Here at the new location of Pilgrim's Rest, we have this week - and next week - been quite occupied with some important short term goals in living here on a permanent basis: getting our prescription drugs refilled at the pharmacy (pharmacies, actually) and getting our indefinite stay visas and Cedula cards - kinda like a "green card" for extranjeros (Gringos) - that we carry around with us like a driver's license.
Oh, yes, we can apply for an Ecuadorian Driver's License too, which is given by the national government, not the different provinces - same with license plates here - but it's given in Spanish only. Since we don't drive here and take a taxi when necessary - and it has been really necessary this last week, especially - we are deferring that task for the indefinite future. But not the pharmaceuticals and Visa(s)/Cedula(s). . . not at all!
In the US, getting a prescription drug refilled is rather straightforward: you see the doctor, they write a prescription, and you get it filled at the pharmacy of your choice, which nearly always has the drug in question in stock. Here in Ecuador, you don't usually have to see the doctor, unless the drug isn't on the standard list of approved medications or it is a pain relieving drug that involves cocaine - thanks to neighboring Columbia for that situation - and you simply walk up to the pharmacist to ask for the drug. That would never happen in the United States. . . too easy, and a measure of freedom here in Ecuador.
A wrinkle worth noting on getting your prescriptions refilled: different pharmacies and pharmacy chains charge different prices for the exact same drug (same dosage, same number of capsules/pills)! So I made a price comparison chart for my different prescriptions from three pharmacy chains popular in Ecuador and in Cuenca: Fybeca, Farmasol, and Cruz Azul. Fybeca consistently had the highest price, sometimes significantly so on the higher priced name brand newer medications. Farmasol had much more reasonable prices, and the lowest price on two of my meds, and Cruz Azul had the lowest price on all but two of my prescriptions. So I could just go to Cruz Azul and be done with the decision, right?
Wrong! By going to the pharmacy that has the lowest price for the particular drug, you end up saving even more money per month (per use, per dose). So in my case for my prescriptions I currently take, that means I split up my purchases between Farmasol - the two drugs I found cheapest there - and Cruz Azul. Both are within walking distance of our condo here (Farmasol a longer but still doable walk), and so eliminating the need for a taxi ride, while getting some exercise in the process. . . as we had planned before we came here. (We may be taking a taxi back from Farmasol for a while until we get better in walking longer distances, as it is about nine blocks give or take, going on a slight uphill direction back to the condo.)
Savings by going to two pharmacies: about $65 a month on a total outlay of about $150 + a month (cash payment only, no insurance coverage as yet). I'd say that is significant, and will continue to do this until we see that future health insurance coverage changes that situation.
Carolyn Anne for her part took the advice of our landlady, going only to Farmasol, avoiding the friendly, helpful, yet pricey Fybeca. For this one time, that was OK, but we will examine her drug list more closely next time and do a similar thing to how I decided on where to buy my particular drug refills.
Yet another wrinkle: there are a few drugs the pharmacies don't have here, and they send you to a hospital pharmacy for them. Different system here in Ecuador, to be sure! So we have taxied our way to Hospital Monte Sinai south of El Centro, near the futbol Estadio Aguilar (and Supermaxi El Vergel for certain groceries and the neat two story mall that is one story underground with the parking garage. . . found a great electronic weight scale in one of those shops for just $19 including IVA - tax)! We have already made friends with the staff there, and they know I am a Gringo that can help them translate when they have an English language only customer, as happens sometimes in such a business. We obtained our additional drugs with a doctor's prescription (me) and without one (Carolyn Anne) with no hassles. They employ a ticket waiting system there, as does the Farmasol Los Nogales location we visit. Clean, large, modern pharmacies all except Cruz Azul, which uses much smaller storefront locations which are significantly older looking. Maybe that's how they offer lower prices. . . dunno for sure.
By the end of this week, Carolyn Anne had obtained all of her medications - although one refill is for about ten days, and we still need to get more of it - and I had obtained all but one. One I got from Hospital Monte Sinai pharmacy after seeing an Internist at that hospital, Dr. Pablo Parra, who is also fluent in English and has an excellent manner.
The last medication, Flecainide, is simply not available in Ecuador and not on any dispensary lists here in the central pharmaceutical centers in Ecuador, according to Dr. Parra after some inquiring on my behalf. He referred me to Dr. Ricardo Quizhpe, a cardiologist at Hospital Santa Inez, not too far away - but not very close either - to Hospital Monte Sinai. I was able to get an "appointment" - more on that in a bit - the same day I called, Friday. Dr. Quizhpe has office visit appointment days on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday afternoons/evenings, btw.
To see a doctor, you call or visit to find out when their office visiting hours are. Then, you come to the hospital reception area for that floor/area near the particular doctor's office. You pay her $30 in a typical hospital in Cuenca, a bargain compared to the USA - and get a numbered slip. The number determines who gets to be seen first, second, third. . . and so forth. So you end up waiting longer here than in the US for a doctor's consultation. Come early - you wait and get an early number like I did once and see the doctor sooner than the rest; come later - you wait and see the doctor after they have seen the patients ahead of you in number. Fair but less exact system than in the States.
After a friendly but focused office visit with the young cardiologist, he will be able to supply the necessary drug similar to what I have been taking - and likely will make some small adjustments to my two other heart rate controlling drugs - after getting my EKG and ECG records, as well as my medical history. *Thank God* I have all this available through the forethought of Dr. Sameh Gadallah and staff back in Lancaster, California where I had been a longtime contented patient (I'd recommend Dr. Gadallah in a heartbeat!). I need to download my US medical records - available to me unlike the practice of most doctor's offices in the United States - from Dr. Gadallah's website, and either make paper copies of them, or put them on a flash drive. Another task to do - and soon, as my remaining supply of Flecainide is only seven days remaining - but I am confident I can find someone (like my landlady's grandson Adolfo) to get it done.
Last Wednesday, we saw our lawyer, Dr. Galo Cardenas, who is the founder of the Coloaustro law firm in Cuenca. As mentioned in my last post, we are in the process of getting our Visas and Cedula cards. Yesterday, Friday, we saw his office again. We were seen by Merci, the bilingual assistant/receptionist, and Javier, one of the staff members of the firm. We paid the $750 payment to the law firm for services rendered (will render) and an extra $80 - $40 plus $40 - for notary services regarding our USA passports. They don't spell it all out at the beginning, and so you have to come prepared for additional charges like that. So $830 paid in all Friday.
Thursday afternoon, after me not finding our USA passport photos from Costco in Lancaster, we visited a hole in the wall photo shop next to Hotel Milan in El Centro where we stayed last Spring several days. The proprietor there took our color photos for the Ecuadorian Visa - not passport, we assured him - and I got a typical Latin American photo taken in one shot, with me in a slight frown. I guess that made me look tough or something. . . it's the culture here. Carolyn Anne's photo had a slight smile with teeth showing just a bit. Cost: $2 a photo, $10 total. We also delivered these to Merci and Javier while at Coloaustro Friday.
All that remained to do was to sign the application documents. Javier, who spoke some English, misspelled my first name not once but twice! David is on my USA Passport, and David it shall be on my Ecuador Visa application papers, *not* Dave. There! Gotta watch all the details when taking care of business with a law firm. After retyping the document *twice,* I signed my signature to the application in blue ink (black is not allowed in Ecuador for legal documents for some reason). Carolyn Anne did the same to hers. Her name was not misspelled. I checked!
In a month to a month and a half, we need to travel to Quito to go to the Ministry of Immigration to sign our documents there in person. Don't ask me why. . . it's undoubtably the Latin American way to duplicate and "red tape" things such as this, imho. So we will need a dogsitter then. Don't know who would do that for us just yet. . . please pray. Monday we need to get what is termed (in English language) a Migratory Movement Certificate from the Immigration Ministry office here in Cuenca on Ordenez Lasso (west end of town by Hotel Oro Verde) that shows how many days we have been in Ecuador. We will hotfoot that Monday to the Coloaustro law firm so they can hotfoot it to Quito and get the proverbial ball rolling with the government officials there.
So, as you can see, we have several tasks to do in the air, so to speak. Please pray with us for my medication change situation, as well as the Visa/Cedula application process detailed above. Thanks again, everyone for your kind support of us ordinary people living for an extraordinary God!
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Applying for Our Indefinite Stay Visas (Cedulas)
Skipping ahead of the timeline narrative - will come back later and fill in some more details - to discuss the all important issue of obtaining our indefinite stay visas, called Cedulas here in Ecuador.
Yesterday the day finally came - after so much preparation of the necessary documents beforehand while still in the United States - when we could see the lawyer who would see our applications and documents for our Cedulas through to completion, and likely approval from the Ecuadorian government. I gathered our documents together - already done, actually - and ensured from newly installed Internet service here at the condo to this laptop computer that we had the correct address for our law firm, Coloaustro. Off to the front of our building here to get a taxi for our appointment at 4:00 PM.
We arrived at the new, gleaming six story office building near the modern Millenium Plaza office complex ahead of time and learned that we had to take the elevator up to the fifth floor, then walk up the stairs to the sixth floor, which is the top floor. The receptionist, Merci, greeted us and let us know that Dr. Galo Cardenas, our abogado - lawyer, and principal partner in the firm, as it turns out - would be informed of our presence in the reception area.
Dr. Cardenas welcomed us a bit earlier than the scheduled time, and gave the traditional Latin American warm greetings to us. He let us know he had recently temporarily taken on some new cases/clients, and was working some longer hours - 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM weekdays, but that in a short time that would return to normal and he would not be as hard pressed for time, especially with his wife and children. Here in Ecuador, family is more important than working long hours at a professional job week after week, year after year. A refreshing attitude if you ask me.
The business at hand of obtaining a Cedula for my wife and I was discussed. Dr. Cardenas looked over the documents, and after he realized that my wife qualified us for the pensionado pensioner's visa, he pronounced all of our documents good for submission. Looking at the dates of the various documents, with dates from September to November 2014 on them, he realized these documents would need to be hotfooted to the Ecuadorian government authorities this month - and in a few short days in fact - in order to not come so close to the expiration deadline(s). So translations of the documents into Spanish would get our lawyer's personal and immediate attention in the next 48 hours, he assured us.
