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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Moving Pets to Ecuador- The Most Fun You will Never Have

I said I would write about this and wish I had not.  I literally cringed when I hit "publish" after saying I would.  I'm sorry if this is confusing.  It is hard to organize in my head, hard to organize on the blog, and was hard to organize in real life.  Read this entire post.  Not because we took so much time writing it.  You need to know everything we have written if your pet travels with you.  If you have a specific question, do not hesitate to ask us.

We brought 4 cats with us.  Yes, Yes, I hear you.  Not crazy people.  Certifiable.  I understand but if they were YOUR pets- a little different right?  I hope so.

Blondie

The thing is, the process was not so bad.  The surprises, relevant charges, and lack of structured information were.  I cannot stress enough the changes that could happen every day.  Ecuador and the USA can and will change their import/export laws.  It can and may happen in mid-process.

We recommend you carry on your pets.  We did. Depending on the airline there will be different carry on rules and costs. Some airlines will not allow carry on pets.  The airlines that do allow carry on pets have a maximum kennel (pet carrier) limit per flight.  If you decide to carry on your pets, you must notify your airline's reservations as soon as possible.  Reservations will give you a Record Locator Number for each of your carry on kennels.  You must use kennels approved by that airline.  Your pets must be harnessed (cat or dog). No collars.  You must have a leash.  You are going to have to research flight specific information and requirements on your own.

I don't advocate putting pets in cargo.  Depending on the size of your pet, you may not have a choice. Bear in mind, the cargo area is not pressurized, there is no temperature regulation and no human contact.  Your pets will be under an enormous amount of stress and our airline would not allow tranquilizers.  We found alternatives in the form of calming spray and herbal calming treats. They worked very well.

Transporting pets in cargo could kill them.  Ecuador doesn't allow cargo transportation of pets unless the outside air temperature is below a certain point.  No Ecuador airline allows carry on pets.  You may need to fly into Guayaquil or Quito and use a private driver to get to your destination.  We had one drive us to Crucita from Guayaquil (4.5 hours).  He was from Portoviejo so his total round trip time was almost 9 hours.  He also had to wait 2 additional hours as our plane was delayed.  Eleven hours of his time, mileage and gas, cost us $165.00.

Zahi is upset after 21 straight hours of travel.

There are companies that will ship your pet for you, in luxury even.  They were all completely out of our price range.  Some seemed a bit shady.  If you go that route be careful.

Budget more than you have already.  Getting everything together to move people to Ecuador is tough.  Animals are tougher and more expensive.

This next sentence is very important.  As of 11/20/2015 the U.S. based Ecuadorian Consulate did not have to sign, certify, stamp or approve any paperwork in order for you to import your pet into Ecuador.

There are websites that offer to obtain your pet "passport" for you.  We found their information to be incorrect or outdated. You don't need them.

You must have a USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) Certified veterinarian.  Call and confirm.  Make them speak the words, "yes, I am a USDA certified veterinarian".  There was only one in our decent sized city.  Other vets told us they could fill out the documents.  Do not risk it.  Get the USDA certified vet even if you have to travel to do it.  It is going to cost you.  Get quotes up front.  Get your pet's records from the last veterinarian they saw.  Ask for discounts.  You may need them.  The vet we used gave us a CONSIDERABLE discount.  I mean a huge one.

There are only 2 USDA documents.  They are called the VHC (Veterinary Health Certificate) and the APHIS Form 7001. The VHC is country and species specific.  When you speak to your USDA representative they need to know the form is for US Export to Ecuador and whether you are transporting dogs, cats, or both.  Your USDA vet fills out and signs these documents.  The USDA stamps and certifies VHC for $38.00 per certificate.  Up to 5 same species animals can be included on 1 VHC.  Each pet must have their own set of these documents.  Each pet must also have their RVC (Rabies Vaccination Certificate) provided by your vet.  That's it.  No one else need be involved. I say this because apparently, you used to have to get the Ecuadorian Consulate to certify your forms prior to export from the USA.  There is a lot of information on the internet saying you do.  We did not have to.  We thought we did and spent a considerable amount of time and energy trying to contact the Miami Ecuadorian Consulate.

The rare and exotic Oscar cat.  He is always quite concerned.

Our vet recommended we have a separate folder prepared for each pet. Good advice.  Make copies of everything.  If you lose something it may help to have copies in the long run.

Call the USDA because they will know what current laws are.  There should be at least one office in your State.  Here's a valuable secret.  Choose the "I want to make an appointment" prompt and someone will answer.  They will even e-mail you the blank forms for the vet to fill out.  This is important because the local offices may have updated forms which are not yet on the USDA website (this was the case for us).  That means your vet will not have the updated forms either.

