12 countries in 12 years

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

I Just Want to Sleep Thru the Night in Cuenca Ecuador

Have you ever been deprived of sleep for days and days? It's not a good place to be. Finally, Frank is speaking up about his chronic altitude insomnia that he has carried with him since we moved to Cuenca Ecuador five years ago. We call it altitude insomnia because when we go to lower elevation (sea level) he sleeps like a baby. 



UPDATE 2016: Doing the research we discover a name for this that occurs in 1/4 of the population that live at high altitudes above 6000'. 



It occurs even in healthy persons at altitudes above
6000 ft
.   Cuenca Ecuador is 8200'.   PB may lead to sleep disturbances with frequent awakenings...Yep, that's us! 


SOURCE: NCBI



This is something that we have experienced; you may or may not experience insomnia while living in Cuenca because everyone is different with a different body type. Also, doing research we find that some people who were born at sea level and then move to high altitudes may experience some health issues (overtime) with living in higher altitudes. For us, its sleep problems. To see more of our articles about living at high altitudes, see below the video.

                     







We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!

Monday, May 30, 2016

Less Noise, Less Smog, Less Traffic...When?

Living in the city has its annoyances, like the noise, traffic and diesel fumes but during this 3 day holiday weekend, it was actually peaceful in Cuenca Ecuador. 

                    


We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Uh, Overpaying Because You're a Gringo?

Seasoned travelers know prices but tourists, vacationers and newbies don't know what prices should be...and so what happens? Well, several things happen such as the vendor sets a new precedent for the cost of something because he or she now knows a gringo will pay that much. The other thing that happens is obvious and that's rising prices. The most important principle here is to understand that not wanting to overpay doesn't make you look cheap unless you are cheap. It's about principle, not about how a person feels. 

                         


We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!

Saturday, May 28, 2016

After Move to High Altitude I Had to Change My Diet to a Fat Soluble High Mineral Diet

Changing environments can cause health setbacks in some people over a long period of time and is why I had to change my diet to a fat soluble high mineral diet and my health improvements have been amazing. 

                   


We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!

Friday, May 27, 2016

20 EASY Ways to Be a Target and Victim of Crime in Latin America

Do you behave in any of these ways in a Latin American country? Doing any of these things will surely get the attention of the bad apples. First you will be targeted. Professional thieves are good at what they do. They watch. They wait. They can spot a vulnerability and lack of awareness in a person or couple with ease.
 


1. Walking on a beach at night.  This is a big no-no in Latin America. Even private beaches have been known to have crime. There have been several incidents of expats coming into contact with hoodlums even during the day on isolated beaches.
 


A young woman was walking alone recently on a beach in Ecuador at dusk and she was attacked by a man with a machete. She’s ok but shaken up.  Source: The Globe and Mail






This is just one secluded stretch of beach between Ayampe and Las Tunas

2. Pulling out wads of cash from your purse, wallet or money clip in public when paying for an item.
 


3. Talking on your cell phone when no one else is nearby. Cell phones are a hot commodity in Latin America!
 


4. Standing real close to crowds of people on the bus or sidewalks.
 


5. Wearing a wallet in your back pants pocket.
 


6. Wearing Jewelry and expensive watches; even the cheap stuff has been known to be yanked off expats earlobes.
 


7. Talking in English really loud anywhere in Latin America.
 


8. Wearing shorts, flip flops and tank tops in the Andes Mountains. Talk about standing out.
 


9. Walking alone on the river walks day or night. Think about it? How often do you see a Cuencana walking alone on the river paths? When you do see one, which is rare, they usually have a dog with them. There’s a reason for that.  There are lots of hiding places along the river walks for bad apples to ‘hide in wait’.
 


10. Standing alone at bus stops with noticeable valuables. A few days ago an expat woman got robbed at gunpoint in Cuenca Ecuador at a bus stop.  This bus stop happened to be at or near a Mercado. She was displaying an expensive cell phone in an area (Mercado) where poor people shop.  Two plus two folks. Some people don't have discernment. 


Source:Lighthearted: Retiring at 8300'

11. Walking off the beaten paths alone. If you have to go somewhere where there are less people or no tourists, it’s best to take a registered, licensed taxi.
 


