Living the Life Ecuador Coast

Useful Information

Things to find out about

When we moved  here, not only did we encounter a culture shock, but we have had to learn a new way of doing things.

Back in CA, we were able to pay all our bills online and shop online, some of our groceries we had delivered. For the most part, when we went out shopping it was for fun or to find a restaurant.

Back in CA, we owned two hybrid cars, a truck, and two motorcycles, so there was not any issue about getting anywhere we wanted to go.

Here none of the above applies. What we pay for the internet here in Ecuador, we could have had a T3 line in California. As I have said before, the fastest things to move here are the taxis and buses. I had to wait 29 hours for my IMAC to  download updates.

Food shopping has become a social event because everywhere you go here, you are bound to meet at least three people you know.

Paying bills: we made the effort to find out where we had to pay bills, but we have since passed that task over to our guardian.

We still do not have a car, and it does not look like we are to get one soon. Walking, bicycling,buses, and taxis have become part of our routine, and has become enjoyable. At first it was a pain, not knowing which bus to take, or be charged different prices for the same trip in a taxi.

Learning Spanish was hard at first, but as I have gained more knowledge of the language, it has been rewarding. That does not mean to say I understand everything that is said to me. One thing I have learned is never say 'yes' if you do not completely understand what is being said to you.

Below are some links that will help with utilities, that is, knowing where to look for information with water, electricity, phone and internet.

http://www.cnel.gob.ec/planilla/

 http://www.cnt.gob.ec/cntapp/facturapdf/formulario.php 

http://www.aguapen.com.ec/  - has notices of expected water repairs and shut offs

http://www.aguapen.com.ec/consulta/

http://www.directv.com.ec

http://www.movistar.com.ec/

Here are a few shots from a day spent in Ballenita. It was a lovely day.

