October 25- Submitting our Documents for our Residency Visa

Today we met our lawyer at the   Extranjeria Office to submit our application for our residency visas. As explained in my September post, we are each applying for our own Investor's Visa.

We finally had all of the following required papers:

1.Criminal record granted by the authority of the place you have been living on the last 5 years, dully apostilled and translated into Spanish, the translator must recognized the signature before a Notary. We had gotten an RCMP record and had it translated, notarized and then legalized at the Ecuadorian Consulate in Toronto ( no apostilling).

2.Closing Deed, original, duly registered. We were using our condo for the required $25,000 each for the investors' visa.

3.Certificate from the Real estate Registrar granted no more than 30 days before the application is submitted. We had been waiting for this document which Sebastian had ordered on October 5th and which arrived yesterday.

4.Municipal Land Tax 2012 .We gave Sebastian our copy received when we paid our taxes last February.
 

5. The 'Movimientos Migratorios‏' which we had gotten with Sebastian's help on Oct.19th.

      Sebastian had put them all in the correct order in a separate manila envelope for each of us. We then filled out and signed an application form listing our names, citizenship, father's and mother's names etc. We then lined up to get a number and when our number was called, went up each to our own booth ( with Sebastian going between to handle any questions etc) and handed the official our manila folder along with our passport.

    There was a question concerning why we were applying in Quito when our condo was in Salinas ( if living in Salinas we should apply in Guayaquil) but we had used our Quito rental as our address so the officials agreed and continued checking the rest of our documents. No other errors were found, they stamped each document and put our information into the computer. After we both paid the $30 for the application, they gave each of us a computer printout signed by them that listed our application etc. and returned our passports.

     There were no other questions even though in Uwe's case, one document showed his middle name and all others did not.

     So now we wait to hear when they are approved. If there are other questions, Sebastian will handle them.

 

   

October 22 - 23- Visit to Banos & staying in hotel La Casa Verde

The bus we had taken from Quito ( after one change in Ambato) arrived in Banos 4 hours after we had gotten on. The scenery between Ambato and Banos had been quite spectacular- huge cloud-covered mountains & volcanos on both sides.

The main bus station is near the beginning of town and we did have directions to the   B & B where we had reserved a room for the night-La Casa Verde.

http://www.lacasaverde.com.ec/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g312857-d1379770-Reviews-La_Casa_Verde_Eco_Hostel-Banos_Tungurahua_Province.html

We took a taxi- this hotel was about 2 kilometers from the bus station and we were pooped.  After a short ride and a $2 taxi , we arrived.

La Casa Verde was a little ways away from town, something we definitly wanted seeing that we were presently living in the center of Quito with all it's accompanying noise of buses, dogs etc. We wanted quiet, and this place really delivered.

Rebecca, one of the owners, greeted us and showed us around the common areas.
                                   Here is the breakfast area- breakfast included in room price.

 

And a common area for TV or movies

 

She gave us some literature re things to see,do and restaurants etc, plus a map of town. We then went up to our room to unpack and relax.

A nice big comfortable bed with windows facing two directions.

 

Some of the views from our balcony

 

 

I was in heaven!!!

 

After finishing a cold cervaza ( available in the common fridge), we decided to take a walk into town.  We started out on a small one lane path.

 

Finally coming into town.

 

There were several blocks of very touristy shops, restaurants and travel agencies. Banos is  very close to the Amazon rain forest- yes, a portion of that is in Ecuador- and tourists arrange and go there from Banos.

 

We had also read that there was a Brew Pub in Banos and if you are at all familiar with us or our Blog, you know how Uwe loves Brew Pubs and good beer- both of which are almost impossible to find in Ecuador!

Well we found it and as you will note on the picture, the door was open.

 

Until we were almost at the door. Then some drunk shirtless person closed the metal door in our faces! Can you believe it. We were at the door and they closed it.

Not very nice and can't quite understand as it was supposed to open at 3PM and we got there at 4PM??? I think I'll put a comment in TripAdvisor- so there.

