On the Move Again (Almost)

June 18, 2011

As I was perched on one of my chosen benches in 

Parke Calderone today…it came to mind that 

I hadn’t written anything in quite some time. 

Well, nothing has really happened with the 

exception of my recent trip back to Thailand.

So…I rushed back to my apartemento and 

started writing. This is the result. 

I know…I know…Exciting isn’t it? :) :)

Just as a tiny refresher…my latest trip to Thailand…

occurred about 2 months ago and lasted a whole 

month...in the Land of Smiles.

For those who do not know (even though I 

mentioned this in my last Blog)…I have decided 

to return once again (this time to stay) to Thailand… 

specifically Chiang Mai.

The reasons (3 major) are few but for me…

powerful (forgive me if I am repeating myself 

from the previous Blog).

The reason(s)…

Wine…Women…and Song…Just Kidding :) :)

No…the real reason(s) for me are the following:

Firstly…is the Weather. Yes it’s eternal spring in 

Cuenca…which by the way… is located “high” in 

the Andes (elevation 8500 ft). This keeps the weather 

(depending on each of the two seasons) in the low 

40F’s [at night] to mid 70F’s [mid afternoon] on a 

daily basis. 

Now… for most folks this would be ideal. 

For someone (like yours truly)…who because of 

my ten (10) “beach living” years in S. Florida 

and three (3) years in Thailand…not so ideal.

In fact…mornings and especially evenings…

it is Downright Chilly (if not cold).

Yes it’s warm to hot in Thailand year-round but…

I’ll take that over being chilled and/or cold 

anytime…"more my speed".

Scondly…is the food. I’ve said this many times 

before so…forgive me if you feel I’m repeating 

myself (I am). Nobody…Not Anywhere and at 

Anytime…can even come close to the Taste of 

Thai Food. That by the way…also includes 

multitudes of fresh fruits and vegetables that one 

can stand. ‘Nuff said!

Thirdly: (but definitely not least)…and remember…

me being a single guy…are the Thai Women. 

Once again…’Nuff Said!

So there you have it…my three (3) main reasons 

for returning to “LOS” (Land of Smiles). Now…

don’t get me wrong…as there are many more 

reasons than the three I just mentioned.

The following is a gentle touch on this 

“incomplete” list of reasons. 

I would need to first mention…the easy 

going and smiling Thai peoples…the simple 

life-styles…the plethora of entertainment…

”in” and “nearby” country travels…the 

availability of modern goods…foodstuffs etc. 

This along with many and varied venues of 

entertainment…world class (and very low cost) 

medical treatment…and you may now...

understand some of the reasons for my deciding 

to return to Thailand…specifically Chiang Mai.    

       

On my way:

In my last writing...I mentioned that I had not yet 

made any concrete dates for my return. 

Obviously that has now changed.

For those interested…I will be leaving Cuenca 

on September 1st…leaving Ecuador on 

September 2nd and then…spending time with 

family and friends in South Florida for a week. 

After my Florida fling…it’s back on the plane 

to Upstate and Downstate New York for more 

family. This will encompass a few days and then 

back in the air and…onward too Chiang Mai, 

Thailand via Inchon, S. Korea.

What Next?

As my mind is always thinking ahead…it hit 

me that (and this is extremely important!)...

I need to settle on a “New Title” for my Blog 

(told you it was important) :)  

Something tells me that “A Single Expat in 

Cuenca”...when I’m going to be living in 

Thailand…well…just won’t cut it.

So…now comes the real work. If you think 

coming up with a good solid title is easy…

well…plain and simple…It Is Not and…

not by a long shot! So…I‘m throwing this 

out to anyone who is interested in assisting me… 

in my quest for a new title. No…I’m not 

promising I’ll use your suggestion but…

maybe :)

Oh yes…for those that may be looking for 

compensation re: the above…let me say this 

now and upfront and in a friendly way. 

Ain’t No Way No How! Plain enough? 

That said...

all your suggestions will be welcomed!

Back in Cuenca

As of now…I’m basically living in limbo. 