All of these papers would result in success in the granting of our Cedulas, according to the counsel of our legal Counselor, However, due to the pickiness of the Cuenca office of the Ministry of Immigration on how they have been processing Cedula applications of late - perhaps since mid November according to one source - he advised us he will have the papers filed in Quito instead, where there is a satellite office of his law firm to assist in the process in the Ecuadorian capital city. "You will have to go to Quito in a month to a month and a half to appear before the office there," informed our knowledgeable and experienced legal professional.
"If necessary, I and my team will - how would you put it - do some things to make the papers work to get you your Visas and Cedulas," Dr. Cardenas allowed.
"You mean, 'fudge' the documents?" I asked.
"In a word, yes," he grinned. I could see he knew English well enough that he knew that in this case, "fudge" was not referring to food. . . it was referring to something Latin Americans know all too well. . . grease that makes things get done in social and in this case legal/governmental circles! That's all I'm gonna say about that!
Costs: $2200 total, which is $1850 to the law firm for their services, and $350 Ecuadorian government tax (not the IVA sales tax) on the transaction. $750 to pony up to start by Friday, when we come in and sign the application(s) at the law office. We also need to supply five copied color photos of ourselves apiece - the ones we had made for our USA Passports that were with the white borders we had made at Costco in Lancaster will do nicely, Dr. Cardenas told us - and that will get the process in motion. Waiting time for processing from start to finish: two months, we were told. The Visa(s) comes first, and then the Cedula card(s) five days afterwards. We pick them up at the law office in Cuenca. That's it!
Finally, this parting thought: we were recommended to Coloaustro abogados by some friends we met at our church. One of them we learned was related to one of the firm's employees, and I figured that was a rather good endorsement for their services, since they could back up their accounts of having successfully provided the visa and Cedula to previous applicants. You get what you pay for. In a climate of lawyers, facilitators, and document translators not always delivering what is expected of them in an honest and timely manner, we thought it was best to go with what we knew. I know there are people out there with lesser priced and "better mouse trap" deals. . . but again, we are staying with what we believe to be reputable people doing a fair, timely, and professional task on our behalf. Our future in Cuenca and Ecuador depends on it.
By the way, Dr. Cardenas has by his own account successfully assisted 300 or so clients with getting their Visas/Cedulas. Only one he knows of failed in the attempt.
I'd have to say that's an outstanding scoring average, to use a basketball sporting metaphor. Lord, we are grateful for Dr. Cardenas and his staff. We are in his hands. . . and Yours!
Yesterday the day finally came - after so much preparation of the necessary documents beforehand while still in the United States - when we could see the lawyer who would see our applications and documents for our Cedulas through to completion, and likely approval from the Ecuadorian government. I gathered our documents together - already done, actually - and ensured from newly installed Internet service here at the condo to this laptop computer that we had the correct address for our law firm, Coloaustro. Off to the front of our building here to get a taxi for our appointment at 4:00 PM.
We arrived at the new, gleaming six story office building near the modern Millenium Plaza office complex ahead of time and learned that we had to take the elevator up to the fifth floor, then walk up the stairs to the sixth floor, which is the top floor. The receptionist, Merci, greeted us and let us know that Dr. Galo Cardenas, our abogado - lawyer, and principal partner in the firm, as it turns out - would be informed of our presence in the reception area.
Dr. Cardenas welcomed us a bit earlier than the scheduled time, and gave the traditional Latin American warm greetings to us. He let us know he had recently temporarily taken on some new cases/clients, and was working some longer hours - 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM weekdays, but that in a short time that would return to normal and he would not be as hard pressed for time, especially with his wife and children. Here in Ecuador, family is more important than working long hours at a professional job week after week, year after year. A refreshing attitude if you ask me.
The business at hand of obtaining a Cedula for my wife and I was discussed. Dr. Cardenas looked over the documents, and after he realized that my wife qualified us for the pensionado pensioner's visa, he pronounced all of our documents good for submission. Looking at the dates of the various documents, with dates from September to November 2014 on them, he realized these documents would need to be hotfooted to the Ecuadorian government authorities this month - and in a few short days in fact - in order to not come so close to the expiration deadline(s). So translations of the documents into Spanish would get our lawyer's personal and immediate attention in the next 48 hours, he assured us.
All of these papers would result in success in the granting of our Cedulas, according to the counsel of our legal Counselor, However, due to the pickiness of the Cuenca office of the Ministry of Immigration on how they have been processing Cedula applications of late - perhaps since mid November according to one source - he advised us he will have the papers filed in Quito instead, where there is a satellite office of his law firm to assist in the process in the Ecuadorian capital city. "You will have to go to Quito in a month to a month and a half to appear before the office there," informed our knowledgeable and experienced legal professional.
"If necessary, I and my team will - how would you put it - do some things to make the papers work to get you your Visas and Cedulas," Dr. Cardenas allowed.
"You mean, 'fudge' the documents?" I asked.
"In a word, yes," he grinned. I could see he knew English well enough that he knew that in this case, "fudge" was not referring to food. . . it was referring to something Latin Americans know all too well. . . grease that makes things get done in social and in this case legal/governmental circles! That's all I'm gonna say about that!
Costs: $2200 total, which is $1850 to the law firm for their services, and $350 Ecuadorian government tax (not the IVA sales tax) on the transaction. $750 to pony up to start by Friday, when we come in and sign the application(s) at the law office. We also need to supply five copied color photos of ourselves apiece - the ones we had made for our USA Passports that were with the white borders we had made at Costco in Lancaster will do nicely, Dr. Cardenas told us - and that will get the process in motion. Waiting time for processing from start to finish: two months, we were told. The Visa(s) comes first, and then the Cedula card(s) five days afterwards. We pick them up at the law office in Cuenca. That's it!
Finally, this parting thought: we were recommended to Coloaustro abogados by some friends we met at our church. One of them we learned was related to one of the firm's employees, and I figured that was a rather good endorsement for their services, since they could back up their accounts of having successfully provided the visa and Cedula to previous applicants. You get what you pay for. In a climate of lawyers, facilitators, and document translators not always delivering what is expected of them in an honest and timely manner, we thought it was best to go with what we knew. I know there are people out there with lesser priced and "better mouse trap" deals. . . but again, we are staying with what we believe to be reputable people doing a fair, timely, and professional task on our behalf. Our future in Cuenca and Ecuador depends on it.
By the way, Dr. Cardenas has by his own account successfully assisted 300 or so clients with getting their Visas/Cedulas. Only one he knows of failed in the attempt.
I'd have to say that's an outstanding scoring average, to use a basketball sporting metaphor. Lord, we are grateful for Dr. Cardenas and his staff. We are in his hands. . . and Yours!
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
You Might be a Gringo if. . .
Many people in North America are aware and perhaps familiar with comedian and game show host Jeff Foxworthy's standup comedy routine "You Might be a Redneck if. . . ". Well, in that spirit - what fun! - I would like to perform, at least here in print form its South American cousin. Sit back, relax and please enjoy the ensuing laughter!
*** *** *** ***
You Might be a Gringo if. . .
you flush toilet paper down the toilet. You know, those South American sewer systems are hundreds of years old and not made for the stuff, right? When the pipes overflow, the natives know who to blame. . . the Gringo!
you drink water right from the tap. Now in most of South America, you need to boil your water, or get bottled water. Places like Cuenca, Ecuador are a blessed exception to this, however. . . but in Ecuador, Salinas and the Amazon are decidedly not! Great way to get yourself "on the porcelain throne" so to speak. . . drink water straight from the tap. Now ya know!
you expect continuously hot water to flow from your shower when taking a shower. You might be in for a shivery surprise when you turn on the tap! You might get hot water at first, like has happened to me, and then the hot water runs out. Brrr! It will eventually get back on after 10 to 15 minutes, however, and then stay that way for the rest of the day. There may not be water rationing like in California currently, but taking a "navy shower" to conserve *hot* water is the best on some days. . . no way to be able to predict which ones in advance, of course!
you don't know how to give the proper macho handshake to a fellow male individual. In the US, we know it as the "La Raza secret gang member handshake." Here in South America (S.A.), there are no race or gang connotations to it. If you want to be buddies with guys here, learn the handshake! You know. . . regular handshake, then the hooking of the fingers, then the pairing of the opposing thumbs in succession.
you don't hug and kiss the cheek of a female friend (if you are male) and vice versa if you are female. Strangers get hugs in a first greeting, but not the kiss. That comes after you've already met!
you tip baggage carriers, drivers, shoe shiners, laundry deliverers, and pizza deliverers the same amount of money as in the US. You don't. . . and you are a fool if you do. You *DO* tip airport and taxi baggage delivers, but not as much as in the US, The rest of them - with the exception of a long distance tour driver - you *do not* tip at all. . . their earnings are already included in the service.
you don't look down while you are walking. Scanning for obstacles is necessary due to the uneven sidewalks and pavement and terrain found here. You look ahead like most people here, and you look down from time to time to ensure you don't find your left foot wedged in a hole in the sidewalk or something! True story. And watch out for the morning dog doo doo too!
you don't have and show patience. Impatience and arguing to get your way gets you nowhere, and leaves you with a overheated head, while the cultural offense you have brought makes the S.A. person wince in disgust. You have now lived up to the stereotype of the "Bad Gringo" . . . The one to whom natives say, "Gringo Go Home!" Just. Don't. Do. It.
*** *** *** ***
You Might be a Gringo if. . .
you flush toilet paper down the toilet. You know, those South American sewer systems are hundreds of years old and not made for the stuff, right? When the pipes overflow, the natives know who to blame. . . the Gringo!
you drink water right from the tap. Now in most of South America, you need to boil your water, or get bottled water. Places like Cuenca, Ecuador are a blessed exception to this, however. . . but in Ecuador, Salinas and the Amazon are decidedly not! Great way to get yourself "on the porcelain throne" so to speak. . . drink water straight from the tap. Now ya know!
you expect continuously hot water to flow from your shower when taking a shower. You might be in for a shivery surprise when you turn on the tap! You might get hot water at first, like has happened to me, and then the hot water runs out. Brrr! It will eventually get back on after 10 to 15 minutes, however, and then stay that way for the rest of the day. There may not be water rationing like in California currently, but taking a "navy shower" to conserve *hot* water is the best on some days. . . no way to be able to predict which ones in advance, of course!
you don't know how to give the proper macho handshake to a fellow male individual. In the US, we know it as the "La Raza secret gang member handshake." Here in South America (S.A.), there are no race or gang connotations to it. If you want to be buddies with guys here, learn the handshake! You know. . . regular handshake, then the hooking of the fingers, then the pairing of the opposing thumbs in succession.
you don't hug and kiss the cheek of a female friend (if you are male) and vice versa if you are female. Strangers get hugs in a first greeting, but not the kiss. That comes after you've already met!
you tip baggage carriers, drivers, shoe shiners, laundry deliverers, and pizza deliverers the same amount of money as in the US. You don't. . . and you are a fool if you do. You *DO* tip airport and taxi baggage delivers, but not as much as in the US, The rest of them - with the exception of a long distance tour driver - you *do not* tip at all. . . their earnings are already included in the service.
you don't look down while you are walking. Scanning for obstacles is necessary due to the uneven sidewalks and pavement and terrain found here. You look ahead like most people here, and you look down from time to time to ensure you don't find your left foot wedged in a hole in the sidewalk or something! True story. And watch out for the morning dog doo doo too!
you don't have and show patience. Impatience and arguing to get your way gets you nowhere, and leaves you with a overheated head, while the cultural offense you have brought makes the S.A. person wince in disgust. You have now lived up to the stereotype of the "Bad Gringo" . . . The one to whom natives say, "Gringo Go Home!" Just. Don't. Do. It.
