The Ecuador Gringo Blog | Part of the Gringo Travel Network

Guapalo: Sample the Best Ceviche in the City

September 2nd, 2010 | Ecuador - Gringo Favorite, Ecuador - Places to Eat, Ecuador - Travel Tips, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Last Sunday a large group of us were all sat around a cropping of picnic bench tables ordering buckets of Pilsner. One of the first timers here asked about how much he should expect to spend and Kevin, who lives up the road and comes about every week said: “I don’t know really, I always order a few beers a plate of fish and ceviche and always end up paying about $10. In the end after a few crates of beer– I’m not sure how many beers our group of thirteen drank, but we all had a plate of fish and ceviche and it was a $138 bill. I probably shouldn’t be telling you about the best Read more

Sending money to Ecuador–Convenience is king in the automated age

August 30th, 2010 | Ecuador - Business, Ecuador - Culture, Ecuador - Travel Tips, Uncategorized | No Comments »

I’ve never been so strapped that I had to get an emergency wire, but as we all know travel and living abroad can be unpredictable so having a solid backup plan is advisable and not too hard. Fortunately for us there are many services that offer support for emergency cash while abroad taking some of the fret of life abroad. For North Americans, Ecuador is a convenient place to transfer money. The currency is in US dollars, so no conversion fees. And in major urban centers like Quito, Guyaquil, and Cuenca there are a palethora of banking facilities making for easy receiving of your cash. Money transfer can be expensive though with high transfer fees in some occasions, but Read more

Hostel Villa Cayetano–Mariscal’s best atmospere with the best location

August 18th, 2010 | Ecuador - Family Friendly, Ecuador - Gringo Favorite, Ecuador - Places to Stay, Ecuador - Travel Tips, The Best of Ecuador, Uncategorized | No Comments »

If you come to Quito, the place to stay is in the Mariscal. Gringolandia it is, but it is the happening place town. All the good bars, the ethnic varieties of food, the extensive travel agencies and outfitters, etc, not to mention its central location between the airport to the north and the historical city to the south. Calle Calama one block over from calle Fosch(the center of it all) is home to the best restraunts, bookstores and clubs. Pretty much the hub of it all. Villa Cayetano location on Calama puts the guest in the thick of it all with a natural, open ambience, quality rooms, reasonable rates, and plenty of amenities.

I move around a Read more

Cuenca Real Estate – buy now while they’re still selling low

August 5th, 2010 | Ecuador - Relocation, Ecuador - Travel Tips, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Cuenca is a city apart from all others and has come to be recognized as the most European feeling city in Ecuador. As such Cuenca is hands down the most popular destination for Euros and North Americans expats seeking a patch of grass a little greener than the last. It’s architecture resembles something from the streets of old world Andalusia with cobbled streets and wrought-iron fences, courtyards and verdant plants falling down from balconies into the narrow streets below. The old city itself is one of the most well preserved colonial cities in South America and gained UNESCO world heritage status in 1999 to preserve it as a great historical attraction. And it isn’t just the buildings which Read more

Container Shopping

July 31st, 2010 | Ecuador - Best Shopping, Ecuador - Relocation, Ecuador - Travel Tips | 2 Comments »

Shopping in Ecuador is an expensive experience. For the recent arrival seeking to set up shop in Ecuador, you might find yourself in need of the creature comforts you would have enjoyed at home. Correa’s government has levied a whole heap of expensive import duties on many luxury items.

For anyone wanting to expatriate themselves and retire here, the costs can be daunting if you want to start from scratch.

Looking at some popular consumer goods here and in the USA one sees a massive disparity. A new Sony Bravia KDL 40” LCD television in the US goes for about $750 on nextag.com while the same price on compraecuador.com goes for about $1400!! almost 200% Read more

Bringing Your Pets to Ecuador

July 26th, 2010 | Ecuador - Relocation, Ecuador - Travel Tips | No Comments »

Domenick Buonamici from EcuadorRealEstate.org had this to say in a recent post about bringing your pet into Ecuador:

For those of us without kids, our pets are our kids. I know, I get it. Leaving one behind would be tragic.

So how can you smoothly bring one down with you to live in Ecuador?

It is actually far easier than you think.

First, you need to get the pet inspected and certified for good health with a vet in the US, then have that certification registered in the Ecuadorian Embassy in your country.

Then, you simply bring it down with you on your plane (it will most likely have to travel below the plane).

Upon arrival, the pet Read more

Survive South America—Study Spanish in Cuenca and the Galapagos

July 21st, 2010 | Ecuador - Business, Ecuador - Culture, Ecuador - Family Friendly, Ecuador - Gringo Favorite, Ecuador - Places to Stay, Ecuador - Travel Tips, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Travel in South America can be exciting frustrating all at the same time. There are amazing sites to see here in Ecuador: Galapagos islands, Cuencan colonial colossuses, snow-capped Cotopaxi. But unless you go on organized tours, you’re gonna have to know a little Spanish to get around. And if you plan on settling here in Ecuador, you better know a lot more than a little Spanish to survive the day-to-day living. Even a trip to the market for bread and butter will result in a lot of pointing and frantic hand gestures if you don’t know the most elementary of Spanish. Compared to places like Asia, where education is held in high esteem and, thus, you can Read more

Carnaval in Ecador–Tradition and fun under the equatorial Sun

July 13th, 2010 | Ecuador - Adventure, Ecuador - Best Shopping, Ecuador - Culture, Ecuador - Family Friendly, Ecuador - Must See or Do | 2 Comments »

Anyone finding themselves in South America during the month of February should plan on taking in the excesses of the Carnaval season. And what better place to abandon oneself–It is the midst of Summer down here. Hot weather and hot blooded locals stoke a bonfire of a party in these southern climes. Carnaval marks the final festivity of excess before passing into the Lenten season. The word Carnaval stems from the Latin “Carn-aval” which translates: to avail from meat. Catholics are meant to get all the piss and vigor out of them before the 40 days of abstinence of the Lenten season where they remember the crucifixion of Christ by refraining from pleasures of the flesh and Read more

An Alpine Idyl in the hills outside of Otavalo

July 6th, 2010 | Ecuador - Family Friendly, Ecuador - Gringo Favorite, Ecuador - Must See or Do, Ecuador - Places to Stay | No Comments »

I have never been much of an active-adventure traveler. I don’t feel the need to wear myself thin everyday having to take in every market stall, temple, mountain and lake to feel that I’ve made the most of my time on this planet and die a happy man without regrets. I am a surfer and have spent many of the last years seeking out waves in place widespread and exotic from Morocco to Mexico, Indonesia to Ipanema, San Diego to Sri Lanka. And when I arrive I usually plunk my bags down for months at a time and only concern myself with the patch 200m in front of my face. I have been accused of sloth, and Read more

Guapalo: Sample the Best Ceviche in the City

Sending money to Ecuador–Convenience is king in the automated age

Hostel Villa Cayetano–Mariscal’s best atmospere with the best location

Cuenca Real Estate – buy now while they’re still selling low

Container Shopping

Bringing Your Pets to Ecuador

Survive South America—Study Spanish in Cuenca and the Galapagos

Carnaval in Ecador–Tradition and fun under the equatorial Sun

An Alpine Idyl in the hills outside of Otavalo

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