Eight Months In - Of Rose Colored Glasses, Weather, and Freedom

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Well, here we are!

Well, here we are.  We have surpassed the 6 month mark and by a couple of months at that.  We are now in our eighth month here.  Why is this significant you ask? Well, my wife and I read a lot of other ExPat blogs and one of the recurring themes is the six month mark.  You see, that is when the rose colored glasses come off.  Allegedly.  No, this is not Paris with its beautiful rose light which inspired the saying.

That much is obvious.  Also obvious?  Our six month anniversary was marred by Mother Nature and as we all know, you don't mess with Mother Nature.  Yes, I'm showing my age a bit with that one.

My point is, we are beyond comparing our initial six month's experience with anyone else's.  Looking at it now I see I was being a bit obtuse in thinking we could anyway.  Everyone has different experiences or alternate takes on said experiences which mold how they feel.  Our experiences have left us somewhat conflicted.  Should I stay or should I go?  I will not speak for my wife though I know how she feels.  This is all on me.  One man's opinion as it were.

So many different fruits and plants.

I want to preface the next paragraph with this: I lived in Jacksonville, FL for so long it feels like my hometown.  I loved living there.  My kids are there as are my parents.  My very best friends are there. It is a beautiful city and like any growing city it is facing its own growing pains.

Now-  In Jacksonville, I heard gunshots on a regular basis.  Hell, we found a slug on our back patio though this is the exception, not the rule.

The year we left Jacksonville was in the process of surpassing their annual record of murders.  I do not like having to say that but sometimes the truth hurts.  As in every large city there are areas that are just bad.  Jacksonville is no exception.  They will figure it out.

I have not heard one gunshot here; have not seen one story where someone was killed by gun. There certainly haven't been any mass murders or school massacres as in other areas of the world (none in Jacksonville either).  No policemen have been killed by gun.  No bombings or mass killing by automobile.  No acts of terrorism.

A view of our home, Crucita from the southern mountain.

That is not a political statement nor am I advocating for pro-gun or gun control. Just stating facts here.  We had earthquakes instead.  That is the trade off I guess.  The bright side?  This massive, devastating earthquake thing will most likely not happen again in my lifetime and if it does, I'll probably be to old to care. If we do experience one of that magnitude again sooner rather than later, I will be much more equipped to deal with it than I was.  It may sound weird but I prefer earthquake to a bullet.

I have no statistical data to back this up but I feel like I have a greater chance of being shot in Jacksonville than I do being killed or seriously injured by an earthquake here.  OK.  Maybe not a very bright side but I feel that way. 

The Pacific as seen from our rooftop.  Good morning!

I think it is safe to say my personal rose colored glasses were broken in the initial terramoto and still I love it here.  I mean I love it here a lot.  Right here and now, Mother Nature notwithstanding.  It helps to remember we are not the only ones going through it.  Our friends here seem to all feel the same way which also helps because I know what we feel is normal. It also helps that friends and neighbors here reach out to check on us and us them.  It does not matter how.

Face to face, Whatsapp, Facebook.  Some days I just want to bug out but that feeling is fleeting. Most days I wake up, head to the rooftop terrace, and drink in that Pacific ocean view.  Then I smile.  I smile because I know I am supposed to be here.  I belong here.  As my wife said, we are home.

Our landlords and amigos, Victor and Deysy (Daisy).

In eight short months we have made many new friends.  There are so many wonderful people here and they are just as interested in us as we are in them. Sometimes they have more questions about us than we about them.  Our local tienda owners are a great case in point. Whenever we go in we buy for a few days at a time.  There are no shopping carts or baskets.  You get the things you can carry, place them on the counter, then go back for more.  As we do it they tell us the names of what we purchase in Spanish.

Then they always want to know the "English" name for it.  We get questions about where we are from, what is the weather like (both hotter and colder than here), do we have mosquitoes there (yes and way more than here!), do we have pets (yes. can you guess what kind?), do we like Crucita (yes we do thanks very much).  Priorities are different.  Yes, there is the need for money but most people seem to be content with life.  Things move slowly.  Stress levels are much lower than in the U.S.  Well, non-earthquake related stress anyway.  You get the point.

Can you say tranquilo (trang-kilo)?  I knew you could!

The ExPats come from everywhere.  Italy, U.S., Canada, Germany, France, Columbia, Brasil, etc.  It makes things interesting from many standpoints.  

I mentioned weather.  It does get hot here in the summer months.  Not as hot as it does where I moved from but some days are close.  It does not stay hot at night at least not most evenings.  You can generally fall asleep with your windows and doors open to reap the benefits of the sea breeze and the sound of the Pacific.