This month

January 25, 1533 - King Henry VIII married his second wife, Anne Boleyn, in defiance of Pope Clement who had refused to annul his first marriage. The King later broke all ties with Rome and became Supreme Head of the Church of England.
January 25, 1579 - Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, Friesland, Groningen and Overyssel formed the (Protestant) Dutch Republic with the signing of the Union of Utrecht to defend their rights against Catholic Spain.
January 25, 1947 - Gangster Al Capone, who once controlled organized crime in Chicago, died in Miami at age 48 from syphilis.
January 25, 1959 - An American Airlines Boeing 707 made the first scheduled transcontinental U.S. flight, traveling from California to New York.
January 25, 1961 - President John F. Kennedy conducted the first live televised presidential news conference, five days after taking office.
January 25, 1971 - In Uganda, a military coup led by Idi Amin deposed President Milton Obote. Amin then ruled as president-dictator until 1979 when he was ousted by Tanzanian soldiers and Ugandan nationalists. During his reign, Amin expelled all Asians from Uganda, and ordered the execution of more than 300,000 tribal Ugandans.
Birthday - Scientist Robert Boyle (1627-1691) was born in Lismore, Ireland. He formulated Boyle's Law concerning the volume and pressure of gases.
January 26
January 26, 1788 - The British established a settlement at Sydney Harbor in Australia as 11 ships with 778 convicts arrived, setting up a penal colony to relieve overcrowded prisons in England.
January 26, 1943 - Nazis began using Hitler Youths to operate anti-aircraft batteries in Germany following heavy Allied bombing of Berlin and other cities.
January 26, 1994 - Romania became the first former Cold War foe to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
January 26, 1998 - President Bill Clinton made an emphatic denial of charges that he had a sexual affair with Monica Lewinsky and had advised her to lie about it. "...I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky..."
Birthday - Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964) was born on a military base in Little Rock, Arkansas. He commanded Allied forces during World War II in the Pacific. In 1942, he uttered one of the most famous phrases of the war, "I shall return," when forced to leave the Philippines due to the unchecked Japanese advance. In 1950, after war broke out in Korea, he became commander of the United Nations forces. However, disagreements with President Harry Truman over war policy resulted in his dismissal by Truman in April 1951. MacArthur then appeared before Congress and announced his retirement, declaring, "Old soldiers never die - they just fade away."
January 27
January 27, 1943 - The U.S. 8th Air Force conducted the first all-American bombing raid on Germany as 55 bombers targeted Wilhelmshaven, losing three planes while claiming to have shot down 22 German fighters. The success of this first mission encouraged U.S. military planners to begin regular daylight bombing raids, which eventually resulted in high casualty rates for the American crewmen involved.
January 27, 1944 - Russian Army General Govorov announced the lifting of the Nazi blockade of Leningrad. During the 900-day siege, an estimated one million Russian civilians inside the city died of disease, starvation and relentless German shelling.
January 27, 1945 - The Russian Army liberated Auschwitz death camp near Krakow in Poland, where the Nazis had systematically murdered an estimated 2,000,000 persons, including 1,500,000 Jews.
January 27, 1967 - Three American astronauts were killed as a fire erupted inside Apollo 1 during a launch simulation test at Cape Kennedy, Florida.
January 27, 1973 - U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War ended as North Vietnamese and American representatives signed an agreement in Paris. The U.S. agreed to remove all remaining troops within 60 days thus ending the longest war in American history. Over 58,000 Americans had been killed, 300,000 wounded and 2,500 declared missing. A total of 566 prisoners-of-war had been held by the North Vietnamese during the war, with 55 reported deaths.
Birthday - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was born in Salzburg, Austria. From the age of five, through his untimely death at age 35, this musical genius created over 600 compositions including 16 operas, 41 symphonies, 27 piano and five violin concerti, 25 string quartets, 19 masses, and many other works.
Birthday - British novelist Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) was born in Daresbury, Cheshire, England (as Charles Lutwidge Dodgson). Best known for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. He also lectured in mathematics and was a pioneering photographer.
Birthday - Labor leader Samuel Gompers (1850-1924) was born in London. He emigrated to America at age 13, worked in a cigar factory, eventually becoming head of the Cigar Workers' Union. He later brought together several national unions under the name American Federation of Labor and became its first president.
Birthday - German Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941) was born. He was a grandson of England's Queen Victoria and ruled Germany from 1888 through World War I. Although he had military training, he left conduct of the war mainly in the hands of Generals Paul von Hindenburg and Erich von Ludendorff. In 1918, amid the defeat of Germany, he abdicated and fled to the Netherlands where he lived in seclusion until his death. He was given a military funeral by Hitler.

Living the Life Ecuador Coast

Getting Around La Libertad

With a camera

January 19

January 19, 1966 - Indira Gandhi was elected prime minister of India in succession to Lal Shastri who had died eight days earlier. She served until 1975 and later from 1980 to 1984, when she was assassinated by her own bodyguards as she walked to her office. Her only surviving son, Rajiv, became the next prime minister. In 1991, he was assassinated while campaigning for reelection

January 19, 1983 - Former Gestapo official Klaus Barbie, known as the "Butcher of Lyon," was arrested in Bolivia, South America. He was responsible for deporting Jewish children from Lyon to Auschwitz where they were gassed. He also murdered French Resistance leader Jean Moulin and tortured others. He was exposed by Nazi hunters Serge and Beate Klarsfeld, extradited in 1987, then convicted by the French and died while in prison.

Birthday - Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) military leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He was the son of a Revolutionary War hero, a graduate of West Point and served in the U.S. Army for 25 years preceding the Civil War. At the outbreak of hostilities, he was offered command of the Union Army, but declined and instead accepted command of the military and naval forces of Virginia.

Birthday - Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849) poet and writer of mystery and suspense tales, was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His works include; The Fall of the House of Usher, Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, The Murders in the Rue Morgue and his famous poem The Raven.

Living the Life Ecuador Coast

Driving

Driving here in Ecuador is a very different way of moving about the country.

