E C U A D O R
January 25 - February 7, 2024
As we near retirement (months away), our dream of spending winters away from Canada is becoming more of a reality. First on our list of possible destinations is Ecuador. Craig first started researching Ecuador as a retirement location while we were still living in Moscow, Russia. At that time, we were very gung-ho about buying a beachfront condo because, compared to other destinations in the world, beachfront luxury in Ecuador can be relatively affordable. However, the political situation in Ecuador had us going in with a critical eye instead of just getting lulled into the beauty of beachfront living. Our new friends James (a.k.a. Papa Jefe) & Chantal have helped us tremendously by answering Craig's endless questions about expat life in Ecuador. It's not for the faint of heart, but it's a true adventure.
So, here we are, checking it out!
Flight route: Ottawa - Newark - Houston - Quito - Manta (total of 7000 kms one way)
1st stop: Quito (excerpts from Wikipedia in this blog)
Officially San Francisco de Quito, it is the capital of Ecuador with an estimated 2.8 million population. It's located in a valley on the eastern slopes of an active volcano in the Andes called Pichincha. At an elevation of 9350 feet, it is one of the highest capitals in the world. This also means it receives some of the worlds greatest solar radiation! Yikes! The historical centre (where we stayed - at Hotel San Francisco) is one of the largest and best-preserved in the Americas. In 1978, Quito, along with Krakow, were the first to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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| Hotel San Francisco of Quito...not exactly the Ritz for this Princess, but it was clean and comfortable enough with a beautiful courtyard area. Our only real problem with this hotel was the noise! We could hear absolutely everything going on including cars, people talking, dogs barking and roosters cock-a-doodle-doo-ing 🐓 |
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| The lovely San Francisco courtyard area |
If you take the cable car (teleferico) up the volcano, you'll be at about 13,500 feet! The altitude kicked our asses and left us out of breath and me with a mild headache the entire time we were there. It's no joke. When we went to Machu Picchu we had taken some medication, but this time we did not. 🤷
For $80 USD we hired a private taxi for the day to explore the Quito area. 1st stop on our tour, up the Teleferico (cable car) on the East side of the Pichincha Volcano with spectacular views of Quito in the valley as well as other mountains and volcanoes
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| The cable car ride took quite a while and was quite steep, but unlike a lot of the time, it was NOT cold up there and it was a pretty clear day too which made for lovely picture memories of this beautiful spot |
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| Pictures don't quite show the beauty of this viewpoint, but you get a good sense of it |
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| Quito is a huge city sprawled out in the valley of the Andes Mountains. At 9350 feet above sea level, it's the 2nd highest capital city and is THE closest to the equator |
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| So picturesque 😍 |
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| Selfie time! We stumbled upon the phone feature where you just hold up your hand and it automatically takes the picture. lol |
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| Seriously stunning views! |
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| Panoramic view of the area...I loved the different shades of blue in this picture |
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| Although we had to walk up to get here (wheezing), we had to get the "swing" pictures! It's meant to look like you're going to swing into the valley below...not sure we quite achieved the goal. lol |
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| They were hard swings to get them going!😣 |
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| My big kid. |
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| A little church on top of the volcano |
2nd stop on our tour:
Pululahua (a dormant volcano) viewpoint
3rd stop on our tour: The Intiñan Solar Museum - home of the "true equator" - only a short distance from the monument where they thought the true equator was located until GPS technology showed otherwise.
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| This is the candiru - a tiny, parasitic catfish (a.k.a penis fish) that has a tendency to find its way into undesirable places in order to suck an organism's blood. I took this picture as our guide described how it's known to swim up a stream of urine into a human's urethra. No wonder Craig has such an uncomfortable expression on his face. 😬 |
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The Shuar, also known as Jivaro, are an indigenous ethnic group that inhabits the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazonia. They are famous for their hunting skills and their tradition of head shrinking, known as Tzantsa. For centuries, the Jivaroan people of South America severed and shrank the heads of their enemies for rituals and trophies — and later for gruesome trade. When Europeans learned about the practice of shrinking heads in the 19th century, they were fascinated. Soon, many Westerners wanted to buy the shrunken heads to put in museums and sell as tourist trinkets. Before long, a gruesome new economy arose. Thankfully this practice was banned, but not until the 1930's.https://allthatsinteresting.com/shrunken-heads |
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The supposedly true equator line at the museum.