12. Wearing anything of value to one of the several local Mercados. Believe us, going to a local Mercado is not a formal affair; far from it; there’s no reason to even have a purse, wallet or jewelry on you. Have a about five $1 dollar coins in your pocket and you’ll be good to go.
 


13. Hiking alone or in pairs anywhere in Latin America. It’s a sad fact, many men and women have become victims of crimes in isolated walking trails. We think we’re going to be safe because we are hiking with a friend, but the fact that many young women are now gone from this world, tells a different story. Walking and hiking in pairs is not a guarantee you will be safe. 


If hiking or traveling off the beaten path, go in big groups. The more the better.



Birds of the same feather flock together and it is almost never just one perpetrator, in fact it’s usually three or four that work together that rob, rape and pillage unsuspecting victims.
 


14. Living in a gringo enclave. All the people who live in a gringo enclave can be a target of crime at anytime.  To the thieves, gringo neighborhoods are where the wealthy live and so they must have a lot of valuables. It always seems to stump the foreigner though how the thieves get through electric wiring, sensor lighting, a dog and alarms. Why do people keep minimizing crime in these popular countries with expats? We all know the answer to that.
 


15. Trusting people on the street with their sad sob stories.  Many a foreigner has become conned by a crying local with a baby, or a baby thrown into their arms, or another foreigner saying they got mugged and lost everything, or a local person conning their way into their personal financials, etc...etc...etc...
 


16. Accepting things handed to you from strangers. Apparently they lace things with drugs so you will be unawares of what’s going on and then they rob you.
 


17.  Waving down just any taxi on the street. Many expats have been taken for a ride when accepting any taxi. This is a no-no in Latin countries. The taxi drivers work with two or three others on the ground and so even two people together become victims. They kidnap the foreigners and make them extract money from their bank accounts at ATM.  This is more popular at very touristy areas in large cities such as La Mariscal district in Quito.

18. Opening your gate to strangers. Expats are often taken advantage of in this way. The locked, barred gate is there for a reason. Most rentals have phones inside the home or apartment so you can talk with and see the person at the gate.
 


19. Leaving valuables (laptops, iphones, jewelry, etc) in plain sight when having service people and techs into the home.
 


20. Behaving rich.  The rich and those who like to behave rich have always had this problem, and now that more folks are trying to "live rich" abroad, it compounds and reproduces itself exponentially.

These are the easy ways to become a target of crime. There's numerous ways we can become targets and victims of crimes in more subtle ways in Latin America but that's another article. 




Until we write again, you might like to read more about ways to stay personally safe when living in Latin America. 







We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

My Friend Has Cancer (Part 1)

As most of our long time followers know we try to live the natural health lifestyle as much as we can. Today we talk a little bit about cancer, healthy diets and natural healing methods. 

                    


We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

I Was Going to Offer Less for This House But...

We're in Salinas Ecuador looking at a house rental in Punta Carnero. We were going to offer less for this house but then we found out that...watch the video to see the rest of the story.

                     


We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!

Monday, May 23, 2016

Can Moving Abroad Cause Marriage Woes and Divorce?


Visiting abroad can be a great adventure to experience; however, moving abroad may not be a good fit for everyone or every marriage.  We just read again, somewhere how moving abroad may ruin a marriage. And well, they don’t really go into detail.  We know a bit about what makes a marriage work and we want to share a few words of wisdom on the subject.   





A Place Cannot Cause Divorce, People Do! 





Sure, if your marriage is already barely standing on shaky foundations, it may come tumbling down at some point from the stresses and strain of moving to unfamiliar territory.   But, it can also do the opposite and make your marriage stronger because husbands and wives tend to become closer to each other when they leave familiar stomping grounds such as work, and friends and family, who in many cases, and sadly to say, can be a plague to their marriage.  We’ll talk about that in a moment.





In most cases, the only time a marriage would become worse when moving abroad is if there is a problem with addiction (alcohol, drug, sex, etc) from one or both spouses. If addiction is an issue then we highly recommend staying where you are planted and work out these issues that have taken control of your life and marriage, rather than move abroad.
 