Some (not all) of my compadres in Cuenca 

know of my upcoming re-expatriating to 

Thailand. That said…word (I believe) is 

spreading rapidly. This is after all…

a fairly small Gringo community.

One of my personal grievances here in 

Cuenca and a fairly strong reason behind my 

move (no…its not a big deal) is finding things 

to do along with other people (many married 

couples...which complicates things). This…

has never been easy. I personally like to be able 

to share experiences. 

Where’s the fun in sightseeing solo?

So…for now I am biding my time and “just” 

starting to think of putting items up for sale…

thinking of pre-packing luggage (YUK) and…

a few thousand other small things that need 

to be addressed.

Rest assured that when things start popping 

and I have some news for you…I will 

definitely “wind up my thinking cap” and 

send off a new…updated Blog.

BTW…Please (and seriously)…

if anyone has a title suggestion for my Blog…

for when I’m residing in Thailand…

please let me know. Who knows…

maybe one day you can tell your friends that...

my Blog title was your idea. 

Now…wouldn’t that make you feel “special” ? :) 

Until next time…Have a great day J

Past...Present & Future

Thursday, June 2, 2011

So…it’s been a couple (OK a few) months since I last 

wrote anything of consequence But to tell you the truth…

to me…my own absence has been somewhat refreshing. 

You see… writing the Blog had almost become almost 

(I shudder...to use this term)…a job…YIKES!

Anyway…for those of you that have missed my epic (?) 

scribes…you may relax as I only took a little detour 

regarding my writings. For those that have “not” missed 

me… well either read on or…go on your merry way…

”up too you”!

TODAY…

I’ve been mulling over what to write about and…have 

decided to forego all (well not all that much) that may 

have happened during this non-writing period. With that 

in mind I will start this Blog as of a few months ago

THAILAND (part deux)…that’s the number two…

or those that have no inkling of French.

I don’t recall if I previously mentioned the situation that 

I had…with my Thai Ex-wife Aor…regarding the selling 

the property in Chiang Mai, Thailand. As it turned out…
any Thai Consulate and or Embassy in the U.S. proved
to be a completely worthless endeavor…with regards to 

obtaining the required paperwork (can you say…

MASSIVE RED-TAPE). This left me with one available 

means in which to bring my real estate debacle to an 

amicable close. How you ask?...

By making another round-trip to Thailand.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN !!!!!

Now if one is flying within ones own country or even a 

neighboring country in the same hemisphere…one can 

imagine a “normal” (and somewhat affordable) flight 

schedule. That said...and being that I am presently 

residing in South America i.e. Ecuador….well let’s 

just say...“it’s a game changer”.

After numerous searches on the Internet for a flight to 

Chiang Mai and…after many weeks of searching…

I came across a flight that would allow me to by-pass the 

Good ‘Ol U.S of A entirely. My route took me from Quito, 

Ecuador to Paris, France, to Bangkok and finally to...

Chiang Mai. 

This “little” trip only took me 50 (yes fifty) plus hours and 

by the way…was each way. “Not” a fun trip by anyone’s 

standards (except maybe the airline)!

After all is said and done I have to say the flights were 

all pleasant…overall the service was good and more 

importantly “safe”.

NOW OR THEN...GOOD STUFF…

Soon after my arrival in Chiang Mai and after catching my 

breath…I got in touch with Aor (my ex) and we got down

 to business (real business).

Off we went to what is loosely translated from Thai…as 

the “land office”. This is always a fun place…as is any 

government agency throughout the world. I must say 

though…they did get us in and out as quickly as possible. 

Whether this is the rule or the exception…I have no idea …

nor do I care! 

After a short wait I signed where they told me to sign…

and Aor likewise signed. I then paid the exorbitant 

fee of roughly U.S.$5 dollars...and wah-lah…we were 

done! Now and hopefully soon…the house will sell and 

I’ll be the recipient of a good portion of my original 

monies…I hope!

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED...

You know the old saying “Never Say Never” well this 

proved very apropos.

