Oct.23 to Oct.30- Final Week in Salinas- Maybe?

Our final week here turned out to be the least active as far as travels go and -woohoo- the sunniest. As well, much like Italy, we started getting into a routine- reading emails & news with coffee, doing our exercises and taking our Spanish lessons. Every 4 to 5 days we'd go to the Mercado to get our fruit & veggies for approximately $5 for enough strawberries, apples, oranges, bananas, peppers, carrots, onions, garlic etc to last till the next trip. And most days we'd walk to the local grocery store to get milk, yogurt, water, coffee, wine, beer and whatever meat/fish we'd decided to cook that evening for a fraction of what we paid in Canada. If we went out for lunch we'd cook for dinner and visa versa.

Sunday of course we went to the Sports Bar, but Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday were sunny so we finally hit the beach.
The first day we sat at the main beach with Edit and Gary. And of course beer gets delivered to your chair.

Plus there are always lots of activities to watch.

Barbara taking a seadoo ride.

                               The next day we went to Chipipe beach- our favourite.
                                      What! me with another beer.

And swimming in amazingly clear water

And we got to watch a bit of an air show with the navy practicing.

Now of course when the helicopters started approaching the beach, Uwe was waiting for the Apocalypse Now music before we would have made a run for it-LOL

This beach is so wide and clean with way less people

It's like having your own private paradise! We had several beer delivered cold for $1.25 each, some great vendor food- fish & plantains wrapped in banana leaf, and a pastry full of cheese and meat- $1 each- enough to do both of us for lunch.

And this is how they get their fishing boats in & out of the water.

And finally into the water

And some singers/guitarists entertaining the people next to us

One night during this week we went out to dinner with Edit & Gary to a barbecue place they had discovered. You had to pick your choice of meat- chicken/pork/beef/ shrimps. They came with beans and rice. You could also pick mashed potatoes done on the barbecue- amazing- and a corn paddy grilled much like a potatoe pancake and a grilled banana & cheese. We had a dish each plus the potatoe, banana and corn paddy plus 2 beer for a total cost for 4 of us of $18.

The griller

The happy customers

On Friday the four of us went for Happy Hour at one of the local bars- Cranberries- and had 2 margaritas each for Gary, Edit & I and Uwe had 2 gin & tonics- total cost for all $11. You gotta love the prices.

Edit and I with our margaritas- not bad once Gary helped the bartender with the ratio of ingredients.

 

Afterwards we went for yet another excellent meal at another restaurant.

 Pescado Apanado- breaded fish 

 

Carne Apanado- breaded beef- both $4 a plate- no wonder we eat out every day- cheaper than cooking.

Fishing is a big part of both the local economy plus tourist activity. This was a huge one freshly caught  that we saw walking while along the Malecon.

Next week off to Cuenca and the mountains of Ecuador.

 

Oct.16 to 22- Week 3 in Salinas, Ecuador

On Sunday we went again to the Score Sports Bar- Uwe needed his football fix of course.
This time we took our Canadian couple, Gary & Edit and their daughter Barbara with us. Since we didn't arrive as early this time, there were lots of other expats there already and of course, more new friends to meet and another delicious barbecued meal.

As you have already read, Tuesday was our trip to Guayaquil. After our 12IX Visa ordeal we went to the Malecon. The Malecon was very long and very beautiful, clean and scenic.

And more

And then some

We had lunch finally ( hadn't eaten since before 6AM that morning) at a very cute place on the Malecon. And of course a cerveza was required to celebrate our achievement.

Me and my new buddy, Eddy

Later that week Uwe & I took a cab to the Malecon in a nearby city called La Libertad.

Here is a street scene near the Malecon

You may have noticed that every city on the ocean or river has a Malecon.

We walked up and down this one. It was filled mainly with students on their lunch hour- very few gringos in La libertad

We watched a fishing boat bring in a load of freshly caught fish and then try to move them into a waiting truck. Though I tried, I didn't get any pictures of the frigate birds diving down and stealing the fish right out of the baskets! It was a pretty amusing scene. Here are the pictures that I did get.

Here is the boat coming in and the truck waiting to be loaded.

Lots of pelicans and frigate birds waiting to steal the catch

And one of the men running from boat to truck with a basket of fish

Loads of other fishing boats

On Friday we took a local bus to Ballenita with our new friends, two couples that we had met the previous weeks.

Here is the bus- 25cents per person except old farts like me who only cost 15cents.

After a 1/2 hour ride we arrived at a very scenic sea-side spot that had several restaurants and some great photo opportunities.

Some of the restaurants

We had lunch here. At the front of the table, Connie & Darvin, originally from New Mexico, recently from Houston ,Texas, have already decided to make Salinas their home, already have their retirement visa and are renovating their sea-side condo.

Our other friends, Edit & Gary who moved into the apartment unit beside us last week, are like us- still looking.

