FROGS, RAINBOWS & SURF SANCTUARY

Our first house guests arrived acouple weeks ago and have taken up residence in our bathroom. Aren't they cute little critters? Haven't been able to figure out how they are getting in so we just use the "catch and release" method to avoid stepping on them in the middle of the night.

The rainbow shots were taken off our lanai a few days ago. All of our weather blows in from the Caribbean side, east to west. This time of year there is a strong wind coming from that direction most of the time so it keeps our casa comfortable without air conditioning.

A few weeks ago Anthony, our rental agent, took us on a day trip a few miles south to one of the local surf camps. These are the mainstay of the local economy here with gringos coming from all over the world to experience a Nicaraguan surf holiday. Most of the visitors are single 20 "somethings" and usually stay about a week. Usually everything is included, housing, meals & transportation to the various surf spots. Here are some photos of "Surf Sanctuary." They not only run a surf camp but also sell lots and house packages for those interested in ownership. We had a relaxing afternoon with the owners Tony, Nancy & their family and friends. They served us a delicious lunch, fresh fish they had caught the day before.

The last beach photos are of Rancho Santana, a highend development close to Surf Sanctuary. We haven't been there yet but are planning to visit next month and check things out.

SHELL COLLECTION

One of our new found pastimes is collecting shells. We usually take 2 long walks on the beach everyday and can't walk by a pretty shell. These photos are just a smattering of our extensive collection. We are clueless about proper nomenclature and have selected our own names to identify them, a very unscientific method. Yesterday we decided we couldn't take them all home with us so we started sorting and trying it eliminate some of the "more abused subjects." And everyday when we head out to the beach we say to each other, "now let's be very selective and only pickup the perfect shells." But of course we still come home with a bag of potenial keepers each.

BEASTS OF BURDEN

These are common scenes in our neighborhood. Most folks here can’t afford gas let alone a truck. Have grass? Get ox. We now understand the term- strong as an ox. Amazing how much these beasts can move.

It’s about a 20 minute walk from our beach cottage to the real estate office where we can get on the web. About twice a week we trek up there to make these posts and check our email. Very Sad when we don’t get any… So keep your comments coming…good or bad. Hasta luego, The Podos

ASTILLERO

Astillero is a fishing village just north of us.

Our friends Rose and Joel showed up last week and stayed next door at the Toro Hotel. They treated us with a day trip up the coast to the sleepy fishing pueblo of Astillero. We hiked around the point at the north end of the bay there to catch some surf but alas, the tide wasn’t right. So Lance’s Left will have to wait for another day. On our way back to Popoyo we stopped at a secluded nature lodge called Punta Teonoste. Place reminded us of Kona Village. South Pacific open Fale’ style with separate beach cottages. Awesome very private secluded white sand beach. A little spendy for this area (cottages start at $ 193.00 a nite). So we just had a drink at the bar and traveled on.

SLATE ROCK WALK

You guessed it, more stone!! These shots might give you a perspective of how massive this chunk of rock really is. As you can see we are having a good time.

SEA SLATE SAMPLES

Here is a photo album of close-ups showing the diversity of color and design of the slate in this mammoth rock formation.

SLATE HEAVEN

About 2 miles south down the beach from our place is a massive slate rock formation. Approaching it from the north, it looks like a beached submarine. On closer inspection we were enthralled, consumed and amazed by the natural beauty, color, texture and intrinsic design of this work of nature. As builders over the years, natural stone has become one of our favorite building elements. So as you can see, we have gone alittle overboard on our slate photos. We have been scheming on how we could possibly mine this material in slabs to use in multiple surfaces in our dream home, but is just wishful thinking. It’s one thing to see pieces of beautiful cut stone and quite another to walk on massive natural slabs in “the wild.” Somehow this collection of photos just doesn’t do justice to the real thing, however it’s the best we can do.

PACIFIC SHORELINE GEOGRAPHY OF NICARAGUA

The west coast of Nicaragua is a seemingly endless chain of rocky points, secluded coves and beaches of unique contrast. The shoreline varies from rock shelves, boulders and cobblestones of slate, lava and sandstone. The beach sand comes in an array of colors, black, grey, brown, white and even pink. The following four slideshows are photo’s taken along a 3 mile stretch of coastline north & south from our house.

NICA BIRDS

Here's a sampling of some of the birds we see everyday. Sorry we're ignorant and don't know their names, we just think they are beautiful. The morning bird song when we wake up each day is a tropical symphony. The group of shore birds on the beach at the river mouth greet us on our daily walks. All the other birds you see were photographed from our back lanai.