When I left Thailand a bit over year ago…I basically 

said good-bye to LOS (land of smiles) and hello to 

Ecuador. This…to the point that I even applied for and 

received my…”legal residency” in Ecuador. However…

coming back once again to LOS…that same feeling of 

years ago (this being my very first visit to Thailand) hit 

me like a “ton of bricks”. 

The feeling that I am referring to occurred on the first 

morning of my “first trip” to Thailand. This feeling very 

simply…was an internal voice that simply said…

”I’m Home”!

Guess what…my latest trip last month was in essence…

”déjà vu”!

Anyway…to continue on with my little story...after doing 

the legal stuff…I made contact with some of my friends 

in Chiang Mai. This [meeting friends] also gave me a 

chance to re-acquaint myself with the city and it’s surrounds.

Unfortunately…everything didn’t go as smooth as I 

thought it would (what a surprise). The first thing that 

threw me…happened the day after my arrival. This day…

being a Saturday…was also the now “once a month” 

meeting of the Chiang Mai Ex-Pats Club. I was somewhat 

excited as I “new”…I would get to see more than a few 

of my Chiang Mai friends.  

SURPRISE!

I arrived the customary ½ hour before start time. This 

BTW…is to give everyone a chance to socialize a bit…

while sampling some coffee and “goodies”. Apparently 

people got mixed up (as I found out later) regarding 

the meeting date. The result…out of the average 2-300 

or so people that show up regularly for these meetings…

maybe …maybe 60 made their presence known. 

Of the 60 people…I new exactly 4…yes “four” people. 

It wasn’t a total loss however as I did get to spend some 

quality time with [granted] a few friends.

Now…you know there is always a down side to a story. 

This being no exception…here it comes...

My downside…happened once I rented my motorbike (yes…

the same make and model that I owned while living in 

Chiang Mai). After renting said motorbike…I got on the 

inner-moat roadway that surrounds Old Chiang Mai City. 

My purpose was simply to get back to my Guesthouse. 

This was when I did a “very…very stupid thing”! 

At approximately 40 mph…I decided to adjust my side- 

view mirrors. HELLOOOOOO….

It’s said that at the moment of an accident…ones brain 

shuts down. I now know that…this IS a truism if there 

ever was one…because…one moment I was riding and 

the very next moment…I was...”kissing the pavement” of 

the roadway. To say that I was extremely lucky is a huge 

understatement! Luckily…nothing was broken…that with 

the exception of my pride. And of course bruises (possibly 

I think some torn tendons).

To make a longish story short…I went to Maw Pan 

(pronounced "paan") my old doc in town and after 2 visits

 (a week apart) with some medication and 2 weeks hence…

doc and I decided I needed to get an X-ray. This …just to 

confirm his original findings. So…off I went (on my 

motorbike) to the hospital. 

To say that they [hospital] are efficient would be a gross 

understatement and that…in capital letters. I entered into 

the outpatient area…went to the front desk and was 

immediately and literally handed over to a very pretty 

English speaking floor nurse. She understood that all I 

needed…was X-rays and an X-ray report for my doctor. 

She then physically led me to the x-ray area on the other 

side of the hospital. I was then “asked” to wait.

X-rays (2 of them) taken…I waited a bit more…was 

handed my report along with my x-rays and with the 

verbal report that told me “all was well” and I was done. 

Total time in the hospital…under 1 (one) hour. 

Complete cost for the X-rays…500 Baht or U.S. $16.66

Total cost for my two (2) doctor visits, medications and 

along with the outpatient hospital visit with x-rays… 

under U.S.$55 (fifty-five).

So…now after another fun 50+ hour trip back to Cuenca 

(Ecuador)…I am and have been for a bit over a week…

once again back in my “departemento” (apartment).

AND NOW TO…CUT TO THE CHASE!

For those that do not already know…I have decided to 

return…once again to live in Chiang Mai. 

I guess this statement makes it “official”.

There are a few major reasons for my decision.

The first reason…being the weather.

You see…after living 10 years in S. Florida…on or very 

close to the beach and then followed by 3 years in 

Thailand….I am convinced that my body will never be 

comfortable in a 50-70F  degree temperature range…

such as it is in Cuenca. 