No sound machine needed here.

The summer is also the wet season.  To date I have heard thunder once, seen no lightning, and there has been one serious downpour.  The butterflies are everywhere as they migrate.  We had two stretches of week long (or close) rain.  The rest of the time the rain mostly came at night.  There are many sunny days, tasty waves, and extremely high tides.  Many times the tides cover the Malecon when at their peak.  The hottest time of year was March.  Many locals told us it would be cold soon.  Cold?  This is the Equator.  Frio they said.  Winter is coming.  Yeah right.

The summer months.  Ceiba trees on Crucita farmland.

Then, just before the earthquake something happened.  It got cool.  One day it was hot.  The next day not.  That turned out to be a blessing because we were without power for awhile.  Winter is here.  As promised.  Our A/C is off day and night. It will stay that way until Summer returns. Of course it is not really cold though some nights the wind is strong enough to give you chills.  It is cool here. It is perfect temperature day and night. You can do outside work without breaking a sweat.

There are a lot more overcast days but there is generally a few hours of sun even on these overcast days.  There is no rain to speak of so things get a bit dusty.  The mountains are brown again. The ocean temperature drops a degree or two but not enough to stop us swimming.  The tides now get very low and the beach is huge.  There are different birds around.  The whales will be here soon. August is the coolest month or so I am told.  The whales love it here in August.  It is also the very best time of year to visit the Galapagos Islands.  As the ocean currents turn cold they bring in migrating wildlife en mass.  More on that in August I hope.

Grown on our rooftop.  Mi gusto!

I won't take too much time on food in this post but farm fresh eggs and vegetables are plentiful.  Oranges or naranjas (nar-on-ha-s) are back now.  Peppers or pimientos (pim-e-in-toes) are year round as are onions or cebollas (say-bow-yas) Pineapples or pinas (pee-nyahs) are easily found and delicious.  Limes or limons (pronounced lemons) are back after a brief hiatus.  We have our own tree which produces continuously.  Potatoes or papas (spelled like it sounds) are year round as are the Ecuadorian sweet potato, comote (com-oh-tay).  Simply delicious.  So many fresh beans or frjoles (free-hole-ays) are available we still have not tried them all.  Fish or pescado (pez-cod-oh), shrimp or camaron (cam-ah-rhone) are easily found daily.

I have lost so much weight from eating well and exercise I can fit into a concert tee-shirt I wore in the early 90's.  I now wear mediums comfortably.  I was an extra large just months ago. My blood pressure is down (never all that high to begin with), I no longer smoke, and drinking is now very minimal.  All great things for my health.

So what is not to like?  Well terramotos of course.  My rose colored glasses are as I said, broken and most definitely off.  Should I stay or should I go?  I think we will stay unless something happens that makes it impossible.  Will we stay in Crucita?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  It is a perfect place to begin. Easy access to affordable transportation, food, English speaking friends, and a close proximity to a large city make it very attractive.  As time goes on we may move around the country a bit.  What is it like in the mountains, the true Amazon?  What is it like south of here, closer to Peru?  What is it like in Peru, Columbia, Chile, or Brasil?  Could we end up in one of those places someday?  Maybe. We are free to do as we will and just a few hours travel changes your environment greatly.  We are free.  What can be better than that?  Is our compass slowing swinging northward again?  I think so. Chao!

Note:  As I added pictures to this blog (the last step before publishing) we experienced another tremor or tremblor .  4.2 in strength with the epicenter just off the cost of Manta about 12 kilometers away.  No damage or injuries.  Just nerve racking. 

"I feel the earth, move, under my feet!"

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New Beginnings - Life Goes On

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We are awakened sometime in the night by another tremor.  Maybe it is a dream.

I slept fourteen straight hours.  My wife only managed four.   Not a dream.

The next day a number of good things will come to be.  We hear from Tamy and Jared. They and their family are all fine. This communication is possible because the cell phone companies have all opened their lines for free.  No international calls unfortunately.  Other friends have reached out to our family and friends in the U.S on Facebook VIA their landline/modems.  Yes, landlines are up and running.  My friend David is actually able to leave my Father a phone message.


Our local tiki lounge/restaurant Rimini, has a generator and have a charging station set up.  We can charge our phone. Our main tienda has opened it's doors and we buy supplies.  There has been no price gouging.  As a matter of fact, shop owners seem to be giving discounts for those in need. Local restaurants like Motumbo are cooking food before it spoils and serving free lunches.  We buy food. The weather is almost perfect.  We are in the beginnings of Ecuadorian winter.  It is cool and clear.