Friday, January 30, 2015
Getting Supplies. . . and Getting Settled In
We woke up Thursday, the 22nd to a beautiful sight. . . Cuenca, Ciudad de Primavera Eterna - City of Eternal Spring, and City of the Four Rivers: Tomebamba, Yanuncay, Tarqui, and Machangara.
The view from the fifth floor here is simply stunning. We can see, from left to right, the El Centro downtown dominated by the blue toned domed New Cathedral (Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception), the Estadia (stadium), often the site of futbol matches and - if our teams win - fireworks that light up the sky and provide a familiar cackling sound to the ears, and Turi, the mountaintop terminus for the double decker bus tours that leave El Centro's Parque Calderon daily (when not raining all day) and the site for Cuenca's many television and radio stations. Below Turi at the mountain's base is the ever popular Mall del Rio regional mall, and in view throughout this panorama are several hospitals and universities. We have arrived - and what a view to start the day!
New city, new condo. . . and empty refrigerator. I dash off to El Centro for a visit to our old favorite early bird panaderia - bakery/café, Panesa, for some desayuno - breakfast - for my slumbering wife. Para llevar - to go - are her desayuno tradicional - traditional breakfast items of scrambled egg with ham, pan pequenos - little breads - and jugo y café con leche - juice with coffee in milk. I succeed in taking the taxi back to the condo without spilling any of the drinks, unlike one time before. . . until I get out of the taxi, that is. Spilled coffee. Saved half of it, though. Oh, well! Getting better at this and making progress from last time at least!
We have a microwave here that works, once you get the hang of it, so reheating food is no problem. Yum!
After showering (no washcloths in Ecuador typically supplied, btw, but towels were provided for us and soap with shampoo), we headed off together to Coral in Mall del Rio. Coral is a hipermercardo - a hypermarket - that would put our previous home's WalMart to shame. HUGE assortment of simply everything you could ever need or want. We focused on simply getting some basic groceries, shopping from a list. The damage was just over $60, and I had forgotten to bring my Coral card, which simplifies the cashier's job at checkout as well as giving you a small discount of 3 per cent for your efforts. Off to the taxi and chofer for the ride home - the ride is always close to $1.80 from MdR to our condo on the new meters the taxi cooperativas - cooperatives - are now required to have installed and running. Neat, as some of the newer ones tell you the time elapsed and the distance traveled in kilometers.
For several days we have been getting supplies for the condo here, most often at Coral due to them having a lot of items we need, reasonable prices, and familiarity from our visit last Spring. Hard to do this kind of task in a completely new and unfamiliar environment, so Coral ultimately has been a blessing to us. Just like two newlyweds starting out, we have had to buy items we left behind in California. Salt and pepper shakers, a few pans - we have become aware that this condo, while fully furnished, didn't come with *newly* furnished items - and some practical items like masking tape and scissors. Etc., etc. Within a few days of going to Coral, even while shopping from a list, we spent easily a few hundred dollars. . . which also included food items. To be expected. . . but we'd sure like the money spending spree we have been on with lodging, rental car, air travel etc. to come to an end. Ouch!
Our first cooked breakfast here was egg and toast with margarine and jam, with juice. Carolyn Anne was excited to use the supplied Oster blender to whip up a juice concoction, which - because this is Ecuador - tasted just wonderful. Our first supper was fried chicken with no coating whatsoever, with potatoes and salad. Haven't found croutons here yet.
The chicken reminds me of some faux pax Carolyn Anne did in our first days here. First, she dropped her toothbrush down the bathroom sink. . . it has a stopper, but is manually inserted, and not attached to the sink like it is in the USA. The water ran right through it (you could see it lodged in down there!) and the landlady's grandson, Adolfo, eventually needlenose pliered it out of there. Then, she pulled down the shower curtain bar, thinking it was substantial and built in to the walls. Not so, as she found out. $20 later, we have a new bar installed. She knows better now, and besides, we now have a grab bar installed on the side wall of the tub/shower she can grab safely for support. The bar and curtain down created a situation where she fell down to the floor - *again* - due to the floor being wet where she walked on it. (I had just mopped it dry, but the shower curtain still sent down moisture to the floor, unbeknownst to me at the time.) She thought she had broken her ankle, but on a closer examination, she had not. !!!
While we were talking to our landlady about our move in progress and such here at the condo, Carolyn Anne had forgot that in the adjoining kitchen there was chicken cooking in the pan. All the sudden we started smelling something. The chicken! *On fire!* What a smell! !El Pollo Loco! !Mi Esposa Loco! Moral of this story: don't forget your chicken dinner until it's served! (Miraculously, the chicken was still edible, though BBQ blackened on one side. Thank you Lord for edible chicken. . . and us not having to call the Cuerpo de Bomberos - the Fire Department - on this matter!
Yup. . . that last episode would have been a great script perfect for I Love Lucy. There's a certain Lucy element in Carolyn Anne, and a definite Ricky Ricardo element in me. "Now Lucy! You have ta look when you cook, or you burn us all down! Stop talking to Ethel all the time. . .!El es peligro en Cuba! !Ay!"
Lord, please save Carolyn Anne from herself. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen!
We now thankfully have Internet service and Wi-Fi set up. You go to one store/service center (Movistar), and you explain what kind of service you want. Then you go to the actual company that supplies the service - in our case, TVCable - and let them know what you want to have in terms of Internet service and speed specifications. Just like in the US, there are different packages and service levels for getting on the 'Net. I chose the level two steps above basic, which supplies 7.1 Mb continuously (not a promotional speed lasting 90 days like their less expensive plans). $ 49 a month on a one year contract. All discussed in Spanish, except at the TVCable office, where the rep wanted to practice his very good English with me. Thank you Lord for this foreign language ability you have given me!
The TVCable service truck and cable guys came two hours earlier than expected the next day - business was slow, I learned from them - and the Wi-Fi service was up and running. That said, I for some reason could not get a new window on my laptop when desired. . . defeats the purpose of having Wi-Fi here in the condo. thankfully my landlady's grandson Adolfo and his college friend were here during TVCable's visit (the landlady called for them the moment she knew the cable company had arrived - helpful lady) and we got all that taken care of in a subsequent visit through the services of a computer pro friend that came over, *plus* they assembled my desktop computer with speakers and printer while they were at it! That would have cost me well over $100 in the US, but here in Ecuador, the price was far less for this technical service. The Ecuadorian Rule of Threes and Fours (where you reduce the price by two thirds or three fourths) applies in this case, and I am thankful for the prompt service done so inexpensively.
At the moment, I am without audio for this laptop and not sure if the MagicJack is working as first installed and working in Palmdale. Monday we'll see through the college guys when they can get the computer tech guy back here to solve all that. Grateful to have them around!
I haven't as yet touched on the subject of cell phones. That will be a new post coming your way soon! Oh, the adventures one can have when in a foreign land!
The view from the fifth floor here is simply stunning. We can see, from left to right, the El Centro downtown dominated by the blue toned domed New Cathedral (Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception), the Estadia (stadium), often the site of futbol matches and - if our teams win - fireworks that light up the sky and provide a familiar cackling sound to the ears, and Turi, the mountaintop terminus for the double decker bus tours that leave El Centro's Parque Calderon daily (when not raining all day) and the site for Cuenca's many television and radio stations. Below Turi at the mountain's base is the ever popular Mall del Rio regional mall, and in view throughout this panorama are several hospitals and universities. We have arrived - and what a view to start the day!
New city, new condo. . . and empty refrigerator. I dash off to El Centro for a visit to our old favorite early bird panaderia - bakery/café, Panesa, for some desayuno - breakfast - for my slumbering wife. Para llevar - to go - are her desayuno tradicional - traditional breakfast items of scrambled egg with ham, pan pequenos - little breads - and jugo y café con leche - juice with coffee in milk. I succeed in taking the taxi back to the condo without spilling any of the drinks, unlike one time before. . . until I get out of the taxi, that is. Spilled coffee. Saved half of it, though. Oh, well! Getting better at this and making progress from last time at least!
We have a microwave here that works, once you get the hang of it, so reheating food is no problem. Yum!
After showering (no washcloths in Ecuador typically supplied, btw, but towels were provided for us and soap with shampoo), we headed off together to Coral in Mall del Rio. Coral is a hipermercardo - a hypermarket - that would put our previous home's WalMart to shame. HUGE assortment of simply everything you could ever need or want. We focused on simply getting some basic groceries, shopping from a list. The damage was just over $60, and I had forgotten to bring my Coral card, which simplifies the cashier's job at checkout as well as giving you a small discount of 3 per cent for your efforts. Off to the taxi and chofer for the ride home - the ride is always close to $1.80 from MdR to our condo on the new meters the taxi cooperativas - cooperatives - are now required to have installed and running. Neat, as some of the newer ones tell you the time elapsed and the distance traveled in kilometers.
For several days we have been getting supplies for the condo here, most often at Coral due to them having a lot of items we need, reasonable prices, and familiarity from our visit last Spring. Hard to do this kind of task in a completely new and unfamiliar environment, so Coral ultimately has been a blessing to us. Just like two newlyweds starting out, we have had to buy items we left behind in California. Salt and pepper shakers, a few pans - we have become aware that this condo, while fully furnished, didn't come with *newly* furnished items - and some practical items like masking tape and scissors. Etc., etc. Within a few days of going to Coral, even while shopping from a list, we spent easily a few hundred dollars. . . which also included food items. To be expected. . . but we'd sure like the money spending spree we have been on with lodging, rental car, air travel etc. to come to an end. Ouch!