In actuality the range as of late…has been 50 to low 60’s 

under clouds or rainy skies…YUK! This by the way...

will get worse as Ecuador is coming into the colder 

months! Incidentally…there are those that would say…

well move to the warmer climes near Ecuador’s Beaches. 

To that I say…”been there-done that”…and no thank-you!

The second reason is food. 

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again…

No place… Nowhere…even comes close to Thai food…

’nuff said!

Thirdly …but definitely not lastly…are the women.

Now don’t get me wrong…as there are some beautiful 

women in Cuenca. Again I am only basing this on my 

one year in “Cuenca”!

The problem as I and many other single men in this town 

see it…is this simple fact:…”life is all encompassed in a 

very strong Catholic upbringing”…wherein ”marriage” is 

the only acceptable way of life for a woman…period 

end-of-story. I for one…am not inclined to marry again…

so life (for me anyway) in Cuenca/Ecuador is…well...

a very lonely affair!

Now I am not saying that women in Thailand don’t care 

about marriage. They do…and I don’t blame them…it is 

after all a way for many Thai women …to lift themselves 

out of a...shall we say…underprivileged-type lifestyle. 

That said…”IF” marriage proved (for me) to be the only 

way to have a long lasting relationship…so be it. 

However…in Thailand (as in many other countries) there 

are two ways to get married. 

One way of course…is under religious vows etc.  

The second way is...marriage by way of a Civil Contract…

which of course binds one legally. That leaves me one 

option (if it comes to that)…which is a religious ceremony 

and without legal parameters.

The Big Question…

When is my upcoming re-expatriation to Thailand...

going to happen? The answer simply is this…

I am planning…but as of this writing no reservations 

have been made…to leave Ecuador the beginning of this 

coming September…visit family and some friends in the 

states and then off to Thailand i.e. to renew my Thai-

type lifestyle.

So there you have it folks and until next time…

Have a great day and embrace life for what it is …”wonderful”  :) :)

A Bit of Exploring in and Around Cuenca

Cuenca Sightseeing...
the "Old", "New" and
In-Between!

Finally…I have a choice of sightseeing companions. I’m
sure many of you are aware that I have this dislike of
“not” having somebody in which to share the joys of
discovery. The result…except for a rare occasion…
well…I refrain from doing much in the way of
sightseeing. 

This has always bothered me somewhat because life in
general can get boring...doing and seeing the same thing
day in and day out.

Recently my friends Ellie & Wally left the heat of
South Florida and are now vacationing in Cuenca for a
month and…yours truly has a couple of willing sight-
seeing companions. This by the way…has giving me a
new level of enjoyment with regards to Cuenca and
its environs.

I’ll get back to these forays in a moment but first I want
to give you a hint as to my “almost” new arrivals.

My friend Jim is do to arrive in Ecuador in a couple/few
days. We met while he was here…a few months ago…
for what I call a “look-see” regarding Cuenca. He is now
after a very long…cold and very rough Chicago winter…
moving here!

So Jim…here is a hearty pre-welcome to you.

Also on my welcome list is Jeanne…whom I met at a
Gringo Night a few months ago. I met her incidentally…
the evening before she was returning to San Francisco.
Months later she once again returned to Cuenca for a few
days…secured an apartment for herself and a few(?) pets.
Jeanne is due to arrive in literally a few days.

So Jeanne…a pre-welcome to you too.

Whether or not I’ll be busy helping my two new amigos
sightseeing or just having more friends to hang with will
remain to be seen but…I am looking forward to their
arrivals!

Now back to today’s...
Adventure…

As a start to our sightseeing…we decided to start small
and took advantage of The Cuenca City Tour. This by
the way cost all of five ($5) bucks per head and lasted
just about... 2 hours. Now I need to back-up a bit. 

Today’s trip was planned for the day before but…we
found out that the time we planned for (1 pm)…well…
there was no tour scheduled [anymore] for that hour.
Hence today’s trip…started at 11 a.m.  All this actually
turned out for the better…as today’s weather…was
gorgeous (yesterday was overcast).

