We are living on the second floor of the condo building which is called Tesoro del Mar located on the so called quieter end of the Salinas malecon. Quieter because most of the action is at the south end, but as there is a speed bump about 50 meters north of us, it seems that the odd vehicle or motorcycle with no wisp of a muffler has to step on the gas after climbing over the speed bump. Annoying if you are trying to listen to something on the radio or the TV.
The condo that we are renting has a large balcony which is really nice. I just wish it had a barbecue. We are paying $900 per month plus utilities. The rent also includes all furniture, aapliances, kitchen ware, Direct TV and internet. The internet speed is around 14 mbps download and 13 mbps upload which is pretty good.
The weekends have been busy as 6 Nations rugby has started, so we have been streaming that as I already had a subscription to stream plenty of sport stations and movies stations. Netflix of course has been an evening staple. Had to cancel the Crave TV subscription as it only works in Canada. Purchased a Turbo Beacon while we were still in Canada so that I can still catch the odd Amazon Prime video. It also helps as any vpn doesn't really do the job like they used too.
Also during the first week we stopped at the mall and looked at getting our phones setup. We had both purchased Blackberry Priv's on the Black Friday sale day on Blackberry's website. We chose them as they had the android software on them and also because of the security. The security must have been so good that Movistar's sim cards couldn't handle the phones. We both burnt through 2 sim cards and they still wouldn't work during the first week. Good thing we had each picked up the Wifitogo's at the airport when we arrived as we could still use the MagicJack apps that we had installed. Movistar was unable to figure out why their sims would not work. They tried to say that the phones were blocked, but that wasn't the case as they came direct from Blackberry unlocked. They wanted us to pay for another sim card and I decided while Claudette was arguing with them, to walk down to the Claro store. There was an attendant at the door that quickly found someone that could speak English to assist me. It wasn'tlong before Claudette joined me. I think she was happy that everything was working out. The Claro guy actually worked on her phone first and voila, no problems. Then on to mine and the same thing, everything worked just as they should. Claro's fee for 1.7 gig of data was $29 per month. That sounded like a reasonable deal.
We have also been going out for dinner 2 or 3 times each week to enjoy some of the local dishes. They are not that much different than what we are used too. But the pricing is a lot better. Dinner for two along with wine or beer is less than $20 most of the time. We can even get dishes for $4 or $5 and it really depends on what sort of setting you wish to have your meal in. If you can enjoy the company of anyone, than you can enjoy a meal anywhere.
After being in the country for a couple of weeks and spending much of our time watching rugby on TV along with favorite programs while both searching mls listings, we finally came up with a list of what we agreed would be worth looking at.
We started off with visiting Punta Blanca with our realtor Kimberly. I had emailed her a long list of properties that we wanted to visit and she sorted into areas whereby we could visit an area that included what we wanted to see and then digest that while waiting for another outing.
The home in Punta Blanca was a bit of a hike away from the beach and had a few steps to climb to get into the house from the road. It had some nice outdoor living areas and a spare lot beside it with nothing on it which was included in the price of $165,000. I was turned off by how hot it was in the middle of the afternoon as it didn't receive much ocean breeze or anything as the homes around it were blocking any airflow. It had a few structural cracks too which you could see had just been patched over.
The second home we visited was nicer and on a large ocean front lot in Belanita. It was listed for $285,000 and was well kept inside and contained a lot of modern items and was well air conditioned. It had a hot tub on the large patio. It was nice, but would take up most of our budget. You have to remember that the exchange rate is around 30 - 35 percent at this time for CAD - USD. If we could offer around $200k and it was accepted, then yes, but I don't think they would could consider an offer that far off the asking price. The economy here right now is a buyers market, but this seller was not desperate to sell.
