Tuesday 14 August 2012

Living the Life Ecuador coast

With effect from this month !

If you have not received your cedula or are in the process of applying for it , there has been a new requirement brought into effect  from  01/08/2012.
The new requirement is that you have to produce your original birth certificate or a copy, have it apostilled and sent in with the rest of your documents.
So, one more step in the process of gaining residency here in Ecuador. For those of you who have made the move and left your country of origin, this will be a bit of an expense and will take some time to complete.
Even if you have sent in your documents but have not received your cedula prior to the 31/07/2012, this new requirement will stop the process. If you are using an attorney, check with them. If not, then you may have to go to immigration; this move has taken the legal professionals in the immigration field by surprise.  

Score Bar

Score Bar organized a whale watching excursion last week  and by all accounts it was a great trip. Evelyn and I were not able to take advantage of the offer due to other commitments, but we are hoping to remedy this by going out this week with Ben Haase, the curator from the whale museum. So, I hope to bring back some images that will document our trip.


Some changes 

We are making some changes to our home, so through a series of images, I will keep you up with the progress.



Whale of a time


A few of us went on a whale search. Everybody calls it whale watching, but until you find them, it is a search.
Ed, Evelyn, Randy, Randy, Ben, Jean.












The people in the photo at left, me behind the
 camera, the captain, and the driver are all set to sail out for the day. We made what is called a wet boarding. That is, when the boat is brought as close to the shore as possible and then you wade out to the boat and climb in.
Now we are bobbing about in the water and ready to sail off to find the whales.
As we are leaving, Ben is providing a commentary about where we are and what we could see once we get out there. Our first stop is a rocky outcrop about 3 miles from the shore, called El Pelado,or barren rock, where we can see many different species of birds. There were inca terns, bridal terns, brown pelicans, Peruvian pelicans, storm petrols, and vultures and other species that were seen. The scene on this rock was very dramatic since it seemed that hundreds of birds were either sitting on or flying above this lone rock out at sea.
         We also passed a few shipping boats, one fairly large,which was a shrimping vessel, and 2 much smaller ones with 2 or 3 people on board catching fish.  We took pictures of one of the proud fishermen who held up his prize, a large tuna, and smiled for the camera. Another one sold some of his octopi to Bolivar, our captain.
           Then came the searching and waiting for the whales to show up. It was a good 2 hours or more before we found a group of whales breaching,flapping their fins, and gracefully showing their tails dipping gracefully into the ocean.  This was definitely worth waiting for! This group was going too fast for us to keep up with, so Bolivar decided to search for another group, which we did find after about another 45 minutes or so. Bolivar has been doing this for a long time, and he was right on again.  The second group was also active, with some breaches and swimming and monstrous tails dipping below the sea.  We got some good photos of these giant creatures, so we are happy with our patience in waiting for them. After all, they are not on any schedule but their own.
            Exhilarated from the wonderful scenery we had just seen, we headed back to Ayangue for a very tasty lunch of either fish soup or lobster. We headed back home after an exhausting, but very worthwhile day of sea breezes, viewing some beautiful sea birds, and of course, the searching and finding of the awesome, graceful whales.  Splendid day!









Did You Know?



There is a compound sold in the drug stores called "Urea". This is a crystal and can be added to water, one teaspoon to a gallon of water, and is a very inexpensive homemade fertilizer.


Emergency Mallet


If you have a tennis ball, you can cut a hole in it and place it around your hammer head. This will protect your surface.

Do you Remember?


Who was the first midget to play major league baseball?


Tom Thumb,     Eddie Gaedel,     Kevin Broderick,     Ron Cey.



Who was that Man ?

The man in the white suit?


Alec Guinness,     Gregory Peck,     Fredric March,     Laurence Harvey.

Wednesday 8 August 2012

Living the life Ecuador Coast

Mosquito Abatement



Did you know that Salinas has a truck going around in the evening once a month spraying to reduce the population of mosquitoes?   Well, they do.
 While out walking to Sin, the bar behind the San Lorenzo Church, we heard a noise that sounded like a plane was about to land on us. So, we started ducking and looking around. Then this truck came around the corner, and as it went by, we were covered in the cloud that was being shot out the back. Coming from the San Francisco bay area, we know too well the cloud and smell. But there, we were told prior when this was to happen, so you could avoid the cloud and keep your pets inside. I hope we suffer no adverse side effects from this exposure. So far, so good.
But I am glad that they have the forethought to have a program in place for mosquito abatement.




 Sin 

Bar, Live Music, Exercise class, food.

These are just some of the titles that go with the bar named Sin.
Evelyn takes a dance exercise class there five afternoons a week run by Linda Phillips in the upstairs part of the facility, which also has restrooms.
As you walk into Sin, the bar is straight ahead of you and the bathrooms are behind the bar. Over to the right is an area where food is prepared and sold. This is a very large place and can accommodate many different functions.
Kim and Kevin greeted us as we walked in, and several other customers were happy to get to know us. The bar is of ample size and limited seating. Around the perimeter are the concrete seats and tables you see in many places here in Salinas.  We placed an order of beer and it was served very cold. They had no glasses that night because the water had been off all day (we live close by and also had no water ). We then went over to the kitchen. Earlier that day, Evelyn had been told that this night was spaghetti night and she really loves pasta.