The tour took us around Parke Calderone (Cuenca 
Centro) and then headed out through various parts of
town. 

To me it was interesting do to the fact…that we were
sitting in an open aired double-decker bus. 

This afforded a view of the city…quite different than
what one is used too while walking…i.e. street level!

Where we were going …I had no idea. Where we ended
up…was in a place that I briefly visited when I still a
“very green”newbie. The place is situated high above
Cuenca. The destination name…is Turi [pronounced
TOO REE] and is known for it’s high look-out point over-
looking Cuenca. It also is highlighted…by its very white
church just above the lookout point. 

While…well above the city (cuidad) of Cuenca…and as
all tours generally do...we had about 20 minutes to roam
around this quaint mountainous town...while enjoying
some refreshments (can you say beer) J and taking in the
sights of Cuenca Cuidad (City).

It was then time to reverse the trip and return back to
Cuenca proper. Once back…and two hours later…
we decided to take in some well deserved “shade”
(remember we were sitting in the sun…up on the upper-
tier of a double-decker bus) to cool off.

Being that it was well after one (1) p.m. …one can
imagine that the ‘ol stomach alarms…would make
themselves known…and “they did”!

Now being that between the three of us (I being the one 
living here)…the onus unsurprisingly fell on guess who...
to find...a place to eat.

Now I’ve never eaten lunch there but…as I’ve reported
on previous Blogs…California Kitchen soon came to mind.
This…especially since Ellie & Wally have never been there.
Guess who made a good choice in this suggestion?
Me…that’s who!

Anyway after a pleasant and very fulfilling lunch…we
parted company for the day and also to…maybe take a
nap...(especially Ellie). 


Surprise!!!!!


I was going to continue this Blog as different trips made 

themselves known. Unfortunately Ellie & Wally have
cut their stay in Cuenca short for personal reasons and
are heading towards the coastal beach areas. 

Hasta Luego guys...

So… now I prepare myself for the next amigo(s) arrivals
and we shall see if and how busy I may (or not) be.

Hasta Pronto mi amigos y amigas :)

"A Short Update"

When there’s nothing to write about…

This absence of excitement…

is mainly due to life (for me anyway) being in somewhat 

of a neutral state of affairs which by the way…

is not a bad thing.

Now this is not to say that I haven’t been active 

(OK…a little bit anyway).

I did take a day trip with mi amigo Charlie to a place 

called Ingapirca. This incidentally…translates to...

“Wall of the Inca”. Now don’t get bent out of shape as…

I’m not going to give you a lesson in Inca ruins (whew)...

that is…other than to say that these particular ruins are 

"tiny" compared to the ever-popular and world renowned 

"Machu Picchu"...in Peru.

In short we enjoyed a really nice day...even with the 3 

hours or so each way on a bus and...I got to see something 

other than Cuenca.

Other than the above and as I hinted in the previous Blog…

my big focus now is…on my upcoming trip to Thailand...

i.e. ...

“LOS” as in “Land of Smiles”

To tell you the truth…I feel like the mammoth and 

powerful rocket…tied to its Gantry…waiting for 

ignition and it’s subsequent “lift-off”.

In the meantime…my “hectic life” in these environs (LOL) 

take precedence and…must be endured. ..ahhhh…

such is life!

Now even though I’m a tad less than 2 months from the 

start of my East Asia trip…I am not idle.  My immediate 

focus is on finding a suitable and affordable place…to 

call my own temporarily…for my month in Chiang Mai.

Thankfully my friend Jim (living in Chiang Mai)...

is being an enormous help to me in checking out a 

couple of Guesthouses. This…after some fairly intense 

Internet searches. Also living the good life in Chiang Mai…

is my friend Larry who has suggested my staying in the 

Guesthouse that he’s currently enjoying.

Unfortunately…I can be “picky” and this time is...

"no exception". 

I have this “active focus” on staying within the bounds 

of Old Chiang Mai’ [Walled City] and not (even though 

it’s within walking distance) outside the Mote.

Some may call this being “thick-headed”…so be it! 

