Tamera's Take: Cast Away, Cats and Blue Bottle Diablos

I would first like to say !Bienvenidos! (welcome) to our new readers in Ecuador, Ukraine, Germany, Romania and the United Kingdom.

Tamera's Take is about being here.
Are you ready?  I am.

In the beginning, we considered going the shipping container route to bring most of our belongings.  Then we considered airline cargo (basically a lot of checked luggage) to bring some of our belongings.  In the end there were just too many complications with trying to bring all that stuff.

Some things we gave away to family

If you read my husband Jason's most recent post, Familia y Los Amigos - They Love You.  Always and Forever, then you know that we sold or gave away almost everything we owned in order to move to Ecuador.

We arrived in Ecuador with four checked bags weighing a total of 200 pounds, and four carry-on bags consisting of a laptop bag, a small suitcase on wheels, and two carry on pet carriers containing two cats each.

Yes we traveled with pets.  Four pets to be exact - in case you did not do the math.

We rented a fully furnished house about 75 yards (68 metres) from the beach.   Except for a toaster and a frying pan, the house has everything needed.



I think you get the picture.  No.  Not that picture.  The other one.

Yes we brought our CATS!!

There will be a future post on container shipping, air cargo, what we brought and what we wish we had brought.

I will mention one item I wish we had brought. Benedryl.

Sea Glass

Something I notice, now that I live so close to the beach (playa), is the array of things that I find on the shore.

Some things discarded by the many fisherman as they sort out their catch, some things that come directly from the ocean, and some things that wash up with the tides from another place.


My home state of Florida has nearly 1200 miles of coastline, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Straits.

Drift wood? Drift tree!

This is not a geography lesson.

Treasure hunters with their metal detectors, beach combers picking up shells, sea glass, drift wood, conservationist protecting sea turtle nests and native plants of the dunes; these sights are second nature to me.  Just like spending summers at my grandmother's beach cottage in St. Augustine, going to Anastasia Park with friends as a teenager and as an adult taking my own daughter to the these beaches.

But I never lived at the beach.  Never lived anywhere with the shore and the ocean just steps away from my front door.


A lot of things get discarded in a natural process or otherwise.

Fishermen discard some things

Some things make that transition from shore to ocean and back to the shore again.  Maybe not the same shore, but a shore.  Somewhere.

I learned from an early age to keep an eye out for one of those things that wash up on shore in the natural process - jellyfish.  Why?  Because if jellyfish are on the shore, you can bet they are in the water close to the shore.

If you have never experienced a jellyfish sting, I am glad.



I was not so lucky.  It is inevitable when you spend so much time at the beach.  No matter how well you checked out the shore before you got into the water.  As a kid though, you are sometimes willing to take that risk.

Little Sting Ray

I have not been stung by a jellyfish since I was a child.  I suppose I learned my lesson.  I still scan the shore before I jump into the ocean.

That did not matter two days ago.  Jason and I went down to the beach for the specific purpose of swimming in the ocean.
I bugged him about it all day.  I really wanted to go swimming.  Even though Jason was a bit tired - we had both been up since 5:00 am and he had been very busy all day - he recognized that pouting face of mine and with a smile, took me down to the beach to go swimming.

That is what you do for the person you love.  At least that is the kind of thing my husband does for me.  All the time.  He do what he do.



I think I had been in the surf for about one minute when it happened.  Really.  One minute.

Photo by Vlad Minin                              Courtesy of National Geographic

As I swung my left arm behind me to get past the next wave swell coming up, I feel something brush up against me.  My upper left arm.  I stop swimming immediately and float, trying to figure out if a fish or sting ray had nudged me.  Right at that moment, there was pain.  "No a shark."  I say to myself.  Again pain.  This time on my right arm, although, I look to my left because the pain has not stopped there.  I just know what I am going to see.  Instead, I see something else.  It is blue and very small.  Floating just below the surface of the water.  Maybe three inches below the water.  It was about 1 inch in size.  It.

Now the pain has completely surrounded my upper body and my mind goes back to the shark idea.  Completely confused and suddenly frozen, I say to Jason, "something just bit me".  He says to me, "get out of the water".  Not panicked but concerned.  I can see it in his face.

I cannot move.  Not out of fear.  I am just unable to move.  I realize that there is something wrapped completely around me.  Fishing line?  Uh no.  Not fishing line.  Clear and stringy though.

This hurt. A lot.

Excruciating pain.  Jason realizes that I cannot move.  I am not even sure if he is saying anything to me now.  I sort of get mad.  Not at Jason.  But at whatever just bit me and is still trying to bite me.

