AWESOME...INSPIRING...MIND-BLOWING!!!

Wednesday (Miercoles) 11 de Augusto, 2010

First the really great stuff…

As the title gives hint too…

AMAZING…MIND-BLOWING… AWESOME…

GORGEOUS… INSPIRING and…

                    

I’m sure there are many more descriptive words.

   


The above is my attempt in giving you…albeit...
a small hint as to the descriptive scenery throughout 
about 95% of our (my two friends and our guide / 
interpreter) trip via a very comfortable mini-van.

The place…

Cajas National Park which incidentally…crosses the

Continental Divide somewhere between Cuenca and

Guayaquil (pronounced…Goo-why-a-keel).

To give you a small idea of our trip…we traveled up

to an elevation of…thirteen thousand feet (13,000ft) 

or just shy of 4km or…almost 2.5 miles high.

Keeping in mind that Ecuador as a whole…is a

micro-climatic area…we traveled from a temp of low

40F (Cuenca…a.m.) to Guayaquil (about mid-high 

80F’s for the time we were there).

The drive took just about three (3) hours. Once the 

van dropped us off near the airport (drop-off point)…

we taxied directly to the Registration Office and…

“lucked-out”…BIG TIME!

The building is huge…and so was the mob of people.

However our guide/translator…after a few quick hit ‘n

misses ended up at the correct window where we

“prepaid” the cost of the Cedulas ($2.00).

That done we were ushered into a room that…

and I’m guessing here…probably contained a

thousand people. The upswing to all this was that

there were 24 or so booths in which various citizens'

type  business was conducted.

So with our personal “next” numbers in hand…

we sat...and waited !!!!

I still cannot believe it but we probably waited

about a half hour… and we were each in our own

little both with our own clerk…about to embark on

the needed “Residency” classification J J J

Jumping ahead a bit…after going over our required

paperwork…getting finger-printed (no ink)…photos

taken…we were done! 

Well almost as we were then informed that we needed 

to return in 48 hours to pick up our Cedula I.D. Cards...

DECISION TIME !!

We could have camped out in a hotel for the next

two (2) days or return to Cuenca…hence return at a

later date. We opted to return back to Cuenca...

that same day (Tuesday)...

Now at this point one needs to [again] understand the

Ecuadorian mind-set...

Remember my past Rantings?

Ye know things like...later don’t necessarily mean that

day or for that matter…the day after next etc. etc.

Anyway…with our knowledge of how things sometimes

work in these here parts J…we decided to leave

Guayaquil and return on the following Tuesday (one

week later to the day). 

The reasoning behind this is simple! Thursday…(though 

this is the suggested day)…is way too soon and Friday…

well...it’s another National Holiday! (Ecuador is loaded 

with Legal Holidays) and Monday...which is the start of 

the week…is a BIG no-no!

So…next Tuesday at 7 a.m. we ‘re off again to…

”hopefully” bring this governmental adventure to a close!!

OK…official stuff done! 

Now it was time to get some “fuel” as in lunch and 

have a look-see around.

Now…Guayaquil is a BIG CITY!

I’ve always heard the “bad” things about the city and

to be fair… depending on how one presents or carries

him/herself in public (and this is true in most cities of

the world)…probably translates to the degree of crime

one may or may not attract. With this in mind…

Off we went to do a bit of exploration and also

to “do lunch” J

Now…there is an area that is called El Malecon 

(The Malakon)…which is nestled by the El Rio Guayas

(The Guayas [goo-why-aas] River). The area frequented

by everyday people...stretches about 2.5 miles and is

made up of (and I’m quoting this from a guide book)… 

”sculptures…ponds…playgrounds…gardens and of

course river views”. There is also a covered outdoor

food court in which yours truly and friends took part in.


                           
 

The food was surprisingly “very” good…considering it

was not a restaurant i.e. “food court”. The ‘views’ and

over-all ambience (yes…food court) was very relaxing

and enjoyable…as was the company of my...

comrades-in-arms. J J J

Anyway as the temps and least we forget the humidity

that Guayaquil is known for (as in high)...we figured it

was time to VAMOOSE !!