There we met Lars and Brigitte who run the kitchen. We were offered a choice of sauces for the spaghetti: Shrimp in garlic butter, Alfredo sauce, and Bolognese. Evelyn had the shrimp in garlic butter and I went for the bolognese. Garlic bread was also served with the meal.
We were informed that all the meals are made from scratch, and then they gave us a look at the type of food they offer on the other nights they are open, Tuesday through Saturday:

Chicken wings (plain or spicy)             5.50

Big Hamburger                                    5.00

Small Hamburger                                 3.00

Sausage with curry                               3.00

Goulash soup                                       4.00

Pork steak                                            6.50

Spaghetti (Alfredo, Bolognese).          6.50

     "          Shrimp in Garlic butter       7.50

Give them a try. We just missed a salsa night; they had a Cuban Salsa band called Del 50 Son. Look out for the flyer, or check out their website:

www.sinsalinasecuador.com


Do you remember?

Who was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions?


Esther Williams,     Shirley May France,    Gertrude Ederle,    Florence Chadwick.


In 1950 the hourly minimum wage in the U.S. was raised to?



$1.50,   $0.75   $2.00   $2.25



Did you Know?

 If you combine 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons of malt vinegar with a 250 ml. tin of tomato sauce you get Ketchup.




Saturday 4 August 2012

Living the life Ecuador coast

The Amazon restaurant 

We were told that the Amazon restaurant serves great ribs, so we went there to try them for ourselves.
So we walked down the malecon to the restaurant. It was early Sunday evening; the sea on our right was calm and the tide was in. The people who had occupied the beach for the day were picking themselves up and packing away their belongings. As the day gave way to the evening, the waves of the sea pushing up along the sand were louder and letting you know that the next cycle of the day is upon us.
As we approached the restaurant, we saw that they had a nice frontage and wide open windows which have a view of the beach and the sea. As we entered, to the right is an oven where they fire pizzas; the kitchen is in the back out of sight. Over to the left is a bar and beyond that are the restrooms; they have good lighting and enough fans to provide good air movement.
We were asked to sit where we would like, so we sat by one of the big windows. The chairs and tables are plastic, what you find in most of the restaurants along the malecon. The tables were covered with vinyl table cloths.
There seemed to be no hurry to bring a menu or greet us. As we looked around, we saw four ladies at one table and a couple at another table. The four ladies had ordered pizza, and when it arrived at the table, it looked good.
A waiter came over with menus and we asked without looking at the menu for the ribs. We were told that the ribs are only on the menu Friday and Saturday. Disappointed, we still wanted to eat there, so I ordered a local dish and Evelyn ordered a dish from the international menu; our drinks were Margaritas. We were not asked if we wanted them blended or on the rocks, and we found out why. When the waiter/barman went to make the drinks, he took out a mallet and beat the ice with it, which tells us that they do not have a blender.
Both meals arrived together. We had to ask for cutlery and salt and pepper. The meal was well presented  and a good portion size. The ingredients looked and tasted fresh and the meat was tasty; together, with the drinks we had a very nice meal.
We want to return to try the ribs.




Amazon Restaurant
Dining room
                               


Pizza oven area
National dish





View of Malecon and beach











Steak and mushrooms













BIG RALPH'S HOSTAL & RESTAURANT



Dear friends:

We apologize for the delay of sending the menu for this sunday brunch.

#POACHED EGGS BENEDICT              
#HUEVOS ESCALFADOS BENEDICTO              

SMOKED SALMON & SCRAMBLED EGGS                                      
SALMON AHUMADO & HUEVOS REVUELTOS            

FRESH FRUIT SALAD WITH YOGURT AND GRANOLA
ENSALADA DE FRUTAS CON YOGURT Y GRANOLA

GRILLED CHICKEN CAESAR SALAD WITH BACON
ENSALADA CESAR CON POLLO A LA GRILLA Y TOCINO

STEAK SANDWICH WITH DEEP FRIED ONION RINGS
SANDUCHE DE CARNE CON AROS DE CEBOLLA
                                             
#QUICHE OF THE DAY WITH GREEN BEANS SALAD    
#QUICHE DEL DIA CON ENSALADA DE VAINITAS                      

EGG OMELETTE WITH MUSHROOMS, CHEESE OR HAM
OMELET DE HUEVO CON HONGOS, QUESO O JAMON

BAKED CHEESE CAKE & ICE CREAM            
TARTA DE QUESO AL HORNO & HELADO

COFFE OR TE INCLUDED / CAFÉ O TE INCLUIDO                                                      

NOTE: TO INSURE AVAILABILITY R.S.V.P. FOR ITEMS WITH #.

Best Regards

Ing. Andrea Torres


EGGS

When buying eggs the colour has nothing to do with the nutrition inside.
But if you buy white eggs one week and brown eggs the next you will know which ones are the fresher.


Do you remember?


Which air carrier was the first to use the Boeing 707 for transcontinental flights ?

American Airlines,  Western Air,  Eastern,  Pan Am.