Meanwhile in the back of my mind, "It was a jellyfish.  But, it was blue.  Jellyfish are not blue.  At least not the ones I know of.  I scanned the shore.  I know I did."


I realize I am being dragged back to shore by Jason.  Then I am being washed up on the shore by a wave. I am in the sand.  Grateful for the rough sand.

"What was it?"  Jason says.

"It was BLUE!"  I say.  Barely able to speak and still grateful for the rough sand.  A blue devil is what I think to myself.  Lucky for me, we are only steps from our front door.  It felt like a mile.  As soon as we get home, Jason starts to apply a series of remedies that most everyone who grows up near the ocean knows.
1. Remove stingers (tentacles).
2. Rinse the affected area with vinegar.

The stingers were pretty much already gone.  Probably into my skin.  So we moved to step two.  Vinegar.  That does nothing to help.  Jason gets on the internet to look up remedies.  We are in Ecuador, not Florida.  Maybe there is something else that we should be doing.  As I am heading upstairs to start step three of the remedies;
3. Shower in hot water.

Jason asks me what they (IT) looked like.  I say, "It was BLUE and very small".  (Except for that long stringy thing that wrapped around me about one hundred times.  Okay.  It was just once but it felt like one hundred.

Step number three helps a little.  I come back downstairs and Jason is looking up "blue jellyfish in Ecuador".  Meanwhile I move to the last step of remedies that we know.
4. Take an over the counter pain reliever.
 

A little better on day two

I swear the pain is actually getting worse. Jason finds a number of pictures and websites (a lot of blogs) that show or discuss this horrible blue jelly creature.  National Geographic website had the most in depth information.

Not a jellyfish.  A Portuguese Man o' War.

Affectionately known in South America (and Australia) as a, "Bluebottle". That is what it was.

A Bluebottle.

BlueBottle Diablo is a better description.

Remember that Benedryl I mentioned earlier?  Apparently vinegar does nothing but make the stinger release more venom.  Anti-allergy medication is what I needed.

You can get Benedryl in Ecuador.

You just can not get it at that moment.  The moment you need it the most.  The moment when you think you have never felt this much pain in all your life.  Of course this is not true.  It just feels that way at the time.

So now we have the remedy checklist.
1. Remove stingers (tentacles)  Check!
2. Hot shower  Check!
3. Anti-allergy medication - like Benedryl  Check!

If I ever get stung again, I am ready.

Ready or not, I hope I never, ever, ever, ever, ever, get ATTACKED by one of those Blue Bottle (diablos) again.

Never.

Wilson!!!

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Familia y Los Amigos - They Love You. Always and Forever

Jimmie and Michele

My wife and I have dreamed of living abroad for a long time now.  We visited Mexico some time ago along with our friends, Jimmie and Michele.  That trip only fanned our flames of that dream.  We did not hotel in Cancun.  We are not the Cancun type (this may surprise you in a moment). We chose to rent a beach house called Casa del Cielo south of there; near a tiny fishing village called Puerto Morelos. It was the best vacation we ever took. We spent quite a lot of time in Puerto Morelos, met the locals, ate the fish, enjoyed life, fell in love with it.  Fast forward.

Puerto Morelos has been found by others. Many, many others.  What would have been affordable to us then is so for out of our stratosphere now that it is staggering.  We searched and hunted, determined to find something, anything there.  It became evident that it was not going to happen.  It also became evident that it might not be safe there anymore.

He do what he do.

We watched a lot of HHI (House Hunters International) trying to get ahead of the curve, looking for new ideas.  As it turns out, there are quite a few Americans looking for something different.  All have their own reasons but the romantic in me believes it boils down to one immutable fact.  We are at heart, explorers. Adventurers of the world.  We have our reasons.  As few or as many as we need, but we want to wander.  We have the traveling bone.  The two hundred and seventh bone in our bodies thank you very much.

We saw an episode featuring a couple moving to Quito.

It piqued our interest even though Quito is almost as far from the las playas or beaches if you prefer, as you can get in Ecuador.  They spoke of the climate.  The spoke of the affordability.  They spoke of the wonderful people.  We saw opportunity.  Fast forward.

We are in Crucita now.  As you already know, we faced quite a few surprises.  There are many to come.  One of the biggest surprises in the whole process was the reactions of our family and friends. Looking back I am more than a bit surprised by our actions as well.

Daughter and Mother.  Lovely.

Surprise #1:  Family - What do you mean you are moving to Ecuador?  Half a world away!  A third world country at that!

We have a great family.  Hard workers, loving, and caring all.  Almost all immediate family live in Jax (Jacksonville) from whence we came.  It is a large family.  A daughter, a brother, and a father live further away but again, most are in Jax.  Most everyone knew we were moving to Ecuador. They knew of our dreams.  When we pulled the trigger why were they not all just so happy for us? Happy we were following our dreams?