However…before we grabbed a taxi back to the

“van” site we made a quickie stop to a small park a 

few blocks away.

The park is known for its...Iguana (some where “huge”)

and Turtle (also quite large) population where they

roam free (well the Iguana do anyway). This by the

way…was a very welcome respite from the heat as

the park has many many large trees!

OK…Iguanas and Turtles finished with...it was time to

head on back to the “van” and back to hittin’ the

road to Cuenca.


I MUST CONFESS !!!!
If you haven't already guessed...I cheated a bit as...
all photos represented here were "sadly" not taken
by yours truly...as I forget to take "El Camera" with
me on this trip. So...these pics are stock photos
I found on the web. Still...it gives you a tiny idea
of what I experienced.


Now on with the rest of the story...

Back in the mountainous regions of Cajas National 

Park once again…I was presented with a sight that

was well…too awesome for words. Remember…

13,000 feet.

If you’ve ever flown (as most have) in a large

passenger jet you will be able to relate to this.

Remember when being a passenger...on a passenger

jet…and then starting the decent from the very high

altitudes and going through the clouds? 

Well…then also try to recall those puffy clouds.

Now picture yourself driving on a 2-lane mostly well-

paved road. 

Next envision yourself traveling through those…

lush green mountains accompanied by beautiful white 

puffy clouds which are waiting for you to “drive” through. 

However…as you drive…you realize…no…it isn’t like 

being in a jet at all. Because in a jet aircraft it’s an 

“impersonal and ignored experience” and your through 

those clouds in a few minutes "flat"!

Now while being a part of and...up in the Cajas 

mountains… convert those few moments to...well an 

“unlimited and one-of-a-kind” experience like no other

and one in which I…and maybe one day you…

will never forget!

Hasta Pronto mi Amigos y Amigas J

The Road to Legalization

Monday (Lunes) 9 de August (Augusto), 2010

Well it’s been...if not exciting…a hectic week or so.

You see after quite some time…I was “finally” ready to

get my Censo and my Cedula.

Now…both these documents are laminated cards and…

both are required enabling me to stay and live as a 

retiree in Ecuador. The cards also label me as a legal

“residencia”. This also by the way… gives me the right 

to live in Ecuador along with all the rights that any born 

Ecuadorian has...with the exception of the right to vote.

Now that I’ve laid the foundation for you…

comes the “good” part.

Working through my Abogado (attorney) in Quito is 

Linda…the attorney’s assistant in Cuenca. Well one fine 

and bright sun shiny day…Linda picked me up and off 

we went to get my much needed Censo and Cedula 

(from now on referred to as C&C).

First stop was the (I think) main police station. In this

illustrious stanchion of society…and after about a half

hour wait…we (Linda…myself and the Policia Officer)

went through the needed motions and “wa-laa”…I was

now the proud owner of a Censo.

With Censo in hand…we now were off to get my Cedula.

Now you just know that this is where the fun starts!

Ye know what…You’re right!

After driving across town we entered “the building” and

of course found a small mob scene. Well…Linda went

right to the front of the line…then to the front of

another line and…came back to me with “The News”.

What you may ask was this news?

Well apparently…the day before (Monday) was

the day that the “new” rule changes went into effect!

And…imagine even the Abogados weren’t aware

of this! What a Surprise!

Too make this story somewhat palatable…the ONLY

places in Ecuador to “now” obtain” ones Cedula is

either in Quito or Guayaquil.

This is when I found out the “Rest of the Story”.

It seems the rule changes also affected…to a certain

extent the following  two other locations.

In Quito…the process for getting ones Cedula went

from a three (3) days romp in the Capital…to eight…

yes count ‘em (8) glorious days. This was by the way…

precipitated by a phone call “from” my attorney

(not me calling her) telling me that I could fly to Quito…

spend one night there…fly back and she would 

pick-up the Cedula and send it via TACA Airlines to me 

(this by the way) is similar to an overnight delivery…

but extremely inexpensive…like $1.30 

(as in a dollar thirty)

Overall cost to me…approximately $200

                                                 -or-

Guayaquil…which by the way…I have never been to…

nor had I any plans of ever visiting.