A recent accident brought this to my attention. A friend of ours was T- Boned by a bus; the injuries were minor and the vehicle required $10,000 in repairs.

This, in itself, is not really news because accidents happen every day.

What is, is that the driver was driving on an International license. A lot of foreign travelers use these so that they are able to drive a car when in a country other than the one they live in.

You can use this license to drive in Ecuador. 

But, once you have your Ecuadorian residency and you want to continue driving in Ecuador, you are required to stop using the international license after 90 days. Use that time to sign up for the driving class and obtain an Ecuadorian driving license.

Here it is from the Transito.

You are here as a tourist: you can use your international license, as long as it is in date and you have a license in date from the country where you came from.

You are here and you are going to stay here: ( obtain your residency) you can drive on an international license as long as it is in date and you have a license in date from the country where you came from.

That is, until you are granted residency. Once you are granted residency, you are expected to obtain an Ecuadorian driving license .

Driving on your international license 90 days after you have been granted residency will make your international license void.

So, if you want to stay and you want to drive, go to school and obtain an Ecuadorian license. Be legal and be safe. 


For All your insurance needs here in Salinas talk to Monica.
Speaks English and Spanish.

This Month

January 15, 69 A.D. - Roman Emperor Servius Sulpicius Galba was assassinated by the Praetorian guard in the Roman Forum. He had succeeded Emperor Nero.

January 15, 1535 - Henry VIII became Supreme Head of the Church in England as a result of the Act of Supremacy following his break with Rome.

January 15, 1559 - Elizabeth Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, was crowned as Elizabeth I in Westminster Abbey.

January 15, 1870 - The first use of a donkey to symbolize the Democratic Party in America appeared in a cartoon in Harper's Weekly, criticizing former secretary of war Edwin Stanton with the caption, "A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion."

January 15, 1973 - Golda Meir became the first Israeli Prime Minister to visit the Pope.

Birthday - Martin Luther King (1929-1968) was born in Atlanta, Georgia. As an African American civil rights leader he spoke eloquently and stressed nonviolent methods to achieve equality. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. In 1983, the third Monday in January was designated a legal holiday in the U.S. to celebrate his birthday.

Living the Life Ecuador Coast

The Fiscal Cliff ?

By now, everyone has heard about the "fiscal cliff" bill signed into law on January 2, 2013, but what you might not understand is how it affects you. With that in mind, let's take a closer look.

What is the "Fiscal Cliff"?

The term "fiscal cliff" refers to the $503 billion in federal tax increases and $200 billion in spending cuts (according to recent Congressional Budget Office projections) that took effect at the end of 2012 and beginning of 2013--before Congress passed ATRA. It is the abruptness of these measures and possible negative economic impacts such as an increase in unemployment and a recession that has resulted in the use of the metaphor "fiscal cliff".

What Could Have Happened?

According to the Tax Policy Center the arrival of the fiscal cliff would have meant that nearly 90% of all households would see their taxes rise. The top 20 percent of Americans would see their effective tax rate rise about 5.8 percentage points on average, while the bottom 20 percent of Americans would see their tax rate rise about 3.7 percentage points as a result of the Bush-era tax cuts to income, estate, and capital gains tax.

Further, in addition to a rise in tax rates, middle class and the lower-income working families are affected by the fiscal cliff in other ways--among them child-related credits and deductions for dependent care and education, and the EITC.

What Actually Happened: The "Fiscal Cliff" Deal

On January 1, 2013, Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which President Obama signed into law the following day. The "fiscal cliff" bill, as it's referred to, extended a number of tax provisions that expired in 2011 and 2012, as well as increasing taxes on higher income individuals.

How We Got here

Here I want to include a punch list which we used to help us find the best place for us to live and retire, this was in part responsable for our final choice of Ecuador.

I was going to write an article on how we got here but, I have labored with this for some time and find that it became to long and intense, so I am going to share with you the practical mechanism that was used to bring us here to Ecuador. Consider this part one.

