Have you ever wondered what is the maximum amount of days you can ferment a raw cacao bean?(6) At what event did chocolate make its debut in France? (The marriage of Marie Therese and Louis XIV). And did you know that white chocolate isn’t even really chocolate(made from the cacao fat, not the bean). Ah yes, guided tours. One always walks away with a wealth of trivia knowledge after, though I for one never really have sought out tours. Guided tours of the Amazon, tours of chocolate factories, wineries, etc., I just can never really be bothered to be at some place at a given time to shuffle feet along with a half dozen others straining my neck Read more
Hands down one of the best perks for retirees and expats living in Latin America is the ability to have your own maid. Most households that live in the middle class and up employee a domestic worker to help with the cleaning, cooking and washing several days a week, or even full-time.
If you are interested in hiring help for the house, the best way to do it is by getting a reference. As you get to know more people in Ecuador you can ask around for suggestions on how they found their maids. Ask them to ask their employees to recommend someone for the job.
Employing someone in your house is not expensive when compared to North Read more
Head to Cuenca now to get in on, what International Living, the web’s most popular source for retiring abroad, is the number one place to retire in, well anywhere. Cuenca, Ecuador meets all those micro requirements like affordability, low crime and favorable climate that retirees really love. And one great option for those coming here to live are the studio apartments within the city rather than the big houses outside the city center.
If you aren’t yet sold on Cuenca, check out this post with tons of great reasons to relocate to Cuenca.
A few features of apartments make the m much more user friendly than a large house. First off, less upkeep. A big country Read more
Having to re-apply and constantly extend tourist visas can be a hassle. If you are planning on staying in Ecuador for more than 3 months a year, a residency visa is your choice.
There are many different ways to get your residency in Ecuador. Here, I will mention the easiest two.
For me, the easiest two ways to get a resident visa in Ecuador are by investing in real estate or by proving you have a steady pension.
The official names are the 9-I retirement visa and the 9-II investor’s visa.
The main requirement of the 9- I retirement (or pensioner’s)
Antonio Jose Mariscal(Marshal) Sucre is one of the most remembered here in Quito. A Latin American hero of the independence of the States of Gran Columbia, Sucre was Belgian blooded and born in Venezuela hailing from a highly aristocratic family. Answering Bolivar’s call to arms, Sucre was put in charge of the defense of Quito. Here he proved himself in the battle of Pichincha, a decisive victory ending Spanish Colonial rule of Gran Columbia. For this, Sucre was honored with the naming of streets, a parish where now I reside as does Quito’s nightclub and tourist infrastructure, and the International airport opened in 1960.
And so Sucre continue to serve his adopted city for many years. Many a Read more
Yep, it’s coming up so you better save your bucks and get down here for the 6th annual International Living hosted event taking place in Quito from February 15th to 19th. If you don’t already know international living then you should. It is the web’s most popular and extensive website dedicated to helping potential foreign expats and retirees connect with places and property in Latin America. International living has rated Ecuador as the top spot to retire consistently year after year.
IL bases its reports on two important criteria: value and quality of life. Did you know that you can find a modest house along the coast for between $65,000 and 80,000 dollars? Did you know that Read more
I never really had a plan of what I wanted to do when I initially set out doing it. I never really wanted to work and have always been at my happiest when I’ve been at the gainfully unemployed level. And it has always been an ardent philosophical dictum for me that the definition of a real winner is one spends more than half his waking hours during any calender year idling more than working. Haven’t you wanted to take six months off and travel, learn to play the ukelele, stare at clouds, perfect your sandwich making skills, bowl on all seven continents, sit on a beach and make driftwood art? Well how do you do this—first off don’t Read more
It’s upon us. The moment every Quiteno has been waiting for. Fiesta’s de Quito, a big Ecuador Holiday, official starts today running from Tuesday, November 30th to and culminating on Monday the 6th of December the festival celebrates the founding of Quito on the 6th of December 1534 by hop on Chiva the party buses cruising the streets with revelers; watch matadors spar rather pissed-off bulls in the Plaza de los Toros; and drink, drink, drink. All of us here in the Bar and restaurant scene have a feeling that the hotly contested Nationally dictated liquor laws will not be applicable this week, including and especially Sunday the fifth, the culminating night leading up to the national holiday. Read more
The Mindo-Nambillo cloud forest is a good example of how diverse Ecuador can be. The primary and secondary forest rests between about 1800 and 4600 meters (that’s as high as Pichincha). The village of Mindo itself is about 2100 m and has a mild climate and most importantly clean air. It’s a mecca for bird, butterfly, and orchid lovers; so many micro-climates have ushered in a massive diversity of species. For the Quitenos it’s a breath of fresh air and this place packs out on weekends, which is why we arrived on a Monday.
The streets were empty and dusty for our arrival. Perfect. Didn’t want anything more or less. Touts were rather sluggish in the Monday afternoon Read more
Each day my eyes drift toward Pichincha
hovering over mighty and still.
I have felt the insides of the earth
clambering on it’s summit. Cut blood
slipping on its surfaces
and trembled at the vertigo.
To be close to the Gods is to be at risk
of falling deep into sharp ravines,
To risk loneliness and slow death,
To be torn inside out by your own isolation.
So I clamber on apart from others
scaling his old peaks,
the ice still frozen from the early morning frost.
To be closer to the unattainable,
To go no further than I possibly could–
the apex peak of ecstasy,
and then there is only Read more
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