As a general principle if there is no addiction from either spouse, moving abroad will not impair marriage any more than it already is and it would be silly to think it would.  People ruin marriage by their own undoing and bad choices they decide to make in life and it doesn’t matter where in the world you live. Although some places may speed up the process.

Blaming moving to a new country as the cause of your marriage troubles takes the blame off you so you don’t have to face them.  No one wants to think they are the culprits of their marriage undoing.  Reality says differently though.  As much as mainstream culture would love to keep blaming divorce on places, other people, and circumstances, a weak marriage always points to the two people in the marriage and the choices they make. 
 


If there are weak spots in your marriage, moving abroad may or may not make things better. Moving abroad can make marriage better because couples spend more time together rather than apart (like they did before), which actually gives them a chance to get to know each other better. Spending quality time together can actually humble us to a point where we find we want to be respectful towards each other, which causes us to have a happier marriage. It’s managed better.
 


When we give love, which are many “principled actions” we receive love in return; when we give respect, we will be respected; when we forgive, we will be forgiven; when we value our spouse, we become valuable to them.  




Moving Abroad Gives Couples More
Time for Each Other



This is exactly why we say, leaving behind work, careers, family and friends can make a person less stressed and unburdened from the feeling they have to live up to certain expectations with all of the above.  Moving abroad releases you from certain people and things that before tied you down and kept you behaving a certain way or that actually influenced your behaviors in a negative way that may have been detrimental to your marriage.
 


Bottom line, moving abroad gives couples more time for each other.
 


However, it’s always best to take care of marriage troubles FIRST before uprooting your lives and moving abroad and especially if there is an addiction problem. If you do not take care of an addiction before moving abroad it most likely will get worse after you move and that’s why some couples divorce when they move abroad. It was bound to happen anyway, but the moving abroad part just accelerated the process.  A foundation built on sand, collapses at the point of being shaken when the storms come.

Being a happier and more content person is not found in a “place”.  It’s found within the choices we make; what we do, and how we react and behave with the people we are supposed to be loving (principled acts of love), such as our spouse. The truth of the matter is people become better spouses for each other only when they decide to, not when they move somewhere else. In other words, you either have a good marriage or you don’t and only YOU can change what your marriage is or isn’t.
 


Marriage takes commitment and what goes along with that commitment are actions of love from both spouses.  Moving to a new country does not change the people we are.  If you have a strong marriage and understand that marriage needs principles of love such as respect, duty, forgiveness, compromise, caring, etc then you have absolutely nothing to worry about moving abroad.
 


Mainstream cultures of the world do not understand “principles of love” that make a marriage work because they have been taught that love depends on feeling “in love”. The problem with that is anytime the smallest of issues arise in the marriage they blame it on that they are not “in love” with their spouse anymore.  Most people in marriage want to feel good and get something but they don’t want to give anything and make someone else feel good.  
 


We could say so much about this and already have over the years but marriage is what you make it to be. We’ll say it again, you could move to Timbuktu and it wouldn’t matter one iota to the marriage relationship if you do not know how or care to know how marriage works.
 


Love is not that giddy, infatuation kind of feeling you had with your first puppy love; that’s not love but something else; however, often times couples associate that feeling with their spouse of ten, twenty, thirty years and that’s where they err.  LOVE is something we do and something others do for us when they want to show their love. Don’t expect to feel love, but first “show love” and it will come back to you.
 


Frank and Angie have been encouraging couples in their marriage since 2002 at Heaven Ministries Marriage Healing Ministry. They write a monthly, sometimes weekly newsletter, answering marriage concerns and questions, helping couples all over the world to understand how marriage works according to the One who designed and established the marriage relationship from the beginning.  What one controls, one owns.  So if you think your marriage is owned by the state then you will not know how a content and happy marriage is really supposed to work.



 Source: Heaven Ministries - Marriage Healing Ministry 



Until we write again, you might like to read these articles about marriage and living abroad. 






We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Uh Oh, Parasites Again!? -- Ups and Downs of Life Abroad

Second time someone in our family has been checked for parasites. It's one of those things that you have to watch out for in Latin American. And the results came back...