There are a few changes that I did not correct, for Columbia you can only own with a Columbian partner, very similar to Mexico.

This Month

January 12, 1879 - In Southern Africa, the Zulu War began between the British and the natives of Zululand, ultimately resulting in the destruction of the Zulu Empire.

January 12, 1932 - Hattie W. Caraway, a Democrat from Arkansas, was appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the term of her deceased husband. Later in the year, she became the first woman elected to the Senate.

January 12, 1990 - Romania outlawed the Communist Party following the overthrow of Dictator Nicolae Ceauescu who had ruled for 24 years.

January 12, 1991 - Congress authorized President George Bush to use military force against Iraq following its invasion of Kuwait.

January 12, 1996 - The first joint American-Russian military operation since World War II occurred as Russian troops arrived to aid in peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia.

January 12, 1999 - President Bill Clinton sent a check for $850,000 to Paula Jones officially ending the sensational sexual harassment legal case that ultimately endangered his presidency. The president withdrew $375,000 from his and Hillary Rodham Clinton's personal funds and got the remaining $475,000 from an insurance policy. The lawsuit had exposed the president's affair with Monica Lewinsky and resulted in investigations by Independent Counsel Ken Starr that led to Clinton'simpeachment by the House of Representatives and subsequent trial in the Senate.

Birthday - John Winthrop (1588-1649) was born in Suffolk, England. In 1630, he joined a group of Puritans emigrating to America and became the first governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, establishing a colony on the peninsula of Shawmut, which became Boston.

Birthday - Irish orator, politician and philosopher Edmund Burke (1729-1797) was born in Dublin. Best known for his essays and pamphlets including Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents (1770), On American Taxation (1774), On Conciliation with the Colonies (1775) andReflections on the Revolution in France (1790).

Birthday - American statesman and patriot John Hancock (1737-1793) was born in Braintree, Massachusetts. He was elected president of the Second Continental Congress in 1775, was the first signer of the Declaration of Independence, and went on to become the first elected governor of Massachusetts.

Living the Life Ecuador Coast

Luccy's Opening Night

I got a notice of this event through Facebook, something that I really do not use much.              So, Evelyn and I made it over there to find that the place is not very large, but I think that it is in a nice location, at the top end of 1st Street, opposite the Oyster Catcher Restaurant.

They had a table on the pavement, which was full with six people around it. Then, as you walked in, on the left is a sit-down, stand-up bar area with additional space behind it. Then, as you pass through the doors to the left is the bathroom and two small tables. In the corner, they have two Bain Marie food bars.

This area has a fan, but the windows were closed, and the place was very hot. We sat down to eat, and were given a menu, of which we both picked the same item, only to be told that it was off tonight. The next item we picked was also off this night.

So we asked what was on the menu. We ended up with chicken burritos. The wait was very long as there seemed to be too many waiting staff and only one person plating the food.

The advertised free hors d'oeuvres were no where to be found, but we did get a glass of sangria,which was very good. When we did get our food, there was plenty to eat, but it was bland; the side of salsa that came with it just covered a teaspoon.

In an outside area, they have a place where art is displayed for sale.

If this place gets its act together, and by that I mean taking the order and getting it out in a reasonable time, and putting some flavor in the food. And a larger side of salsa would be welcome.

This place could become a hangout for expats.

Based on the responses we heard on that night, not many said they would return. I would give it a second chance.