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Craig thought it was pretty neat to stand in both the northern and southern hemispheres at the same time! |
4th stop on our tour: Equator Monument Park - Mitad Del Mundo |
| The monument to the equator line at the park nearby the museum |
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| The "erroneous" equator line |
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| 5th and last stop on our tour: The Virgin of Quito on top of El Panecillo (meaning little loaf of bread). Picture above is the view of the city from El Panecillo and below is of the virgin statue. Finished in 1975, it stands 135 feet tall (incl. the base) and was made from 7400 aluminum panels that were assembled and numbered in Spain and then disassembled and shipped to Quito. |
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| The Virgin statue from Old Town Quito. We have no photos of Quito at night because we were advised that it was not wise to venture out after dark. We were only there for one evening, so we just rested up from our exhausting trip and adventures with the high altitude. |
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| Lamb stew and a turkey sandwich lunch as we sat and enjoyed people watching in the square. At one point there was a young man who was singing for tips. He was upset and when he went to the restaurant two over from us a huge argument occurred. We weren't quite sure what happened there, but he then brought police to that restaurant, but ultimately just stormed off without getting what resolution |
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| The Basilica del Voto Nacional is a neo-gothic Roman catholic church in the historical centre of Quito. On July 10, 1892 the first stone was placed (from Pichincha volcano). Most was built between 1892 - 1909, but as legend has it, the basilica will never be truly completed because they believe it will mean the end of the world. The basilica was blessed by Pope John Paul II on January 30, 1985 |
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| I, of course, had to climb the clock tower...well, actually, I wanted to climb the tower behind the twin clock towers to take the classic photo you will see when you google "Quito". We ended up climbing one of the twin towers by mistake and then the one behind it. lol Where were you Alain to climb the towers with me??? 😜 |
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| The architecture is beautiful and the stained glass is very impressive, for sure. |
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| Incredibly beautiful! |
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| You have to cross this area to get to the back tower. Strangely, this was one of Craig's favorite parts of the tour of the Basilica. 🤷 |
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| The money shot of the twin clock towers with El Panecillo and the virgin statue in the background along with the historical centre of Quito |
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| This staircase was VERY steep! |
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| This gives you a better idea of just how steep it is |
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| After all that tower climbing in the heat, we needed a popsicle break! |
2nd stop: Manta (a.k.a San Pablo de Manta)
Population from 2022 census: 258,697
It's main economic activity is tuna fishing. Luckily the tuna processing plants are downwind from where we would look at living! 🦨 🤣
Manta, or more precisely, Montecristi, is home to the Panama Hat maker. Most of us assume Panama hats originated in Panama, but in fact, they are from Ecuador! The price of the hat depends on the tightness of the weave and the time and quality put into the making of the hat. I bought one to fit my big head. Not the one below - it's the classic style
Montecristi Ecuadorian hat ("Panama" hat)
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| We had a chuckle at the name... |
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| Aunt Judy, this is the best cat picture we could get for you on this trip. |
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| Our fun-loving new Canadian friends - Chantal and DeeDee whom we met at Hotel Voyageur Manta. We enjoyed a fun dinner out with them and the next day they were off to other areas of Ecuador to finally settle in Salinas where DeeDee rents a condo on the beach every year. |
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| At last we were able to go tour some of the condos on the strip with an American realtor we had chatted with online from Moscow. First stop was the new Skorpios building - still under construction and we all had to wear our "Ecuador Shores Realty" hardhats. This shot shows just how "beachfront" these condos are. |
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| That's Ryan Kelly - our realtor from Ecuador Shores Realty. Notice the lack of safety standards as we stand on an unfinished balcony and chat about the building |
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| After seeing two units in the Skorpios building we were fortunate to see two units for sale in Ryan's building - the Ibiza. This is their oceanfront infinity pool area. Our favorite, of course, was a large 3-bedroom unit (see below), but it was $85k over our budget - thanks Ryan! lol |
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| This is the kind of view we are looking for if we buy or rent in Ecuador to escape winters in Canada! |
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| Craig enjoying the view and contemplating our dream beach lifestyle |
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| After the Ibiza we went to the newly finished Riva di Mare building. It definitely has amazing views, there's no denying that, but Craig noticed that the workmanship was not of a high quality. Simple things like the caulking were done very sloppily (and Craig knows a lot about "caulk"). It was a disappointment, but perhaps it was just that unit and not all?? |
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| Craig & Ryan bonding out of the huge balcony. The neighbour's balcony was visible though...I didn't like that so much. |
Iche Restaurant in La Quadra - Manta - my yummy mixed seafood ceviche & chifles (fried green plantains) lunch (thank you Ryan!). It just looks like onions and tomatoes in this picture, but there actually was a LOT of seafood and it was absolutely delicious.