                            


We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Ecuadorian Paradise, Land of Contrasts: LOVE It or LEAVE It! Update 2016

Update 2016- Remember, we live here but that doesn't give us any good reason to leave out all the tidbits and details, does it? We think newcomers want to know that some public banos come without the toilet seats.





In this place referred to as the earthly paradise of Ecuador, or “retirement haven”, there are so many contrasts. And I’m not talking about little insignificant things.






Where Have All the Toilet Seats Gone?



Well, I was walking around the Cuenca mall the other day marveling at the amazing new commercialization of a third world; nice new stores everywhere, great lighting, nice plants, expensive shoes, etc. and then oops, what happened to the toilet seats?



Somebody please tell me how much does it cost to put up a mall? My son’s guess is $25 million dollars. It’s not an educated guess, probably much more. So, was somebody trying to save a few pennies by leaving off all the toilet seats in the restroom? And what about the toilet paper rolls? There are no toilet paper rolls in the stalls either; you have to get it all at once before you go in. Your calculations can be over but you won’t want to be under…

This is not some dusty dive in old town. This is a big time modern commercial mall and the place otherwise sparkles.



UPDATE: September 2013: Guess what? Went to the Mall Yesterday and used the little girl's room and they have toilet seats now! Yahoo!!



Update August 2014: I don't know what is going on but the toilet seats are gone! I guess they took them off. Want to hear a rumor? Of course this is all speculation but, here goes. Someone told us that there are no toilet seats in the women's restrooms because they tinkle on the seats! LOL...and the cleaning lady or cleaning man does not want to have to keep cleaning the toilet seats. LOL. This could be correct as our favorite ice cream joint, Tuddo Freddos does not have a toilet seat in the ladies room either, but the men's room does have a toilet seat. So you figure this one out. Let us know when you get it figured out and we'll post it.



Update 2016 - Toilet seats were put back on and they have remained on the toilets for sometime now, so we think the seats are there to stay.



I keep pondering what the reasoning might have been when the plans for this mall were being drawn, and how come nobody noticed while it was being constructed? Maybe it was intentional? Well if you were to judge by the fact that the food court prices are three to four times as high as outside of the mall you wouldn’t think it was a cash flow problem. Oh, and while I’m on a roll, how come the janitor (in the men’s room) is always a young woman? Am I just modest? Because even after a year I’m still not used to that. Riddles of riddles, keeps my mind active. My sense is that there’s gotta be a good reason.






Saved by the Ecuadorian Lady



Ecuadorians are some of the nicest people I have ever met on the planet, besides those in the south USA. A perfect example was when an Ecuadorian lady told the other lady that cut in front of us in line at the grocery store, -- that we – the gringos, mind you - were in line first. I was totally amazed and let out an uncontrollable smile. This I would have never expected. What a welcome surprise, and just when I was getting worried that I might have to say something to the cutter myself. Do I risk the ugly American label? No, I was saved, by the nice Ecuadorian lady.



Update 2016 - Ok, ok, we speak Spanish but maybe our accent is too gringoish because once in awhile we get someone who curls their eyebrows, which we understand to mean: "Uh"...are you trying to talk to me in my native tongue; because you're not making any sense". This goes on and on for at least a full minute. We go to the next stall and they seem to understand us just fine.






The Dark Side of Year Round Spring Weather?



We’ve all heard the story of the perfect weather in Cuenca, which is why I find it interesting that nowadays the retirement press seems to have toned it down a notch. I keep seeing this new terminology, “moderate weather” now, instead. But nobody says anything about the mold. Well, when there’s not enough sunshine, and plenty of moderate weather, throw in lots of rain, you get…Mold. Cuenca is a moldy city. We noticed this while doing a humidity experiment, since we’re normally healthy as oxen but for some reason, not in Cuenca. Not for the faint of heart.



Update 2016 - Never fails during rainy season the mold seems to come back...home.