So…as of this moment…in my search for a guesthouse 

and depending on updates…I await and anticipate the 

offing from mi amigo…Jim. 

Incidentally…the aforementioned search has been 

narrowed down to [one] place with the easily pronounced 

name (LOL) for westerners of….

Fueng Fa [FWENG FA] Place! 

I may be jumping the gun…but here is the link to the 

guesthouse for those that are interested. The rates that 

you will see are in Thai Baht…which "currently" 

convert to roughly...30 THB to 1 USD... 

www.fuengfaplace.com/index.html

So…now you have a fairly good (but admittedly) short 

idea as to what is happening in my life…

here below the Equator.

Until next time mi amigos y amigas...

Internet Connection...Maybe...Could be...Possible...hmmmm

NOTE: You may notice different 
print heights and I can give you no 
clue or reason...but I do apologize!
=========================

NOT IN A MILLION YEARS…

The above comment has to do with 

what I am currently (and have been 

for quite a few months) experiencing 

...regarding my “actually” obtaining 

Internet service. I must say however 

that I do have inconsistent service 

(somewhat like pirating) by way of 

wi-fi from a hotel...half way up the 

street from my departemento.

Anyway not to get off the subject…

and going back in time…I had 

originally “contracted” with the 

premier Internet provider in Ecuador…

named  “ETAPA”. 

All was well until I received a call 

from them stating (and without any 

reason what-so-ever) they could not 

install the Internet to my residencia. 

Well…that was OK [then] as my free 

wi-fi was working pretty good. This...

is when the “S**T’ hit the proverbial

fan and my free wi-fi…all of a sudden…

required the much dreaded…password.

Well being a guy who hailed from 

Brooklyn…I took the “bull by the 

horns” so to speak…went to the 

Hotel-Restaurant where I was 

getting my [previous “free” wi-fi]…

sat down…invested in a good but 

overpriced appetizer and obtained 

the much the needed “password”. 

This by the way…got locked into 

my computer and I was good as 

gold…for a few weeks anyway.

Those few weeks became an 

exercise in futility as…I never new 

when and or if I would get on-line…

thus my decision…to once again 

try to get ETAPA as my Internet 

provider. 

This time however I enlisted the 

help of Martha who over time…

in Cuenca has become not only my 

apartment finder…but a good friend. 

That brings me to my current angst.

Please take note…that this is now 

day three (3) of “trying” to obtain 

service from the illustrious 

organization known as ETAPA.  

It seems that "their" idea of “pronto” 

is M-A-Y-B-E…today, tomorrow...

or whenever !!!

Incidentally…you may have heard 

of the rumor that things move slowly 

here (and elsewhere) in South 

America. Believe me...

IT IS NO RUMOR…IT IS 
PLAIN SIMPLE… “FACT”.

Anyway…

I’m getting a bit off the ‘ol track!

This latest chapter in my ETAPA 

dealings started three (3) days ago 

as in Monday. 

After arriving with Martha (my 

translator in this...adventure) at 

ETAPA’s Sacred Ground (Main 

Office) we finally…after about an 

hour had all the T’s crossed & I’s 

dotted. We were told that installation 

would take place Wednesday (today). 

And…off we went to our business 
and I was HAPPY…HAPPY :)

The story…doesn’t end here 

(as if you couldn’t guess).

After the success at ETAPA on 

Monday…Martha made some calls 

(unbeknownst to me) and this was 

the result:

OK…it’s now Tuesday evening 

and I am now at Gringo Night at 

Di Bacco’s Restaurante…having a 

very good drink along with good 

conversation and “here comes Martha”

like a major storm cloud about to 

unleash a torrent”. She almost literally 

dragged me out of the restaurant 

telling me that the ETAPA installer 

is waiting for me. HELLOOOO!!

WOW I thought…this is amazing 

and of course I understood Martha’s 

rushing me (she tried calling me 

about ten (10) times). Anyway…yes 

the installer was piddling around with 

the building wires and I must say he 

did try…but he apparently (?) ran 

into a “Grande Problemo” and told 

me in broken English he would 

return at Ocho Media (8:30 am) the 

next day (today Wednesday). 