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| Lookin' good honey! I'll have a margarita please! This is quite the lifestyle with this lovely bbq area at one of the single homes located in Santa Marianita. It was a weird vibe for me there though and very desert-like (seriously, you could go for dune buggy rides around this area as it was all sand). The homes were lovely and the back patio areas were perfect for that outdoor living, but this area outside Manta wasn't for us. |
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| This is the same home as above - with the private infinity pool |
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| Dinner at Chamaco Restaurant - we tried to go to Martinica (Ryan's favorite), but it was closed. This place was right next door. Craig enjoyed a giant burrito (which was absolutely delicious when we both ate the other half for breakfast the next day) and I had not so great "quesadillas" which were more like soft tacos. |
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| James buying wahoo (a.k.a. "ono") fish for making fish tacos at their condo in San Clemente the next day (SO yummy - thank you James!) |
3rd stop: San Clemente
In doing his research on Ecuador, Craig came across the blog of James a.k.a "Papa Jefe" https://www.papajefe.com
The two started messaging one another because James and his wife Chantal are Canadians who own property in Ecuador and are a fountain of information about this interesting country. That lead to "let's meet, come have dinner at our place". We immediately felt comfortable enough with them to then invited them over to dinner at our place. They were incredibly kind to invite us to stay with them during our trip to Ecuador and we did - for 6 nights! Thank you both SO very much James & Chantal, for your incredible hospitality and generosity to open your home to us - basically strangers. We enjoyed our time with you and your condo has ruined us to have to find the ideal beachfront condo with views like yours!
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| James & Chantal's awesome beachfront condo in San Clemente where we were very fortunate to be able to stay for 6 nights because Craig was a blog stalker! |
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| The beach life - that's their 4-unit condo on the right with a private pool for the people living there and, their guests! |
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| We loved sitting out on the balcony and just watching the ocean, listening to the waves and taking it all in - thinking "this could be us"! |
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| Chantal & James with us on their beach at low tide - Playa Punta Bikini |
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| Walking the beach, looking for crabs and on another walk with a neighbour of James & Chantal, we saw Blue footed Boobie birds! |
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| Craig was slightly obsessed with trying to catch or just generally annoy the crabs on the beach |
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| Wildlife watching here is very calming |
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| Our 1st sunset on Bikini Beach |
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| You constantly see pelicans and other birds fishing in the waves |
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| We spent quite a lot of time playing in the waves. Never turn your back to the ocean! They were very powerful and I got tumbled a couple of times and even lost my sunglasses sadly. 🕶 |
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| See! Told ya the waves were powerful here |
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| Chantal & I cooling off in their pool |
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| Some of the interesting people watching from James & Chantal's balcony - they were trying to clean up the beach for carnival starting the next weekend, but they had too much sand and the truck got stuck. They did manage to get it out though before the tide took it out to sea or buried it forever |
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Dragon fruit plant
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| Craig's favorite spot to relax and picture our future |
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| Another sunset from their balcony |
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| This was Gringo night in San Clemente! After several margaritas that day and dinner out, we went to a little bar "downtown". It was fun to meet the other expats who live there and I even tried aguardiente (I think that's what it's called - James will correct me if I'm wrong 😜lol). It's basically Ecuadorian moonshine made from distilled sugarcane. Mixed with juice, it is dangerous because you can drink too much before you realize it and then aren't able to partake in going to the market the next day. That happened to one of us... |
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| The lovely Roger & Ramona (from Calgary). We enjoyed spending some time with these two goofballs (I say that with affection). |
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| It was a fun night out with the other Gringos & Chantal & James. Peekaboo Roger! |
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Our gracious and wonderful hosts,
James & Chantal.