Jesse and Loca painted by Tamera.

First off, dreams are just that; dreams. You can talk of your dreams all you want. No one ever knows what is really in your head but you.  Your family is not involved your decision making process.  They don't know where your head is.  They are not there for all the hard work like researching, checking, Skyping, calling *cringe* Government offices/financial institutions, paperwork, and organizing it all. No one really expects you to risk everything and follow dreams.  I mean, who does that?

No one wants to see you go either.  We are leaving our children (now adults) behind.  We are going to be far, far away.  It did not help that we moved our timetable up by almost a year.  When we started trying to organize with our family (who gets what valuables and heirlooms, visiting schedules, etc.) we might as well have poked them in the eye with a sharp stick. Repeatedly.  No really one expected we would move to Ecuador.  Another country.  A different continent.  A different hemisphere.  Not that fast anyway.

Show off!

We received mixed reactions.  Some vehement, others not. There was anger, there was bewilderment, there was sadness. There was also understanding, pride, and hope.  Sometimes in the same sentence from the same person.  Sometimes not. Being there, going through it all was harder than you can imagine.  For all of us.  I don't think anyone can see the other's side when you are in it.  It takes a little distance to get a lot of perspective.

Surprise #2:  Art - What are you willing to give up?

We are accomplished artists my wife and I.  My wife paints extremely well.  Oil is her preferred medium but she is equally talented with watercolor and drawing.  Photography is something else in which she excels   She loves capturing architecture on film and then painting the same.  Surrealism is where she lives.  She also writes occasionally. She is a natural lyricist. She is adept at capturing her dreams in all these mediums and I am always impressed. You see, she does it all on her own. No help, no net. Just her and her talent.

Scott and I rockin' it!

My art is practiced almost exclusively with others.  I am a musician.  Bajos or bass guitar is my thing.  Rock for the most part.  I write lyrics and compose.  Have done since my Father bought me my first guitar when I was 13.  I do a fair job as a recording engineer too though you won't catch anyone hiring me to engineer and produce their stuff.  I learned by ear, like I am learning Spanish, by diving in with those who already spoke the language and learning on the fly.  By age fifteen I had my first paying gig.  In 1996 I was in Nashville recording my first professionally engineered CD.  I work my art with the benefit of help from others.  A collective process.  I love the stage.  I have been in a working band my whole life until that is, about a month ago.  The last one was the one of the best I've ever been in.  "Ozonebaby You're Amazing!"

My wife left all of her art behind.  She sold all of her production equipment.  I quit a great band.  I sold all my equipment including my git fiddles.  Too much equipment, too heavy to ship, too costly.  We have both done this all our lives.  It is like we quit breathing, sleeping, or eating.  We are both going a little nuts with the loss right now.  We could only bring so much and will have to ferry things back when we visit.  We will buy mostly new equipment here.

Fun with family and my friend, Rob.

Surprise #3:  Friends - What the -?

My wife lived in Jax all her life.  She grew up with Anastasia Island, springs, and bogs.  I was born in Virginia.  A life of mountains and life on the water in summer a la the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth.  By age nine I was living in Florida.  My point is we both have lifelong friends in Jax.  From school, from work, from our art.  They are family too.  There was an added family for me in the form of the band.  The concept of band is hard for a lot of people to understand.  Being in one is like having extended family.  You love the good and tolerate the bad if you want to be successful.  You can not keep one together.  You can keep the name and the idea together.  Like Legos, band members are interchangeable.  The idea of the band, the music, the theme, stays the same.  The spirit is there and with the right guys, the energy is there too.

We do what we do.

Our friend's reactions varied just like our family's.  I can only believe everyone experiences the same range of emotions.

Surprise #4: Us vs. Them - Wha, Wha, Whaaaaat?!

Now for the hardest one.  The one where we have to look at ourselves and come to grips with our own mistakes,  Please remember I (TJ) am writing this.

My wife and I are partners, lovers, and friends.

We do not necessarily share the same view ALL the time.  On this we may differ a bit.  On all of it we may differ, but only a bit.

We could have done a better job communicating.  We should have done.  We got defensive.  We never thought in a million years anyone would be unhappy with the choice.  We were not prepared for ANY negativity at all.  We got hurt but never truly understood how we might be hurting others. It is family, close friends.  We are realizing our dream, going to live in paradise after all. They MUST BE HAPPY FOR US!

Jessica's graduation.  With Jesse, Honey, and family.