Though the Manta airport lost its tower there are helicopters and planes flying in and out constantly. No commercial flights.  These are all aid flights from Quito, Guayaquil, and other countries.

Ecuador President Rafael Correa, declares a period of mourning.  It will last 8 days.

Our village is still facing issues.  Water is not available.  What we have in our cisterns is all we have.  We learn that many people get their water delivered on Sundays.  That did not happen for obvious reasons.  Our section of the village got theirs on Saturday.  We were lucky. Bottled water is nowhere to be found.

Trash pick up has been skipped twice now. It is piling up.  Not a sanitary state.  Some are burning their refuse in vacant lots.  We may have to as well.

Yes, there are more quakes but none even close to the initial one.  These are off the coast though and we have to stay vigilant.  Tsunamis are a real possibility.

We are now seeing pictures of other cities including Portoviejo.  It is worse than we ever imagined.

The following day there are more tremors. The electricity service is restored!  It is only day three and we are ecstatic. Tamy and Jared stop by.  We are told we are not to go to Portoviejo.  It is very bad there.  We ask how their house fared.  They avoid answering.  We have seen pictures of the road near their home. There is a huge crack in the road and a car has driven in.  We realize their house must have been damaged at the least. They like us, are in shock and don't want to answer so we let it go.

We still have no phone minutes to make international calls or cash, but Tamy is going to get us cash. There are a few working ATM's in Portoviejo. We give her our ATM card. She will get us cash. We are told not to go to Manta either.

Helicopters have landed less than 2 blocks from here with emergency supplies. Garbage is being picked up.  

The next day WiFi is restored.  We spend hours contacting family, posting to Facebook, letting everyone now we are OK.  In truth we needed this to move forward, get over the quake.  The inevitable question is asked.  "When are you coming home?".  We are home.  If we have to go, we will decide where that might be then.  We never ran from hurricanes, we won't run from this.

The next day and we have cash.  We will not starve. We donate a small sum for relief efforts immediately  Right now it is all we can do. Tamy tells us her house cracked in half.  It sunk 30 centimeters and the water pipes burst.  "It is life." she says.  "It is not important."  The people of Portoviejo need their help and they come first. My wife and I cannot help right now.  It is too dangerous. Tamy and Jared only go into the city because they have to. Their family lives there.

The next day our landlords arrive.  Their family is OK as is their home.  They fix the front gate and make other minor repairs.  The house is fuego (strong) and we will not have to move.

Water is flowing into our cistern which never leaked.  All our friends are OK and all our services are back.  It is unbelievable.

Life is slowly returning to normal in the village of Crucita.  The mourning period had passed.  The music that infuses our life is returning.  More and more shops are opening,  More and more street vendors are around.  Yesterday, we saw bottled water being delivered.  Yes, life is returning to normal here but just a few miles away it is a very different story.  We have only been here a short while but things will never be the same.  Sometimes change is tough.  Most times it is tough.  The Government of Ecuador has done very well managing this event.  The people of Ecuador are nothing short of amazing.  We are in awe of them. Chao!

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Happy New Year! (Part 1) - Grapes, Monigotes, and Magical Unicorns

Tradition.  Bob as Baby New Year.

2015 has been a year to remember.  That is for sure.  We all know the stress levels a person gets to when a life changing event happens.  Just one and you are in the land of heart failure.  My wife and I experienced our share of them in 2015.  Needless to say we were suffocating in a very real way.  We journeyed through hell to get here.

I will not go into all the details. We got all kinds of well meaning advice but the thing about advice is; you almost never know what you think you know.  In any event it was mostly given with the best of intentions.  We learned a lot.

We got a lot of help too and that will never be forgotten. Without that help, the final life changing event of 2015 might never have happened.  We might not have made our move to Ecuador.  That would have been devastating in ways I can only see now.  We did make it though.  We do miss our friends and family very much but we would not change anything. I would gladly go through it all again if the end result were the same.  Well, maybe not gladly but I would do it.

My Spidey sense is tingling!

The U.S. has its New Year traditions.  New Years Eve is what I like to call Amateur Drinker's Night.  Everyone tries to get as plastered as possible.  We make our New Year's resolutions. I guess getting plastered makes it easier to proclaim every way in which we will make our lives better and then, promptly forget them.  Lord knows I have done my share of "forgetting".  It is fun.  It is a way of letting off all the steam built up just trying to get through that year.  It is also a way of building yourself up for that next one.  We all know life is hard but we also all want to live it.  That takes courage all on its own.