And Then There’s the Wall



What’s your beef? I hear you saying. Look I enjoy moderate weather just like you all. I love walking around and looking at the pretty trees with their bright colored blooms of yellows and pinks and reds. They are so wonderful to look at, unless you’re walking by any of the several urine soaked walls around town. Kinda overwhelms the blooms, know what I mean? It never ceases to amaze me how I forget to repel myself all the way to the other side of the street when I’m coming up to a wall. Ahh, paradise, it’s easy to forget you’re not in it when walking around in the retirement haven of Cuenca Ecuador.



Update 2016 - We veer away from the areas (near Mercados mostly) that were well known for this. Frugal family rarely shop at the Mercados anymore. Just goes to show, being frugal is not the same as being cheap. We've decided to skip the smells, thievery and gouging and spend more on groceries at the regular grocery stores. Aaah, compromise in paradise.






Avoiding the Gringo Tax



Of course nobody moves across continents just to look at spring blooms and to enjoy moderate weather. Yes, it’s all about the price isn’t it? Throw in a lower than where you live price and that bakes the cake. Unless of course, you don’t speak Spanish and you consider paying more than the locals, just an inevitability, like death and taxes. Oops, somebody told me the other day that some “Jesus” guy had said long ago he conquered both of those. Now there’s an odd thought. But for us mere mortals, we should just “suck it up” and pay the gringo tax, right? Those of us that don’t come from the perimeter metro areas of the northern country will find prices the same or higher than back home. They’re softening the blow; they’re calling it “sticker shock”. Should we stay or should we go? 



Update 2016 - There's so much to love about Cuenca that we'll stay and just walk away! As you probably know, we walk away a lot!



Helping folks figure that one out has become somewhat of a specialty of ours, and it’s a popular one at that, judging by the nice folks that write us privately to tell us so. There are some quirks to bargaining in paradise that we had not previously been aware of. We give it all away to the owners of the Do-It-Yourself- Cuenca Landing Guide, as a show of thanks for your support.



Some people are flabbergasted at the thought that anyone would want to leave the freest and best countries in the world for some third world so called paradise. Is that for real? You’ve heard the school of thought that says “happiness is within you” or “the kingdom of heaven is within you” i.e. you take yourself and your attitude with you wherever you go. Home is where the heart is, blah blah blah, well you might want to bring a bit of rhino skin with you. It will help when you’ve been waiting weeks and then months for the cover plastics to come in for your new Ecuadorian Paradise identity card. Oh yeah, those finally came in, but don’t leave your rhino skin home just yet, I’m almost certain by next week it will be something equally suspenseful… gotta run, the sun is shining…



Update 2016 - Once you have your i.d. emplasticated, you won't have to worry about it for another ten years.



Until we write another "real life" report from paradise, check out these articles about one of the best cities to live in the world.






We're an expat family of five. We live frugal, healthy and happy in Cuenca Ecuador. We travel when we get a chance to and we record all of our experiences and adventures. Come along with us and enjoy the fun!


Friday, May 20, 2016

Chipipe Beach -- Another Glimpse of Salinas Ecuador UPDATE 2016

Note 2016:  Lots of updates about Chipipe in the last 4 years since we first published this article/video.  See the video of back roads of Salinas and Chipipe Beach at the end of this post when we walked the back roads from Salinas to Chipipe.






Southern end of Chipipe beach

Frank and I did a lot of walking around when we visited Salinas. We still do. Walking around and seeing things up close gives us a good idea of an area.  In this video we walked the back roads to another small area of Salinas called Chipipe. This small community has some homes, condos and apartments; the beach was wider and a lot less busy compared to the main beach of Salinas.



Update 2016 -  Not too long ago, Chipipe beach/community used to be less expensive than Salinas. It was much, much quieter because no motorboats or jet skis were allowed in the waters except for the fishermen who made their living, well, fishing. See video at end of post.



Just 4 years ago, you could buy a 3/3 condo on the beach for under $100,000 and rentals used to be $500 and up. If the condo was small you could find one for $400 a month right on the beach! During low season there might be 10 people on the whole beach.  If going back a street or two, three and four bedroom houses that needed minimal work, yes minimal, maybe paint job, and kitchen cabinets updated were going for $45,000 to $75,000.  



Chipipe back then was considered a family beach because there were no night clubs, bars, and discotheques on the Malecon like there is in Salinas, San Lorenzo.We all know what that means, safer and quieter beach.