No they must not.  In this we were all a bit selfish, a bit close minded.  There is a lot of stress involved for those moving away.  There is a lot of stress involved for those who aren't.  We wanted no, craved support.  We sometimes felt we were not getting it.  We felt we were being second guessed, that we were making a mistake, that people thought we were crazy.  We were told that.  People react strangely when someone they love, someone they have know all their lives, leaves. Especially as suddenly as we did.  We did not give them much time to process it.  It was a necessary evil.  The reality is, there was no us vs. them.  There was fear of change and loss.  There was misunderstanding.

Wedding guests?  Family!

Surprise #5: Strangers - Wow!  That is amazing!  Tell us all about it!  You are so lucky!

Ahhh.  Sweet validation.  Bittersweet.  For all the worry over family there is nothing but curiosity and well wishes from those you don't know.  On the surface anyway.  You meet a lot of people when getting your paperwork ready.  You have to tell them what you are doing no matter what.  They all have a million questions no matter who else is waiting behind you. Some are genuinely interested.  Their eyes eat up their face as they lean in and partake of the story, your courageous exploits.  Adventure in South America!  Yay!

Then there are those whose eyes flicker.  Their face slackens just a bit and their smiles do not reach their eyes.  Feigned interest.  Doubt.  You know the words coming out of their mouths are not what they're thinking. Body language is the great equalizer.  You tell them just the same.

It can feel good.  You will trick yourself into believing they are all "with" you.  It's not true and never will be.

For Nana.

I hope this helps you prepare.  Your family and friends will come around. They may not agree with you or your thinking. They may try and talk you out of it, and why not?  They love you and have a genuine concern for you well being. First and foremost remember who they are. They love you.  Take pause. Remember it again.  They love you.  In the end that is all that matters. Ever. Adios!

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Tamera's Take: Strange Trees, Cats and Rose Colored Glasses

Tamera's Take is about being here.
Are you ready?  I am.

The ancient Maya of South America believed that a great Ceiba tree stood at the center of the earth, connecting the terrestrial world to the spirit-world above.  The long thick vines hanging down from its spreading limbs provided a connection to the heavens for the souls that ascended them.

The Ceiba tree’s branches were believed by Mayans to act as a seat from which the gods watched the people walking below.

Humans are not separate from nature.

Ceiba Tree facts:
During the dry season the symmetrical flowers can be rather small and inconspicuous at less than 3 cm (1 inch), to showy at more than 12 cm (5 inches); and are usually white, pinkish-white or red, with leathery petals.  This tree has a largely branchless trunk which grows to 60-70 metres (200-230 feet) and buttress roots that can be taller than a grown person.  The deep roots mean it is often one of the few trees left standing after a hurricane.

Borrowed photo. We were riding a bus. 

Thanks to the following websites for the above information:

http://www.fauna-flora.org

http://www.ceiba.org




As I write this, we are currently at the end of the dry season.  There is a bus route from our town of Crucita directly to the city of Portoviejo, about 30 km (18 miles) away.  The buses are scheduled about every 10 minutes, cost $1.10 to ride, and you hail them like a cab.  Equally, when you want to get off, you simply stand up and go to the front of the bus. The bus driver will immediately stop and let you off.

Groceries from Portoviejo

We needed to go to Portoviejo to do some grocery shopping.  We do not have a car, scooter, motorcycle or even a bicycle - yet. There are two options.  A cab or a bus.  A bus it is.

The bus makes a circle around Crucita, on Calle Malecon (coastal road) and Calle Portoviejo.  We are told by our friend Tamy to get on the bus at Calle Malecon, because it will be less crowded.  We are not sure why it will be less crowded, but any advice Tamy gives us is good advice.



It is about 50 yards (45 metres) from our gate to Calle Malecon.

As a side note, during the writing of Tamera's Take, I decide to login and listen to Pandora Internet Radio, only to receive the following message:

Zahi is not amused.

Dear Pandora Visitor,
We are deeply, deeply sorry to say that due to licensing constraints, we can no longer allow access to Pandora for listeners located outside of the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. We will continue to work diligently to realize the vision of a truly global Pandora, but for the time being we are required to restrict its use. We are very sad to have to do this, but there is no other alternative.

This frustrates me, but only for a moment.

Three countries does not sound very global.

I go to the back up plan and play some of our music saved to the laptop.




After all, I am in Crucita.  The sun is shining, the wind is blowing and the waves are crashing on the shore.   This was not the case yesterday.  It was raining on Friday.  Bus Ride Friday.  Black Friday for everyone in the U.S.

[listening to Under the Milky Way by The Church]

Back to Calle Malecon.

Calle Malecon

We are not sure what side of the Calle to catch the bus, but we know that there are no bus stops to search for, no increasingly confusing time schedules to decipher, no bus transfers to make.

