I received the water bill which showed the water reading hadn't changed in the last month although I knew for a fact that it had. Oh well, only have to pay $5 this month. Claudette has been cooking some really healthy meals. I look forward to it every day.
We have made it a plan to eat at Play de James every Saturday evening as one of the local couples looks after preparing the meal and running the bar. They make a bit of income from this venture each week which helps them out. James also gets the night off from running the bar. His new bar is slowly coming along. It's a great place to get to meet most of the local gringos.
We have seen cows and horses wandering the malecon past our house. We see all kinds of wild life but horses and cows in town just seems a little unusual. Caught this photo through our kitchen window.
We went to Daveed and Preston's open house on Holiday Monday. James made sure to bring his beer on a dolly.
I was making coffee one morning and noticed a moth on the window so thought I would go outside and get a better look. I was surprised at it's wing formation. It even had a horn on it's back. I told Claudette about it and she thought it was a bat moth that was recently out of it's cocoon.
I had to shut down the pump for the swimming pool as I was loosing water through the drain line. Each time I wold backwash the sand filter, and place the valve back in Filtration mode, it would leak past the valve and down the drain line. I decided to put a ball valve in line on the drain line to stop that from happening. We had to head to the pool store in La Libertad to obtain the valve. Another bus trip which included some shopping at Paseo Mall.
On Saturday I had Pedro install the valve for me. I also picked up a little electric 1/2 hp motor as I would like to see if I can keep the pool topped up with salt water from the ocean. At least I won't be losing any water now that the valve is installed on the drain line. I just have to remember to open the valve when ever I plan on back washing or draining the pool.
I then had Pedro pressure wash the outside property wall facing the street. He then scraped some of the loose or peeling paint off so that it would be prepped for painting the next Saturday. I thought I would select a sandy color rather than the white that was on the wall and the house. Will trim it with dark brown later on.
We decided to catch a cab over to Olon for dinner on a Wednesday evening as there was live entertainment. It is only a $2 cab ride over there. The dining was okay and the singer's vocals were really pleasant to listen too.
The next morning I planted some vegetables in the garden. I put in a row of cabbage, lettuce, radishes and carrots. I put some stones that were left in the house to mark the rows.
We headed into La Libertad to pick p some more items, less than usual which is nice as we are finding more and more items locally. I checked with our property lawyer on our deed and this time he informed me that it would take a couple of weeks yet. Some issues with the new lady in Salinas continually asking question after question. Starting to sound like she may be from Jamaica.
Pedro painted the outside wall and fence with the new color that I picked up. He used a paint brush even though I supplied him with a roller. A roller won't work on the house because of the stone type texture.
On Sunday Claudette offered to take me for lunch at a nearby restaurant that is only open occasionally. For $5 there was more than I could eat. It was more than we would normally pay in town but it contained loads of protein.
The next day we walked the beach to Montanita again and enjoyed some lunch before heading back home. We manage to get or 10,000 steps in by taking this little trek.
When we got home it was high tide so I retrieved a short video while I was scouting out a spot to pump sea water from for the swimming pool.
https://vimeo.com/235268041
Looks like that plan means shifting a lot of rocks, so we'll put that idea on the back burner for now. We'll have to see just how much our water bill is next month as they didn't actually read it last month. It should come to two months of water.
Seems that every time we walk into Montanita, we have lunch before heading back home. We have been trying different restaurants each time. There are enough in this town to keep us entertained for a very long time. On this occasion we started with a mojita as they were free with the meal and then 2 for 1 pricing afterward. Two of these are enough.
Seems that every time we walk into Montanita, we have lunch before heading back home. We have been trying different restaurants each time. There are enough in this town to keep us entertained for a very long time. On this occasion we started with a mojita as they were free with the meal and then 2 for 1 pricing afterward. Two of these are enough.
Following lunch we walk back home along the beach. Always a nice walk to complete the 10,000 steps that we should put in every day. Our home in the following picture is off in the distance on that point with all of the fir trees.
We heard a rumor that the house south of us wold be back on the market and while walking past it today, the sign was up. It's for sale again!
Once back home I headed over to Playa De James's for a cool one and spotted this bird in the park. We had a hard time figuring out what kind of Heron it was but our friend Roger who does some birding felt it was a Yellow Crowned Night Heron.
