My 1st week living in Ecuador

Things have been moving along here in San Clemente quite swimmingly since I moved here a mere 8 days ago.  As I stated in my last post about my time in Orlando things have been falling into place for me to begin my new adventure here.  I expected to be batted in the head at some point by Murphy’s Law bit that has not been the case and I am so pleased.

First I want to thank 4 people who have made my move so easy to this point.  First is Heinz, the man that I rented from when I came for my 45 day “living” stay in Feb/Mar, made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.  I had emailed him to see if the apartment was available again and he told me no but that I was welcome to stay in a room in his house as long as I needed to while I looked for a place, and for free.  I’ve been very comfortable here and will actually hate to leave.

Second is John & Mary who befriended me 1^st on an Ecuador Expats page before I even arrived in Ecuador the 1^st time back in November and who have helped me so much in a number of ways from then until now.  When I left Ecuador in March they stored everything that I’d brought with me from Belize so that it was less that I had to move as well as the few household items that I bought while living in the apartment.  They took me to all the shopping areas so I was familiar with where to buy my fruits and veggies as well as the 2 big grocery stores where I could buy everything else.  You have no idea how big a help that was to me.

Lastly to David who agreed to help me obtain my Retiree Residency Visa.  As I obtained the necessary documents in the U.S. I had them scanned in and I emailed them to him to have them translated into Spanish so everything would be in order when I got there.  I only had 15 days left on my initial 90 day visa so I wanted to have everything ready so I could jump right into that process.  He also made a visit to one of the offices to ensure that the police background check that I obtained was sufficient for their needs. Had it not been I was looking at another 45 days or so in the states while I waited for an FBI background check. The FBI website said the request would take 28 calendar days and then I figured that it would take up to 2 more weeks while I sent it off to the U.S. Secretary of State office in Virginia.  But my FL County Sheriff’s Office was sufficient. So anyway, seven days after I arrived in country he took me to Manta where we visited the offices that I needed to visit for additional documentation, approvals, and notary stamp and finally to the office where I submitted my application for residency.  His knowledge of the process made it so easy for me that when he asked how difficult the process was on a scale of one to ten with one being the least I told him that it was a zero.  I had all of my paperwork in hand and approved within 2-3/4 hours.  Now I have to wait up to 30 days for the paperwork to make its way through the bureaucracy and for the call to return to have my visa entered into my passport.  Within 30 days after that I have to apply for my Cedula (the paper that all Ecuadorians and resident expats have to carry) and he will help me with that too.  He also took me to see several houses and apartments that he knew were for rent in an effort to find a place to call home.  Without these people I would have been in knocking my head against the wall for quite a while in order to get to the point that I am now.

Now on to what I’ve been up to since arriving on the 7^th.  When I arrived at the airport in Guayaguil I was met by Ramon, who’d driven me around in Feb on various errands, and driven to San Clemente.  Instead of having to spend a night in a hotel there and taking a 5 hour bus trip the next day I was in Casa Punta Bikini within 3-1/2 hours of arriving in the country.  Next was beginning the process of searching for a new home.  A day or 2 after arriving, and resting up from my trip, I met Ingo at Heinz’ house, who was renting the apartment below.  He took me around to a couple tiendas (small stores) and asked the owners if they knew of any houses for rent.  We saw a few that were well below the standards that I set and then we met a man who Ingo told that I was looking for a “gringo style” home.  He took us down a small street and though a gate.  I immediately felt at home and that this was the house that I wanted.  It’s a 2 story brick home built in the last 2 years or so.  The downstairs was a large open sitting area and kitchen with a ½ bath.  I immediately saw the possibilities!  The upstairs was completely tiled and had 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms with a large balcony on the front of the house.  All the bedrooms have double beds and sliding glass doors to the balcony.  We called the owner and made arrangements for him to come to town to discuss price on Saturday.  Saturday came and he and his wife arrived and we discussed monthly rental.  He started out high and we started low.  The most I wanted to pay was $400.  He started at $500.  Ingo spoke for me since my Spanish language skills are still close to nil.  The conversations on both sides were pretty animated at times and I figured that there was no chance for an agreement.  But we talked some more and his wife became the primary for their side of the discussion.  We assured him that I wasn’t a gringo that was going to fill the house with people and have constant parties.  Me, I’m looking for a nice quiet life just like I lived these past years in Belize.  So anyway I had Ingo give him my final offer and they said they would go home and discuss it together.  Today, Sunday, in the midst of the Soccer World Cup, that has the streets quiet and deserted here since Saturday, Ingo received the call that they accepted my offer.  So we are to meet this week and sign a contract.  I should be moving in in July 1^st and I’m a happy Fatboy!

This being South America soccer is a religion.  Everyone, including the expats, plan to sit in front of TVs at home, in friend’s homes, and bars to watch the 3 games a day for the next couple of weeks.  I’ve never been a big fan of soccer but I sat with Heinz and saw my 1^st ever full soccer game on Saturday.  Actually I watched all 4 of them.  Today we watched the Ecuador match against Switzerland and I was as disappointed as everyone in San Clemente, and I’m sure all of Ecuador, when the home team lost their match.  Heinz decided that he wanted to BBQ ribs and potato salad so we made the early morning trip to Charapato for the meat and veggies.  I love that place.  What an experience.  I’d been there several times when I was here last so was excited to go.  Anyway, between games we ate dinner and headed back to the TV for game 2 after we were done.  A few minutes later Ingo came up this the good news about the house.  Now I’m a soccer fan and am on cloud 9 about having a place to call home soon.

Most, if not all of you, know I was having blood pressure issues while I was in the states.  As a matter of fact I’m in Ecuador against my doctor’s advice.  But I assured them that as soon as I left the country and got back to Ecuador it would drop. I told him that my BP wasn’t an issue in Belize as I had it monitored there the entire time I lived there and that it was only a problem when I was back in the states with all the stresses of normal that affected me when I was there.  Well it dropped almost 90 points as soon as I got here.  Now with the stress points of obtaining my visa and finding a house it will drop more.  I’ll monitor my pressure for another week and then contact him with the results and possibly reduce the amount of medicine that I’m taking to control it.  My peaceful and stress free life here will be nothing but beneficial to my health and wellbeing as I resume my fishing and laying in my hammock.

So that’s how my 1^st week living permanently in Ecuador closed out.