Needless to say, our company walked into a major construction site- workmen all over, 2 guest beds on one of the balconys, drills screeching- OMG. So much for all the cleaning I had done in anticipation of their visit. This construction went on till well after 5PM with more to come the next day.
We walked to the Malecon that evening and enjoyed a wonderful seafood dinner in a nice open-air restaurant away from our construction blues .
Next day was beach time. The weather now is perfect beach weather- sunny and hot.
And we did take a few walks along the beach to both people watch and get a bit of exercise.
Uwe and the girls- oops, I mean Women
Boushra, Brent & Cody
The group of lazy Expats under our Cabana
Oh, what a life!!!!
That evening we did a group cook at our condo. Boushra did mid-eatern chicken with tomatoes, onion, yogurt in a pita all with Cody's excellent help. I did my signature Ceasar salad and Uwe & Brent helped plus kept us supplied in vino.
The kitchen crew
We had a most excellent dinner seating outside watching yet another sunset.
The next day, Saturday, we had invited a few more friends over for a farewell party for our good friends, Gary and Edit, Canadians from Hamilton, Ontario, who were flying home on March 1.
Me, Uwe, Edit & Gary
We invited about 11 people with a couple more arriving during the evening. Cody made some yummy guacamole, Boushra made incredible tasting brouchetta , and I heated up a bunch of deli bought appetizers. Everything was obviously good as it quickly disappeared. We had some great discussions and Eddie kept everyone entertained with his insights to Ecuadorian life.
Uwe, Eddie, me, Lars and Paola
Elsie, Lorie, Boushra, Paola and Dave
Gary, Brent & Cody
Two tall guys and one slightly shorter- LOL
We all had a great time and this late afternoon cocktail party lasted till past ten- pretty late for this old fart!
On a more serious note to all potential expats to Ecuador. If you think you might like to live here, do come down and give it a trial run . Though we have lots of expats and many positives, this is a third world country with all it's third world problems- bad government, a generally poorer population with many slums, garbage, wild dogs, unsafe drinking water etc etc.
If you do not enjoy the latin culture and want to only to bring North America to Ecuador, this is not the place for you. Our friends who are now leaving Ecuador after living here since September passed the honeymoon period and the negatives of this country became more than they wanted to deal with. Please be aware! Even those of us who love Ecuador go through periods of depression ( small though they be) tiring of Spanish, long lines in banks etc and the general bureaucracy of any dealings we have to suffer through.
On Sunday morning, four of us decided to get a taxi to take us to Chocolateria- the furthest westerly point in South America- just a short drive from our condo.
I had been there previously with Eddie and Paola but you can never get tired of the scenic surf. More opportunity for photos!
Our group
For dinner, the five of us decided to go to Will's Score Sports bar . He and his partner Wendy who also have a hostel in the same location http://hostalaqui.com/ were having an Oscar night and serving his famous barbecued spare ribs and southern fried chicken along with smashed potatoes and green beans- yummy! This is a Salinas Expat hangout and a great place for comfort food from home.
I had been in touch with a fellow Canadian, Jamie, in an Exblog internet site and she and her husband John happened to be near Salinas that weekend and we had agreed to meet at Will's. You meet the nicest people at these sites!
Jamie and her husband John
And a few other Canadians & Americans
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