After lunch we went to a museum storing articles from a sunken ship discovered off the coast of Ecuador plus many other nautical artifacts.

We had a guide who took us through and explained the varied types on display.

These are the wooden beams from a ship that had sunk in the 1600's

And some of the articles from the same boat

Attached to the museum was a restaurant with many other antiques on display plus a hotel. The scenery from this location was awesome.

The negative edge hotel pool overlooking the ocean

And the incredible bar with our friends & the guide

After a much required cerveza, we headed back home.

Oct.18- Getting our 12IX Visa Registered

I decided that this experience deserved a post of its' own because no where are there any instructions/literature/warnings telling unsuspecting travellers how difficult this can be.
 We had decided to stay in Ecuador for 4 months because we didn't want to change countries around Christmas/New Years however had we known what we know now...
So on with our story.
Let me start at the beginning. In September we went to the Ecuadorean consulate in Toronto to get our 12IX visa. We had checked their web site
http://www.embassyecuador.ca/english/index.php?id=consular&nro=229
and gotten our required paperwork together. There we had no problem, everything was good and we were out equipped with visa and letters to use for registration  within an hour. Though warned that the visas must be registered within 30 days of arrival , otherwise a large fine would be incurred when we left Ecuador, at no time were we informed or advised in any way about what we had to bring with us for this registration. All we were told is to bring our passport and the letter given to us at Consulate. Piece of cake- we thought!
First of all, unless you speak Spanish fluently, take an interpreter with you. We found Eduardo Iglesias in Salinas, he drove us and helped with our Spanish.
eduardo.iglesias101@gmail.com

We left Salinas at 6AM and arrived at the Registry office in Guayaquil about 8:30AM. The woman at the front desk looked over our stuff neatly placed in a manila envelope along with an envelope this folder will fit into.
We had the following info:
Our passports
copy of picture page of passport
copy of entry stamp of passport
copy of 12IX visa page of passport
certificado de visacion & copy ( 2 pages given to you at consulate) & copies of same

We then got the following instructions from her of problems/omissions
-The entry stamp on our passport was not clear- low ink on stamp pad?- and must be rectified by going to immigration office near airport- a good half hour away
-We must include a letter in Spanish of why we were here- precise instructions given to us and signed along with passport number
-A deposit slip to pay $10 to the Ministry's bank account
-All the copies in the folder must be secured with a certain 2 pronged metal attachement to the manila folder.

First off to the Immigration office- a fun drive in rush hour traffic. Then of course there is no parking close to this location but luckily for us, Eddy convinced the local army personnel to allow us to park in an empty lot.
Once there we took a number, 22, waited our turn, paid $5 each for the paper work and were off. Next, an Internet cafe so Eddy could type the letter for each of us plus print it out. Next to a shop next door which sold the metal manila envelope attachments and then off to line up at the bank to deposit our $10 each. Luckily for us we were allowed to go in the seniors' line- slightly shorter- and after another half hour wait we had the list accomplished.

Once back at immigration we took yet another number to wait to be processed but found out that the letter Eddy had typed had one significant ? word missing! While we waited  for our number, Eddy ran back to the Internet Cafe to re-type the letters.

With new letters filed neatly in our folder, we finally had our turn. All papers seemed to be in order, the officer took all our stuff and we were told to wait again. The last person who needed to sign our passport stamp was still at lunch ( 2PM) and we had to wait for her final approval.

One hour later, she came back and several other people who had been waiting along with us finally were processed. We got our registry stamp in our passport, and had our name and signature entered into a huge book that is kept here for all immigrant/visitor visas. And we were really lucky to accomplish this task in only one day!

And a HUGE thanks to Eddy for all his translations- without him we would have not been successful!

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.

                                 

Oct. 2 to Oct.8- First Week in Salinas, Ecuador

What a week it has been! Getting used to our new apartment, stocking up on supplies, exploring the city and condo shopping! Whew!

First, the apartment. This is the first time ever that we have been disappointed in our rental found on the Internet. Of course this time we could not use our tried and true favorite- VRBO.com. The apartment is large, 2 nice bedrooms, modern kitchen and good bathroom however the view from a very nice large balcony is crappy and the furniture sucks- to be exact- no living room furniture at all- just a big dining room table with uncomfortable balcony chairs. As well, though the kitchen has great appliances, it is the worst ever as far as cooking utensials- no oven ware, no oven mitts, no dish towels- I could go on and on.
In any case, Uwe and I are managing and that's what could sometimes happen when you rent off the internet.
                                 Here is our apartment building only one block from main beach.

And our kitchen

Saturday and Sunday Uwe and I explored both directions along the beach road from our apartment. Lots of restaurants serving inexpensive and excellent sea food and more, lots of vendors along the beach selling touristy stuff. Salinas is where all the inland Ecuadorians go for the weekend, even on off-season which October is, the weekend was very busy.