This month

1719		Philip V of Spain declares war on France.
1776		Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense, a scathing attack on King George III's reign over the colonies and a call for complete independence.
1792		The Ottomans sign a treaty with the Russians ending a five year war.
1793		Jean Pierre Blanchard makes the first balloon flight in North America.
1861		Southern shellfire stops the Union supply ship Star of the West from entering Charleston Harbor on her way to Fort Sumter.
1861		Mississippi secedes from the Union.
1908		Count Zeppelin announces plans for his airship to carry 100 passengers.
1909		A Polar exploration team lead by Ernest Shackleton reaches 88 degrees, 23 minutes south longitude, 162 degrees east latitude. They are 97 nautical miles short of the South Pole, but the weather is too severe to continue.
1912		Colonel Theodore Roosevelt announces that he will run for president if asked.
1915		Pancho Villa signs a treaty with the United States, halting border conflicts.
1924		Ford Motor Co. stock is valued at nearly $1 billion.
1943		Soviet planes drop leaflets on the surrounded Germans in Stalingrad requesting their surrender with humane terms. The Germans refuse.
1945		U.S. troops land on Luzon, in the Philippines, 107 miles from Manila.
1947		French General Leclerc breaks off all talks with Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh.
1952		Jackie Robinson becomes the highest paid player in Brooklyn Dodger history.
1964		U.S. forces kill six Panamanian students protesting in the canal zone.
1974		Cambodian Government troops open a drive to avert insurgent attack on Phnom Penh.
Born on January 9
1554		Gregory XV, Roman Catholic Pope.
1890		Karel Capek, Czech writer and playwright, best remembered for his play R.U.R., which contained the first use of the word "robot."
1913		Richard Nixon, 37th President of the U.S. and first President to resign from office.
1941		Joan Baez, American folk singer and activist.

Living the Life Ecuador Coast

New Years' Eve

There are some very different ways that bringing in the new year is celebrated around the world; Ecuador is no different.

In the US, they watch the ball drop; in Scotland, a man walks in the new year with a lump of coal. What most of the celebrations have in common is that they show off with pyrotechnics.

In Ecuador, they use pyrotechnics and more. The use of rag dolls stuffed with pyrotechnics and in some cases rock salt (large chunks of it), as it adds to the noise when the effigy is stamped on and burned.

They start to make these effigies around Christmas; many families make them, but you can also buy one on the roadside.

In Ecuador, the use of pyrotechnics is in common use for just about any excuse for a party or a fiesta.
There are a few things here that I have not seen or heard about before, like the wearing of different colored underwear, yellow for money, pink for love, for example. At the stroke of midnight, if you are wanting to travel, you would pick up a suitcase and walk around your house. The eating of 12 grapes at midnight is to give you 12 months of good luck. When they burn the rag dolls, I am told that they place inside the doll lumps of rock salt, so it will explode when on the fire.
Walking down the malecon, I was interested to note that the crowd was a very jolly one and we did not see any rowdy or drunken behavior. There were families who had brought chairs and tables and set them down in the middle of the road, piles of rag dolls were waiting to be set on fire, vendors selling their wares, and music coming from every corner of the malecon.
Enjoy the images I was able to take and some video, also.  

This Month

January 4, 1790 - President George Washington delivered the first State of the Union address.

January 4, 1974 - President Richard Nixon rejected subpoenas from the Senate Watergate Committee seeking audio tapes and related documents.

Birthday - Louis Braille (1809-1852) was born in France. Blinded as a boy, he later invented a reading system for the blind using punch marks in paper.

Birthday - Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821) was born in New York. She became the first American Catholic Saint in 1975.

Living the life Ecuador Coast

Christmas at the Olon Orphanage

                                                                OLON ORPHANAGE OUTING

       It was a beautiful day to start out with.  A group of expats and I all met at Hostal Aqui to help load the presents into the cars, vans, and trucks to take  up to the Olon Orphanage and help make Christmas a little brighter for these special children.  Unfortunately, Jodie could not make it since she caught a nasty cold and did not want to spread the germs to others.

       So, after we finished loading the gifts, we left in caravan-style for the orphanage.  When we arrived there, we helped unload the presents and placed them on a number of tables under a canopy.  Some of the children were already seated under another canopy, waiting in anticipation. Others were greeting us with kisses and hugs. There was also another canopy under which were seats for the expats.  Thank goodness for the canopies, because outside, that sun was hot!