Our first cooked breakfast here was egg and toast with margarine and jam, with juice. Carolyn Anne was excited to use the supplied Oster blender to whip up a juice concoction, which - because this is Ecuador - tasted just wonderful. Our first supper was fried chicken with no coating whatsoever, with potatoes and salad. Haven't found croutons here yet.
The chicken reminds me of some faux pax Carolyn Anne did in our first days here. First, she dropped her toothbrush down the bathroom sink. . . it has a stopper, but is manually inserted, and not attached to the sink like it is in the USA. The water ran right through it (you could see it lodged in down there!) and the landlady's grandson, Adolfo, eventually needlenose pliered it out of there. Then, she pulled down the shower curtain bar, thinking it was substantial and built in to the walls. Not so, as she found out. $20 later, we have a new bar installed. She knows better now, and besides, we now have a grab bar installed on the side wall of the tub/shower she can grab safely for support. The bar and curtain down created a situation where she fell down to the floor - *again* - due to the floor being wet where she walked on it. (I had just mopped it dry, but the shower curtain still sent down moisture to the floor, unbeknownst to me at the time.) She thought she had broken her ankle, but on a closer examination, she had not. !!!
While we were talking to our landlady about our move in progress and such here at the condo, Carolyn Anne had forgot that in the adjoining kitchen there was chicken cooking in the pan. All the sudden we started smelling something. The chicken! *On fire!* What a smell! !El Pollo Loco! !Mi Esposa Loco! Moral of this story: don't forget your chicken dinner until it's served! (Miraculously, the chicken was still edible, though BBQ blackened on one side. Thank you Lord for edible chicken. . . and us not having to call the Cuerpo de Bomberos - the Fire Department - on this matter!
Yup. . . that last episode would have been a great script perfect for I Love Lucy. There's a certain Lucy element in Carolyn Anne, and a definite Ricky Ricardo element in me. "Now Lucy! You have ta look when you cook, or you burn us all down! Stop talking to Ethel all the time. . .!El es peligro en Cuba! !Ay!"
Lord, please save Carolyn Anne from herself. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen!
We now thankfully have Internet service and Wi-Fi set up. You go to one store/service center (Movistar), and you explain what kind of service you want. Then you go to the actual company that supplies the service - in our case, TVCable - and let them know what you want to have in terms of Internet service and speed specifications. Just like in the US, there are different packages and service levels for getting on the 'Net. I chose the level two steps above basic, which supplies 7.1 Mb continuously (not a promotional speed lasting 90 days like their less expensive plans). $ 49 a month on a one year contract. All discussed in Spanish, except at the TVCable office, where the rep wanted to practice his very good English with me. Thank you Lord for this foreign language ability you have given me!
The TVCable service truck and cable guys came two hours earlier than expected the next day - business was slow, I learned from them - and the Wi-Fi service was up and running. That said, I for some reason could not get a new window on my laptop when desired. . . defeats the purpose of having Wi-Fi here in the condo. thankfully my landlady's grandson Adolfo and his college friend were here during TVCable's visit (the landlady called for them the moment she knew the cable company had arrived - helpful lady) and we got all that taken care of in a subsequent visit through the services of a computer pro friend that came over, *plus* they assembled my desktop computer with speakers and printer while they were at it! That would have cost me well over $100 in the US, but here in Ecuador, the price was far less for this technical service. The Ecuadorian Rule of Threes and Fours (where you reduce the price by two thirds or three fourths) applies in this case, and I am thankful for the prompt service done so inexpensively.
At the moment, I am without audio for this laptop and not sure if the MagicJack is working as first installed and working in Palmdale. Monday we'll see through the college guys when they can get the computer tech guy back here to solve all that. Grateful to have them around!
I haven't as yet touched on the subject of cell phones. That will be a new post coming your way soon! Oh, the adventures one can have when in a foreign land!
From Quito to Cuenca by land
We have arrived at our condo here in Cuenca, safe and sound with all belongings - and dog - intact!
Wednesday the 21st we left as early as we could - 7:00 AM or so - and with our driver Galo, brother of our host Hernan and his wife Alicia of our bed & breakfast, Ecuatreasures, we set off for Cuenca armed with our water bottles, breakfast sandwiches of egg, ham, and cheese prepared by the ever so hospitable Alicia, and toilet paper (just in case any restroom stops didn't have any - a customary item to bring along here in Ecuador traveling on the E-35 Pan American Highway). All the luggage fit easily enough in Hernan's 2009 Hyundai H1 model van, which uses diesel for fuel (at $1.02USD per US gallon, it's a huge bargain compared to prices in the United States). The front bench seat was kept in place for Carolyn Anne and Cupid, the dog, to sit on behind our captain's chairs. We had just enough space for our 19 pieces of checked luggage on Delta and the four carryons. . . Thank you Lord for that!
It took an hour for Galo to get us to get through the crowded Quito expressway route network. You have to know your way here in Quito both south - leaving - and north - coming - to get to your destination. I couldn't have done that myself at this point - much like a foreigner trying to leave LAX in Los Angeles in a rental car and getting to Downtown LA and arriving at Whittier - both are difficult tasks for the beginner.
Once through Quito metro area - about 2,500,000 people - we settled down on a nice drive on the straighter part of the E-35 route. I only saw *one* US Interstate shield like E-35 sign, correct to the letter in its red, white lettering, and blue signage with "Ecuador" in small letters at the top of the blue section of the sign, much like "California" is placed on an Interstate highway placard within the Golden State. From here to the outskirts of Cuenca, the road was not difficult to follow and the correct route was not hard to figure out (though the route north on return has some more difficult to figure out forks in the road). Ecuador still has some work to do on directional route signs from at least this traveler's perspective.
Lunch - Almuerzo - was at Riobamba halfway along our journey, and we dined on a typical Ecuadorian meal of spagueti (spaghetti Ecuadorian style), rice and beans with split pea soup and popcorn as appetizers. Tasty refreshing fruit juice, too. $2 per person, which is lower than the $3.50 found for a typical almuerzo in Cuenca. Small towns here are like that in offering lower prices, btw.
Our chofer Galo is in the business of driving pasejeros - passengers - for a living. He has a wife and grown children, one of whom attends a private Christian school, which is expensivo - expensive. He is also an evangelico - evangelical - believer in Christ, and so we enjoyed a few Christian hymns which I sang on the way during the drive. Thank God my voice was healing from my cold I had had for the last few weeks! He knows of and likes the radio ministry of people like Dr. Charles Stanley and Adrian Rogers, perhaps through the ministry of HCJB radio (in Spanish), but has never heard of Andy Stanley or Dr. John MacArthur. . . so there ya go. We're in a foreign country and things are not the same. Galo's English is a bit beyond minimo - minimal - and so I conversed with him in his preferred Spanish, while Carolyn Anne chatted away in English. It was a busy time of talking and translating, but after lunch she got tired, and the van quieted down. Good thing, because the fog was more prevalent this part of the trip in the higher elevations of the Andes, plus the route got narrower and curvier than previously.
Patience is when you pass up on a one lane each direction highway a slow commercial 18 wheeled truck, only to find you are now behind a farm vehicle such as a pickup truck - a camioneta de la finca - a farm pickup truck - loaded with dirt, produce and etc. Repeat for the next four hours and you finally arrive. . . in Azogues, which is about an hour north of Cuenca. Faked us out. . . we wanted to arrive and finish the trip as we were getting weary of the drive.
Before Azogues we started seeing road signs for the distance (in Kilometers, of course) for Cuenca. First we saw a sign stating 63 km to Cuenca, then 72, then later, 70. Frustrating to those like us who just wanna get there and see this kind of embarrassing (by north American cultural standards) conflicting information! Then we saw a sign stating Cuenca was 38 km away. Yay! We found the new road into town - Avenida de las Americas - after inquiring at the junction of the beginning of the (obvious to us) older road and the newer road, and the expressway was still under road widening/construction as we worked our way closer in. Then we were in the established west end of Cuenca - I could tell based on our past two bus line rides in and out last Spring - we had arrived in Cuenca!
That said, I had Galo take an offramp one too soon to what we probably should have taken. Newbie mistake on my part, and Galo didn't know. . . he was relying on my knowledge. We were maybe 2 km from our condo building at this point.
We got a bit lost in new streets and a neighborhood I had not been to before. Galo wisely parked the van and asked for directions. After asking in this manner two or three more times - thank God for taxi chofers who gave directions while parked at traffic signals - we arrived at our condo building, with our landlady Lucia expectantly waiting at the entrance.
Finally home! It was now about 6:30 PM, with lights coming on for the night. It was a long, tiring, and expectant day. Time for much needed rest, and Buenos Suenos - Good Dreams - for the days ahead. Thank You, Lord for getting us here!
Wednesday the 21st we left as early as we could - 7:00 AM or so - and with our driver Galo, brother of our host Hernan and his wife Alicia of our bed & breakfast, Ecuatreasures, we set off for Cuenca armed with our water bottles, breakfast sandwiches of egg, ham, and cheese prepared by the ever so hospitable Alicia, and toilet paper (just in case any restroom stops didn't have any - a customary item to bring along here in Ecuador traveling on the E-35 Pan American Highway). All the luggage fit easily enough in Hernan's 2009 Hyundai H1 model van, which uses diesel for fuel (at $1.02USD per US gallon, it's a huge bargain compared to prices in the United States). The front bench seat was kept in place for Carolyn Anne and Cupid, the dog, to sit on behind our captain's chairs. We had just enough space for our 19 pieces of checked luggage on Delta and the four carryons. . . Thank you Lord for that!
It took an hour for Galo to get us to get through the crowded Quito expressway route network. You have to know your way here in Quito both south - leaving - and north - coming - to get to your destination. I couldn't have done that myself at this point - much like a foreigner trying to leave LAX in Los Angeles in a rental car and getting to Downtown LA and arriving at Whittier - both are difficult tasks for the beginner.