In between house hunting we have also been enjoying the beach. It's been nice and quiet on the weekdays which are the best time to visit them. The weekends in Salinas can get pretty busy as a lot of Ecuadorians like to head to the coast for the weekend. We have enjoyed walking on the malecon. My favorite time is just before the sun sets as it is a tad cooler. Plenty of vendors still selling there items and treats, some of them packing up and heading home. Vendors packing up their tent covers and umbrellas and loading them on a cart that they then push home, hopefully nearby as they sure look heavy.
Then it was off to Bahía de Caráquez to meet with a realtor who was going to look after transferring the lot that we
purchased in 2009 over to our names as we had purchased the lot from the developer and it was now
paid out. This realtor will also handle the sale of our lot too. He informed us that pricing has dropped
and that if we wanted to sell quickly, he may have a buyer that would pay 20k less that we paid. We
hired a driver (Rick) to take us up there and bring us home.
After a day or two of relaxing from that road trip, we then headed up with our realtor to view a
couple of properties in Manglaralto. The first one was a 2 story ocean front listed for $169,000 with
3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms with a nice patio and a deck off of the two second story bedrooms. It was
cute, but had no real space to build a casita. Pretty much every bit of space was used up by the house
and wrap around patio.
We then went to look at the home next door which Claudette had emailed to me about a year earlier
when we were house hunting back in Calgary. This home had 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and a large
patio with a small swimming pool. It was listed for $199,900. The home was apparently built back in
the early 70's but was in good condition. Once we were back in Salinas, and had time to discuss the
two properties, we sent Kimberly an offer of $149,000 to see what sort of counter offer might come
back at us.
Now into our 3rd week here and it's time for a road trip. Not knowing where to rent a car and not finding any rentals in Salinas, I thought it may be best to rent one at the airport in Guayaquil. Now just have to figure out how to get there. We have yet to travel by public transit yet. All we have used to this point has been taxi cabs or helped out locals who specialize in transporting people and goods. It's funny how when you are searching for something on the Internet and then Facebook suddenly shows you a post relating to what you were searching for in another Facebook group. Blind luck, I don't know but I noticed a thread of someone else looking for the same thing and one of the responders of whom lived in La Libertad area mentioned that she could help them out so I sent her an email and she responded quickly. So it was happening. Things were coming together for the trip. She picked us up a couple of days later and drove us into Guayaquil and dropped us at the airport as requested. Angela was helpful and the trip cost $60.00 and as I had no clue of any cheaper transportation, this was okay with me. We then rented a car from Thrifty and headed back to Salinas.
The next morning we then headed up the coast with intentions of staying overnight in Puerto Lopez with a couple of stops along the way. First stop was Manglaralto to take a look and see what the town was like. We had lunch on the malecon which they recently completed which runs along the river to the sea. We both had a shrimp soup with coffee and juice for $3 each. We really liked how peaceful the town seemed to be. Plenty of beach with nary a person on it. And, it was close to Montanita which is a popular surfing town along the coast of Ecuador. We swung by the property again and had a moment to snap a picture of the road behind the house. Even though it was a malecon it was really quite peaceful. The trees around this part of town were all large fir trees of a sort.
The realtor also confirmed that our offer was rejected but with no counter offer so we would be looking at this listing again in the next week or two. So we were now off to Montanita to have a walk around. It was also an election weekend, so no liquor sales anywhere in the country. That was fine as I would be driving most of the time.
Once we got to Montanita we stopped for a walk around town. The vendors were all quite friendly and helpful. They all would want you to try out their restaurant. A person should never go hungry here. Even though it was an election weekend with no liquor sales it seemed to be a very energetic town with plenty of young people and the beach was busy with surfers, sun bathers and water toys and wind surfers. I liked it as it would be a 15 minute hike on the beach from Manglaralto. The pricing in the restaurants were less than what we were experiencing in Salinas too.
We were then off to Olon which was about 5 minutes up the road. We drove around the town and found that it was somewhat similar to Montanita but not near the commercialization so a little bit quieter but not as quiet as Manglaralto.
