The Fatboy is bound for Ecuador!!!

Some of you already know but for the rest of you I’ve got itchy feet again so it’s time to leave Belize and start an adventure somewhere else.  For the moment I’ve settled on Ecuador in South America and am spending hours every day exploring the country on the Internet and on, of all places, Facebook.  I just booked my first trip to EC for the entire month of November.  That will give me time to travel their Pacific coast cities/towns/villages slowly and look for a couple of places that I think would suit me.  Then after my Orlando Christmas trip (12/18-1/15) I’ll head back for 2 months to spend a good bit of time in the 2-3 places I like best to see if I truly like living there.  Hey you never know I may hate it and stay in Belize or look for somewhere else!  You just never know.  Hence the extended living time there before I decide.  I plan to move sometime around June or July.  Of course it will be hard leaving Kismet.  I have some great friends (especially Trish, Matt & Angie, Bruce, and Ella) and I love living right on the water.  Of course Matt and Angie will visit me in EC for sure! Matt’s open to fishing and diving anywhere.  And living here will force me to learn Spanish!!!

My feet have been itching for a while now and my joke here is that I needed somewhere warmer.  Give me 100 degrees all day every day and I’m a happy boy! And mind you I haven’t live with air conditioning since I moved here 3-3/4 years ago so that’s how much I’ve gotten used to the heat. Sadly my body has acclimated to the Belize weather and I find myself putting a top sheet on my bed at 70 degrees.  Sad isn’t it that a Chicago boy who also lived in NJ for 14 years as well and also spent almost a year in Antarctica has become sissified to the point that he has trouble handling the temperature that is considered “room temperature”?!  Maybe it’s age, maybe it’s the joint pain when the weather turns cool, or maybe it’s just that I need a different view to wake up to every morning.  Who knows?  But that started me thinking about where I saw myself over the next few years of my life.  So off to the internet in search of warmer climes and good fishing.  My requirement is always to be on or near the water so I can fish every day and supplement my food budget and a place to hang my hammock for my 2^nd favorite activity of the day.  But mostly to be outside with a fishing rod in my hands whether I’m catching or not.  Hey what warmer place than on or near the equator?  Pulled up a world map and started looking at countries along the 0 degrees latitude line?  It’s got to have a stable government so I’m not fearing a coup and have to flee.  It’s got to be at least equal to what I’ve found in Belize as far as infrastructure, food/water availability, safety, and friendly people.  Expats aren’t a requirement but a nice group of English speakers (American, Brit, and Canadian) is always a plus as long as they aren’t the dominant population, especially in a country you can’t speak the language of (yet) in case you need help.  Africa and Asia were out because of the time and cost to get back to the U.S. in case of an emergency as well as a few other issues.  That pretty much left South America.  Looking at the CIA website Ecuador was listed as a pretty safe place with a 2^nd world type infrastructure.  Hey that’s a step up from Belize! The country is about the size of Colorado with a population of 15.5 million.  In comparison BZ is about the size of NJ with a population of less than 340,000. Almost the entire western coast of EC is on the Pacific Ocean.  Fishing!!!  It’s a pretty big surfing, diving, and whale watching destination too drawing people from all over the world.  There are 2 international airports and fares to Orlando are around $500 round trip almost year round.  Their currency is the US dollar and any money deposited in a local bank is in US dollars.  That’s a really important thing for me because you don’t lose any money playing the daily exchange rate game and if and when I move again I’ll be able to close my account and get a pocket full of greenbacks.  Here in Belize my bank account is in Belize dollars.  The exchange rate is always two BZ to one US but if I need dollars I have to find someone who has them.  During the high tourist season that’s pretty easy to do but low season forget it.  So I generally keep a couple thousand US in my safe just in case.  I can get $400 a day from my bank but they charge a fee.  Depending on how often you need to do that it can be expensive. I’m going to have some work to do to clear my BZ account and convert it for free.  So a US dollar account is a really nice plus.

I also want somewhere to live that’s cheaper now that I’m living on Social Security.  Belize is one of the most expensive Central American countries to live in.  Granted I’m living on less than $1000 a month here but I’d like to do some traveling and do my annual Christmas trip back to Orlando so any way I can save on daily expenses to accomplish that I’ll take it.  Reading on various real estate websites a fully furnished 2 bedroom apartment can run as little as $250 a month including utilities.  Fruit and veggie prices are rock bottom cheap there too as compared to here.  They’ve gotten pretty expensive with tomatoes, onions, and peppers (my staples) up to $2-$3 a pound now.  They were about ½ that when I first moved here.  Buses are cheaper there too.  From what I’m being told you can expect to spend 25 cents per travel hour.  I pay $8.50 for the 3 hour trip to Belize City.  In EC that would be cut to 75 cents.  From what I've read the taxis are much cheaper as well.  But you can't always believe what you read so that's why you have to go there.  You need to experience it for yourself.

I joined a couple of websites and 2 pages on Facebook sponsored by expats living in EC where I’ve met a nice bunch of people who, like me with Belize, are willing to tell you the good AND the bad of living in their country of choice.  They have been really helpful.  I’ve been invited to contact a lot of them when I get in-country so they can show me around.  So I’m looking forward to my trip.  My flight out of Belize would have cost over $1200 so I booked on COPA Air out of Cancun (through Panama City) for $738.  I’ll have to spend another $84 round trip on the first class Mexican ADO bus but that still saves me almost $400 that I can spend on accommodations and food in EC.

My route will take me along what is called the “Ruta del Sol” all along the coast.  I’m flying into Guayaquil which is on sort of the southern coast and will head north from there.  I’m using the buses instead of spending the $1500+ to rent a car.  I like the chicken buses anyway because they will travel into each place and I’ll get a quick feeling if it’s interesting enough to get off and spend some time.  I found a website that gives a description of a bunch of the towns along the route with places to stay and eat so that’s going to be helpful.  But to use it I have to have internet access.  So I created an excel spreadsheet with a tab for each of the 3 coastal provinces that I want to visit (there are 4 but 1 is too remote) where I’ve listed places that look promising with a list of recommended places to stay and to eat in each village, town, and city in the province. It will give me a starting point and I’ll be updating it as I travel through each region.   I mentioned it on Facebook and I’m being asked to post it after my trip for others to use.

I already have my Fatboy In Ecuador email address all set up…

So that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!  As always practice peace.  Fatboy In Belize…out!!!