Thursday, May 7, 2015

April 30 to May 6- Visit to the Chocolate Farm & an afternoon of Sailing

We did two wonderful new trips during this visit of our friends from home, Di & Murray.

The first was a tour I have always wanted to go on, the Chocolate Farm Hacienda El Castillo http://www.haciendaelcastillo.ec/home.php

We hired Victor who has a 7 person van to take 6 of us on this trip. His email is victorcolorado85@yahoo.com

This farm is located about an hour and a half from Chipipe just past the exit to Progreso from the main highway to Guayaquil. We arrived around 11AM and after a delicious chocolate juice drink (and yes, they do make juice out of the pulp surrounding the cacao seed) plus some rum, we were taken on a tour of the beautiful hacienda house.




Beautiful huge rooms are available to rent for a night or two of tranquility.

A guide took us on a tour of the Chocolate Farm. This walk lasts about an hour along paths that could be quite muddy if you come just after the rain. The guide only spoke Spanish so bring an interpreter with you if required. And, as we found out, please bring bug spray as the little buggers were in fine biting form.

                                            We saw the cacao trees

Checked out the inside of the seed pod- and yes the pulp surrounding the seed was yummy

                        We saw where the seeds were dried

And where they were crushed and molded into the finished chocolate product.



We all bought several bars, both 55% & 70% dark chocolate- delicioso!

We had decided to treat ourselves to lunch at the hacienda. The tour cost was $15 person and was only in Spanish. Our driver, Victor, translated for us. The total cost for 7 persons including lunch was $34/each- not a cheap trip.

                                   Lunch on the beautiful patio

                                          Our motley crew



The second trip we took with our friends plus another couple who live here in Salinas was a Sailing trip on a two masted 54’ sail boat for 4 hours one beautiful afternoon.

Arnaud ,our captain, was a wonderful host, and ran the whole boat by himself while we ate snacks, drank beer & wine and watched the incredible scenery.


We had booked it for 6 of us-see his web site  http://arnaudchandesais.wix.com/phoenixtravel
Or email him at  phoenix_travel@hotmail.com

Some of the wonderful scenery- Salinas from a different view




                                          Our group of friends






                                  And the captain entertained us with music



If you are into sailing with none of the work, this is a fun trip to take with a group of friends!

Saturday, May 2, 2015

April 24- The Bad and the Ugly about Ecuador

Most of my Blogs and the Blogs of most everyone else,  concern themselves with only the good things about Ecuador so I thought it was time I wrote  about the seamier side, the under belly of the city and the country we live in. Now don’t get me wrong, we still love it here and we do not want Ecuador to become a little North America. However there are definitely many things that are not so great that you have to learn to live with.

Now I've already written on previous occasions about the garbage ( has gotten much better since we have a new mayor), the feral dogs & cats, the uneven sidewalks, open manholes etc etc. So far 4 of my friends have broken arms tripping on the uneven pavement plus 1 broke her hip, At all times, defensive walking is required!

As well, we know several people who have been victims of robbery in their home or experienced pick-pockets around town. We have also had our camera stolen while riding on the bus. Like everywhere you might travel, you must be aware of your surroundings and careful with your possessions.

Several couples that we know well, have lived here beyond the ‘honeymoon phase’ and after 6 months or sometimes more than a year, they have decided to return to their home country sometimes after selling everything there to come to Ecuador originally. Their reasons include sick parents needing help, heath reasons, missing grand kids, missing living in an English speaking country, too humid, too hot.all good reasons for returning home. Just be sure to do your homework concerning life here- read Blogs, Facebook Ecuador groups etc and spend some extended time visiting here before selling all you own in your home country and taking the plunge.

Ok, so here we go. First of all the climate here on the coast from Salinas north to probably past Crucita is definitely not what you expect in a country on the equator. The good news is that  throughout  the High Season- December to end of April/May- the temperatures range from 25 to 35C and the days are almost always sunny. Even though February to April are supposed to be the rainy season, it falls mostly at nights leaving the days sunny and hot. The only downside of this season are the crowds that come to the beach during the school vacation of March/April  and the sea weed that plagues our beaches for a few weeks.

Now for the bad news. The summer months- June to the end of November-are almost always cloudy, no rain just clouds and not cold, around 18-22C. The sun rarely shows it’s face to the point we have come close to the ‘Sad Disease’ a few times LOL. Of course, those are some of the months we pick to visit our friends and family back in Canada.

Next, the Ecuadorian government has made some strange decisions. On the Federal level, a new tax (5% to 45%) has been attached to 2800 imported items. This has a great impact on not just our wine and many other purchases but also on the livelyhood of the local people. Construction work is good employment but with new taxes on construction materials, this activity will definitely slow down as prices increase. As well, these taxes may inhibit renovations of older condo & houses- again causing problems for construction workers. On the local level, the beach vendors can no longer sell beer on the beaches along the coast of Santa Elena province. Only Salinas has so far been exempted. Big brother North American rules are raising their ugly heads here,

Next, prices have changed considerably since we arrived here 3 ½ years ago. Condo prices especially along the beaches have almost doubled and of course renovation prices are adversely affected by the new taxes. Restaurant prices have also risen. No more almuerzos(lunch) for $2- think $3.50 and up for this typical Ecuadorian lunch. The huge influx of gringos- both permanent and visitors-are affecting prices in all those cities popular with expats like Cuenca, Salinas, Manta etc.
Though we can and are adjusting, the local Ecuadorians are having problems with these increases as the minimum salary per month is still $350. As told to my friend Juanita, we,in some cases ‘are stealing their dreams’.

And lastly there are those gringos who have decided to own businesses here and now face various problems. One couple own a bar/restaurant and paid much money in renovations. Now, they would like to sell the business because they would like to be much less busy and enjoy their retirement. The problem is that they have tried to sell this business for over one year and no buyer.
And yet one more couple had a very successful bar/disco with a very busy client base of both gringos and Ecuadorians. They were checked by the police one evening. A law rarely enforced that requires everyone to carry identification was forced on everyone at the bar that evening. Twenty-eight persons including a sixty-seven year old woman, were found to have no ID with them. The bar owners were fined by the judge, first several thousand dollars but then only a few hundred. When they refused to pay the fine thinking it was yet another bribe, their place was closed permanently and all eight of their Ecuadorian employees lost their jobs and we lost our favorite bar!

So these are some of the not so good things about our adopted country but as noted many times previously, those of us who are adventurous and patient, still love our new home.