Unlike the bus systems in the U.S. and probably many other countries, when we see the bus, just hail it like a cab.  Simple enough.

This is going to be easy.


After standing on the Malecon for about 3 minutes we see a bus heading our way.  Great.  This is going to be easy.  Our arms go up.  The bus stops.  "Este el Autobus a Portoviejo?" I say to the man who opens the bus door (not the driver).  "Portoviejo? Otro... (something something something and I have no idea what)."  Says the man who opens the bus door (not the driver).  However I did catch the word "otro" which means "other".  The man is smiling and pointing to the other side of the street.  Like I said, this is going to be easy.

Views from the bus on the way to Portoviejo 

We cross the street.  Well that was simple anyway.  Wait for it.  Yes.  Here it comes.  Another bus. My husband says, "you put up your arm this time, I did it last time".  I reply, "I held my arm up too". We both laugh and both put up our arms.  Better safe than sorry right?   It worked last time.  It worked this time too.

I should say at this point that "CRUCITA" is painted on the side of the buses.  In the front window is a sign that reads "Portoviejo".

[listening to Yer So Bad by Tom Petty]

The man (not the driver) opens the door.  Portoviejo?  Si.  Good, this is going to be easy.  Then there are those very steep steps.  Only two of them.  But very very steep.  My husband Jason and I are taller than most people here.

Did I mention the bus had really steep steps?

Views from the bus - house for sale

After climbing the steps, the very steep ones, I try to give the man (not the driver) money.  He does not take it.  There is no meter to drop money into.  No place to slide your Metrocard.  Confused for just a moment I keep walking up the aisle looking for two seats together.  Before I know it I am in the back of the bus and I get a look at the passengers for the first time.   All children and teenagers in school uniforms.  For the most part they are sitting in the window seat.  No one in the aisle seats.

Views from the bus - Rice Fields!

Confusion sets back in as I look towards the front of the bus, which is moving. Instinct sets in and we both choose an aisle seat. Did we get on the wrong bus? Did I say this was going to be easy?

The bus stops again and the new passengers are not school children. Feeling a little better by the addition of passengers, who are obviously not coming home from school, I relax.  It is 12:20pm.

We are on our way to Portoviejo.  Us, the school children, the other passengers who are not school children, the man (not the driver), and the driver.  We round the corner and a few more passengers get on the bus.

A man (not the other man or the driver) is walking up the aisle carrying a basket.  What is in the basket?   He is selling something to the passengers.  Fresh baked bread.  Rolls to be exact.  They smell wonderful.  I think about buying one, but decide not to.  I just want to observe for this bus ride.  There are two teenagers sitting behind me.  They are sitting very close together.  The teenage boy buys two rolls, one for himself and one for his girl-friend.

The man (not the driver).  Very nice man. 

The bus stops to let people on and let people off, as buses do.  The school children are quiet or talking very softly.  The other passengers talk socially to each other.  The man (not the driver) walks towards the back of the bus to collect the fare from each passenger.  The children pay a very small fare.  I can not see exactly how much they give him, but it seems to be a few small coins.  Jason and I each give him $1.10, he counts the money and smiles at us and nods.  We got the fare right.

This is nothing like any other bus ride I have taken.  I am actually enjoying it.  I knew it would be easy.

I hear the teenage boy behind me say, "Americanos.  No comprendo."  Of course he meant us.  He was right.

Am I wearing Rose Colored Glasses?  Who can say?!

Maybe I am, maybe not.  I will let you know.

Last Stop

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Sometimes, I Guess There Just aren't Enough Rocks

Earlier in the week I wrote about some of the challenges we discovered once we got here in the "It Ain't All Poached Eggs and Rubies" segment.  I guess I should quantify.  We didn't "discover" it all.  We read about some of this stuff before we got here.  We read about a lot of stuff before we got here.  Some correct, some not.  Things change.

New condos in South Central Crucita

Here in Crucita change seems to be on a fast track.  Fiber-optics are coming.  A new highway is coming.  New housing is coming.  I am not here to talk economic impact or politics.  That is going the right way for a smacked bottom and I know it.  The point is things change and we have to change with them.  Information posted a year ago may have changed.  I say this a lot because well, things change.  A lot. Older blogs or websites may not be current. Generally, not the author's fault. Now my butt is eternally covered.

We are just coming to the end of our first week here and while things have not changed per say, we have learned more about what has not.  Some "bad", some "good".  In reality these things just are.