BEST BEACH SPOT

Walking a few miles on the beach every morning and evening has become part of our regular daily routine. We’ve become compulsive shell hunter/gathers. We no longer leave the house without acouple bags to carry our bootie home. Within a few days of our arrival here at Playa Guasacate, we dicovered our current favorite “chill spot” just around the point at the north end of the beach. The point is a lava formation wonderland with tide pools, caves, inlets, rock bridges and a secluded cove we have named “Hernando’s Hide-away.” There is a large pristine saltwater pool where we go with our books & chairs. During our 3 day reprovisioning stay in L.A., we scored 2 great backpack beach chairs that we use daily on our lanai and take with us on our treks to the saltwater pool.

Our second week here Grey was the victim of a mysterious disappearance. He had just come into the house from the beach and left his Croc zorries on the step outside our front door. A few minutes later he went out to go next door and there was only one zorrie on the step. He then spent the better part of an hour searching the property for his missing zorrie, without success. Because we were at the tail end of the rainy season, the roads were ankle deep in mud with shin deep pools, making his only other footwear, tennis shoes, fairly dysfunctional. He can laugh about it now but he didn’t think it was funny then when he had to walk barefoot everywhere on tender feet. Two weeks later, after finally finding zorries large enough to fit him, he was again the victim of “the missing zorries,” only this time it was both zorries. We had gone walking on the beach and discreetly (we thought!) hidden our zorries under some driftwood near the beach access. Upon our return an hour or two later, we went to retrieve them and low and behold, there was only one pair, you guessed it! Pam’s. Grey was not laughing now, but luckily he had gotten 2 new pairs so now, if he’s not wearing them, he’s carrying them! Rule of thumb numba one, no leave slippa outside for da dog can get. Rule numba two, if you not wearing your slippa, put 'em on top your okole.

Olas

These photos don't really need much explanation. Waves pretty much speak for themselves.

Coastal Real Estate Tour – Day 3

On our 3^rd and final day we visited Las Fincas, a 450 acre residential Eco Reserve which is situated 5 miles south of San Juan del Sur. When we arrived, our host and resident owner, Donn Wilson gave us a tour of his personal residence, a classic reproduction of a Spanish colonial hacienda. Then we mounted up and went for a horseback tour of the property. Sorry cowboys, left the camera in the car so no photos to laugh at!

Donn is passionate about restoring natural wildlife corridors within his Eco Development and has already planted well over 50,000 indigenous trees on the property. Las Fincas is a solar powered community and they believe we should integrate with the environment, not conform the environment to us. They also believe in giving back to the local community and a portion of every sale is donated to the Nica Dev Fund to better the lives of those around them.

Las Fincas has hillside lots 1-4 acres, some with ocean views, ranging in price from $29,000 to $99,000. The Hacienda ranch lots range in size from 2 to 8 acres and are priced from $44,000 to $89,000. You can checkout Las Fincas at: www.nicadev.com

Each development that we visited had something unique to offer but what actually impressed us most was that all of them are committed with their time and money to helping the less fortunate people of Nicaragua in the communities that surround them. That commitment to the local community also includes our tour guide and host Brooke Rudle, an agent with Coldwell Banker in San Juan del Sur.

Coastal Real Estate Tour – Day 2

The following morning we met with attorney Sergio Montengegro, Managing Partner of Garcia & Bodan and Tuey Murdock, consultant with 1st American Title. We had a very informative session with them and learned about how to avoid possible pitfalls with property ownership in Nicaragua.

After our meeting we made our way south to Piedras y Olas, a Pelican Eyes development, overlooking San Juan del Sur. There we met Natalie, head of sales for Pelican Eyes, who hosted us for an awesome lunch, featuring the most incredible Lobster BLT you could imagine. Just looking at the photo makes our mouths water! Natalie showed us several villas and the grounds at Piedras y Olas, which is a hotel and residential resort community. We were quite impressed with the design and finishes of the villas and the integration of the gardens, pools and structures. Later in the afternoon Natalie took us for a short drive over the hill south of the SJDS Bay to view the upcoming oceanfront development at Paradise Bay, Marea Alta. The terrain is steep, allowing unobstructed ocean views looking southwest towards Costa Rica. We ended the day with a swim, a sunset dinner and spent the night in one of the luxury villas.