Once through Quito metro area - about 2,500,000 people - we settled down on a nice drive on the straighter part of the E-35 route. I only saw *one* US Interstate shield like E-35 sign, correct to the letter in its red, white lettering, and blue signage with "Ecuador" in small letters at the top of the blue section of the sign, much like "California" is placed on an Interstate highway placard within the Golden State. From here to the outskirts of Cuenca, the road was not difficult to follow and the correct route was not hard to figure out (though the route north on return has some more difficult to figure out forks in the road). Ecuador still has some work to do on directional route signs from at least this traveler's perspective.
Lunch - Almuerzo - was at Riobamba halfway along our journey, and we dined on a typical Ecuadorian meal of spagueti (spaghetti Ecuadorian style), rice and beans with split pea soup and popcorn as appetizers. Tasty refreshing fruit juice, too. $2 per person, which is lower than the $3.50 found for a typical almuerzo in Cuenca. Small towns here are like that in offering lower prices, btw.
Our chofer Galo is in the business of driving pasejeros - passengers - for a living. He has a wife and grown children, one of whom attends a private Christian school, which is expensivo - expensive. He is also an evangelico - evangelical - believer in Christ, and so we enjoyed a few Christian hymns which I sang on the way during the drive. Thank God my voice was healing from my cold I had had for the last few weeks! He knows of and likes the radio ministry of people like Dr. Charles Stanley and Adrian Rogers, perhaps through the ministry of HCJB radio (in Spanish), but has never heard of Andy Stanley or Dr. John MacArthur. . . so there ya go. We're in a foreign country and things are not the same. Galo's English is a bit beyond minimo - minimal - and so I conversed with him in his preferred Spanish, while Carolyn Anne chatted away in English. It was a busy time of talking and translating, but after lunch she got tired, and the van quieted down. Good thing, because the fog was more prevalent this part of the trip in the higher elevations of the Andes, plus the route got narrower and curvier than previously.
Patience is when you pass up on a one lane each direction highway a slow commercial 18 wheeled truck, only to find you are now behind a farm vehicle such as a pickup truck - a camioneta de la finca - a farm pickup truck - loaded with dirt, produce and etc. Repeat for the next four hours and you finally arrive. . . in Azogues, which is about an hour north of Cuenca. Faked us out. . . we wanted to arrive and finish the trip as we were getting weary of the drive.
Before Azogues we started seeing road signs for the distance (in Kilometers, of course) for Cuenca. First we saw a sign stating 63 km to Cuenca, then 72, then later, 70. Frustrating to those like us who just wanna get there and see this kind of embarrassing (by north American cultural standards) conflicting information! Then we saw a sign stating Cuenca was 38 km away. Yay! We found the new road into town - Avenida de las Americas - after inquiring at the junction of the beginning of the (obvious to us) older road and the newer road, and the expressway was still under road widening/construction as we worked our way closer in. Then we were in the established west end of Cuenca - I could tell based on our past two bus line rides in and out last Spring - we had arrived in Cuenca!
That said, I had Galo take an offramp one too soon to what we probably should have taken. Newbie mistake on my part, and Galo didn't know. . . he was relying on my knowledge. We were maybe 2 km from our condo building at this point.
We got a bit lost in new streets and a neighborhood I had not been to before. Galo wisely parked the van and asked for directions. After asking in this manner two or three more times - thank God for taxi chofers who gave directions while parked at traffic signals - we arrived at our condo building, with our landlady Lucia expectantly waiting at the entrance.
Finally home! It was now about 6:30 PM, with lights coming on for the night. It was a long, tiring, and expectant day. Time for much needed rest, and Buenos Suenos - Good Dreams - for the days ahead. Thank You, Lord for getting us here!
Monday, January 19, 2015
From LAX to ATL to UIO
We have made it safely from Los Angeles International Airport to Atlanta, Georgia and, following a good night's sleep at La Quinta Inn/Paces Ferry in Atlanta, from the Atlanta International Airport to Quito, Ecuador! All via Delta Airlines, who did a very professional and credible job of transporting us pasajeros - passengers.
Leaving the Antelope Valley, our past home, by Enterprise Rent A Car rental minivan, we arrived at Enterprise rental car return @LAX in plenty of time for our trip. Nineteen checked pieces of luggage for Delta to transport, and four carry on pieces of luggage were loaded by your humble scribe that Saturday morning. We unloaded them at the Enterprise check in lanes, and I found enough large type carts to help transport the large amount of luggage. Meanwhile, Carolyn Anne took our little dog for a walk to do his important business. . . important, because he would not have a chance to lift up his leg for another 13 hours. Incredible ability dogs have to hold it that we humans don't. He has certainly been a trooper. . .
First faux pax I made was to not remember to tip the Enterprise LAX loop driver. It had been a while for me, and after a momentary bit of waiting and nonverbal posturing by the driver, I realized what was customary, and produced it.
From there it was quite smooth, though, thank God! We received help first from the Skycaps, who helped us move the curbside luggage onto large carts to the Delta T5 customer service desk area. Of course we had to watch our luggage while doing this at the airport at all times. . . and that is where the Skycaps wer most helpful. They provided the "bridge" from where Carolyn Anne was standing with the luggage curbside to where I was assisting and watching the luggage deskside. No need for me to walk to and from both points. . . the Skycap crew got it done for us, thankfully.
Now on to the customer service desk check in. Christopher, the Delta CSR (Customer Service Representative) was exceedingly helpful, resourceful and kind in ascertaining how much to charge us for our bags. Double due to the stop at Atlanta or one charge? One charge except for one large red duffel bag for overnight items and for the dog kennel, per the advice of his supervisor (who is originally from Quito. . . so many Ecuador connections with this move!). That well considered decision - for our intent in staying overnight in Atlanta was for rest, not to take and be charged for two separate flights - saved us $2,600 in checked baggage fees. So important to have due consideration in these things and to think ahead for what lies ahead during your flights traveling such a distance internationally. We only had one overweight bag - the desktop computer bag, which was the largest we had - and so we had to pay an extra $200 for the extra nine pounds. Cie la vie. We did rather well on baggage charges considering the size and scope of all that we were taking with us on our move, I'd say. Still a lot of money for all of it - ~$3,000 - but a lot less than going by cargo container through the Ports of Long Beach and Guayaquil. A lot of our luggage weighed in at 20 to 30 pounds, by the way. Total estimated weight, as added up by me, is ~600 pounds.
TSA check through went very well. The LAX screeners caught the fact that my airline ticket was marked "PRE" for TSA's Precheck scan service, but Carolyn Anne's was not. The TSA folks at Atlanta didn't catch that detail, however, and so we did TSA Precheck in ATL. At LAX we went together and went through the Sky Priority line. . . never heard of that line before. Uneventful, no difficulties (unlike our first ever as a couple TSA check at LAX, which was just a horrible experience). So glad my wife has learned to behave better and follow TSA procedures. At either airport, we never had our bags frisked or my person. Carolyn Anne had to be wanded due her titanium knee, though. . . but not a big deal.
Delta Treminal 5 @LAX is going through major reconstruction, according to the LAX banners present Saturday. Except for the pedestrian bridge missing from the departures upper deck parking area, you would never know it has had reconstruction. Looks rather complete to me. However, we were shocked at the prices of the food and drink in the restaurants in the terminal. No Carl's Jr. with more reasonable prices like at United Terminal 8. The cheapest bottled water (TSA procedures are for you to not carry bottled water past their security checkpoint, btw) in Delta T5 was $2.25, with prices from $2.49 and $2.80 and more available. Larger sizes meant even higher prices. . . up to $5.15 for one! Ouch! I got two of the $2.25 ones for us for the flight to ATL, which we have found is a good thing, as it is easy to forget to drink enough fluids enroute. Food. . . don't even get me started. $10 for a simple tuna sandwich, and $11.75 to $15 and even more was common. Ugh. Greedy pricepoints all if you ask me. We ate some supermarket bought trail mix instead. . . good decision by my wife.
We were early for our flight(s) all the way. Carolyn Anne found time to do her journaling and Scripture reading, as well as making a very few calls. I used the time to think ahead, pray for the day ahead, and to just rest and converse with my lovely wife.
It's a "cattle call" experience getting in line for the ramp. We were later getting up from our seats than a lot of passengers, and as a result, I felt pressured - I hate that - by the mass of Economy passengers to get on, even though they were being boarded at the gate in waves by the Delta terminal staff. (We had Economy Comfort seats, fyi.) It's hard to get the two carryons in the overhead bins, especially when some passengers were careless and thoughtless with loading their own carryons. Thanks to the help of a fellow passenger, I got mine to fit so I could go sit down. Why do people have to be so rude? Sigh.
The flight from LAX to ATL was uneventful. The captain said there might be a bit of turbulence around Albuquerque, but that didn't happen. Over Arkansas we had a bit of turbulence, though. . . nothing major, though. It was neat to track our flight on the on screen monitor on our seatback to find out where we were and how much time was left for our flight. Bart Simpson would have been proud. . . realtime answers to an age old question. . . "Are we there yet?"
Because we had our bags held for our flight Sunday free of charge courtesy Delta Airlines while in ATL, all we had to do was to claim our one checked bag due to go down the carousel, get our dog/kennel, and go. Easily done. The dog seemed a bit stressed yet very subdued and quiet. We used the MARTA tram to get to baggage claim and to ground transportation. Carolyn Anne seemed to be better on where to get off the MARTA than I was. Two different locations for checked baggage, one stop just past the other. We got off at the correct stop thanks to her. Lots to learn quickly when in a new city!
Our regular taxi and driver dispatched us to our hotel, La Quinta, which is next to the headquarters of The Home Depot, with no problems. Nice suburban Atlanta location 30 minutes north of the Airport, and a very nice, large and modern hotel with everything you could want, including a Terrace floor reserved for pets so they can easily get to the grassy areas and lift those legs, and a menu for a local pizza place for some takeout pizza. We dined on some tasty pizza using the box and napkins, and turned in for bed.
La Quinta has more for a complimentary continental breakfast than the Inn in Lancaster where we had just concluded a longterm stay! Yogurt, batter for homemade waffles, rolls, apple juice, and Maple/Brown Sugar variety of Quaker Instant Oatmeal (other varieties, too) and Grits - Grits! for the taking. Fruit cups, too. I took several breakfast items down the stairs to my dozing wife, who appreciated being waited on hand and foot. And not one time did I hear the hotel staff say we couldn't take food to the room. . . to the contrary, I saw several guests take food down the halls and to their quarters! (Smile) Change is a good thing. . .