Guayaquil is Ecuadors largest city and encompasses

all the hot weather (80’s-90’s and humid)… dirt… grit…

need I say crime…of any big city. However from what

I’ve heard the Government office to which we are going…

is very modern…referencing the above mentioned

documents is easier to obtain…as opposed to the

rest of the country!

Anyway…with the above information in hand…I literally

stumbled upon something at the last Friday Night get

together at Zoe’s.

Apparently…(surprise) I’m not alone in this figurative boat.

There are 2 guys who I found out were hiring a car with a 

driver…which would take them to Guayaquil. Going along

with them is a Cuencano who would act as an Interpreter

and guide for the Gringos (us).

Well…moving to the end of this exciting…nail-biting story

we are leaving on this adventure like 6 a.m. manana. With

any luck we will have secured our Cedulas and return in

the afternoon. However (and I’m not a betting person)…

I would wager a bet that we will be spending the night in

Guayaquil and returning the next day.

Incidentally...we do have a back-up plan.

If said Cedula’s won’t be ready by Wednesday…we will

return to Cuenca and then go back once again the 

following Tuesday. This...to simply pick-up the 

documents and return once again… home…with our 

legal residencies in hand. J

And with that mi amigo’s I shall continue my diatribe...

whence I return once again from my visit to Guayaquil !

Hasta Pronto J

Day Trip

Friday (Viernes) 30 de July (Julio) 2010

So…what I thought was going to be a maybe a two 

(2) hour drive out of Cuenca to see my friend Girard’s 

property…turned into a “TRIP”.

To better understand all this…I guess I need to back 

up a bit…

A couple/few weeks ago Girard asked if I’d like to get 

out of town to see his property and also see some 

scenery on the way. He also told me he had asked a 

mutual acquaintance Graham to join us. Well…after a 

couple of “false starts” during the past couple weeks…

we were about to and finally get on with our road trip.

Now originally Gerard had mentioned that we’d get 

out of town for a couple of hours. Keeping in mind 

our past get togethers and the fact that he’s married 

to a Cuencano whom I'm sure he would want to get 

home to…I had no doubt that a couple of hours...

literally meant a couple of hours.

To make a long story short the couple of hours turned 

into about six (6). 

Now “I am not complaining one bit” however…

I’m the kind of person that should never be told that 

something will last “X” hours and then…surprise…

it’s far and above the original “guesstimate”.

All in all (and I think I speak for all concerned) I had a 

very enjoyable afternoon/evening. I did indeed get to 

see some beautiful countryside with incredible 

mountain ranges. On this note…I feel compelled to 

state that the extremely green and very high 

(approximately 12,000 ft.) mountains were well…

AWESOME!!!

In addition…the sight of the surrounding unspoiled 

natural land was indeed inspiring…and that’s not 

even mentioning the “clean mountain air”! J

The only thing that made me “just a teeny bit” 

(Ok…high anxiety) apprehensive was the constant 

upwards (and what seemed as “never-ending”) 

driving onwards towards the yet unseen summit of

 the “MOUNTAIN”(or into the clouds for all I knew)! J

Hey…12,000 feet is by no means a pimply hill J J

Anyway once at the top…the view was indeed 

awesome.

I cannot believe people actually live up there.

Now I need to back-up a bit.

Gerard’s property is nowhere near the top. In fact 

his place...when built…will be situated someplace 

near the lower(est) range of the mountain. However 

this property (with a stunning view) is probably a 

good half-hour drive to Cuenca proper.

I will say this…as awesome as this adventure was 

to me…I was very happy to be heading down to a 

much lower and more civilized area (I am after all... 

a "city-boy").

Oh incidentally. Along our way down "El Mountain"

we made a “tourista” pit-stop at Mirador (viewpoint) 

de Turi…which is a well known over-look of Cuenca 

Cuidad and very glad I had a chance to experience 

this sight.