Cabina/studio apt. start at $200,000 and a 2 bdrm./2 bath townhouse at $296,00. In Marea Alta cottages begin at $369,000 and go up to $971,000. For more information you can go to:
www.piedrasyolas.com

Coastal Real Estate Tour – Day 1

Don't forget you can double click on any photo and it will take you to Picas Web albums. Then click on the "slideshow" box on the left and the photos will be enlarged and easier to view.

Before leaving Ecuador we started chatting, via email, with Brooke Rundle at Coldwell Banker in San Juan del Sur regarding coastal property in Nicaragua. Subsequently, Brooke invited us to go on a tour of several developments along the central & southern Pacific coast of Nicaragua. We met up with Brooke and another couple from southern California, Joel and Rose, in Managua to begin the tour. On our first morning we met with Lori and Jorge Estrada, the developers of Montecristo, a one thousand acre oceanfront residential resort, located 1 hour west of Managua. Although in it’s early stages, Montecristo’s master plan will include 5 distinct communities and feature an 18 hole golf course, equestrian center, several restaurants, swimming pools, tennis courts and a Town Center with neighborhood market and shops. As you can see from the photos, there are some spectacual visitas throughout the project. Lori and Jorge were gracious hosts and spent all morning giving us a personal tour of the property, ending with a picnic lunch at their beachfront pavilion.

Lots with golf course frontage begin at $65,000 and beachfront lots begin at $199,000 and they currently have a lot/house package for $185,000, including a splash pool.

Our next stop was a few miles south at Milagro del Mar within the master development of Gran Pacifica. Milagro del Mar is a primier oceanfront luxury condominium project. The focal point of the property will be a spectacular cascading water feature and tropical garden leading down to a pool at the beach. Our hosts and principal partners of Milagro del Mar, Roger Keeling and Greg Elam, gave us a tour of the site and then treated us to a delightful beachside wine & cheese party, hosted by their lovely wives, Caroline and Sam. We had a wonderful time chatting with some of the property owners, sipping chilled wine, savoring the delicious pate and devouring Sam’s homemade brownies.

One bedroom condos at Milagro begin at $150,000, 2 bedroom at $270,000 and 3 bdrm. $400,000.

That evening on our drive back to Managua, we stopped at Trinity Furniture & Millworks, where Eli gave us a tour and showed us some of their beautiful custom furniture and millwork. Eli is extremely creative and artistic as you can see by the photos of the furniture he has designed. His dream is coming to fruition with the opening of a vocational training school in conjunction with the factory.

For further information and photos of Montecristo or Milagro del Mar you can go to their websites: www.montecristobeach.com
www.milagrodelmar.com

Casa Amarillo at Playa Guasacate - Our New Home

After a 3 hour drive from San Juan del Sur, we arrived in Playa Guasacate and Sunday, November 1^st. Under normal conditions, the drive would only take 2 hours but because of all the rain last month the roads are mostly deep mud holes with streams running down the road so you have to drive in 1^st or 2^nd gear most of the time. A lot of times they just look like big mud puddles but they can be a foot or 2 deep. Everyone we’ve talked to says in acouple weeks it will all dry up and they will do the annual road “reclamation,” then the trip will be a breeze….we’ll see. When we arrived at our house, Casa Amarillo, we were alittle disappointed. The house had been closed up for a month, there was no water, the power was down and it needed to be cleaned. So we opted to stay next door at Hotel Toro for our first night….a nice place & a great pool! Luckily, we had bought a cooler & ice to put our perishable food in. The next day some of the staff from Toro came over and got the water turned on and helped us clean and we moved in. The good news is, the manager at Toro told us we could use the pool anytime, they have cold cervesa and they take Visa! We are stylin’ here on the edge of nowhere!

Our house is about a 2 minute walk to the beach, just like Kaalawai. Right now everything around us is green but will gradually turn brown as we get into the dry season. The beach is similar to Kailua beach in length and 2 to 4 times wider, depending on the tide. However, the sand is grey and the surf is much like Hapuna beach, thumping closeout shore break, not great for long boarding. The next mission might be mission impossible, finding an accessible point break. Nicaragua is not known for it’s reef and point breaks.

We are enjoying the simple life here, long walks on the beach morning and evening with awesome sunsets and lots of shell collecting. Grey is filling his “water need” with body surfing right in front of the house. Life is good and so is the cabbage, as it has been our staple “green food” since we’ve been here. Amazingly, even Grey has gotten to really like it since it is our only salad.

As you can see, we have had some awesome sunsets.

