Saturday Afternoon Walk

Karen and I decided to take a walk.  We had no agenda.  We just wanted to casually stretch our legs and enjoy the beautiful weather.   We headed down our street Avenida Primera de Mayo to 'see what we could see'.

The city of Cuenca (which is Spanish for Basin) is located in a valley (a valley that is approximately 8,300 feet above sea level!) that has 4 rivers running through the city. Avenida Primera de Mayo runs beside the Yanuncay River.  We hadn't traveled very far before we saw:

 

This picture of a Native American family washing their clothes in the river and drying them on the bank of the river is not unusual.  Also in the background (very top right), one can see a cow grazing on the river bank. This allows the grass to be kept short and fertilized!

Cuenca is a 'walking city'.  We can get quite a bit of exercise while sightseeing on a Saturday afternoon.  We have to be careful when walking on many of the sidewalks though.  For instance:

 

This is a steel tie down right in the middle of the sidewalk!  This is one of many obstacles we encountered while walking along the streets.  I have encountered rebar, uprooted cobblestones, water meter handles, and a host of other items one does not anticipate.  Thus, we must be constantly scanning the path ahead to ensure stability in our travels.

Our neighborhood has several small restaurants and bakeries.  Just before we arrived at the intersection of Solano Avenue, Karen and I stopped at a strip center that has a fresh fish market, a meat market, and a bakery.  Below is a picture of the cakes in the bakery:

 

Yes, they celebrate Father's Day in Ecuador.  Note the sign on the cake says "Feliz Dia Papito" (Happy Father's Day).  Personally, I just wanted to sit in the bakery and eat cake, but Karen said that we must keep going (lol).

Turning left on Solano Avenue we walk to our nearest hospital.  Mounte Sinai Hospital is a clean and modern hospital.  Although I did take some pictures of the hospital, my Internet acquaintances, Dena and Bryan Haines of GringosAbroad.com, have a more extensive description of the hospital, complete with pictures.  Here is their link regarding the hospital: http://www.gringosabroad.com/cuenca-hospital-mount-sinai-hospital-in-cuenca/

Not far from the hospital is an Italian Deli that looks to be very new.  It is popular, usually crowded, and lively with much music.

 

By this time we had walked a couple of miles.  Karen, due to her recent Achilles tendon reconstructive surgery, should not have walked this far.  So, we hailed a cab and headed for one of our favorite restaurants, California Kitchen.  The restaurant was opened by a family who moved here from San Diego.  It is very popular with the gringos and with the locals.  Below is a picture of the owners of California Kitchen, George and Carol.

 

The above photos show the character of the restaurant with the dark wood and the skylight.  We got there a little early to beat the crowd.  The restaurant hosts a lot of events that deal with gringo interests.

After lunch, Karen and I looked through several of the stores downtown.  Like many other families, we have a daughter who we sometimes call 'Sissy'.  We couldn't resist taking a picture of the following sign:

A beauty supply store that Karen wanted to browse through had the following hair product:

The 13 year old boy in me couldn't resist the picture.  The name on the bottle translates to "gorilla snot" and they make hair gel in addition to shampoo.  They do have some funny names on some of the products.  Also we have noticed that almost all products have some sort of scent in them.  Finding anything non-scented (tissues or laundry detergent) is almost impossible.  I suppose being in a country where the average age is 25 years old, much of the marketing is geared toward that demographic.  This may explain why virtually every package has the adjective 'sexy' on it.  I wouldn't be surprised if the dog food bags have 'sexy' on them.

We were walking toward one of the other rivers and came across the following pub:

 Now you know where the Cheers Bar is.  We thought about going in, but we figured 'everyone would know our name'. 

We passed by the bar, stopped off at the Kookaburra Cafe (owned by Australians) for some cheesecake and coffee before taking a taxi home.

Adios

Why Ecuador???

The number one reaction to my last blog was:  Why did you move to Ecuador???  Several of my friends had no idea we had moved, much less moved to Ecuador.

The bottom line is basically the cost of healthcare.  This past year the cost (health insurance premiums, co-pays and deductibles for my family of 4) was close to $40,000.  Next year, the costs would have exceeded $45,000.  I have six years before being eligible for Medicare (assuming Medicare will still be around).  Due to family health issues, being without health insurance in the US is not an option.  So, the search for alternatives began.  During the process, I came across an article in which Cuenca, Ecuador had been rated the number 1 retirement haven in the world (see http://internationalliving.com/2010/04/cuenca-ecuador%e2%80%94il%e2%80%99s-no-1-retirement-haven/).  Much of the reason for the high rating was the low cost of living, the moderate weather, and the availability of good healthcare. 

I began researching the city, which included developing friendships with bloggers who had moved to Cuenca.  I also developed an Internet friendship with an Ecuadorian CPA (for those who don’t know, I am a CPA).  After about 8 months of questioning my Internet friends, Karen and I decided to take an exploratory trip.  In mid-November 2010, we left Florida for a 30 day visit.   

What we found was a city of approximately 450,000 people in the Andes Mountains at approximately 8,300 feet above sea level.  The Spanish speaking people were very friendly and helpful in making us feel welcome.  We investigated the cost of living and the medical community.  After researching these things, we estimated that we could live quite well on less than $24,000 per year (including healthcare and some exploratory trips around South America).  Some expats tell me they live on less, while others say they can live on more.  It is a matter of budgeting and lifestyle desires.  Even if we doubled the $24,000 estimate, it is still less than the annual healthcare costs we would have to pay in the US until we are old enough for Medicare (if it still exists when I am eligible).

We decided to make the move prior to the July 1 health insurance premium rate increase.  We listed our Jacksonville condo with a property manager to lease; we put our truck up for sale and packed some personal items in storage.  On May 30, 2011, we caught a plane out of Jacksonville, through Houston, and on to Quito to spend the night.  Next morning, we headed to Cuenca.

O.K., enough ‘factual data’…..the next blog will have pictures and stories of our activity down here.

The First Days

Many have asked that I send some pictures chronicling our move to Cuenca, Ecuador.  First, I must say that I am not a writer.  The writing gene that my father, sister and daughter have seems to have passed me by. Second, I do not promise to post to the blog on any particular schedule.  As the spirit moves me, I will post.  Nonetheless, I will do my best at giving you some idea of the move.

We left Jacksonville, FL on May 30, 2011 and headed for Quito, Ecuador.  We had to spend the night in Quito before flying to Cuenca the next day.  Below is a picture of Quito, the capital of Ecuador with approximately 2.5 million people.

After spending the night in Quito, we left for Cuenca.  Our landlord (Charlie Brown) met us at the airport and took us to our new apartment.  Here are some pictures of the apartment.

We are upstairs over the trucks.  Charlie Brown  and his wife Susi live below us.

Across the street, there is one of the four rivers that run through Cuenca.  This is the Yunancay River.  It is very peaceful to go across the street, listen to the flow of the river over the rocks, and rest.  Sometimes I sit and think....sometimes I just sit.

That is about it for this first attempt at blogging.  I hope you enjoyed the pictures.