I asked the front desk to order us a taxicab for the airport. The young African-American clerk said it would be by a car transport service and the charge would be a flat $55. OK. The driver, a gentleman who had just become a naturalized US citizen who is originally from Ghana, asked us in the first few miles of the trip, if we were going to Delta Domestic or Delta International. International, of course. Not one peep from him at that point. Yet, when we got out and all our luggage was out of the late model Lincoln Towncar, he informed us that Delta Domestic was $55, and Delta International was $75. !!! My back to the wall, cornered by his smile and waiting self for me to cough up even more cash, I gave him the extra $20. I will check on that transaction with his company later on. . . I was (freely) given their business card with Internet address. (Sigh)
Atlanta has a very nice airport. It's one of the busiest in the world, fourth busiest by one account I heard. And it's large, like Houston Intercontinental is, but without the people mover walking belts and not near as many electric shuttle carts to ferry you the long distances from terminal to terminal. Check in by the Delta CSR, Chuck, was smooth and easy (we were letting Delta hold most of our bags overnight for this upcoming flight to Quito, Ecuador, remember). He refitted the large red duffel bag with the UIO destination tag, and same thing with the kennel. Cupid had to have a new passenger declaration filled out for this last leg of the flight, and I did so.
TSA was a breeze - they let us go through TSA Precheck, remember - and then it was on to our terminal. I then looked for bottled water and food if reasonable for Carolyn Anne and I, and we were pleasantly delighted to find reasonable prices for both. . . I bought some Panda Express for her, and one last Arby's Beef & Cheddar for me. Both cost half as much as the offerings found at LAX. Carolyn Anne was nicely surprised at her last Panda Express meal, which she enjoys having. I was delighted to also find that the water faucets at the airport were with a water filtrated bottled water refilling station - I had never seen such a thing before! Neat idea, one that makes a lot of sense at a major airport, and made me smile.
At our terminal appeared, in order, a "meet and greet" lady from a travel and tour agency; then a contingent of custodians complete with yellow mop buckets and blue carts for what looked like a training session; and then a good number of purple badged attendees for a Jehovah's Witnesses global conference to be held in Quito over a number of days, as I learned just now from another attendee staying at our Bed & breakfast. Not like the group of passengers we saw in the Spring of 2014 flying with us on United. No appreciable talk between this last group and ourselves, by the way. They seemed focused on themselves to a large extent, anyway.
We got up from our seats to board earlier than the last flight, and so boarded in less rushed conditions and 15 minutes earlier. We had 30 minutes of wait time before flight time due to getting the Economy Comfort seats. A thought for the future that might save us some money, though is to ask the boarding gate agents to let us (me) board a bit earlier if taking the cheaper Economy seats. It's difficult to get onboard with carryon bags that are on the larger side of things. Maneuvering luggage in tight spaces.
The flight to Quito was not completely full this time - some spaces in First Class and the middle seat ahead of me - but otherwise looked full. A supper was served, with enough soft drink and juices, etc. for the passengers. We saw the Florida panhandle and the Gulf Coast from around 10,000 feet up at sunset, and God doesn't make 'em any better when you get such a vista with an ocean setting! Some turbulence three times of less than 10 minutes duration, and easy to deal with. An on time landing in Quito, too.
We met a very nice woman traveling to Quito to visit her aged mother and family, and because she was next to Carolyn Anne in our row of seats, she got more opportunity to learn and converse in Spanish, although this new friend Maria spoke fluent English. Some fun time singing "Eres Tu" together and laughing at some of my word play jokes ensued, too. Example: "What do you call a well behaved Gringo? A Hielo Mello, of course!" (Hielo means 'ice' in Spanish.) Ed, our Flight Steward, enjoyed that one! Maria also learned a new word in English, though she has lived in New Jersey for a number of years: charleyhorse. I had a bit of fun with the term and told Maria perhaps the Spanish word for it was "carloscaballo." (literal translation) It isn't, of course. . . but she smiled at the thought.
Disembarking at the Quito Airport was remarkably smooth, and took all of an hour and a bit more from start to finish where we got into our rides to our Bed & breakfast, Ecuatreasures. Due (we think) to Carolyn Anne's white hair, we were sent to the senior citizen's line for Immigracion, which was easy. Our Visas were stamped once again. Then on to baggage claim, where a lot of our bags came together towards the end, and as Carolyn Anne was watching the bags, I was sent out for "dog duty." Finding out where the dog went. With help from the helpful airport officials, I found the spot to the right in a corner of the building not far from the twin carousels. Cupid was doing fine once again I could tell.
All that was left to get to our greeter(s) was to get through Customs. First, to get carts to load the suitcases on. we asked for help with that detail. . . Spanish comes in handy in times like these. Three helpers came to our aid and got them to the Customs desks.
After that, we had to declare the dog to Customs. They took the top original page from the USDA as a record of his entrance, and I thought we were done. However, I suspect we were then given the "Latin hit man" treatment by the oficiales in Customs. "How much money are you carrying with you?" (Strange question, as we had already declared on the Customs form that we had less than $10,000 cash on hand with us.) Are you a Gringo rico? (rich American) "No, soy una Gringo pobre," I deadpanned back, not skipping a beat. . . and using my good to excellent Spanish right in front of them for all to see, although most of the passengers from flights had left by this time. . . a factor that made me think I might be getting interrogated this way due to no one else seeing what is happening at the Customs table. (sigh)
"How much money do you have?" one of the male officials retorted, pressing me. This was getting highly personal. A breath prayer. . . "I told you not that much," I replied courteously yet firmly.
"Any thousands?"
"No, mi amigo," I responded.
"Alright, any hundreds?"
"Not a chance," I answered back.
"You have to show me all the money in your wallet," the eager beaver young official demanded.
I emptied out my neck wallet. He saw 5's and 10's.
A look of disappointment was on his face.
All right, you can keep it this time," he allowed.
"One more question," he began. "On what date will you be leaving Ecuador?"
"January 31st," I answered truthfully. (Our Delta tickets had that date in their database.)
"What type of visa do you have to enter Ecuador?"
"A T-3 tourist visa," I responded.
"Will you be leaving your mascot (dog) in Ecuador before you return to the United States?"
"No, he will be returning with us," I replied confidently.
The young male Customs official gave a slight smile, turned his head toward me and my wife, and allowed, "Then welcome to Ecuador!" You are welcome here to my country!"
I wasn't quite done, though. The young woman holding our kennel had another question, I was informed.
"Senor Cox," she began. "You have to. . ." Her voice drifted off. "Oh, you don't have anything more to answer. Welcome to Ecuador!"
I had passed some sort of Latin Ecuadorian type of test. Whew!
Thankfully, Carolyn Anne didn't speak - I told her to hold her speech - and give contrary answers to these officials. Thank God for her willingness to submit to her husband God gave her.
Onward to our host's driver, his brother Galo, and another driver helper, Luis, who, once the luggage was boarded and Carolyn Anne and Cupid were aboard Luis' Hyundai van with his wife - a nice welcoming touch, though they spoke a modicum of English - we all took off for the now shortened drive (yay, the road construction is now finished between Quito and the new airport!) of just 25 minutes to our night's rest.
Glad to be in Ecuador again, and that much closer to our finish where we get to take possession of our Cuenca condo highrise. Lots of uneventful moments, but as you can see, the finish was a bit on the dramatic side with the EC Customs officials!
Leaving the Antelope Valley, our past home, by Enterprise Rent A Car rental minivan, we arrived at Enterprise rental car return @LAX in plenty of time for our trip. Nineteen checked pieces of luggage for Delta to transport, and four carry on pieces of luggage were loaded by your humble scribe that Saturday morning. We unloaded them at the Enterprise check in lanes, and I found enough large type carts to help transport the large amount of luggage. Meanwhile, Carolyn Anne took our little dog for a walk to do his important business. . . important, because he would not have a chance to lift up his leg for another 13 hours. Incredible ability dogs have to hold it that we humans don't. He has certainly been a trooper. . .
First faux pax I made was to not remember to tip the Enterprise LAX loop driver. It had been a while for me, and after a momentary bit of waiting and nonverbal posturing by the driver, I realized what was customary, and produced it.
From there it was quite smooth, though, thank God! We received help first from the Skycaps, who helped us move the curbside luggage onto large carts to the Delta T5 customer service desk area. Of course we had to watch our luggage while doing this at the airport at all times. . . and that is where the Skycaps wer most helpful. They provided the "bridge" from where Carolyn Anne was standing with the luggage curbside to where I was assisting and watching the luggage deskside. No need for me to walk to and from both points. . . the Skycap crew got it done for us, thankfully.
Now on to the customer service desk check in. Christopher, the Delta CSR (Customer Service Representative) was exceedingly helpful, resourceful and kind in ascertaining how much to charge us for our bags. Double due to the stop at Atlanta or one charge? One charge except for one large red duffel bag for overnight items and for the dog kennel, per the advice of his supervisor (who is originally from Quito. . . so many Ecuador connections with this move!). That well considered decision - for our intent in staying overnight in Atlanta was for rest, not to take and be charged for two separate flights - saved us $2,600 in checked baggage fees. So important to have due consideration in these things and to think ahead for what lies ahead during your flights traveling such a distance internationally. We only had one overweight bag - the desktop computer bag, which was the largest we had - and so we had to pay an extra $200 for the extra nine pounds. Cie la vie. We did rather well on baggage charges considering the size and scope of all that we were taking with us on our move, I'd say. Still a lot of money for all of it - ~$3,000 - but a lot less than going by cargo container through the Ports of Long Beach and Guayaquil. A lot of our luggage weighed in at 20 to 30 pounds, by the way. Total estimated weight, as added up by me, is ~600 pounds.
TSA check through went very well. The LAX screeners caught the fact that my airline ticket was marked "PRE" for TSA's Precheck scan service, but Carolyn Anne's was not. The TSA folks at Atlanta didn't catch that detail, however, and so we did TSA Precheck in ATL. At LAX we went together and went through the Sky Priority line. . . never heard of that line before. Uneventful, no difficulties (unlike our first ever as a couple TSA check at LAX, which was just a horrible experience). So glad my wife has learned to behave better and follow TSA procedures. At either airport, we never had our bags frisked or my person. Carolyn Anne had to be wanded due her titanium knee, though. . . but not a big deal.