Welcome to Nicaragua - San Juan del Sur

Last week we stopped in Los Angeles for a few days and our friends Sally & Chris were kind enough to allow us to unload all of our “Ecuador treasurers.” After reprovisioning, we flew into San Jose, Costa Rica and took the Tica Bus to Nicaragua. Overall, the bus trip was uneventful, very comfortable and shorter than we had anticipated. The border crossing was a little helter skelter. They took all our passports, made us get off the bus and take all of our baggage off the bus and drag it up onto the bus terminal deck. We waited in line and when it was finally our turn the guy asked us what was in our box and we told him beach chairs. He said okay, push the green button to ring the bell and put your stuff back on the bus. What was that all about?? Then we stood around for 30-40 minutes waiting to get our stamped passports back. One poor fellow had an expired passport and wasn’t allowed back on the bus….wonder what happened to him?

Our first stop in country was San Juan del Sur. Mission, to find a long board. Got lucky and the 2^nd shop we went into had a 10 footer…hurray! Strange thing is, the board was made in Germany. Is there surf in Germany? Got to try it out the next day at a spot called Medaras. Gentle little beach break in a small bay about 35 minutes north of San Juan del Sur on a mud road most sane people wouldn’t consider driving on. The rainy season here just ended and the roads are horrendous. Locals say it was worst wet season in 50 years, good thing we didn’t come earlier!

San Juan del Sur is a classic Latin American surf town. Lots of gringos visiting and living there, mostly younger crowd but there are a few old hippies/beach bums like us too. By American standards everything is cheap here but is at least twice the cost of what we were paying in Ecuador. Gasoline was as high as $5/gal. but has come down a little. In the rural areas (which is where we live!), the only “green” veggies you can get are cabbage & green peppers. Maybe we will write an international cookbook titled, “Siempre Berza” in Latin America, “To Vadza” in Romania and “Choke Cabbage” in Hawaii. However, there is a benefit, makes cooking easy with limited choices. We now have a new appreciation for the abundance of fresh produce in Ecuador, wish we would have eaten more of it!

We lucked out on the hotel Grey picked out on the internet. It was a block off the main street and had a nice interior courtyard so our room was set back off the street. Our second night in San Juan was Halloween and they closed the malacon (beach front street) and put up tables & chairs and every restaurant set up big speakers and blasted music most of the night. Most people wore costumes and the gringos went Greek, lots of “togas.” Think the hotels lost a lot of sheets that night. We were snug in our room and didn’t have any problem sleeping, especially Grey, after surfing for the 1^st time in 7 months.

OTAVALO INDIGENOUS MARKET

We have posted before about the Indigenous Market in Otavalo, but the pictures we shared were mostly of people. We were so taken by the people here that we didn't realize we had excluded photos of the beautiful creations by the local artisans. So, here are 2 slideshows of the diverse handicrafts offered at the market.

San Antonio de Ibarra

San Antonio de Ibarra is a small suburb of the larger city of Ibarra, which is located about 30 minutes north of where we live. Between the 16th and 17th century, woodcarvers from Spain settled in San Antonio. Nowadays, San Antonio de Ibarra is considered to be the most important woodcarving center in South America. Back in August, we visited San Antonio with our friend Leslie, who was visiting us from Cuenca. We got to have a peak at some of the carvers at work. As you can see, the work is all done by hand. Some workshops are camouflaged; outside they look like shacks, or regular homes. Yet inside the fragrant smell of Cedar wood fills the air, as reddish shavings cover the floor next to delicately hand-crafted chairs, religious sculptures, and tables. San Antonio has become one gigantic carpentry workshop in which many families have found a relatively lucrative source of income, while at the same time preserving a wood sculpting tradition of hundreds of years.

Fly If You Can & Hold On To Your Wallet!!

We apologize for our long absence but we ran into some "technical" difficulties. Back in mid August on our way to the coast we had our first really negative experience since we've been in Ecuador. After enduring several long bus trips throughout the country, we had decided to fly to the coast. Unfortunately, there were no seats available on the days we wanted to travel so our options were to wait or endure another long bus trip. We were anxious to get to the surf and sun so we decided not to wait and boarded the bus. Having lived in the tranquil and safe village of Cotacachi for several months, we had become complacent, not thinking that we could become potential targets. We were very wrong! When we first arrived in Quito, one of the first things our driver told us was, "Be very very careful with your valuables when out in public, wallet, camera, purse, ect. Keep them close to your body at all times."