How do we know all this? Back in 2011 and 2012 we considered moving to this part of the beach; we like looking at the real estate in areas and knowing what the market is and we do a lot of property market research and not just in Ecuador. The reason we did not move to Chipipe is because of the then slow infrastructure of the Internet and the lack of grocery stores in the area. 



Rumor has it that the Internet is getting better now since the coastal area did upgrade their Internet to fiber-optics but back in 2012 it was about the speed of dial up.  There's still only one grocery store (high prices too...more expensive than Supermaxi)in Salinas that is walking distance and only for some people, since it is still quite a few blocks away from Chipipe; and the other two grocery stores are further away and you will need to take a bus or taxi.  



Today, so much has changed.  The rentals have doubled and some of them tripled in price. Some are even asking over $2000 per month.  The real estate sales market has at least doubled.



The beaches are packed, and the once quiet and peaceful beach is now noisy and smelly with stink pots (sailing term), jet skis and sea doos. The wind blows just right so that when three or four jet skis are blaring their engines out in the water, the exhaust wafts up your nose and into your lungs while you are trying to relax on the beach, and allllll daaaaaay looooong.



Chipipe is where all the foreigners have bought condos and are now renting them out at double, triple the prices they were four years ago. Gone is the day when you can rent a beach front condo for $500 in Chipipe. If you want to talk about rental inflation, Chipipe has probably seen the most than any other areas in Ecuador, and in 4 years time!!  Even more than Salinas Malecon. Remember we have been keeping both eyes on the market. 



When I asked a local real estate agent "who pays these prices?"  He was evasive and didn't answer the question.  The reason is, the answer is:  The foreigner/gringo, that's who.  Yes there are some wealthy Guayaquilians that come for vacations and pay big prices but they only stay very short term.  



If you want a year round rental you will pay Florida prices in Chipipe.  Say, wasn't it just a few months ago that some well known foreign property pumping, err....I mean, foreign retirement internet newsletter wrote an article for a mainstream press, outlining how South America is "the new South" and how you can retire at the beach for $1000 per month"?  Nuff said.



This is what happens to a small area after foreigners over run a place. Smaller areas are affected the most and at a quicker rate.



Chipipe is a small beach community; it doesn't even have a grocery store! Therefore it doesn't take a whole lot of foreign  population for the prices to quickly reflect the foreigner market prices in just a few short years! Anyone buying in Chipipe today, unless they somehow get a home or condo that needs TLC will not be able to get out of it very easily or at a profit BECAUSE THE PRICES ARE ALREADY FROTHY!



Enough said. We just wanted to update a very outdated article that needed to be updated and improved on. As you know, we tell it like it is, nothing candy coated and nothing white washed. It is what it is. This is not just a glimpse as the title implies, its an eyeopener.
                  

Until we write again, you might like to see some of these videos and articles about Salinas and Chipipe Beaches.




Thursday, May 19, 2016

After 5 Years in Ecuador What Would We Do Different?

Returning Ecuadorians want to know what would we do differently about our move to Cuenca Ecuador, Knowing What We Know Now? Ummmm?

                        


We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Receiving Gift in Ecuador VIA DHL Shocker!

A kind follower sent us a gift and when we went to the DHL Office to pick it up, boy we're we in for a shock. 

                          


We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. We just adventured throughout the country of Panama for five weeks! Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Matthew Wants to Leave the Dominican Republic for Ecuador Coast

A Reader from the Dominican Republic writes in and wants to know about traveling the Ecuador coast on a scooter.

                       




We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. We just adventured throughout the country of Panama for five weeks! Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!

Monday, May 16, 2016

What I Ate Today - Health Retirement Living Abroad

This is what I ate today living in a wonderful retirement city abroad, Cuenca Ecuador!



                  




We're an Expat Family of Five, Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy Abroad. We live in Cuenca, Ecuador and travel the Ecuador coast whenever we get a chance. We just adventured throughout the country of Panama for five weeks! Come along and enjoy some of our experiences with us!

