4 days left. As we prepare to go home you get a realization it will cost a lot to go home. In fact I bet I could live here for several months on that cost.

Things to factor in that maybe you don't think about before coming but realize as you head home. We sold our house and now will need to rent an apartment. In Ottawa rentals run at about 1200$ a month and we will need first and last months rent. Our car we kept so thats a good thing but that being said it's been sitting for 9 months so needs some work probabky somewhere between $500-1000. And if you are going to drive you need insurance so there's another $1000 for the year. These are the basics but unfortunately there is more.

Clothing here in Ecuador is not well made and with all the walking and washing your clothes take a beating. Plus you will probably lose weight so now you need to buy clothes when you get home. And yes one final thing technology here is expensive so you are best to bring items that you don't mind selling. The nice thing about this is that the money you make selling your items you can use to buy new items back home.

One of the last factors is work. If you have a job to come home to then that's great and helps. But remember you may not have a check for 2-3 weeks after you start. If you don't have a job it's time to hit the pavement looking. At least I do have a job to go home to which helps a lot. Everything having been said is it's definitely worth the time and money to have an adventure such as this. And personally I look forward to doing it again. Maybe Mexico next time.

A Trip to the Coast

The beach in Olon

So we are back in Guayaquil at the bus station. The bus from there to the town we want to visit Olon is booked until 3 PM about 4 hrs away. We are told that we can bus from Guayaquil to Santa Elena and the hop any bus headed our direction from there. Seems like a reasonable option and it was. We arrived in Olon at about 3:30 and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and evening on the beach.

Upon arrival we checked into a small hostel called Hostel Oloncito. It was a nice little place with 7 rooms. The owner calls it a family hostel and likes to keep it that way. And where ever other hostel charged 15$ per person this owner gave the kids at half price. He didn't have a restaurant but he did have a kitchen and gave us full access to it. It was a 2 minute walk to the beach, if even. Definitely a place to stay again.

Beach in Montanita Son helping Dad at work

The beach was beautiful. I would say it rivals the beaches in Cuba. It was secluded in that it is nestled between 2 rock masses. It is cut off from Montanita which is the next town over. There are about 10 cabana's on the beach to buy food and the fruit drinks are amazing. The one stand we were using put 4 oz of rum in the glass and with fresh pineapple for your Pinacolda what more do you need, Oh yes $2.50.

Fresh Fish in the Morning

We took a day and visited Montanita. We finally found great variety in food. Anything you wanted was available it was a nice change from the usual Chicken and Rice. Although, the beach was disappointing, too many people, they wanted to charge for a chair, and all and all if your not in the party scene stay off. Many told us that this beach was well basically the drugs, sex and rock and roll capital but really I found no worse then any other place. That being said we did not stick around to see the night scene. It could very well change fast.

Keefe's Starfish

On our last day we walked the beach to the next sleepy town over and must have walk about 5 KM. it was an enjoyable walk and we found all kinds of marine life. If you want to see Sand Dollars we must have found about 50 of them. And then there are the starfish as well.


 We headed home at 6 PM. And did our trip home in reverse. We went from Montanita to Santa Elena on one bus. Then arrived with 5 minutes to spare to catch the bus to Guayaquil. We arrived in Guayaquil at 10:30 and caught the 11 PM bus to Cuenca getting home around 3 AM.

A dead turtle but a big one

Stingray on the beach

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.