Friday night and we decided to try one of our local small restaurants that serves Burgers and Fries on their menu. We have had them deliver right to us at Playa De James but thought it would be a good idea to let others see us dining at their establishment. We order a picture of Sangria which was loaded with plenty of fruit as you can see from our glasses. It tasted great!
On this Saturday Pedro began painting the fence and fence wall with the color that I had selected. Turned out that it wasn't exactly what I was looking for but I am sure it will grow on me. It has just a little too much yellow in it.
Spent my Sunday out on the back patio listening to tunes and reading a book. It's tough reading a book out here as there are far too many distractions with the waves and the wildlife. Small iguanas running around and pelicans swooping by. They are so fun to watch as they glide along the waves.
We occasionally stroll around town shortly after dinner once I have the dishes washed. You get to see a lot more at night as the town kind of comes to life after dark. Even the local church looks good when it's all lit up at night.
Our neighbor Monica gave us a lift into Olon so that I could get some plumbing fittings that were not available in town. We got what we needed after a little back and forth communication in broken Spanish. It was good that they had several employees behind the counter and one could understand a little English. We then walked to the beach and had a little lunch before returning home.
Friday night and we decided to try one of our local small restaurants that serves Burgers and Fries on their menu. We have had them deliver right to us at Playa De James but thought it would be a good idea to let others see us dining at their establishment. We order a picture of Sangria which was loaded with plenty of fruit as you can see from our glasses. It tasted great!
On this Saturday Pedro began painting the fence and fence wall with the color that I had selected. Turned out that it wasn't exactly what I was looking for but I am sure it will grow on me. It has just a little too much yellow in it.
Spent my Sunday out on the back patio listening to tunes and reading a book. It's tough reading a book out here as there are far too many distractions with the waves and the wildlife. Small iguanas running around and pelicans swooping by. They are so fun to watch as they glide along the waves.
We occasionally stroll around town shortly after dinner once I have the dishes washed. You get to see a lot more at night as the town kind of comes to life after dark. Even the local church looks good when it's all lit up at night.
Our neighbor Monica gave us a lift into Olon so that I could get some plumbing fittings that were not available in town. We got what we needed after a little back and forth communication in broken Spanish. It was good that they had several employees behind the counter and one could understand a little English. We then walked to the beach and had a little lunch before returning home.
Sporting my Evraz cap. Making the world stronger was their slogan. I used to have close to 40 or 50 caps but had to discard a bunch. Only have about a dozen with me now. They come in handy on a sunny day.
We caught a cab back to Montanita and then walked the beach back home. A cab ride home is $2 and a cab ride to Montanita is $1.50 so we saved $.50. That will by a few oranges!
One of the things that makes my day is seeing these little tykes from daycare strolling the malecon in front of the house. They all hold hands and every one of them looks so happy.
Here are the fishing boats on our beach. And at the same time there are about 20 of them in the water fishing right now. I know those that are in the water are not from our town, so it tells me that there is good fishing just off the beach from our town.
I had Pedro sweep off the roof before tackling the painting of the wall on the house. We get a lot of fir needles that land on the roof. The needles are about a foot long. I think it's a good idea to clean them off every few months especially prior to the hot rainy season coming up in December.
I have had this cat visiting with me off and on over the last couple of months. I have started to feed him as he was looking so thin and unloved. He just adores attention and as I have seen him with a mouse, I trust he's doing his job around our property. Since I started to care for him, he's starting to look healthier.
I love sleeping in and staying up late. It sure is nice to wake up to a view like this in the morning. It's a true pleasure to open the blinds to see what the weather is like. This turned into a nice sunny afternoon and when it's like that, I spend most of my time out on the patios.
Truly a beautiful view and I have to wonder why I even want to leave home. Ah, but we do have to get out and socialize with the neighbors as most everyone in town is friendly. We spent a late evening at Playa De James that even the kittens could sleep just about anywhere.
We returned for the Saturday night dinner but didn't stay late as the night before was still weighing heavy on me. Meal by Luis and Caty was good though. We have been attending this dining experience every Saturday for the last month. It's a night off from the good cooking that Claudette provides and a night off for her too.
Wondering why we chose Ecuador, not anymore!