Our blog writing has changed.  I do not know how many have noticed but most contractions (don't, we've, you've) have been weeded out unless it is a quote from somewhere.  It is not because I am a lazy writer or because I am simple, as true as that may be.  It is because we now have readers from places other than the good old U.S. of A (and no, we are not tracking our own hits!) .  That is exciting for us.  I did not really expect much more than family and a few friends to be readers.  We had a hit from the Ukraine.  Many from Ecuador.  I am positive most are English speaking ExPat bloggers or visitors but-

Americans use contractions but many nationalities do not.  They do not translate well or so I hear.  We are trying to be as international friendly as possible because after all, we are trying to help all people.  This is a writing nightmare for us.  An editing nightmare too.  It adds an hour or so to the process.  We are not professionals and attempting to change a lifetime habit is in a word, hard. Good thing we have time, huh?

In line water heater.  Quite all right.

I said earlier that I wanted a gas stove for a long time.  I went on about how happy I was to have it.  I am.  Supremely happy.  Can someone tell me how to turn on the freaking oven?  Dag nabbit blob!  I say this only because in my ramble about appliances of all things; I left out the fact we do not have a toaster.  No problemo mon.  Make it in the oven.  Nope.  Don't have, it, fresh out. (Quote.  The contraction is intentional).

DO NOT not flush the toilet paper.  We are on a land-locked, permanent cruise.  The sewage system here is not as good as many are used to.  It is very important not to overtax it.  Throw away that toilet paper, throw away that brush, just don't throw it in the toilet and a flush, flush, flush!  We are not chicken proof. We are not peanut butter proof.  That was special, just for my Jacksonville peeps. Be honest, you guys will have that stuck in your head for a few days now.  Flush toilet paper and give rise to the munthsters of the deep!  It is far too perilous.

That brings me to the water.  We come from the water.  The Toadies said it. It must be true.  We have to use bottled water (you can boil it too) for drinking and brushing teeth.  A five gallon can be had for $1.50 or less.  From what we know, the piped or "city" water in and of itself is perfectly fine. It is treated.  The issue really, is not the water, it is the delivery system.  Aged and flawed like so many of us.

Main power line.

Power is another thing.  Yes we have it.  Right here in our own little old home.  Almost all the time.  We have been here a week and lost power twice. The first time for about 2 hours. The second time for about 1/2 hour.  We knew about it.  It is another infrastructure issue like the water. The electrical is a bit sketchy if you are American as well.  We are on 110 amperage.  I think a few of the photos will help the electrically inclined understand.  Don't recoil in horror.  It is going to be OK.  Promise.  The house is made of concrete.

The air raid siren bugs me.  I think most every town has a whistle (Maxwell House, Beechum County, AL), bell, etc. that is set off on a quasi-regular basis.  We have an air raid siren.  It is not too loud or annoying to the ear,  It is quaint.  It is the kind of thing where you say "there goes the siren!" (like everyone does not hear it already, dumkopf!) when it sounds and smile. What bugs me is I do not know WHY it goes off.  Some days I hear it twice. Some days I hear it 5 times.  Never the same bat time.  Never the same bat channel.  I'll find out soon enough. For now it's on my mind.

Update 02-02-2016: The siren is from the school which is in session From 07:00 until 21:00 Mon through Sat!

Rocks.  Rocks, rocks, rocks.  Maybe stones is a more appropriate description.  It seems to be a permanent issue.  We use them all the time.  The exterior doors of our home are all held open by rocks.  We are renting so can not install hooks without landlord permission.  The Pacific breeze is generally pretty strong.  Since the rocks are not heavy, after a time, the doors will slam shut.  If you are upstairs you have to run down and fix it.  If you are downstairs, run up.  I know there are solutions people.  We just do not have the knowledge required to find what we need yet.

Rocks.

The rocks are found on the beach as we are cradled against the coast by a crescent of mountains.  They can be treacherous to your feet.  They are not sharp, large, or even particularly heavy.  There is a line of them along the beach  just like the shells line up on many beaches.  You can see them when the tide is out.  When the tide is up you can not see.  One second you are stepping on sand and the next; rocks.   The transition can bruise the bottoms your feet. Pirates, ye be warned!

The rain has stopped and it is time for us to set out on a new adventure, time for me to overcome my fears.  "Man up" in other words.  I am thankful my wife is here to give me strength.  I can not imagine doing this alone.

Some of you want the pictures of the native people doing native things.  I get it.  I try not to take pictures without permission.  I do not think the locals would enjoy another loco gringo waving a smartphone in their face without permission.  I do not know the words.  We have had bigger fish to fry, sometimes quite literally.

We must brave the bus and try to find a grocery store in Portoviejo.  We must replenish items we can not get here.  Another challenge.  Another segment all its own.  Wish us luck.  Adios!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

          Happy Thanksgiving to all our family, friends, and readers in America.  Enjoy the holiday.