As we sat on the bus at the Quito terminal waiting for the bus to depart, somehow in the confusion of people crowding onto the bus, Pam's purse disappeared off her lap. Unfortunately, our passports, wallet with cash, credit cards & ID and our beloved camera vanished in a blink. Needless to say, our much anticipated trip to the coast began under a dark cloud. Although it was a major financial loss, there were two positive outcomes, no one was hurt and we are now much more vigilant. Oh, I guess there is one other positive outcome - maybe you can learn from our mistake!!

The day didn't get a whole lot better. We had been told it would be a 7 hour bus ride, starting at 6:30 AM. Well, 13 hours later we finally got off the bus. And to sum it all up, it wasn't worth it! The northern coast was no better than the south & central coast we had already traversed. However, at the end of the dirt road and a short boat ride across the river, we came upon a beautiful undeveloped palm lined beach called Portete. We spent most of the day there enjoying the peace and quiet. Sorry, we don't have any photographs to share of our favorite spot....no more camera! The photos we have attached are of Mompiche, where we stayed for 4 nights. They were taken by our friend and neighbor Deb, when she visited Mompiche last December. As you can see, there isn't much in Mompiche, but the water was warm, the beer was cold and the shrimp ceveche was outstanding and we devoured more than our share!

Needless to say, we flew back to Quito and it only took 30 minutes! Moral of the story, fly if you can and hold onto your wallet!

FLOWERS & PLANTS OF ECUADOR

Ecuador is one of the riches places in the world for flora. Ten percent of the world's vascular plant species are located here within an area of only 0.2% of the Earth's surface (about the size of Nevada). Ecuador houses some 25,000 species of vascular plants when all of North America only has 17,000. This is largely due to the diverse ecological conditions created by the great altitudinal differences in this small land. More than 10% of all the orchid species in the world grow here. There are 124 species of hummingbirds in Ecuador, 35% of the world's total. We saw a beautiful hummingbird in our yard today with a very long "tail." By the time I got the camera it was gone...darn! As we have wandered around Ecuador, I am amazed how many plants and trees I recognize. On our hikes in the hills we see cedar, cyprus, eucalyptus and pine trees. In our yard we have hibiscus, roses, daisies, mums, lavender, vinca and honeysuckle. It seems just about anything will grow here.

Hike with Mike , Mickey and Boomer

Yesterday morning we awoke to these awesome vistas of our surrounding volcanoes. So decided to gather our buddies, that being Mike, Mickey and Boomer and assault the hills behind us (that would be West for those of you that care). Got a great workout, about two hours up and one and a half down. The dogs had a blast running amuck in and out and up and down from the stream to the canyon rim. No doubt they traversed ten times the distance we covered. Met a group of adorable brothers and sisters on the trail and shared our lonesome apple with them, but they were all quite content. As you can see we had some wonderful views along the way. We encourage any of you who have the inclination to come visit us. But you better make plans soon as our stay here in the highlands is up mid October. Otherwise enjoy the trip vicariously. Chao, until the next post, Mike, Mickey, Boomer, P&G

Impressions - After 90 Days

We have been in Ecuador for three months and are now beginning to form some distinct impressions of the country and its people. Thought it about time we shared some of those impressions with you folks back home. Bare in mind these are our observations and assessments not facts. These are just the feeble perceptions of two Gringos who have just been wandering about this magical bucolic land.
First and everlasting impression - The incredibly beautiful natural environment,
especially the highlands. Because we are on the Equator, the Andes here are unlike any mountains we have ever experienced. They are greener, alot higher up and gigantic volcanoes inter-mingle with a seemingly endless range of mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, canyons ,mesas and yes even deserts. Everything is just soooo much higher here. Almost all of the highland cities and towns are above 8,ooo ft.
Except for the big cities the high mountain air is crystal clear. The bizarre thing is, as high as 12,000ft. you still have an array of tropical trees and plants thriving,lush,green and happy. Anyway, the photos we have posted speak for themselves.
The downside of the environment here, you guessed it, Man! The litter problem here is epidemic, trash is everywhere. The people here discard their opala anywhere any time. A couple of our Ecuadorian friends have relayed to us that when they were growing up, the signs on the buses read,"PLEASE DO NOT LITTER THE BUS THROW IT OUT THE WINDOW." Those signs are no longer on the buses, however the practice still is. This is the saddest discovery we have encountered on our journey. The level of disregard for the sane disposal of trash is even worse on the coast. We have two suggestions, Ban plastic!! and more realistic, Education....but who cares what we think. All of our gringo friends are horrified by the same issue.