They look all kind and lovely in this picture, but put a game of "Exploding Kittens" in front of them and they transform to big meanies! lol
Apparently I do too, so I guess that's fair. 🂿 |
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| This is a typical site - a car-sized boom box to crank the tunes and party on the street, or beach, or wherever they please until the wee hours of the night. Thankfully, we didn't lose any sleep from people partying. Maybe it was just the calm before the Carnival storm after we left |
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| This is the market that one of us missed seeing the day after Gringo night out. |
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| Well, since these sign pictures were taken on market day, I guess you know which one of us is missing & sleeping back at the condo! 😌 |
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A beautiful plant on their pool deck
James & Chantal were wonderful to us. They even arranged for us to see a condo in Bahia (about a 40 minute drive from San Clemente) with a realtor they know - Andrew. Although the condo was nice, it was an older building and the views just did not compare with what we are now spoiled by at James & Chantal's place. Also, the water was mirky as it's a bay that a river runs into |
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| Our fabulous hosts drove us to Montecristi where we did some shopping (not enough shopping for me, but I did some damage). First stop was this lovely little shop with mostly Alpaca textiles. I think Craig should have bought this colourful mask/hat! We did buy the beautiful alpaca blanket below and James & Chantal also bought a blanket for their friend. They have some other beautiful textiles in their condo that I absolutely loved too. |
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| The colours match our living room perfectly |
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| This is the Panama (Ecuadorian) hat shop we went to and both James and I purchased a new hat here. Love it! |
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| Outside the shop, showing what the hats look like as they're being made |
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| This man let me take a photo of him creating a new hat outside the shop |
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| I ended up buying the hat that's on my head, but there were many styles to choose from. $50 USD. Some were $200 USD because they were more of a fine weave, so a LOT more work to make. |
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| The last condo we managed to see was at the Ensenada del Pacifico in San Clemente (thank you James & Chantal for arranging it with Andrew). The picture above and the one below are internet photos of the development which has 9 condos in the two separate buildings with a huge pool in between the two. |
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| Love this building and we could totally see ourselves living here! |
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| The shell collection inside the unit we saw |
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| The view from the kitchen sink |
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| $269K USD for a fully furnished condo on the beach. A little expensive for the San Clemente area, but awesome! I mean, just look at that balcony! |
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| Beautiful views all around and covered, so I could sit out there all day |
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| The grounds were well kept and tropical, which I loved and know I would enjoy if we lived here |
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| The enormous pool area. We met a Canadian couple who live here and they really enjoy it. When they're not there, they rent it out. I believe about half of the condos are on airbnb to rent. It's good to have the option, but hopefully wild party animals wouldn't rent the unit beside us (if we lived there). We seriously would consider buying here or at the very least, renting for several months next winter. |
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| Ahhh, Craig's beach sign ... in case you can't read it ... "Craig & Kerry Ecuador 2024 Papa Jefe & Chantal" |
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The places we visited while in Ecuador
(in order that we visited them)
1. Quito
2. Manta / Santa Marianita
3. San Clemente
4. Bahía de Caráquez
5. Montecristi |
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The Ecuadorian neighbours who live in the same condo building as Chantal and James were very kind to us - giving us "cinnamon buns" and this lovely note on the day we left.
Peter & Daria (neighbours of James & Chantal from Charleston Lake, Ontario) kindly invited us to their place for seafood chowder and James' seafood ceviche! It was so great to meet and get to know them. They have friends who live in the Encenada building we looked at, so you never know...we may end up there if one of them decides to sell!
So, it was a very successful recce to Ecuador! We definitely will go back to spend several months there and who knows, we may even buy. If the right deal came along at the Ensenada building, it would be very hard to resist! The smart thing to do would be rent long-term and we could do that in the Ensenada condos, so I can't wait to go back!
Thank you again to James & Chantal for giving us the true Ecuadorian life adventure and for graciously hosting us. We had a blast!
Cheers! |
