Then I walked over to Javino's Coffee and Wine bar for a nice big coffee as I figured I needed it to stay awake. Flying through out the night was more or less sleepless. Ruby and Aladdin were excited to see me. We chatted for a couple of hours before I headed over to my daughters for the evening. She was home from work by the time I arrived. I managed to stay up until about 11:00 pm.
Found out by email during the afternoon that my funds had been received at my XE account in Toronto. That was quick! So the next morning after breakfast, I called XE and initiated all of the transfers that I had to make. One for the purchase of the house to the seller's account in Florida. Then a couple of transfers to Sandra for the balance of what we owed her for the services in Ecuador for our belongings that were coming by sea can. Another two transfers for our sea can deposit and our bond which we would have to pay for as we do not yet have our residency. We get both of these back once the sea can is returned to Calgary and most of the bond back once we have residency.
Rod received a call to head out for work while I was on the phone, so once I completed the transfers I contacted Caroline to see if she was available for a visit. Caroline is a 1st cousin once removed that lives in Camrose. When I arrived she was outside cleaning the interior of her 2003 Ford Mustang convertible. After we got the greetings out of the way, we headed up to see her mother for a little visit. Caroline's sister arrived and we then headed over to the casino for lunch. Then back to Carolines's for pie before we both had to head off in different directions. I had to fly the next morning so I wanted to get back to Calgary at a reasonable hour.
I was up at 5:30 am and at the airport by 7:00 am for my 9:00 am flight. I was in Quito by 11:30 pm and stayed at the Quito Airport Suites Hotel for the night. I had prearranged the booking and had a taxi waiting for me at the airport to whisk me away to the hotel. I checked in shortly after midnight and the host was kind enough to open the gate and take me to my room and advise of the morning schedule. I wasn't flying until 1:00 pm that day so I was able to sleep until around 8:00 am and slowly got myself together and went out and had coffee and breakfast. Met a number of others that were also staying there. Grabbed a few photos of the place before the taxi arrived to pick me up and take me back to the airport. They have a variety of rooms in different buildings around the property. Some nice views too.
The flight to Guayaquil was a quick 45 minute trip. I was in Guayaquil by 2:00 pm and on a bus to Salinas before 3:00 pm. Or at least I thought I was until about an hour into the trip, everything started to seem a little out of place. We were stopping more often and at a couple of the stops, several people came on board to sell stuff. I kind of got the feeling we were on the wrong bus and went up to the front and talked with the driver. He dropped me off on the side of the road and I crossed it and walked for a while until a bus going in the opposite direction came along. Rode that bus back to Guayaquil and caught the correct on. That was a $6 mistake that had me shaking my head. It was strange as when they print your ticket, it has a bus number on it and the bus I jumped on had the same number. Maybe I walked out the wrong side of the terminal to catch the bus. I don't know but I will pay closer attention in the future.
The first week back was relaxing with temperatures ranging from 24 C for highs and 22 C for lows. We met with the owner of the house along with our lawyer and the realtor's at the notary and signed all of the paperwork for our home. We then took a bus ride out to Manglaralto and received the keys from the guardian for our new home. We looked around and took note of what we should pick up and then headed off for a late lunch.
We then took the bus back to Salinas as we had another road trip in the morning. The next morning we had to head into Guayaquil to meet with Sandra to sign all of the paperwork for our household goods that had recently arrived at the port. We were all done signing at the notary's office within a couple of hours so headed back to Salinas.
The next week we headed back out to the house and painted one of the living room walls. Then headed off to have some lunch and enjoyed a shrimp soup and some fish and rice for $3. Can't argue about the price.
We received an update on our shipment. Everything was inspected and now it was down to updating the paperwork. A long weekend and then hopefully everything would be approved. I was also communicating with a another realtor who would look after selling our Coco Beach lot. We are selling it for 24k less than what we paid for it. The lot is beautiful and has water and electricity. It is 50' wide by 196' deep and you walk right on to the beach from the property.
If you are interested, follow the link https://ecuadorrealestateagent.com/properties/private-beachfront-lot-ready-build/
We then hired a truck to carry our 14 cases from the condo in Salinas to our home in Manglaralto. Our driver was from Argentina and was currently working on a film documentary in Ecuador. He has been living here for several years. While we were driving I also received notification that our sea can with all of our belongings was scheduled to arrive about an hour after we would get to the house. It's going to be a fun couple of days.
Our first day was spent getting the things that were needed right away found and unpacked. Our first night in the house, we started blowing light bulbs one after the other. We explained this to Pedro and he had an electrician at the house within the hour. That Saturday night we continued to blow bulbs including the fridge. Pedro had the electrician that wired the house decades earlier come over and inspect things. He discovered that the problem was actually at the power pole across the street and pulled his truck with the ladder attached over to the pole. Once he fixed the problem they had someone run over and buy $60 worth of light bulbs and started replacing them all. The fridge was still blitzed so he said he would see if he could find the spare parts that had blown.
Monday morning we took the bus back to Salinas and tidied up the condo and grabbed a few remaining items and then went through the check out procedure. It was my birthday so Claudette offered to take me to Montanita for dinner. It was a great way to finish off our sixth month in Ecuador. Wondering why we love Ecuador? Not anymore!!
The first week back was relaxing with temperatures ranging from 24 C for highs and 22 C for lows. We met with the owner of the house along with our lawyer and the realtor's at the notary and signed all of the paperwork for our home. We then took a bus ride out to Manglaralto and received the keys from the guardian for our new home. We looked around and took note of what we should pick up and then headed off for a late lunch.
We then took the bus back to Salinas as we had another road trip in the morning. The next morning we had to head into Guayaquil to meet with Sandra to sign all of the paperwork for our household goods that had recently arrived at the port. We were all done signing at the notary's office within a couple of hours so headed back to Salinas.
The next week we headed back out to the house and painted one of the living room walls. Then headed off to have some lunch and enjoyed a shrimp soup and some fish and rice for $3. Can't argue about the price.
We received an update on our shipment. Everything was inspected and now it was down to updating the paperwork. A long weekend and then hopefully everything would be approved. I was also communicating with a another realtor who would look after selling our Coco Beach lot. We are selling it for 24k less than what we paid for it. The lot is beautiful and has water and electricity. It is 50' wide by 196' deep and you walk right on to the beach from the property.
If you are interested, follow the link https://ecuadorrealestateagent.com/properties/private-beachfront-lot-ready-build/
We then hired a truck to carry our 14 cases from the condo in Salinas to our home in Manglaralto. Our driver was from Argentina and was currently working on a film documentary in Ecuador. He has been living here for several years. While we were driving I also received notification that our sea can with all of our belongings was scheduled to arrive about an hour after we would get to the house. It's going to be a fun couple of days.
Our first day was spent getting the things that were needed right away found and unpacked. Our first night in the house, we started blowing light bulbs one after the other. We explained this to Pedro and he had an electrician at the house within the hour. That Saturday night we continued to blow bulbs including the fridge. Pedro had the electrician that wired the house decades earlier come over and inspect things. He discovered that the problem was actually at the power pole across the street and pulled his truck with the ladder attached over to the pole. Once he fixed the problem they had someone run over and buy $60 worth of light bulbs and started replacing them all. The fridge was still blitzed so he said he would see if he could find the spare parts that had blown.
Monday morning we took the bus back to Salinas and tidied up the condo and grabbed a few remaining items and then went through the check out procedure. It was my birthday so Claudette offered to take me to Montanita for dinner. It was a great way to finish off our sixth month in Ecuador. Wondering why we love Ecuador? Not anymore!!