To keep it simple, we thought making a few lists might be easier than running on & on. So to that end, Lists follow.....

WHAT'S BETTER HERE
Attitude:
- people are more friendly, not stressed, non-confrontational, laid
back, mellow and not in a hurry, especially the Indigenous people.
- People are generally helpful and willing to please, particularly those in the
service industry.
- Respectful and hard working people
- Family is very important and proud of their culture

Fresh Fruits & Vegetables:
- Can't beat the price, freshness or variety, every city & town have "farmers
markets" on a daily basis...4 avacados for $1, 16 oranges for $1, lemons &
tomatoes 10 cents each.

Eating Out:
- Almuerzo (local style lunch)$1-$2 you get fresh made juice, soup, main course which
includes rice and potato or plantain, meat/chicken, veggie and dessert.

Public Transportation:
- Local in town buses are $.25 and run frequently
- Between towns buses are $.45 and run every 15 minutes
- Between cities buses are about $1/hour
- Taxi's are plentiful, even in small towns, average $1-2 to go across town

Housing Cost:
- Rent, most Ecuadorians pay less than $150/month. We have friends that rent a 2
bdrm. apt. for $150 and we rent a nice, 2 year old, 1500 sq.ft., furnished, 2
bdrm. house for $300/mo. in a gated community which includes water & sewer
- Utilities, ours run monthly $5-6 electric, $5 gas

Cost of Real Estate:
- In our community, brand new 2 bdrm. condos $50K, brand new 3 bdrm. house
3,000 sq.ft. $130K, both with awesome views

Fuel Cost:
- gas is $1.48/gal
- diesel is $1.02/gal
- propane is $.35/gal

Custom Handmade Products:
- Doors, windows, furniture, cabinets, iron work, pottery, clothing made to your
specification for a fraction of cost in U.S.

THINGS THAT DRIVE GRINGOS CRAZY

- Trash (see above)
- Sound pollution
-electronically enhanced music-people blast loud latino music anytime day & night
not unusual to have music blasting from 4 in afternoon 'til 9 the next morning.
-loud music played on all the buses
-restaurants, stores & public offices have TV or radios playing all the time,
again at high volume
- Total lack of pedestrian courtesy, you take your life in your hands if you think
that you have the right of way as a pedestrian, drivers do not give way for anyone!
- Constant use of the horn in any vehicle, the normal non confrontational Ecuadorian
turns into a demon behind the wheel
- Smog pollution in the cities is bad, old diesel buses are the biggest offenders
- Plumbing issues, there is no uniform building code here, they don't vent their
plumbing here,i.e., it can smell like sewer in your house, water pressure often
sucks, hot & cold are often reversed so be careful
- BUREAUCRACY
-Best just not to go there if you can avoid it. Everything you ever heard or
imagined is true. As far as government is concerned this is still a
"Banana Republic". ALL rules, regulations and laws are a moving target that can be changed
by a new administration , officer or worse, interpreted at the whim of whatever
official is currently in front of you. Our advise..... go with the flow.
-DO NOT ASSUME GOVERNMENT IS LOGICAL or compare it to what you are used to.
-If you ask an Ecuadorian a yes or no question they will always answer yes,
so be careful. We are poking fun here a bit but this really does happen.
-PUNCTUALITY
-Being on time for an appointment or invitation just is not a value for the vast
majority of Ecuadorians. This holds true for Professionals and Gov. officials.
-MONEY
-All clerks hold bills up to the light to check for bogus bills.
-Making or Having change here is a big deal. They hate breaking "big" bills,
which they consider anything over a dollar. Often times a shop owner will have
to go next door or down the block to get change. Then the change you receive
is most often just that, change. Five dollars of change might come in all coin.

Most of these things don't bug us anymore. We laugh alot and are finally accepting the things we can't change.

Through The Sugar Cane Fields to Chachimbiro Hot Springs

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Recently a group of expats living here in Cotacachi got together, hired a van and took an excursion to the Chachimbiro Hot Springs, which is alittle over an hours drive north. As the road descended through more arid terrain we passed through large fields of sugar cane where we came upon a small "cottage" sugar cane processing plant. Having grown up in Hawaii, Grey was fascinated by the primitive yet effective process of harvesting and processing the cane. It was like being transported back to another century. The cane is cut by hand, loaded on the burro, taken to the crusher, cooked to extract the cane juice, boiled to evaporate into a very thick syrup and then poured into molds. After cooling it becomes a solid sugar cake, called panela, is boxed and shipped off to stores where it is found on the shelf just like regular refined sugar.

