Six Month Anniversary

Wow! Where did the time go - we arrived in Ecuador six months ago on December 12th. A lot has happened since then but it's still amazing that it's been that long. We stay busy, in fact this was scheduled to post on our anniversary date but I was so busy it got delayed.

We still love it here but do have BIG news...we're moving! We found a wonderful apartment that offers us the two things we are missing in our current spot. An amazing view and a rooftop terrace to enjoy the outdoors. It means a bump in our budget but still close to our initial estimate. For us it's a quality of life issue and we look forward to our new digs.

It's in an 8 floor building that is only two years old. Elevator, 24 hour armed security, secure parking (not that we need that right now), only two apartments per floor, very large and well appointed. We are excited - not sure how our furniture will fit but that will all work itself out.

Back to living here...I have already written two posts about our Preconceptions, Misconceptions and Viewpoints and not much has changed since the last update. The traffic is about the same, we have a new mayor who is putting safety and transportation at the top of his list, the taxis are now metered (although how that is working out is debatable, at least for the taxi drivers), I am seeing a bit of influx on the graffiti side but I also see a lot more official murals around town, we have found that strawberries wane a bit in late May-early June but they seem to be making a comeback, restaurants continue to come and go, we find new businesses all the time and for me, my Spanish is growing slowly. I have had several compliments on my pronunciation, even though I can't roll my R's.

We continue to watch our food choices, not eating out a lot and walking more. With the bicycle in the house, Stu will be using that to continue getting/staying healthy. He is bringing me back a knee brace to help my walking. Since my fall last February, it has continued to bother me at times.

We love the weather even though many days bring a little rain. Often it's just a shower but a month ago we had long downpours. It is getting a little cooler as we move into winter here but I have still been quite warm walking around El Centro midday with bright sunlight.

We will post photos of the new place once we are moved in...needless to say, the next two weeks will be BUSY!!!!

It's electric!

Back in late January, early February we noticed work being done on our street. It appeared they were putting in new power poles. The new ones were the same, just taller - concrete poles, buried in the sidewalk.

We watched the men hand digging out the poles using picks and shovels to break open the sidewalk, dig out the dirt and rocks - sometimes large rocks.

Next came the new poles being set in place, beside the old poles. Would these be additional poles or would the old ones go away?

Soon the wire work started and before we knew it our power would go off by 9am and be turned back on between 5-7pm. Those were the days we walked El Centro or visited Popacuchu Cafe for the free wifi along with their coffee and pastries.

The power outages were sporadic, going on for days and then stopping for a week before continuing to be off daily. No notice, it just happened. Not a major inconvenience for us but it shut down the businesses along our street as well. They seemed to just go with the flow as we have learned to do.

By the mid-April things were looking good, the new poles were in place, the wires were connected and our power outages were a distant memory.

But the holes around the new poles were still open, the old poles still in place and piles of dirt still blocked the sidewalk in spots. Would this ever get cleaned up?

Yes, slowly the holes were filled in with concrete, surrounded by a circle of surplus rocks. The old poles were removed and the surplus of rocks and dirt piles filled in those holes.

Now as we walk the sidewalks we barely notice that this was once a construction zone. Job well done!

Here are some photos I snapped of the process....as always, click for a larger image.

Oh, the last photo has nothing to do with the power work, just a couple of chicks walking the street. ;)

Apartment Work Day

We had originally planned to travel into El Centro yesterday to get a few errands done but our friend, Emilio, called in the morning and was available to come out and help Stu install the wire we need for our Etapa Internet line. Our landlord pays for a basic line that we share with our downstairs neighbor. We want to pay for a higher speed line and not bog her down when we are using the Internet intensively (like watching TV). We also need a higher speed to be able to subscribe to services like Hulu and Netflix if we want a good watching experience. While we enjoy our Amazon Prime now, we'd like to see current series from the US, too.

The gentlemen from Etapa, the local Internet provider, came out a couple days ago and showed Stu where their line terminates, two houses down. It's our responsibility to get the wire from there to our termination point inside the house.

Fortunately Emilio is very experienced in construction as well as being our driver and facilitator/translator. He and Stu quickly opened up the little manholes, ran a metal wire through and then pulled our new wire back through. They then ran it up the building to a hidden corner of our living room and over to behind the television.

Etapa is scheduled to arrive next Tuesday to finish the install. We shall see, even in the US those days seem to undulate like an over full bowl of Jell-o. When they are done, then we will have the local specialist come out and configure the router we brought with us, designed to work specifically with Strong VPN services.

Here are some photos from the work today.

Once done with that, he and Stu hung our two big wall hanging rugs in the hallway. We couldn't have done it without him! I can already notice a difference in the echoing there!

Emilio has become so much more than just a driver since we met him in Guayaquil last December. We feel privileged to call him friend!