 

We walked around a bit more- we were starving having not eaten since breakfast. There were several choices of restaurants and even though our hearts had been set on pub food, we settled on a cute Italian restaurant. Uwe had canneloni and I had ravioli, both very good or was it because we were ravenous.

 

The next morning we joined our fellow guests for breakfast. One was a couple our age , he was originally from England, she from the USA who had met while working in Canada and now owned a B & B in Costa Rica and were travelling around Ecuador. The other was a young couple who were on the last leg of an around the world trip. They were from Australia and had been throughout Europe- Norway, Germany, England, France, Italy, Croatia and then east Asia such as Thailand, Malasia and then to North America and then Ecuador before going home. Wow, was I jealous! So young and already world travellers.

 

For our last trek around Banos, we went for a short hike to the Chamana Falls. The directions were in the literature Rebecca had given us and were in the opposite direction to town. We walked along the main road till we got to a bridge, second road to the right and ( guess!!!) another 1.5 KM straight up a steep one lane road.

Uphill hiking is our life. Luckily for us there was quite a bit of shade as the sunshine was hot and we were still at 6000' above sea level We finally arrived at the last turn and saw the waterfall.

 

 

 

We both rested on the covered bridge from where we had an excellent view.

 

From this location you could also see the Volcano Tungurahua which is an active volcano that last erupted in 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tungurahua
                      Today it looked very benign with it's top hidden in the clouds.

We left Banos at 11AM by taxi ( one way $80) because we were tired ( and dare I say put off with buses) with a young Ecuadorian driver who spoke no English. Whoohoo, another chance to practice our Spanish.

We took some pictures of the volcano Cotopaxi, which has not been active since 1877,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotopaxi
but though at the equator, has a crown of snow- amazing!

 

 

October 22- Taking the bus to the town of Banos

Since we were spending a month in the northern part of Ecuador, I wanted to do more than just hang around Quito especially since we had accomplished doing my bucket list.

We had both always wanted to visit Banos, a small touristy town south of Quito.
http://wikitravel.org/en/Ba%C3%B1os

This time Uwe wanted to take a taxi but I talked him into taking the trolley to the main bus station in the south of Quito and taking the bus to Banos from there.  We took the green trolley south from Cumunda station ( a short walk from our apartment).We could not find the Quitumbe station on the map at the trolley station but were assured by the ticket taker that this trolley did indeed go there- not! We ended up at El Recreo station where everyone had to get off. Looking around quite lost like stupid gringos, we finally saw a sign that directed us to another platform entirely to catch the trolley to Quitumbe, which was a fairly new bus station. On the way there, we passed several other stations not on the map which had obviouly not been revised for a couple of years.

We finally got to the very modern bus station and following the directions I got from another Blog, went up the stairs where there were many ticket booths of the various bus companies going to many different cities. We went to the booth for the company
most recommended where no change in buses to our destination was required. This is the recommended list in order of preference.

1. Transportes Baños - Yellow & red bus
2. Expresso Baños: Yellow & red bus
3. Amazonas: Blue & white bus
4. San Francisco: Yellow-orange bus

The tickets were $3.50/each and we proceeded to where the buses came in to pick up passengers. All was very clean and modern. The ticket showed the bus number, the time it was leaving and our assigned seats. What it did not show was the spot number that the bus would be parked at- there were 32 different spots altogether. We had to ask several people and after a couple of incorrect directions, we finally found the correct location.

 

After a short wait our bus arrived and we left within 5 minutes of the posted departure time.

 

We only had our carry-on and my camera bag so took everything unto the bus with us. The driver tried to tell me not to put anything under my seat but under the seats in front ( I wish I had listened more closely- more on this later). We put our carry-on under the seat in front and my camera bag between my feet.

The total bus ride was suposed to be 3 1/2 hours so we saw a lot of the countryside on our way. There is no such thing as an express bus- we stopped whenever/wherever to pickup and drop off passengers. Some only came on for a short while to sell food/ice cream/news papers. We also left the highway and went into the downtown bus stops of several cities along the way making the trip seem much longer. All in all this was not the most scenic ride except possibly the road just south of Quito and the section between Ambato and Banos.