After a few more miles of winding through hilly countryside, we arrived at Chachimbiro Hot Springs which is situated above a cold mountain stream running through the narrow canyon. The entrance fee of $4 allowed use of all the facilities for the day, including hot showers, steam room, several geothermal pools of varying temperatures and a "agua frio" pool to cool off occasionally. A good & relaxing time was had by all! On the way home we stopped in Ibarra and restored our energy with a carnivorous feast at a Argentinean Parrilladas, where the portions were huge and a glass of wine was full to the brim. And of course, we couldn't pass through Ibarra without a stop at SuperMaxi to gather some of our favorite gringo food.

THE FACES OF ECUADOR 7

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This series of photos, "FACES OF ECUADOR 1-7," are a collection of the various faces of the people we have encountered on our travels throughout Ecuador. We hope you will get a feeling for the diversity, character and beauty of these unique and special people. They are a diverse group made up of Indigenous, Mestizo (mixed Indigenous/European)and Afro-Ecuadorian. It is refreshing to be in a country where the Indigenous people and their culture are still intact. The majority of Ecuador's Indigenous people live in the highlands, and they have distinctive differences in dress depending on their region. Someone familiar with highland dress can tell exactly where an indigenous person is from by the color of their poncho, the shape of their hat, color or style of their dress, etc.

THE FACES OF ECUADOR 6

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THE FACES OF ECUADOR 5

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THE FACES OF ECUADOR 4

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THE FACES OF ECUADOR 3

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THE FACES OF ECUADOR 2

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THE FACES OF ECUADOR 1

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INTI-RAYMI - Festival of the Sun

Originally, Inti-Raymi was an ancient religious ceremony of the Inca Empire in honor of the god Inti, which is the Sun God. It marked the beginning of a new year and celebrated the Winter Solstice and the Harvest. However, over the years Inti-Raymi has been combined with Baila de San Juan (Dance of San Juan), which celebrates John the Baptist's saint day, making it a strange combination of ancient Inca practices and old Spanish Catholic ritual.

Here in Cotacachi, the celebration is truly a unique and peculiar interpretation by the Quichua, the local indigenous people. The festival is a week long celebration, beginning with ritual bathing in Laguna de Cuicocha, a nearby high mountain lake, and followed by days of group dancing in the streets surrounding the town square. Although the women and the children have their respective days to dance, the men dominate the majority of the days. The costumes worn by the participants are a bizarre combination of mostly Spanish vaquero (cowboy), i.e., chaps, whips & homemade black cardboard hats (part witch part sombrero) and a few Inca symbols & masks. The Dance is more of a rhythmic march than anything else and is accompanied by shrill whistling and conch blowing. The men’s dancing tends to become very aggressive as a result of high adrenalin levels and excessive alcohol consumption and fights often breakout between the various village groups. Over the last few years there has been a formative police presence for riot control. The use of tear gas has been a regular occurrence to control the aggressive behavior.

The final day of the festival is a culmination of food and family, a peaceful counter point to the previous days of male macho strutting and aggression. The images that are shown here do not include any of the “men only” dancing, as we were not excited about getting close to residual tear gas. For those of you who would like to see and hear more about the men’s dancing, you can go here and check it out: http://blog.pro-ecuador.com/ecuador-culture/cotacachi-dance-of-san-juan-sunday/

AMBATOTILLA

Napolean's older brother Rodrigo lives in the family home in Ambato and they still own the family farm in Ambatotillo, the small village where they grew up. We spent one morning walking all around the village and the farm, met his aunt & uncle and cousin who still live there. The old farm house where he and his 6 siblings were born is still standing, although no longer inhabited. Napolean is planning to build a new house on his property so the family will have a place to stay in "the country."

AMBATO TO BANOS ON THE BUS

These photos were taken on our bus trip from Ambato to Banos. As you can see, it is a very narrow steep valley and the farmers take advantage of every inch. They have greenhouses on very steep slopes and we were told that the farmers actually secure themselves with a ropes to work the really steep fields. Volcan Tungurahua, also called the Black Giant, is one of Ecuador's most active volcanos. If you look close in two of the photos, you can see the most recent lava flow that wiped out the road and several small villages. Unfortunately, it was cloudy everyday we were there so we didn't get any photos of the 3 giant volcanos that surround the area or get to see the smoke and steam from Tungurahua.