Back on the E15 highway and on our way to Puerto Lopez. We had booked a cabin at the Mandala Hosteria on the north end of the malecon. I had stayed there with my uncle back in 2012 when I came down to select a builder for our lot at Coco Beach Village. It is a nice location and quieter. The malecon has been upgraded too. When I was last here it was just all sand. Now it's all finished with interlocking pavers. A sound investment by the government of Rafeal Corea. It improves the area and will help to bring more tourist business. A lot of excursions for the Galapagos and the Poor Mans Galapagos start from here. There is also plenty of scuba diving excursions from here along with whale watching tours. The hosts at the Mandala Hosteria are very friendly and speak English. The cabins are big enough and private as each one is situated in their little jungle so that they are joined together and each has it's own pathway. The rooms are spacious with a nice en suite bath. There are ceiling fans but no AC which seemed okay for us even in February when it is the hotter time of year as there is more humidity. El Nino is the predominant ocean current for a few winter and spring months so as it is warmer, there is more rain so Ecuadorians term it as "the greening season"
We took a walk on the malecon after we got settled into our cabin. We walked all the way to the south end and even took in a beach soccer match. Seemed to be a pretty athletic group of players and their match was being enjoyed by several spectators. They must schedule the games to be played while tide is out as there is then a nice wide beach.
The Mandala Hosteria also has a kitchen so after getting back and taking a short nap in the hammocks and a quick shower, we headed off for dinner. https://vimeo.com/214734616
The next day following breakfast we got back on the road and headed north to the intersection that would take us east and then south to Guayaquil as we were now headed to Cuenca. It was about a 7 hour drive and pretty much free sailing for the first half of the trip while the end of the trip was a windy road through the mountains which slowed me down a tad. We arrived and of course it was dark and as usual I can't seem to find anything in the dark. So, I had to park and jump out of the car and walk around the block and come back and claim that we had not yet found the place. The Google map was sending me to the wrong place. This meant that I would have to input the destination again and wait for it to find it and then back on the road again. Did I say they were one way streets too?
We finally found the Hotel Inca Real and I ran in and checked in and then one of the attendants followed me back to the car and gave me directions after he jumped inside on where to drive the car so that we could park it in a secure area. It was about 3 blocks away so it was a good thing that Claudette got out and we also unloaded the bags while we parked and walked back. It was nice to finally arrive. We then took a walk around the block looking for a place to eat and settled on heading back to the Inca Real as they had a restaurant there.
The next day we both headed out looking for someplace that Claudette could get her hair done. We found a place just a few blocks away. I then walked in another direction looking for a barber. Google maps sure helps as long as people post things like this with a picture of what the place looks like from across the street. I walked up and down one street a few times before I found the barber. The map showed where it was but for the life of me, I couldn't see it. Then when I was about to give up, I found it, with the barber pole and all. Now why didn't I see it before? They must have been on lunch and had the scroll door pulled down. Yes, that's what must have happened. As soon I walked inside and seen the rotating barber pole, I knew that had to be the case. Otherwise how could I have missed it 3 or 4 times as I walked this street on both sides searching. I was now happy though. The barber spent at least a good 40 minutes cutting my locks. And the fee, three dollars was much to my liking. I even tipped for a job well done. Now to find Claudette.
She messaged me as I was trying to find my way back to the Inca Real Hotel. It was a bright sunny afternoon so I had to duck into some shade every once in a while just to check my phone. Glad we set them up when we got here. I like the photos that it takes. Will never complain about the Blackberry Priv.
That evening we chose the same restaurant as it was easier than looking around. The next morning we met with a visa facilitator to discuss what was expected with the new changes that had just been voted in on February 6th. The meeting with Gregory went well and lasted a few hours. We met in the foyer of the Inca Real Hotel. We then caught a cab out to the new Visa office and missed it by a few minutes. Oh well, guess we will have to look at doing what was needed in Guayaquil. We decided to take a walk this evening and find Don Colon's restaurant. It wasn't too far away. Don even came over and mentioned that he had seen us in Salinas and that he frequently stays in Olon. I am sure we will see him again.