In Ambato we were suddenly told to change buses even though we were to ride the same bus all the way to Banos. We quickly tried to get our belongings back in our bags- we'd been reading and Uwe had his Ipod out. As I hurried to the next bus I noticed my camera case was halfway open! What the f#%k!

As we found seats in the next bus I put the camera case on my lap and opened it up.

My $400 plus SLR Sony camera was gone along with my change purse with approximatly $10 in it! What wasn't stolen was my new telephoto lense, our cell phone and $100 in bills that I had in another side pocket. Imagine, while the case was between my  feet , these clever thieves made off with a rather large bulky camera and some money.

This is the first time in many many years of travelling that anything has ever been stolen from us and only this time because of my own stupidity. Live and learn, oh gringo stupido!

 

 

 

 

October 20- A trip up the Gondola to Teleferico

The last thing on my bucket list to do in Quito was to go up in the Gondola to the mountain in the west part of the city called Teleferico ( I'm assuming the name was due to many TV, radio etc towers on top- much like South Mountain in Phoenix). We had to wait for a clear sunny day and this was it.

My idea had been to take a taxi but Uwe decided we needed the exercise of walking part way so we took the trolley. We got off at Colon station and according to our map, it was maybe a 1 1/2 KM walk to the Gondola station. Oh boy, oh boy were we wrong!!!!

Leaving Colon Station, we walked uphill ( not so steep) for that 1 1/2 km as shown on our map- no big deal. When we got as far as our map showed- no Gondola! We asked a few people we met on the street ' Donde esta Teleferico?' and were directed several more blocks up more winding roads. We finally arrived at a place where we saw a sign for Teleferico showing a road leading yet further up.

Remember our post back in Panama re our climb back up from Romeo Y Julietta? Yes, this was even worse. The road became progressivly steeper. At every turn we expected to see the entrance but,no, only another few hundred metres and yet another turn in the road as many taxis filled with far wiser people passed us.

We finally, finally got to the parking lot and could see our destination up several flights of stairs. Did I also mention that we were now up to an altitude of over 11000'!

           Just above the parking lot, there was a free amusement park for the children.

 

When we arrived at the ticket booth for the gondola, there was now a large line-up to actually get on. Each gondola held 6 people. We bought our tickets $7.50/person and went into the lineup. After giving the attendent our tickets, we were directed into the express line, passed the entire group, and ended up at the head of the line!

This had happened to us before when we had lined up at the bank. It seems that in Ecuador, senior citizens can go to the head of the line! Whoopee- finally something good about getting old.

 

We started up up to the 13,000' level at the top.

 

Passing other gondolas going down.

 

Once at the top there were incredulous views in all directions. Quito looked huge!

 

 

 

 
           The view the other way showed a volcano you could hike too- no way!

 

And lots of mountain bikers actually took the gondola up to ride down much like at Blue Mountain.

 

At the cafe where we enjoyed a much needed cervaza and hot dog, we met another older couple passing through Quito on their way to the Galapagos. They had worked for the Peace Corp in Northern Africa before their retirement and were now exploring South America. Did I mention that one of the high points of our travels was meeting all these like-minded people and exchanging travel stories!

 

 

 

October 18- Getting our Movimientos Migratorios‏

Yet another form that is required in the package for our Visa application is the 'Movimientos Migratorios‏'. This is a record of your comings and goings into Ecuador. My assumption is that the beaurocrats just want to check that you didn't overstay any of your previous visits- LOL

Anyway, for this important piece of paper you must apply personally and you only require your passport. In our case our lawyer Sebastian came with us, mostly because our Spanish is so inadequate.

We were to meet him at 10AM at the Extranjeria Office located at Av. 6 de Diciembre y la Niña, on block south of Multicentro. We rode the trolley to get there having found the location with no problem on our city map. We were there early and so was Sebastian.