When we arrived in Banos we searched out a bakery that had decent coffee and had some breakfast. Then we were off to the hot springs! We spent 2-3 hours soaking in the hot pool with an occasional dip in the "agua frio" to cool off. It was so relaxing to lay back in the hot water and look up at the beautiful waterfall. Even though it was overcast most of the time, we all ended up getting a pretty good sunburn...hard to keep sunscreen on in hot water. Good thing we were wearing sun visors to protect our faces, we forget how close we are to the sun here! Napolean peeled like a snake but since we still have the slight remnants of our Hawaiian tan, we didn't.

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AMBATO - Music, market & bakery

Our new neighbor, Napolean Sanchez, invited us to go with him to Ambato, about 80 miles south of Quito in the central Andes. He was born and raised in the small village of Ambatotillo, on the hill above Ambato. When Napolean was 18 he received a scholarship to go to the U.S. to study English for one year at a prep school in Massachusettes. At the end of the year the Headmaster of the school gave him the option of returning home or staying in the U.S. and going to community college. He offered to help him with his first semester and told him he would have to get a job to support himself. He opted to stay and go to college and he didn't return home to Ecuador for 16 years. After he got his degree in Latin American Studies, History & Literature, he was offered a job teaching at the college on the condition he continued to persue his graduate degree, which he did, eventually earning his Phd. During this time he met and married his wife Dotty and they had two children. He just retired in May and bought the house next door to us, where he and Dotty plan to escape from the cold winter months in Massachusettes.

Our first night in Ambato we had the pleasure of experiencing some wonderful authentic folk music at Rodrigo's house. One of his friends played beautiful music on his harp, which was made in Peru. We cruised around the markets, enjoying the local people and got to have tour of a local bakey. It has been owned by the same family for over 25 years and they have 2 large wood fired ovens where they bake thousands of rolls everyday. The man with the goats walked down the street every morning hollaring "leche de chivo," which means "goat milk." People would come out with their containers and he would actually milk the goat right there, now that's fresh! We also saw a lady in front of the hospital in Quito with 2 goats selling milk. (click on the image for larger photo's and captions)

SAMARI SPA, Banos, Ecuador

After spending several hours soaking in the hot springs in Banos, we took the bus to Samari Spa, a 5 Star Resort, Spa & Restaurant just 10 minutes east of Banos. The property was a Jesuit Monastery and the restaurant & reception are in the original building. Walking around the gardens you would think you were in Hawaii.

You can click on the image below to view photos in a larger format. Then if you click on "My Photo Gallery," you can view any or all of our Picasa Web Albums....Enjoy!

"Local Kine" Construction Methods

A "different" way of pouring a second story floor deck.....
We were walking the along the malacon in Crucita a few weeks ago and came upon this jobsite. These guys not only work as a team, they were a team. They were all wearing their soccer jerseys. Must be the local industrial league, sponsored by the contractor. Their on-site batch plant was pretty cool.
Step 1 - human wheelbarrow, the sand guys
Step 2 - the gravel guys
Step 3 - trowing 'em inside da mixa
Notice the guy with the "U" on his shirt, signaling goals scored, he was the waterman. You can see the 55 gal. drum he was dipping out of with a 5 gal. bucket. In photo number one, #10 is the cement man. Da team was having a great time. Last photo, foreman on the roof sucking 'em up, he was also running the hoist to getting the concrete up to the 2nd floor.

Real Estate Around Cotacachi

Thought you guys might be curious about the real estate market in Ecuador. To sum it up, It's Cheap!!! Our friends and neighbors Bob and & Deb took us up to take a look at Colonial El Batan, a new 14 lot development less than a mile from Cotacachi. Marcelo, the developer, is from Cotacachi and worked as an engineer with Exxon/Mobil in the U.S. for 17 years. He got tired of the rat race and decided to come home and do his own property development. The first 4 photos are of a 3,000 sq.ft. house he built for a friend and former colleague from Exxon. Going price is $45/sq.ft. which includes the lot, for a total price of $135,000. The last photo is a smaller house, approx. 1750 sq.ft., for $80,000. If you have any further interest you can check out the following link:

http://www.MoveToEcuador.com

Awesome Vistas From Our House

1) Morning view - house behind us, owned by an Ecuadorean family living & working in the U.S. planning to retire here next year.

2) Cotacachi - zoom view, dusting of snow acouple mornings ago

3) Imbabura - morning shot out our front door

4) Cotacachi - morning shot out our back door

5) Cotacachi