        The program started out with Isabelle, who runs the orphanage, introduce the children as a group to the expats, and explain what was about to take place.  A  group of 5 children came out, and did a dance with what looked like tambourines.  Then there were more children dressed in costumes and reenacting the first Christmas with Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, shepherds, the 3 Wise Men, and an angel.  Very well done!

         Then came the time for the presents to be given out.  Marcia, one of the group that came from Salinas, agreed to give out the presents since she is an Ecuadorean and knows Spanish better than the rest of us.  She was excellent and very good with the children, as this was not an easy task because it took a while to make sure that all the children received a gift.  She allowed them to say “thank you” and a few words after they received their presents.  Some of these children had been abandoned and abused prior to their coming to the orphanage.  I am sure they all had their individual stories of how they arrived at the orphanage, but I also know that they were all glad to be there and to be well-treated, fed and clothed.  All of them were precious as they came up to Marcia to receive their gift and say ‘thank you’ and then run back to their seats to eagerly open their presents.  Two of the little boys who both received toy trucks, were very happy pushing their trucks  in between all the children coming up to receive their gifts.  One of the young girls, about 9 or 10 years old, was so excited with her new T shirt that she took off her own shirt in public and put on the new tee shirt.  They were all adorable!  Many of the expats had cameras, so a lot of pictures were taken.  I believe that the expats had as much fun watching the children opening their gifts as the children did finding out what gifts they got.   When the gift giving was finished, some of the children offered the expats some beverages.  Then it was time to say “goodbye” and the children hugged and kissed us in gratitude.  

          The expat community has integrated well into the local community and is providing worthwhile support to local organizations and this was one of the opportunities to promote social integration of the expat community.   Hopefully 2013 will be an even better year for all !

When the Dalai Lama said that we were "a charitywhere deeds speak louder than words" doubtless he knew there are lots of ways to choose a particular charity (for example through which tosponsor a child). Some people choose charities based on the charity's presence giving opinions on the news, the charity's TV or newspaper adverts or the mail the charity sends. These people aren't wrong, but we are not that kind of charity; we build families not headlines. We get on with giving the least fortunate of children a chance of a proper family life. People find us and it is by our deeds that we think they should judge us.

Partly, our approach is needed dealing with orphans: orphans require longer term help and generally local government has at least legal responsibility for them. We have to co-operate, not condemn, and this method has allowed us to continue to do critical work in places like Zimbabwe where others have had to leave. There is no point being outspoken and thrown out when children depend on you being there. And of course the upside of not having a lot of "words" is that we do well when you compare charity costs. Most of our supporters come to us online or by word of mouth, and because donors tend to find us we do not have to pay a lot to find donors.

This Month

January 3, 1777 - During the American Revolution, General George Washington defeated the British at Princeton and drove them back toward New Brunswick. Washington then established winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey. During the long harsh winter, Washington's army shrank to about a thousand men as enlistments expired and deserters fled.

January 3, 1924 - British Egyptologist Howard Carter found the sarcophagus of Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor after several years of searching.

January 3, 1946 - An Englishman known during World War II as "Lord Haw Haw" (William Joyce) was hanged for treason in London. Joyce had broadcast Nazi propaganda via radio from Germany to Britain during the war.

January 3, 1959 - Alaska was admitted as the 49th U.S. state with a land mass almost one-fifth the size of the lower 48 states together.

January 3, 1961 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba two years after Communist dictator Fidel Castro had seized power and just weeks before John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the next president.

January 3, 1990 - Manuel Noriega, the deposed leader of Panama, surrendered to American authorities on charges of drug trafficking after spending 10 days hiding in the Vatican embassy following the U.S. invasion of Panama.

January 3, 1993 - President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the Start-II (Strategic Arms Reduction Talks) Treaty, eliminating about two-thirds of each country's long range nuclear weapons.