Delta Treminal 5 @LAX is going through major reconstruction, according to the LAX banners present Saturday. Except for the pedestrian bridge missing from the departures upper deck parking area, you would never know it has had reconstruction. Looks rather complete to me. However, we were shocked at the prices of the food and drink in the restaurants in the terminal. No Carl's Jr. with more reasonable prices like at United Terminal 8. The cheapest bottled water (TSA procedures are for you to not carry bottled water past their security checkpoint, btw) in Delta T5 was $2.25, with prices from $2.49 and $2.80 and more available. Larger sizes meant even higher prices. . . up to $5.15 for one! Ouch! I got two of the $2.25 ones for us for the flight to ATL, which we have found is a good thing, as it is easy to forget to drink enough fluids enroute. Food. . . don't even get me started. $10 for a simple tuna sandwich, and $11.75 to $15 and even more was common. Ugh. Greedy pricepoints all if you ask me. We ate some supermarket bought trail mix instead. . . good decision by my wife.
We were early for our flight(s) all the way. Carolyn Anne found time to do her journaling and Scripture reading, as well as making a very few calls. I used the time to think ahead, pray for the day ahead, and to just rest and converse with my lovely wife.
It's a "cattle call" experience getting in line for the ramp. We were later getting up from our seats than a lot of passengers, and as a result, I felt pressured - I hate that - by the mass of Economy passengers to get on, even though they were being boarded at the gate in waves by the Delta terminal staff. (We had Economy Comfort seats, fyi.) It's hard to get the two carryons in the overhead bins, especially when some passengers were careless and thoughtless with loading their own carryons. Thanks to the help of a fellow passenger, I got mine to fit so I could go sit down. Why do people have to be so rude? Sigh.
The flight from LAX to ATL was uneventful. The captain said there might be a bit of turbulence around Albuquerque, but that didn't happen. Over Arkansas we had a bit of turbulence, though. . . nothing major, though. It was neat to track our flight on the on screen monitor on our seatback to find out where we were and how much time was left for our flight. Bart Simpson would have been proud. . . realtime answers to an age old question. . . "Are we there yet?"
Because we had our bags held for our flight Sunday free of charge courtesy Delta Airlines while in ATL, all we had to do was to claim our one checked bag due to go down the carousel, get our dog/kennel, and go. Easily done. The dog seemed a bit stressed yet very subdued and quiet. We used the MARTA tram to get to baggage claim and to ground transportation. Carolyn Anne seemed to be better on where to get off the MARTA than I was. Two different locations for checked baggage, one stop just past the other. We got off at the correct stop thanks to her. Lots to learn quickly when in a new city!
Our regular taxi and driver dispatched us to our hotel, La Quinta, which is next to the headquarters of The Home Depot, with no problems. Nice suburban Atlanta location 30 minutes north of the Airport, and a very nice, large and modern hotel with everything you could want, including a Terrace floor reserved for pets so they can easily get to the grassy areas and lift those legs, and a menu for a local pizza place for some takeout pizza. We dined on some tasty pizza using the box and napkins, and turned in for bed.
La Quinta has more for a complimentary continental breakfast than the Inn in Lancaster where we had just concluded a longterm stay! Yogurt, batter for homemade waffles, rolls, apple juice, and Maple/Brown Sugar variety of Quaker Instant Oatmeal (other varieties, too) and Grits - Grits! for the taking. Fruit cups, too. I took several breakfast items down the stairs to my dozing wife, who appreciated being waited on hand and foot. And not one time did I hear the hotel staff say we couldn't take food to the room. . . to the contrary, I saw several guests take food down the halls and to their quarters! (Smile) Change is a good thing. . .
I asked the front desk to order us a taxicab for the airport. The young African-American clerk said it would be by a car transport service and the charge would be a flat $55. OK. The driver, a gentleman who had just become a naturalized US citizen who is originally from Ghana, asked us in the first few miles of the trip, if we were going to Delta Domestic or Delta International. International, of course. Not one peep from him at that point. Yet, when we got out and all our luggage was out of the late model Lincoln Towncar, he informed us that Delta Domestic was $55, and Delta International was $75. !!! My back to the wall, cornered by his smile and waiting self for me to cough up even more cash, I gave him the extra $20. I will check on that transaction with his company later on. . . I was (freely) given their business card with Internet address. (Sigh)
Atlanta has a very nice airport. It's one of the busiest in the world, fourth busiest by one account I heard. And it's large, like Houston Intercontinental is, but without the people mover walking belts and not near as many electric shuttle carts to ferry you the long distances from terminal to terminal. Check in by the Delta CSR, Chuck, was smooth and easy (we were letting Delta hold most of our bags overnight for this upcoming flight to Quito, Ecuador, remember). He refitted the large red duffel bag with the UIO destination tag, and same thing with the kennel. Cupid had to have a new passenger declaration filled out for this last leg of the flight, and I did so.
TSA was a breeze - they let us go through TSA Precheck, remember - and then it was on to our terminal. I then looked for bottled water and food if reasonable for Carolyn Anne and I, and we were pleasantly delighted to find reasonable prices for both. . . I bought some Panda Express for her, and one last Arby's Beef & Cheddar for me. Both cost half as much as the offerings found at LAX. Carolyn Anne was nicely surprised at her last Panda Express meal, which she enjoys having. I was delighted to also find that the water faucets at the airport were with a water filtrated bottled water refilling station - I had never seen such a thing before! Neat idea, one that makes a lot of sense at a major airport, and made me smile.
At our terminal appeared, in order, a "meet and greet" lady from a travel and tour agency; then a contingent of custodians complete with yellow mop buckets and blue carts for what looked like a training session; and then a good number of purple badged attendees for a Jehovah's Witnesses global conference to be held in Quito over a number of days, as I learned just now from another attendee staying at our Bed & breakfast. Not like the group of passengers we saw in the Spring of 2014 flying with us on United. No appreciable talk between this last group and ourselves, by the way. They seemed focused on themselves to a large extent, anyway.
We got up from our seats to board earlier than the last flight, and so boarded in less rushed conditions and 15 minutes earlier. We had 30 minutes of wait time before flight time due to getting the Economy Comfort seats. A thought for the future that might save us some money, though is to ask the boarding gate agents to let us (me) board a bit earlier if taking the cheaper Economy seats. It's difficult to get onboard with carryon bags that are on the larger side of things. Maneuvering luggage in tight spaces.
The flight to Quito was not completely full this time - some spaces in First Class and the middle seat ahead of me - but otherwise looked full. A supper was served, with enough soft drink and juices, etc. for the passengers. We saw the Florida panhandle and the Gulf Coast from around 10,000 feet up at sunset, and God doesn't make 'em any better when you get such a vista with an ocean setting! Some turbulence three times of less than 10 minutes duration, and easy to deal with. An on time landing in Quito, too.
We met a very nice woman traveling to Quito to visit her aged mother and family, and because she was next to Carolyn Anne in our row of seats, she got more opportunity to learn and converse in Spanish, although this new friend Maria spoke fluent English. Some fun time singing "Eres Tu" together and laughing at some of my word play jokes ensued, too. Example: "What do you call a well behaved Gringo? A Hielo Mello, of course!" (Hielo means 'ice' in Spanish.) Ed, our Flight Steward, enjoyed that one! Maria also learned a new word in English, though she has lived in New Jersey for a number of years: charleyhorse. I had a bit of fun with the term and told Maria perhaps the Spanish word for it was "carloscaballo." (literal translation) It isn't, of course. . . but she smiled at the thought.
Disembarking at the Quito Airport was remarkably smooth, and took all of an hour and a bit more from start to finish where we got into our rides to our Bed & breakfast, Ecuatreasures. Due (we think) to Carolyn Anne's white hair, we were sent to the senior citizen's line for Immigracion, which was easy. Our Visas were stamped once again. Then on to baggage claim, where a lot of our bags came together towards the end, and as Carolyn Anne was watching the bags, I was sent out for "dog duty." Finding out where the dog went. With help from the helpful airport officials, I found the spot to the right in a corner of the building not far from the twin carousels. Cupid was doing fine once again I could tell.
All that was left to get to our greeter(s) was to get through Customs. First, to get carts to load the suitcases on. we asked for help with that detail. . . Spanish comes in handy in times like these. Three helpers came to our aid and got them to the Customs desks.
After that, we had to declare the dog to Customs. They took the top original page from the USDA as a record of his entrance, and I thought we were done. However, I suspect we were then given the "Latin hit man" treatment by the oficiales in Customs. "How much money are you carrying with you?" (Strange question, as we had already declared on the Customs form that we had less than $10,000 cash on hand with us.) Are you a Gringo rico? (rich American) "No, soy una Gringo pobre," I deadpanned back, not skipping a beat. . . and using my good to excellent Spanish right in front of them for all to see, although most of the passengers from flights had left by this time. . . a factor that made me think I might be getting interrogated this way due to no one else seeing what is happening at the Customs table. (sigh)
"How much money do you have?" one of the male officials retorted, pressing me. This was getting highly personal. A breath prayer. . . "I told you not that much," I replied courteously yet firmly.
"Any thousands?"
"No, mi amigo," I responded.
"Alright, any hundreds?"
"Not a chance," I answered back.
"You have to show me all the money in your wallet," the eager beaver young official demanded.
I emptied out my neck wallet. He saw 5's and 10's.
A look of disappointment was on his face.
All right, you can keep it this time," he allowed.
"One more question," he began. "On what date will you be leaving Ecuador?"
"January 31st," I answered truthfully. (Our Delta tickets had that date in their database.)
"What type of visa do you have to enter Ecuador?"
"A T-3 tourist visa," I responded.
"Will you be leaving your mascot (dog) in Ecuador before you return to the United States?"
"No, he will be returning with us," I replied confidently.
The young male Customs official gave a slight smile, turned his head toward me and my wife, and allowed, "Then welcome to Ecuador!" You are welcome here to my country!"
I wasn't quite done, though. The young woman holding our kennel had another question, I was informed.
"Senor Cox," she began. "You have to. . ." Her voice drifted off. "Oh, you don't have anything more to answer. Welcome to Ecuador!"
I had passed some sort of Latin Ecuadorian type of test. Whew!
Thankfully, Carolyn Anne didn't speak - I told her to hold her speech - and give contrary answers to these officials. Thank God for her willingness to submit to her husband God gave her.
Onward to our host's driver, his brother Galo, and another driver helper, Luis, who, once the luggage was boarded and Carolyn Anne and Cupid were aboard Luis' Hyundai van with his wife - a nice welcoming touch, though they spoke a modicum of English - we all took off for the now shortened drive (yay, the road construction is now finished between Quito and the new airport!) of just 25 minutes to our night's rest.