After our stop overlooking Cuenca it was about 

this time that the three of us…decided it was time 

to “fill the bellies”. This incidentally suited me just 

fine as the El Estomago (Stomach) was starting to 

send me “alert” messages ! J

Well…finally entering Cuenca Centro and being that 

Graham had never had the pleasure of dining there…

we invaded Raymipampa Café y Restaurante. Good 

choice…as we all ended up having the same thing…

Fried Shrimp with French Fries…a side salad of 

various items (the only thing I remember was the 

Guacamole) and a drink (my choice was limonada). 

Of course this being Raymipampa they once again... 

did not miss providing a “huge“ portion.

By the way..under six (6) bucks a piece !

So folks…that was my day and until the next rant…

Hasta Luego y tenga un bien dia  J  J

(So long and have a good day) J  J

Cuenca...In & Around the City

Sunday (Domingo) 25 Julio 2010

Hi everyone.

You may have noticed that I’ve made some 

changes as in the type and general look of my 

Blog.

Now...none of this is “carved in stone”. 

That said...I would of course welcome any 

constructive criticism and or suggestions about 

any of the changes.

So…with the above business “out-of-the-way”…

off we go to more of my rants J

Monday (Lunes) 26 Julio 2010

As this morning…a day that falls in the category 

of beautiful and sunny…I did a bit of perusing 

the local area. I ended up at the Indigenousness 

{for lack of a better word}…Flea market in the heart 

of Cuenca. Now I had ZERO plans to buy anything 

however…as I was “just looking” a sweater type 

jacket caught my eye.

Now….it should be known that I have never been 

one for bargaining. OK…but it’s an unspoken law in 

these parts…that one is supposed to bargain. 

So…this Norte Americano Cuencano (how’s that for 

a mouthful? ) played the game as best I could.  

Bottom-Line…this morning I bought an Alpaca 

Jacket and saved literally a couple of bucks...

$16 down from $18.

I know…I know…Not a big deal. However…to the

Indigenousness vendor bargaining is a way of life 

and…not only do they thrive on the “play” but get 

insulted if you refuse to participate. This so much 

so…that if you refuse to bargain they just may 

refuse to sell to you!! 

So...there be the truth !!!!!

On a more serious note…I received my passport 

from my Quito attorney which included my 

“Residencia Visa”. The Visa was signed by the 

Ministerio de Gobierio Director General de Extranjeria…

which by the way translates to: Government Ministry 

Main Directorate of Foreigners (no actual translation 

available anywhere for extranjeria…but this was the 

best explanation I received)

Tuesday (Martes) 27 Julio, 2010

Today proved to be the day where an Official of 

some sort should have said…

”LET THE GAMES BEGIN”.

The reason for this...will become apparent as you 

read on!

I guess I should call this the day of reckoning 

although…I had know way of knowing what lay 

before me. This was the day where I should have 

been done with getting all the “residency” papers 

completed. So what happened you asked????

This morning my attorneys assistant picked me  up

and off we went to play the Government Game…

which in this case was my "quest" to secure my 

Cedula y Censo. Anyway…

here’s the rest of the story!

After 2 hours of being driven around to various 

agencies and getting photos etc. I now have my 

Censo J J. Censo in hand we then continued to 

proceed to another government office to get the...

“all important” Cedula (which finalizes my legality).

We arrived and she [Linda] then found out that 

“you know who” could only get the Cedula in Quito. 

This incidentally wasn’t directed specifically at me 

but…is a "new and infant" regulation. As one gets 

accustomed too…rule changes like getting “blind-

sided” in a football game (ouch)!

Unfortunately…this new regulation went into 

effect yesterday (Monday). Apparently the cause is 

do to the influx of Peruvians and Columbians 

(not to mention Cubans). From what it looks like now…

I will need to travel back to Quito for a day 

(possibly two) in order to resolve this Cedula situation.

OK…Just back from a nice relaxing lunch. I finally 

spoke with my abogado (attorney) Gabriella. Her final 

comment…due to the new regulation…"I do indeed" 

have to travel to Quito (or Guayaquil –ain’t gonna 

happen) and have 2 months in which to complete this 

situation.

She also informed me that the “process” takes 3 days.

The first day is a “full day” the third is a quick pick-up.

ARRRGGGG….I can’t even think of this now…so 

more stuff later on in the near future!