Gobble Gobble

Tamera's Take: Whack-Bat, Cats and Legos

I am starting a little segment of our "What it Takes to Move to Ecuador" blog.
I am calling it Tamera's Take.
I am taking a chance anyone will read it, since tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the U.S.
That is a lot of takes.
It took a lot to get us here.
There is another take.

"Basically, there's three grabbers, three taggers, five twig runners, and a player at whack-bat.  Center tagger lights a pine cone and chucks it over the basket and the whack-batter tries to hit the cedar stick off the cross rock.  Then the twig runners dash back and forth until the pine cone burns out and the umpire calls hotbox.  Finally, you count up however many score-downs it adds up to and divide that by nine."

Getting confused?  Where does Whack-Bat fit in?  I just told you.  Exactly.  PLEASE stay with me just a LITTLE BIT longer.

East Mountain View

My segment is not about how we got here, or what it takes to get here, or what to do when you get here.

My husband Jason is already doing all of that in our Blog.  Our blog. To be honest, Jason does all the writing.

My capacity is Editor and Fact Checker. In that capacity, I am pretty good.

Tamera's Take is about being here.

Are you ready?  I am.




Where do we fit in?

I have asked myself that question many times in the five days since we arrived.  I am American.  That is what we do.  We try to fit in.  Somewhere.

But I am in Ecuador.  Crucita Ecuador to be exact.  A small fishing village on the Pacific coast of South America.

It sort of came to me last night when I was on our roof top terrace, taking in the 360 degree view.  The mountains to the north, east and south of us.  The ocean to the west.

West View Towards Pacific Ocean

In the middle of that view are houses and buildings of all different shapes and sizes.  Some are under construction.  Some appear to be under destruction.  Some seem content to wait.

Legos!

It reminded me of Legos.  Everyone has played with (or at least seen) Legos.

Little blocks of different colors, shapes and sizes.  But they all fit together.

That is the magic of Legos.  They do not have to be the same to fit together.

In fact, Legos only fit in because they are different.

CAT!!

So where do we fit in?

Right where we are.

HOTBOX!!

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What to Do, What to Do?

And what to do it with?  I can tell you what we have not done.  We have not done it since we left Jacksonville.  Check yourself here.  Just how mature ARE you? :-)

Our current movie.

We have not looked at, plugged in, turned on, or watched television.  We have a flat screen TV.  We have a DVD player.  We have Direct TV.  We do not know what channels we have.  We do not know if we have any English channels or if it is all  Latino programming.  I haven't watched American football or even thought about it until now.  OK, not true.  I see the sports stuff on Facebook.  I do not need scores there.


I just see the comments and it is almost as good as play by play.  Go Jaguars!  No movies either.

Anyone who knows us knows we are very serious about our movies.  At one point we had over 300 DVD's and Blue Ray's in our collection.  We had cable and Netflix too.  Those have all gone the way of the Dodo.  If you have not noticed, we spit out movie quotes as often as Eastwood spits out chaw.  Those of you anal-retentive enough to go to previous posts and scour for missed quotes, I salute you.

DDSF (DVD DNA Storage Facility) 

I have some movie DNA in my freezer so at some point I will John Hammond it and get my movies back.  I fear it will not be easy.  I have not seen an English language DVD here yet.  We didn't bring any either.  I'm sure they can be had and we'll find them but it will be a sad selection I think.  Doom on you, movie lover.

So what do we do?  Well, We walk.  We swim.  We attempt to speak Spanish.  We try to read and translate menus, flyers, and street signs without Google Translate.  I say "un poco de Espanol" a LOT.

We get up early without ever setting an alarm.  I can hear friends and family in JAX laughing very, very hard right now.  I ain't got no friends in 818 you say?  Not that would understand why they are laughing.  We clean our house every day.  Yes, we do Brad, yes we do.  We must do dishes and sweep daily regardless of maid service.

Remember it is an open house, except the bedrooms. Tiny sugar ants can be a problem if we do not.  We do laundry since we were finally able to figure out that machine. We try to figure out where to buy things we need.  We buy them.  Tamera works with our roses and other garden plants.  I blog, she blogs, we all blog.  We herd cats.

DDSF High Tech Thaw Mechanism

There is cooking involved.  At some point we will get around to talking about that, I'm sure.  We actually have very nice appliances including a gas stove.  No big deal that stove, huh? Maybe, but I love to cook and have wanted a gas stove for a long time.  We have a rice cooker which is cool.  Rice is important here.  Rice comes with almost everything and they know what to do with it in Ecuador. We've eaten rice every day.

We have the all important coffee maker, equally important blender, and a very nice refrigerator.  No dishwasher but with only 2 people that has not been a problem. There is a charcoal grill.  