Sunday, May 15, 2016

How to Get the Most Out of Your Cuenca Ecuador Discovery Trip Update 2016

Update 2016: It was four years ago when we first posted this article and we have a few new updates to add today to make your visit easier and less expensive. This article is written for people who are mostly just visiting/vacationing in (Cuenca) Ecuador. 



Let's Save Money



1. Get an Apartment: If you are only staying between 1 and 3 months (and even 6 months) we suggest to snag yourself an apartment before you get here, if at all possible. Most folks don't look at the Vacation/Temporary/Rentals on OLX Ecuador.  Check it out here! 



Once you arrive on the website, make sure you check the appropriate boxes on the left hand side for: how many bedrooms you want and check the furnished box. Today on May 15, 2016 there are 70 one bedroom furnished rentals on OLX just in Cuenca.   We think many of these listings are by owner rather than real estate companies and that means BETTER PRICES and MORE NEGOTIATION ROOM!



Most of the online rental portals (Mercadolibre.com) will also have a temporary/vacation rental section and is where people who are coming to Ecuador for six months or less should be able to find a rental easier and less expensively. We do this when we travel because it assures we will have a lower cost place to stay while we visit an area and there is never any pressure to hurry up and find a rental



2. Ask about monthly price: Some of the prices on OLX, as you will see are per night, however, if you see something you like, call them and ask what their monthly (if they have monthly) rental price would be.    



We would venture to say that 8 out of 10 travelers
that come to Cuenca do so for a discovery trip to see if they are going to like
living here permanently for their future retirement years. This is always a
good idea, but it is also a good idea to not live only as a
tourist when you come to visit. Go local! 




Update 2016 - What do we mean, "go local"?  Well, you can come to Cuenca on a vacation and not really know what you are getting into until you

1. ride the bus

2. take a taxi

3. negotiate and buy produce from one of the many Mercados

4. go out to eat in a typical almuerzo restaurant and try some of the other Ecuadorian cuisine

5. enjoy one of the many Ecuadorian festivals

6. eat while walking (lol)

7. get to know some of the the local folks on a personal level

8. go shopping in one of the local grocery stores

9. and so much more...



Get to know the Ecuador culture and way of life on your visit. After all, if you are thinking of uprooting your life and moving here, don't you want to know what it is really like? 







Our “Discover Cuenca Blog
has a lot of good information in it for first time visitors to Cuenca
but reading about going local in Cuenca is not the same as doing it. Just get out and do it! It's a lot of fun going local because you will experience so much more on your visit. 


  

Tourist Don’t Mind Spending Money on Food and Hotel Costs


Being a tourist we tend to
stay in nicer, more expensive hotels, and we tend to patronize the
International cuisine restaurants a lot, and mingle with the expat community more. We
spend money because we’re on vacation! There is nothing wrong with doing those
things; after all, you’re a tourist, right? 




We're not saying, don't do the tourist stuff, by all means, please do, but get to know Cuenca Ecuador and some of the local folks and culture on a more intimate level, that way you will have pushed out any expectations of how your new life is going to be and you will be more prepared to make the move or maybe not make the move...who knows. 


We know that you will not
experience “the real Cuenca” being a tourist. You will not see what you would
see if you lived here. We think your discovery trip should involve the local
beat as well as the tourist beat. Staying two weeks and even two months in
Cuenca as a tourist will not really tell you anything if you live like a tourist.


We went to Mexico for
vacations on three different occasions. All three times we stayed in nice
luxury resorts on the beach, and ate in the touristy restaurants around other
vacationers in the resort. We shopped in the touristy gringo craft shops and
Mercados; we ate in the expensive restaurants geared for the foreigners. We
were typical tourists.


It was like “Wow, Mexico is
nice, maybe we should move here”. But on our third trip to Mexico we rented a
jeep and drove off the beaten path to a city called Colima. We were in culture
shock!
Seriously. It was like “Ohhhh, this is the “real Mexico”. “This is what
Mexico looks like behind the facade of luxury hotels and International
restaurants.”  Big, BIG difference.


Salinas Ecuador was much the
same way. Beautiful high rise condos, expensive restaurants and shops right on
the beach, but you walk a few streets back and there’s nothing there. The
variance is quite extreme.