Don had some interesting art on the walls. We enjoyed the meal and Claudette had ordered a sizzling plate of assorted seafood that looked really good. We sat next to a group of Canadians and Americans who were discussing their lives in Cuenca. Don gave us his business card so that we could stay in touch.
The next morning we got up and it was raining pretty much everywhere around the city. We headed out with plans to make it back to Guayaquil by noon but were stopped on the edge of town and informed that the road was closed. This meant that we had to figure a different route and there really are not many choices. So we decided to head north to Azogues and then took highway 35 to highway 40 which added about an hour and a half to our trip. We arrived a little late at the Thrifty desk to drop off the car. Add another $68 to the Trifty total. The trip was nice though as I had never driven this stretch of road before. We were even driving above the clouds in some areas.
The highway was in pretty good driving condition save for a few spots where we had to slow down for some slides that had taken place earlier and were partially cleaned up. We didn't have to stop though so we were making good time.
The car definitely required a wash following this road trip. Once we dropped the car back at the airport in Guayaquil, we caught a cab over to the Terminal Teresteo which was a $4 ride to go around the airport and I mean virtually right around and almost back to where we started. One ways can cause that problem.
Once in the bus terminal I was surprised at just how big the place was. There was a mall inside, an eating court, a grocery store and then all of the bus ticket offices which are at the one end and run the entire length. We walked around the place for a bit and then grabbed some drinks for the bus ride home. Once we had our drinks and snacks we then headed over to the ticket offices and walked from one end to the other until we located the ticket office we needed for Santa Elena which is the one needed for getting to Salinas.
Our ticket booth was actually #84 and that one would take us to the Santa Elena terminal which is then a $5 cab ride to our condo in Salinas. These buses leave just about every 20 minutes. So when you you get your ticket for $4.15 per person you best motor on back to the mall area and catch the escalator up to the next floor and then right back on the escalator to the 3rd floor. Then head straight to the exit doors. The person at the gate will tell you where your bus is waiting. From the time you obtain your ticket to when the bus leaves is short, so don't mess around.
The bus ride was not what I expected. This turned out to be a nice air conditioned bus that even included a movie as the trip is about 2 hours. Then about 30 minutes into your trip, someone will come on the bus to sell something to eat or a refreshment. Nothing will cost more than a dollar. Then about 20 minutes later the bus stops and lets that person off and it doesn't stop again until just before La Libertad to let anyone wanting to get off there.
Once back in Salinas, we were then catching drift of a busy weekend coming up with festival on it's way. We figured we would take a stroll down the malecon to see just how the Ecuadorians like to celebrate. As it was mid afternoon we decided to stop at one of the restaurants for lunch. We grabbed a table near the sidewalk so that we could enjoy a bit of breeze. It wasn't long before someone leaned in and sold me a can of foam. After lunch we crossed the street and strolled down the malecon. Much to my hope of not getting sprayed by foam, I actually got covered. Plenty of young ladies wanted to see me covered in foam. It was definitely a new experience. https://vimeo.com/214873141
Once we returned to the condo it was time to strip out of those clothes and have a shower. The evening proved to be interesting with the traffic coming into town building up. We could see the cars starting to back up to each other and the back of the procession was starting to get closer to our condo. By midnight the cars were now backed up to each other well past our condo and the fumes from the exhaust was getting so bad that I had to close all of the windows for the remainder of the night. https://vimeo.com/216856799
We had to put up with this for 3 nights. Busy traffic days and busier traffic nights. Once the weekend ended it was back to normal. Much easier to handle. Festival kind of reminds me of events like the Calgary Stampede back home but with a parade every night. And the first month in Ecuador was complete. Wondering why we love Ecuador, not anymore!
No comments:
Post a Comment