Speaking of charcoal a quick side note: Apparently it is used here in the same way you might use baking soda in your refrigerator.  There is a small bowl of it in the back.  It takes out odors and I'll be damned if it does not work as well.

Mmmmm.

The people of Ecuador at least in our area, drink coffee. Instant coffee mostly. You're off the edge of the map mate.  Here there be monsters!  No, not really.  It is South America so perhaps you are surprised by that.  We were.  Think about it for a second.  These are mostly farmers and fishermen,  They work their butts off.  I think they rarely have time to brew, much less sit down and enjoy a good cup 'o Joe before work. When not working it is family and friends.  I don't know for sure yet.  But I think it.  Don't be dismayed.  The ground coffee is here and it is awesome.  The sugar unrefined (no need for Dixie Crystals here) and the herbs/spices are amazing.

Remember I told you we have a lot to learn?  Think I was right? It can be overwhelming at times.  Sometimes you don't know what's around the next corner.  It can be scary as hell.  I was scared out of my wits yesterday morning.  Remember we have a private courtyard.  No one in or out without a key.

Very secret, very safe.  Not.  I was up at 7:00 and came down to make coffee.  I heard a sound in the breezeway.  It sounded like someone futzing around and coughing.  "Great," I think, "confrontation with a tresspasser".  Me.  Me, who hath no Espanol skills, no nunchuk skills, no ninja skills, and no bow staff in sight.  *Sigh*  Just li'l old me. I'm ready.  I can do this.  Walk around the corner man, DO IT!

RCH (Robot Chicken from Hell).

Gotta grill right there for ya RCH! 

This little guy right here.  Not so little this robot chicken (I know it is a rooster, OK?) from hell.  Tamera was laughing, I was laughing.  Tamera ran it off.  I think he was afraid I was gonna cook him up. Barbecue, me and you, stinky, stinky, pew, pew.  She will never know.

Sorry.  Had to get in one last quote.  I'M NOT SORRY! Adios!


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Odds and Ends

Pacific morning surf.

We decided to walk to the end of Calle Malecon in North Crucita.  You can take a cab or scooter taxi for less than $1 but you can also walk from one end of Crucita to the other in about 30 minutes.  It was a little overcast (we are coming into the rainy season) but the surf was nice and the beach was beautiful.  So far I have noticed the mornings have been generally overcast but by noon the sun comes out. The energy from Sol kicks up the breeze and surf.

Hand fisherman in Crucita, Ecuador

We saw a couple of guys near the north fish market doing some surf fishing.  One was fishing with rod and reel which I have seen none of from the beach. I'm really pretty happy about because I dig surf fishing. I was not sure there was anything fun or edible to catch that way.

The other was also fishing but by hand.  He had regular line and tackle but no reel.  He was using his left hand as the spool and wrapping line with his right.  Considering the size of the fish at market I figure he has a limited life span on his fingers.   I have met my fisherman neighbor and his wife but I can't speak enough Spanish to be safe and productive fishing with him.  The invitation is there though.  His wife is also considered one of the better for hire cooks in the area.  She will come cook and teach us while she does it.  That, my friends is going to be stellar.

Poor Puffer!

Anyway, we stood there and watched them fish for awhile.  The gentleman with the rod and reel seemed to be having a hard time.  By now the surf was pretty rough so maybe he did not have enough weight.  The hand fisherman was out there up to his waist.  No small feat because the surf had really come up and trust me, it can get you off your feet quickly if you do not watch out.  He caught this while we were watching.


On the way back we thought we would walk along Calle Malecon and see what was going on.  It looks like  lot of development is starting to happen there.  Actually it is starting everywhere.  We saw some very large homes under construction.  There are many buildings for sale one the beachfront.  There are also many single family homes condos like these for rent.

New condo construction.

I was surprised because we looked on the internet for a good long time and found little.  I guess it goes back to what I said in an earlier post.  Ecuadorians generally don't use the internet much.

There are a lot of empty homes around as well.  Most are beach homes owned by families inland.  In January they come to the beach as it their summer time.



We can already see the cleaning ladies cleaning some of the homes around us in preparation for the season.  It looks like we're in for a pretty big season of fiestas, beachfront roca or rock shows and of course, carnival.  I've been warned they squirt water at you and some even throw eggs and such from their cars.  Tamera and I will stock up on beer and missiles.  We have a pretty good vantage point from our terrace and I think we can give as good as we get.  Tomorrow I think Tamera is going begin writing from her perspective.  Also, I might just tell you about the chicken. Dog!  Hey dog!  Did you see the size of that chicken?  Yeah, I'm old.  Adios!

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