Wednesday (Miercoles) 28 Julio, 2010

Today is “home maker” (that’s me) day. ;o ;o

That means laundry…food shopping…ye’ know…

funstuff J

Back to the laundry and…FYI this is done by hand 

as I now have “no” washer/dryer. Now "if" I really 

wanted to go native…I would do as the Indigenous 

people do and take the dirty clothes to the river and…

well you get the idea! 

THIS…mi amigo’s...ain’t gonna happen!!!!!

Thankfully…the above is true only for the clothes 

that would most likely shrink from the heat in a...

“dryer”.

So now with some of my chores done…

i.e. picked-up laundry and did the wash by hand. 

This by the way is now hanging [and blocking] my 

windows. Truthfully…I feel as though I’ve stepped 

back in time (again) by about 60 years...

ye’ gotta love it J

Anyway...next up is a “run” to the SuperMaxi. 

Actually…yes I’m doing it again…a bus ride there 

and return via El Taxi.

Thursday (Jueves) 29 Julio, 2010

In order to finish the past few days Blog…I just 

have uno comment!

Early yesterday (Wednesday) or it may even have 

been the night before…my Internet went into to 

slow-mode. No that’s not entirely true…as even 

though it was telling me it was working…it was 

indeed...not!!!! There was no way I could access 

the internet…period!!

So…this morning I was also set to venture out to

California Kitchen and would then have the use 

of their free wi-fi. Anyway…it is now Noon and as 

I was just about to pack-up El Laptop I figured I'd 

give it a try.

Now I don’t know if it’s coincidence or my Mac has

other “special” ;) ;)  capabilities but low ‘n behold 

the Internet connection is now in "go mode" and 

is now working...Ha-La-Loo-Ya...

Am I complaining…NO WAY J

And with that mi amigos y amigas…
Hasta Luego J J

An Unplanned and Late Posting

{Note: My Apologies...

As I Thought I Had Already Posted This}

LUNES (Monday) 19 de Julio de 2010

I had really no intention of writing so soon after my last 

entry but…as trivial as this might seem I felt it was worth

sharing.

Being that I had virtually nothing worthwhile in my 

humble abode to conjure up Desayuno (Breakfast)…

I strolled down my six (6) flights of stairs…made a left for 

a half block and then a short few feet to Raymipampa 

Restaurante for a decent bite. Now this is not a new thing 

to either you or myself. However the driving force behind 

my penning this entry was a very…very tiny event that 

presented itself “en el restaurante”.

A while ago I said I would not go into the actual 

composition of any particular meal anymore. Well…this 

is the exception which will allow you to understand my 

compulsion to scribe this entry.

This morning I had once again what is fast becoming my 

irregular morning meal at Raymipampa…consisting of 

Choice of Eggs…2 fresh baked individual bread loaves….

“Fresh and Natural (my choice) Pineapple Juice and 

(it came in Large Beer Mug)…I also ordered…and this is 

the kicker…a Large Coffee instead of the normal and 

smallish “cup of coffee”.

Well…all was as expected with the exception of the 

coffee…yet to be brought to my table. In a few minutes 

however…this was resolved as the waitress brought…

yes…a large mug of steaming hot coffee.

So…now I was satisfied…finished the meal…enjoyed the 

large coffee immensely and preceded to the register and as

yet...unaware of the actual cost of the meal. Now...

normally (normal coffee included) the cost would be 

$2.20 however…with the large coffee…well anyone’s 

guess.

Now if this was anywhere else...the States…Thailand…

wherever…one would expect to pay…and pay over and 

above the norm for that extra large coffee…right? So…

after telling (no written bill mind you) the cashier my 

order including con Café Grande (with a large coffee)…

she pointed to the register…and…wonders of wonders…

$2.20 y no une centavo mas (not a cent more)!

I know this was not “earth-shaking” but...

I felt I just had to share.

So…now I’m off to do some real exciting stuff like…

taking in my laundry…stopping at the bookshop for 

my “long awaited" mail from Aor and then on to 

SuperMaxi to do some much needed grocery 

replenishment!

So for now and after this unscheduled rant…

Hasta Luego…a usted todo (to you all)...