After going in, lining up to get a number, we waited only a few minutes until our number was called. Sebastian told the woman at the window what we needed and handed her our passports. You probably think this is going pretty smoothly but we are forgetting that this is Ecuador!!!

Even though the sign above her window clearly said 'Movimientos Migratorios', she told us that her computer did not have this information and directed us to another building in a totally different location of the city!

Luckily for us, Sebastian had his car parked nearby. After a reasonably short drive in horrendous traffic to Av Amazones, finding another parking lot and walking a couple of blocks, we arrived at the second building- another government location, no name on the front and in much worse repair than the previous address. Again we got a number, waited maybe 15 minutes and then were called up to deal with yet another government employee and her computer. And yea, she could get us our required document. In less than 5 minutes, we had our pieces of paper duly stamped. We paid the required $5 each , gave them to Sebastian to put with the rest of our pile and were free to find our way back home.

Now we were still waiting for one more document required- our updated registration papers from Salinas regarding our condo which we were using for our investars visas. Sebastian is hoping it will arrive early next week and we can meet back to the Extranjeria Office , meet with the official in charge and hand over all of our documentation so that our visa process can finally begin. Patience, patience........

October 15 to 20- Week 3 in Quito

Every Monday morning at 11AM, a 'Changing of the Guard' ceremony is held at the Plaza Grande in front of the Presidential Palace. This particular Monday was  bright and sunny so we thought it a perfect time to check out this famous happening.

                      Plaza Grande is a huge plaza only a few blocks from our apartment.

Of course there were many people , Quito natives plus the odd gringo, aleady there.
                                        Many younger school kids were also invited .

 

Pretty cute!

 

This is how children from baby to around 5 are carried by their mothers. A shawl is all that is required!

 

The ceremony started promptly at 11AM and I had my camera ready. First the band came marching and playing.

                         Then the horses with soldiers came riding past.

 

And then the actual guards men marched past us as well.

 

 

The Ecuadorian flag was raised on the Flagpole over the Palace.

 

And El Presidente waved to his loyal followers! The man waving in the middle.

 

Aftwards we walked home through some very crowded streets.

 

We sometimes shop at a large grocery store called SuperMaxi. Our family somehow thought that just because we are very far south that Christmas is forgotten here.

No so at all, the same eartly Christmas trees- remember it's only October!

 

 

Later that week, we finally went out to dinner at one of the many local restaurants near our apartment. It was very pretty and totally empty but for us.

 

I had a really delicious rib dinner! Yummy.

 

Plus good beer & wine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 12-13- A Climb up to the Watch tower of the Iglesia de La Basilica

I rarely mention anything highly personal on my BLOG but on Friday October 12th, a most wonderful event occurred! My great Grandbaby, Victoria Faith, came into this world at 8 lbs. Yes, I'm a GG ( Great Grandma). It will be a few months till I get to meet her but thanks to the internet I can see her often.

Now on to more normal BLOG news.

On Saturday we walked the 10 to 12 blocks to the giant church that we had seen and read about. We had heard that you could climb up the huge bell tower and get another excellent view of the city. The view of the Iglesia de La Basilica as we got closer.

                                It is a huge church, the largest in the Americas!
             http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bas%C3%ADlica_del_Voto_Nacional

It took us several walks around the bottom before we found the entrance to the tower  where we had to buy tickets- $2/person.
                      Some of the many intricate gargoyles along the paremeter.

For the more faint of heart or those not in shape to walk up the many many flights of stairs, there is an elevator available.
About half way up, there was a large gallery where you could watch the religous service presently underway.

 

The church had many many beautiful huge stained glass windows.

 

A few floors further there were some souvenir shops and a restaurant where we had a beer on our way back down.

 

 

 

 The rest of the way up was even trickier.

The last staircase to the top.

                                                     And our final objective!

 

 

The views from the top outdoor gallery were pretty incredible- 360 degrees of Quito.

 

 

And yet another thing crossed off my bucket list in Quito.