Glad to be in Ecuador again, and that much closer to our finish where we get to take possession of our Cuenca condo highrise. Lots of uneventful moments, but as you can see, the finish was a bit on the dramatic side with the EC Customs officials!
Friday, December 19, 2014
29 Days and Counting!
Way past time for an update on our grand adventure by your ordinary, willing, and obedient servant(s).
We're back from a very good but all too short visit to my prima cousin in Cambria, and from the annual family reunion that happens lately sometime in December/January. Our stored boxed belongings are now safely secreted away in isolation with my cousin - Thanks again, Pam! - and as reconstituted by her, now number 25 crates.
That leaves us with 15 for sure suitcases of stuff to bring, under our limit of 20 for the two of us that Delta Airlines allows. Could be a couple or so more, so we'll see. Not sweating it anymore. . . At LAX, we know by inquiring ahead of time that our rental car company of choice, Enterprise, will take us to our terminal with dog kennel and the luggage - they've done it before, and not a problem. One of us will need to be at the curb watching our luggage at the terminal while the other - likely me - ferries the luggage to checked baggage dropoff. No Skycaps at Delta Terminal 5 anymore, though apparently American and United have 'em. At Atlanta Hartsfield, there are Skycaps and taxis in van configuration to whisk us on our way to our hotel, and back again. At Quito/UIO, we know the drill. Once we claim our baggage and go through Customs, we will be able to be greeted by our Bed & Breakfast host and/or driver, who will supply us with helpers to get all items on board the van and if necessary, the taxicab (for overflow purposes). Having a chofer from the taxi will be critical once we come to the B & B, as there are a number of steps to go up to on that hilly incline before we reach our floor that contains our rooms. I could do the four pieces of luggage we had last Spring along with the help of our host, but 15 to 20 late at night would be truly tiresome. Three of us works much better.
Enough of baggage, then. What's left from the once long to do list are essentially these: sell/give away cars, get the USDA APHIS papers for the dog and prep for his transport - display placards, papers, food/water, and obtain an appropriate USA based mail forwarding service before flying out. In all cases these have to be done deals, as there will be a time soon - 29 days and counting - when it will be impossible to redo these actions.
I'm not concerned now, but might be later at the timeline of developments if too much has to be done at the end in too little time. We know there will be certain things that have to be done last - getting the rental van, withdrawing monies for travel, and packing/repacking so we know what we have and where while hopefully falling under the 50 pound/23kg weight limit the airlines impose. Thinking about some stickers to our luggage and a "cheat 3 x 5 index card" in my wallet to code/decode our myriad belongings left to us. Thank you, Lord, for neat ideas like that! Don't want to tip off potential thieves on what to steal, but we will need to have a reasonably efficient way to know what items are where as we travel and finally get to our waiting condo in Cuenca.
On selling the car: our Realtor has a lovely 17 year old daughter who would enjoy the car at the right price. I've already looked up the Kelly Blue Book price for it, and hope we can hit off a deal soon. Looking to be done with it come the start of January. Wholesale vs. private party sale prices are ~ $1500 apart, so having this deal fairly consummated would be a financial feather in our cap, so to speak. . . God knows what we've already given away for free, so it would be nice for a fair private party sale to occur.
On the mail forwarding service: we didn't know it at the time, but the way we are doing our mail stop changes - residential USPS service --> private mail box PMB) with the UPS Store --> private mail forwarding service is exactly how one "throws off" those who are trying to send you mail. We have been blessed by the underwhelming volume of mail since we sold the residence, but that's due to the overwhelming amount of junk mail that we had received. So the task is to stay connected and communicate. So noted.
The reasonable cost mail forwarding services that we know of through searching the 'Net and listening to fellow US expats in Facebook groups do the following: receive your mail, discard your mail - junk mail - as you determine it, forward your mail electronically via email (where most accountholders get the bulk of their mail. . . a most welcome and timely service) or where you specify, send the (physical) piece(s) of mail to you at your specified foreign address. Email communication is the only way to communicate your needs/desires to customer service, which is a bummer to someone with my learning difference, but of course it holds down costs to the supplier of the service. Will check on this some more and come to a decision soon.
In running errands around town, I am still getting compliments on my Spanish. Easy conversations of reasonable length of up to 20 to 30 minutes, and it's reassuring I have a handle on the language since our emphasis for the most part was to get our house sold. One of the employees at our lodging here, along with a pharmaceutical sales rep I met at my cardiologist's office - very engaging and considerate young woman, indeed - and more than one of the tellers at our Credit Union say I am going to do well in using Spanish. One evaluation is that I am 80 per cent fluent. I know myself better than they, and know just how much work there is to do before I am just as easily ready to strut out the ol' Espanol as I can the English. . . but it's nice to hear. God is at work with that ability, and frankly I am enjoying our last times of being in worship, with family, and in a group setting in English before those opportunities are no more (or limited). Cambio - change - is coming swiftly, and it waits for no man.
90 per cent of this move looks to be done, which we are thankful to God for His wisdom, guidance, and direction through all of this. Ten per cent still to be done. Easy sledding, we hope! A Christmas/farewell party with our adult Sunday school class, the Pathfinders at Grace Chapel in Lancaster, to be held at a member's home this Saturday. It's getting to the end, and we are so anticipating that last drive - the last time I may ever drive again on a regular basis, btw - and our boarding the plane for the Big Trip. LAX, here we come!
We're back from a very good but all too short visit to my prima cousin in Cambria, and from the annual family reunion that happens lately sometime in December/January. Our stored boxed belongings are now safely secreted away in isolation with my cousin - Thanks again, Pam! - and as reconstituted by her, now number 25 crates.
That leaves us with 15 for sure suitcases of stuff to bring, under our limit of 20 for the two of us that Delta Airlines allows. Could be a couple or so more, so we'll see. Not sweating it anymore. . . At LAX, we know by inquiring ahead of time that our rental car company of choice, Enterprise, will take us to our terminal with dog kennel and the luggage - they've done it before, and not a problem. One of us will need to be at the curb watching our luggage at the terminal while the other - likely me - ferries the luggage to checked baggage dropoff. No Skycaps at Delta Terminal 5 anymore, though apparently American and United have 'em. At Atlanta Hartsfield, there are Skycaps and taxis in van configuration to whisk us on our way to our hotel, and back again. At Quito/UIO, we know the drill. Once we claim our baggage and go through Customs, we will be able to be greeted by our Bed & Breakfast host and/or driver, who will supply us with helpers to get all items on board the van and if necessary, the taxicab (for overflow purposes). Having a chofer from the taxi will be critical once we come to the B & B, as there are a number of steps to go up to on that hilly incline before we reach our floor that contains our rooms. I could do the four pieces of luggage we had last Spring along with the help of our host, but 15 to 20 late at night would be truly tiresome. Three of us works much better.
Enough of baggage, then. What's left from the once long to do list are essentially these: sell/give away cars, get the USDA APHIS papers for the dog and prep for his transport - display placards, papers, food/water, and obtain an appropriate USA based mail forwarding service before flying out. In all cases these have to be done deals, as there will be a time soon - 29 days and counting - when it will be impossible to redo these actions.
I'm not concerned now, but might be later at the timeline of developments if too much has to be done at the end in too little time. We know there will be certain things that have to be done last - getting the rental van, withdrawing monies for travel, and packing/repacking so we know what we have and where while hopefully falling under the 50 pound/23kg weight limit the airlines impose. Thinking about some stickers to our luggage and a "cheat 3 x 5 index card" in my wallet to code/decode our myriad belongings left to us. Thank you, Lord, for neat ideas like that! Don't want to tip off potential thieves on what to steal, but we will need to have a reasonably efficient way to know what items are where as we travel and finally get to our waiting condo in Cuenca.
On selling the car: our Realtor has a lovely 17 year old daughter who would enjoy the car at the right price. I've already looked up the Kelly Blue Book price for it, and hope we can hit off a deal soon. Looking to be done with it come the start of January. Wholesale vs. private party sale prices are ~ $1500 apart, so having this deal fairly consummated would be a financial feather in our cap, so to speak. . . God knows what we've already given away for free, so it would be nice for a fair private party sale to occur.
On the mail forwarding service: we didn't know it at the time, but the way we are doing our mail stop changes - residential USPS service --> private mail box PMB) with the UPS Store --> private mail forwarding service is exactly how one "throws off" those who are trying to send you mail. We have been blessed by the underwhelming volume of mail since we sold the residence, but that's due to the overwhelming amount of junk mail that we had received. So the task is to stay connected and communicate. So noted.
The reasonable cost mail forwarding services that we know of through searching the 'Net and listening to fellow US expats in Facebook groups do the following: receive your mail, discard your mail - junk mail - as you determine it, forward your mail electronically via email (where most accountholders get the bulk of their mail. . . a most welcome and timely service) or where you specify, send the (physical) piece(s) of mail to you at your specified foreign address. Email communication is the only way to communicate your needs/desires to customer service, which is a bummer to someone with my learning difference, but of course it holds down costs to the supplier of the service. Will check on this some more and come to a decision soon.
In running errands around town, I am still getting compliments on my Spanish. Easy conversations of reasonable length of up to 20 to 30 minutes, and it's reassuring I have a handle on the language since our emphasis for the most part was to get our house sold. One of the employees at our lodging here, along with a pharmaceutical sales rep I met at my cardiologist's office - very engaging and considerate young woman, indeed - and more than one of the tellers at our Credit Union say I am going to do well in using Spanish. One evaluation is that I am 80 per cent fluent. I know myself better than they, and know just how much work there is to do before I am just as easily ready to strut out the ol' Espanol as I can the English. . . but it's nice to hear. God is at work with that ability, and frankly I am enjoying our last times of being in worship, with family, and in a group setting in English before those opportunities are no more (or limited). Cambio - change - is coming swiftly, and it waits for no man.
90 per cent of this move looks to be done, which we are thankful to God for His wisdom, guidance, and direction through all of this. Ten per cent still to be done. Easy sledding, we hope! A Christmas/farewell party with our adult Sunday school class, the Pathfinders at Grace Chapel in Lancaster, to be held at a member's home this Saturday. It's getting to the end, and we are so anticipating that last drive - the last time I may ever drive again on a regular basis, btw - and our boarding the plane for the Big Trip. LAX, here we come!
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