Oct.9 to Oct.15- Week 2 in Salinas, Ecuador

Our Sunday, yet another cloudy day- haven't seen the sun yet- started with a walk down the Malecon to find an International Cabina to call home. Though we do have a cell phone, there does not seem to be any international calling cards for sale. So we do what the natives do, go to an Internet Cafe  and call in an International Call cabina- very cheap. I was having some problem getting through on a Sunday, maybe all the trunk lines tied up with other calls to North Amercica?, however I did get through and talked with my Mom for awhile. She is the only one of my family not on the internet so weekly phone calls are required. Total cost of call= $1.45.

Next we took a walk to spend time at Score Sports Bar- another weekly requirement on Sundays for my husband, the football fan. We were hoping to have lunch there but on Sundays, Will, the owner, only plans a late afternoon meal. In this case barbecued ribs were my choice so we spent the afternoon drinking beer, watching both our Winners' Pool bets lose, and chatting with other Expats gathered there.

                                             Front of Score Sports Bar

Will, the owner, cooking up the amazing ribs!

Deana, a university student, is the Sunday bartender

We also went to the Lavandaria ( laundry) to drop off our weeks' worth of dirty clothes. These are priced by weight and our 3 large bags came to $4.65 which included all our shirts/shorts/jeans/towels.

                                 Our local grocery store just a block from our apartment.

We met another expat couple during one of our many condo shopping trips and ran into them once again along the road ( because there are so few Expats here you will always run into someone you have met before it seems). We agreed to meet Connie and Darvin for lunch. This couple, we learned, had checked out several condos to purchase for their home entirely on their own- no real estate agents. They speak some Spanish and have mostly avoided the expat community choosing friends among the locals instead. We were quite envious. They also explained their experiences in registering their 12 IX visa, something we will have the pleasure ( NOT) of doing next week. I'll probably dedicate an entire post on that experience!

During this week we also took a taxi ( $2.50) to the only mall in Salinas- El Paseo. This was a large modern mall with various clothes, pharmacy, appliance, jewellery stores much like our malls back home. There was also a huge super market/ home depot combined store where along with a great variety of food you could also purchase discounted new appliances, floor tiles, any kind of building/renovation supply and department store stuff- clothes, towels etc.

                                    A small portion of the new El Paseo Mall

On Friday, the sun actually came out for the entire afternoon- the beach took on a wonderful new look! And my sun starved mood improved 100%.

 

And More

This is a very small world! On Saturday, new tenants moved into the apartment next to us, Gary, his wife Edit and 17 year old daughter, Barbara, from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada!!! The city right beside our original home town Toronto. These fellow gypsies, much like us, also own no stuff- other than what is packed into their suitcases- and are travelling around the world looking to maybe settle down.

And yet another observation. In the two weeks we have been here we have met more potential good friends and have had a more active social life- lunch with Connie & Darvin, dinner with Kim & Hector, visits with Gary & Edit- then we ever had that early on in our adopted city of Phoenix, AZ.