The Malecon- main beach road

And the main beach

We found that on the weekends we saw mainly Ecuadorians- no gringos- and no one spoke English. We are determined to learn Spanish so that was OK for us- keep your English/Spanish dictionary handy!

We tried several restaurants during the first few days- a couple along the Malecon and one just down the road from our apartment- all excellent and inexpensive. Plus we have bought a snack of phillo pastry & meat twice from a street vendor- excellent!

On Monday, we finally found the expat meeting place ' Score Sports Bar' where all the local Americans and Canadians meet for Sunday Football and good food. The owners, Will and Wendy, were maning the bar and we had a couple of beers and awesome burgers. We met several expats and will definitly be returning for Sunday football.

During the rest of the week, we went condo shopping with our new Salinas Real Estate agents. We saw so many of various price ranges, all overlooking the beach.

Here are a few pictures of excellent ocean front views

You can understand how difficult it would be to pick a favorite!

You may have noticed the lack of sunshine in all these pictures. September and October are the two worst months for weather in Salinas and I am going through severe withdrawals-LOL. However, if we like Salinas in this weather, we should love it once the sun comes out.

On Saturday, we finally had time to go to the Salinas' Mercado- the market. We had been doing all our previous grocery shopping in the grocery store a block down our street- very normal and modern. The market was located 10 blocks from our apartment- a nice walk. We had a little difficulty finding it- had to ask directions from a local police man in our limited Spanish but finally got there. The market was indoors inside a large hall/colesium and had many many stalls both of fruits and vegetables but also meats and fish and shrimps. We bought strawberries, grapes, oranges, bananas, broccoli, peppers, tomatoes etc all for a ridiculously small amount of money and walked home carrying 2 large grocery bags. Again we had to use our Spanish to both ask for what we wanted- or point- and pay correct amount. I find numbers- even though I know them all- the most difficult to understand.  In the case of the fruit stall, I ended up just handing them $20 and receiving $15.50 back in change- very honest people.

That evening Uwe and I went out for his birthday diner at a restaurant recommended by our Real Estate agents. This Italian restaurant was owned by an expat Canadian who had married an Ecuadorian back in Canada, raised their children there and then retired to Ecuador only to open this very fine restaurant. We had a most excellent Italian diner.

Sept.29 to Oct.1- Trip to Ecuador

After a very short 12 day visit to Canada to visit family & friends, do some bank business and meet with our accountant, we were off to our next stop and adventure- four months in Ecuador!

Because we were going to visit several countries in South & Central America and there were very few direct flights from Toronto to any of these places, we had decided to make Miami our central in and out base. The fact that we had enough Fly-points to get a free flight from Toronto to Miami and back ( returning June 21,2012) sealed the decision.

We had also decided to spend one night there and have a pleasant break between airlines.
We got to our hotel on Miami Beach shortly before dark and woke up the next moning to beautiful views. This is looking out our Penthouse floor ocean-front window.

And looking in both directions along the beach.

I hadn't been to Miami Beach in many years and had forgotten how pretty it was!

We left for our flight to Quito, Ecuador at 2PM. We had somehow manged to get a business class flight on LAN Airlines for very little extra and it was so well worth it.

Our seats had at least 5 feet between the row in front and went down to a full sleeping position along with a back massager- how great was that. Of course, it was the middle of the afternoon and only a 3 1/2 hour flight so I never did take advantage of this treat.

We landed in Quito on time where we had to go through Ecuador Immigration & Customs ( no problem) get our luggage and find our way from the international terminal to the local terminal - that was a problem as the signs were confusing or non-existant. We finally got a porter to take our luggage and walk us to the correct location- well worth the $3 tip. Our flight from Quito to Guyaquil was uneventful other than the thunderstorm that accompanied us most of the trip. In Guyaquil, a $6 cab ride to us to our downtown hotel. Our hotel room was great and after a couple of cervazas at the hotel restaurant, we retired for the night.

Please remember that we speak little/ to none Spanish yet but everything went very smoothly.

The church and park across from our hotel.

With lots of Iguanas

And very clean downtown streets where we walked around for awhile searching for an ATM

At 11AM we were picked up by Carlotta who spoke as much English as we spoke Spanish- LOL. The drive to Salinas was approximately 2 hours along a good 4 lane highway. The scenery was not very pretty- very dry farmland/ desert with some weird cacti that to us looked like Organ Cactus on a stick! My AZ friends will be able to form a picture. It looked a lot like Arizona- that very boring section south of Gila Bend on the way to Puerto Penasco.

We arrived at our apartment- 2 bedroom, bathroom, nice kitchen, big balcony, however crappy view! Oh well, we're one block from the main beach so no problem.

Our balcony

After settling in a bit, we walked to the local Mercado- a reasonably sized grocery store where we loaded up on essentials- wine, beer, coffee, water ect. and then took a walk along the beach.