Cuenca is a little bit
different in that there is really not a lot of “in your face poverty” like
there was off the beaten track in Mexico. In Mexico back then all you had to do
was walk out the gate of the resort and there was poverty and fallen down
shacks. It’s not like that in Cuenca.


There is a tourist Cuenca
and there is a local Cuenca. When you veer away from the tourist spots in
Cuenca, which is really not veering away at all, but patronizing the Ecuadorian
run restaurants and shops, you will find groceries are less expensive and
eating out is less expensive.   




Update 2016 - This is still the trend today,. Everything (panaderias, pharmacies, eateries, tools and hardware, food shopping, everything is less expensive when you walk away from the well trodden tourist sidewalks of Cuenca.



Update 2016- We had to take a popular bakery (panaderia) out of the DIY Cuenca guide because it was a half a block from Park Calderon and too many tourists visited this bakery every day and they still do to this day. All the pastries and cakes and coffee and water (yes they started charging for water form their tap) went up in astronomical prices in just a couple of years...so we took them out of the guide and walked about 7 blocks away and found another really great bakery with normal prices and added them to the guide book to take the place of the over-rated bakery. 


As far as rents go there is
a tourist rent and a local rent. Unfortunately anything furnished caters to the
tourist but you can still find better priced furnished if you keep looking. If
you rent for longer than six months and get a year lease your rent will be less than the three to six month rental. 


The tourist Cuenca is
managed and run by other expats and Ecuadorians who are catering to the
vacationing tourists. Rents, food, shopping and tours will be at tourist
prices. You can spend thousands of dollars during your stay in Cuenca by being
toured around, eating, shopping and touring in the tourist hot spots.


Or…you
can read the DIY Cuenca Landing Guide
and go local
and spend a fraction of the cost by utilizing the resources we have outlined in
the guide book.


If you’re anything like us
and want to live on a retirement budget, once you move here, you’ll see that
living as a tourist in Cuenca is not the way to do it. We encourage our readers
to go local and save their hard-earned money!


There is absolutely nothing
to fear about going local, even if you do not speak Spanish. You can get by
using a Spanish pocket dictionary and sign language—as foreigners the local
population is very forgiving if you do not know Spanish, yet.


To see the real Cuenca,
you’ll want to stray off the beaten path to some of the Ecuadorian grocery
stores we list in the guide and do any run of the mill activities that a permanent resident would be doing.  You’ll need to know a little Spanish for this. 




Update 2016 - Funny the Mercados, especially Feria Libre is becoming more and more expensive for the foreigner and subsequently we don't even go there anymore. In fact when you buy produce "in season" in the regular grocery stores we pay the same or sometimes less than at the local Mercados. Of course, we hope and think they are only price gouging the gringo and not the local because it would be very disconcerting to find out that locals are also paying gringo rates at the Mercados!! 


You can spend $5 to $8 now more like $6 to $10 eating out FOR LUNCH in an international restaurant frequently managed and owed
by expats. But will you want to do that every day? Instead, you might want to
download our free restaurant guide
which lists 10 good Ecuadorian restaurants (LUNCH) between $2 AND $3!   




Update 2016 - Our restaurant guide is still available to download on our website here, however prices in most of the establishments have gone up in price, so expect to pay more than what is listed in the guide. We do list a couple of expat restaurants that have reasonable prices and good food in the updated version found here.


We encourage you to come to
Cuenca and see it for what it is, and step out beyond the usual tourist traps.
Just three, no make that seven years ago, Cuenca was unheard of. There were few tourists
being gouged, and there were fewer gringos even living in Cuenca.


Today, if you are not
careful you will be taken advantage of, but with the DIY Cuenca Landing Guide in your hands, you’ll be able to
spot when someone is trying to gouge you and you will be encouraged to just
smile and walk away, feeling good about your decision. There’s always a better
deal down the road. 




Until we write again, you might also like to read these posts about the real Cuenca Ecuador.







We're an expat family of five living frugal, healthy and happy in Cuenca Ecuador.  We vlog/blog about what it's like to live abroad and be frugal. Come along and enjoy the adventure with us!