At midnight the ball drops in Times Square.  We count down as one voice, "TEN, NINE, EIGHT", the excitement is palpable, "THREE, TWO, ONE!".  We all scream "HAPPY NEW YEAR!". There is a toast (lots really), champagne, kissing, hugging, tears of joy (or relief), and laughter.  There are fireworks and even gunfire.  Family and friends.  Hope.



New Years Day brings its own traditions.  In the South it generally starts with a few Goody's or BC powders. Large hangovers necessitate large coffees (I personally believe this is when the Bloody Mary is most important), and large breakfasts.  The most popular New Year's Resolution in the entire history of resolutions is generally uttered at some point in the morning; "I will never drink again!".  Coincidentally, it is also the most ignored.  Black Eyed Peas get cooked for luck through the new year.  I hate them so I do pintos with cornbread instead.  A pot of greens (I make collards) is cooked for wealth and prosperity.  I have found they both work as well as the Mark Zuckerberg Facebook giveaway but hey, it is tradition.

Shared!  I've always wanted  magical unicorn.

2015 resolutions,  This year I resolve to do everything differently.  I will improve my quality of life and learn new things.  I will travel and expand my horizons.  I will lose weight and exercise.  I will make new friends.  Check, check, check.  Check, check, check.  Check, check.

2016 resolutions.  More of the same please!

The traditions are different here of course.  I will change mine.  Not totally. Black beans instead of pintos.  Easy!  In Ecuador, we celebrate New Year's basically all week.   Christmas time is literally the beginning of summer here.  In Crucita it means the filling up of the town as people flock to the beach to begin their summer vacations.  The Malecon (translates to pier but here it means beach road as far as I can tell) largely deserted during the week when we arrived, is now a hot spot all week long.  Music is louder, people cruise the beach, drinking and eating establishments are full.

The gang' all here and yes, Freddy Krueger is too!

It is not an organized celebration yet. Vendors start making and selling monigotes.  These are paper mache effigies in the likeness of popular cartoons, famous or infamous people, and animals.  They represent the bad things that happened in the old year (Ano Viejo). You can get them everywhere.  All week long they become more prevalent on balconies, tied to cars, riding pillion on motorcycles, and in the backs of trucks. They are beaten, burned, and exploded at midnight on the last day of the Old Year to make room for good things in the New Year (Ano Nuevo).

People drink but they generally spend the evenings with their families and begin the actual festivities at midnight.  New Year's Day (00:00:01) is when the celebration begins.  Yes, effigies are beaten and burned and exploded with fireworks.  By doing this any bad "mojo" is taken from you and yours.  This house is clean.

12 grapes, 12 wishes, 60 seconds, GO!

Then there are the grapes.  Twelve to be exact.  One for every month in the year.  You must eat all twelve grapes beginning at midnight and finish them before one minute elapses.  Each grape represents a wish which also must be spoken prior to eating the grape.  Twelve grapes, twelve wishes, sixty seconds. Failure is not an option.

It is imperative you are given a brand new pair of underwear.  You wear yellow on New Years Eve to bring wealth. Red is worn for Love.  You aren't supposed to buy them yourself.  They must be a gift to work properly.

Men are supposed to jump over a raging bonfire twelve times for luck.  I will skip that.  They also throw coins in the fire for wealth and rice in the fire to bring an abundance of food. There is a fireworks show and we are assured they are not the little fireworks we see in the U.S.  I am not sure what to expect or what that means.  They have been shooting off "personal" fireworks all month.  Mortars and such are definitely legal.

Then there are the "widows" of the old year.  Since the old year is dead, men dress up as the old year's widow,  They walk around the town but they are not sad.  They are glad the old year is dead.  In Portoviejo they stop traffic and ask for change.  In the parish of Crucita they also sell small items (we bought Chiclets gum) for a pittance.  We are a fishing/farming village and the men look like men.  It is so funny to see them running around acting (badly) like women.

We bought Chiclets from this widow.

So here we are.  On the precipice of a new year.  It is exciting is it not?  I will give you some advice.  I give it with the best of intentions.  Should you find yourself on the edge, on a precipice, it may be best to jump.  Not always, not everyone, but for some, not jumping could mean the loss of something very valuable. The scary part is you may never even know.  So perhaps the good news is that life is full of cliffs, crags, peaks, and precipices.  There is always another place from which to jump.  Adios!

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