THIS DID NOT HAPPEN!.........

SURPRISE!!!!!

To continue (after a calming breath) 

8:30 turned into 10:30…and beyond. 

After calling Martha (many times) 

we decided I should go about my 

business and do...whatever.

Now…you are probably thinking 

that at least I had the rest of the day 

to enjoy life and I was…

[notice I said "was"]! 

At about Noon I made up to meet my 

friend Charlie for coffee or whatever 

and that I would just wait for him 
in El Parke Calderone. 
This mi amigoes…is when I got 
the phone call from Martha that…
they [ETAPA] were on the way 
and would be there [steady now]...

in cinco minutos (5 minutes). 

Now…one would think that after 

living in Ecuador 8+ months I would 

understand the linguistic variances 

of five (5) minutos…NOT!!!

I rushed home and W-A-I-T-E-D...

BTW it was about 11:30 a.m.. 

At 2:30 I had given up! 

So…una mas vez (one more time)...

I called Martha and told her to call 

"THOSE" people and tell them to 

come manana as I had my 

appointment to meet mi amigo 

Gerard for a late lunch.  

You’ll never guess what happened 

next (or maybe you will)…as (and 

I still can’t believe this…although 

I saw it with my own eyes)…

Cammie...mi gato (my cat) is 

apparently half watch dog (cat…

what-ever) as…all of a sudden she 

stood up straight and statuesque….

staring straight at the door and then 

ran for it. 

The only thing missing was barking. 

Well lo and behold I opened the 

door and there stood two Etapa 

Installers. After a couple of quick 

calls and back and forth conversation 

between Martha and the Etapa 

hombres they swore they would be 

done in a half hour. In they came…

started doing what they (supposedly) 

do best and BAM…

they hit the proverbial wall!

It’s Mac Attack time…

“Not what you think”…

no Big Macs but the realization 

that I have a “Mac” computer and 

“dos hombres” have absolutely... 

“no clue”.

Back on the phone with Martha (I 

owe her BIG TIME when this is done)…

it turns out that she and the head 

installer are good friends. Anyway 

he made a call after talking with her 

and to make this story somewhat 

shorter…manana he…his friend 

(who knows the ins and outs of 

Macs) (?) and Martha are all coming 

to mi departemento at 8:30 a.m.

(well see) to bring this installation 

to a final…and hopefully happy 

conclusion. Party time anyone?

Well…it’s now day four (4) of this 

debacle and OMG…it’s 8:20 a.m…

I have one sneaker on and there’s a…

knock on my door. Could it possibly 

be true…an Ecuadorian Service Person…”EARLY”?  

Believe it or not…not only is he early 

but there are now three (3) hombres 

and uno hombre is “familiar” with 

Macs. 

I am UTERLLY SPEECHLESS 

(but ecstatic).

They came…they fixed…and they 

said adios. Time elapsed…maybe 

15 minutes…and I now have my own...

wi-fi connection...YES :) 

So…my first order of business was 

to FINALLY secure my flight to 

Thailand (for about 2 months hence). 

This little jaunt is necessary...so that 

hopefully one day the house in 

Thailand will be sold.  But…

first things first.

After about an hour of playing 

"yes/no/maybe" with Expedia.com 

and with some minor changes in 

flight dates…Yes…yours truly has 

succeeded in securing his reservation.

The only thing left now is to reserve 

“local to/from” flights…both within 

Ecuador and Thailand…but I have 

time to get his done. The important 

items were the Intercontinental Flights…

and right now I just can’t even “think” 

of making any more reservations!

There will be more information 

regarding these flights…as I get closer 

to my actual flight date. 

This by the way (if you’re interested)…

are my flight dates (excluding the 

“in-country” flights).  

I leave 4/20/11 and return 5/20/11.

So I guess it’s best to keep this 

current Blog on the short(ish) side 

and get outside for a bit and then…

yes...I can now get on mi

computadora/Internet…

anytime I wish! 

Hasta Pronto y 

Tenga un dia agradable

(See you Soon and 

Have a Nice day) :)  :)