You must also call the EAQAA (Ecuadorian Agency of Quality Assurance and Agriculture) 72 hours in advance of your arrival.  Notify them by calling Ecuadorian phone number 5939 565 0556.  Tell them you are importing animals into Ecuador, your arrival time, and what airline carrier you are flying with.  They will ensure an Ecuadorian vet is there to inspect each animal, their paperwork, and pass them through Customs.

Kodak Attack!

Your pets require up to date vaccinations.  Even if your records are current, a booster may be required.  You may even have to get the shot and then the booster regardless.  Pets must be free of all internal parasites so your vet should test and then deworm anyway.  Pets must be free of all external parasites.  Your vet should apply flea and tick treatment themselves.  Another VERY important sentence.  You MUST travel within 10 days of receiving USDA certification.  Your travel reservations and vet visits must be coordinated with this in mind.

You should take the documents to the USDA yourself, not mail them.  You will need to make the appointment.  Remember the "I want to make an appointment" prompt?  Had we mailed them we would still be in the States because our USDA form was not formatted correctly.  The vet filled in one section by hand and the USDA would not accept it.  Had we mailed them, the documents would have been returned to us USPS (United Stated Postal Service) without stamps and certification.  We would have missed the 10 day travel window.  Since we were there in person, they corrected the documents themselves, stamped them, and allowed us to take them back to our vet for him to sign again.

I like the balcony momma!

That wasn't so bad, huh?  Well wait a tic. The airport can be tricky. Give yourself plenty of time.  The airline recommended we arrive 4 hours early and we did.  It very nearly wasn't enough time.  Luckily, our flight was delayed.  Wanna hear something really funny?  When we got to Guayaquil they passed us through without even a second glance at our cats.  We were told to expect 1-2 hours of "Customs" time.  We were through Customs in 10 minutes.  That will not happen for everyone and you still need your paperwork to leave the States.


At the time of this post, Ecuador would not quarantine your pet.  Pets who failed to meet their requirements were returned to their country of origin IMMEDIATELY!

Blogging with the Four in Ecuador.

That's about it really.  Actually, I'm kind of glad we did this.  A lot of frustration has been lifted.  The information we provided will definitely help you and yours get where you you want to be safely.  I truly hope this helps someone out there. We could've used it for sure.

I think it might be time for a bit of Rosetta Stone.  It's cloudy out.  Rain is forecast for tomorrow.  I hope the shrimp guy comes today.  For $4 a pound I hope he comes every day.  Adios!

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It Ain't All Poached Eggs and Rubies

COMING SOON:  Tamera's Take- Snapshots of life in Ecuador from Tamera's point of view.

Well, it ain't.  I'd love to sit here typing marvelous stories while burying my head in the sand but that's hardly fair.  It isn't right.  I won't lie either.  I've read many other blogs about Ecuador and everyone has at least one post like this.  Some stories aren't great at all.

Think for a minute about your local news you read or watched last week.  You kind of put the bad stuff in the back of your mind right?  Try not to think about it?  It's OK because that's how everyone gets through the day.  I just want to give you some perspective.  No place is perfect.  You are always in some form of danger, there is always a neighbor you don't get along with, someone always throws their trash out the car window, someone is always a jerk to you whether they know it or not, and everybody does something really stupid by or to their own selves every day.  Get your mind around that if you will because it's also not right to ignore your own backyard's problems while thinking "See?  I knew it was bad there!".  

You're in familiar surroundings; your comfort zone if you will.  We're well out of ours and that is exactly what we wanted.  Paradise has plenty of challenges, frustrations, and yes, some danger.

Habla Espanol?  Nope.  OK, a little.  My wife is much more knowledgeable.  Right now, she does most of the talking while I stand there with a silly grin on my face.  I am actually learning faster than I thought.  We have Rosetta Stone and it is a great help.  Actual lessons may be in order but the best thing is to get your face in there.  Try and try again.  I bring it up first because for me, it is the biggest challenge I face daily.  Sometimes I don't want to leave my little courtyard because I don't like seeing myself as ignorant every freaking day.  I also don't want to upset or insult the native residents.

And then there's this:

Our brand new LG washing machine.  It's mac daddy.  I could tell because it looked like it came out of the new Star Wars movie.  It took 10 minutes to get our first load of laundry going today.  We figured it out of course but boy, did I feel dumb.  There's quite a bit of this type of thing.  Different stores to pay the electric, water, WI-FI, and DTV.  All have different due dates and account numbers.   Hard to get straight and pay when you don't know how to say it.

Where is the support?  The safety net?  Friends and family aren't right there if you want or need them.  Facebook helps.  You'll need an unlocked smartphone, WI-FI with Skype capability, or Skype credit to talk with them.  Still, they aren't there.  You will have local friends but it's a little tough in the beginning.

Garbage can be an issue.  A friend once told me, "It's a third world country man".  He's right.  It is. I've seen worse in America.  Here, they pick up garbage from your front gate three times a week. The shop and street vendors clean the streets and walks every morning.  Sounds great and it IS great but-

Street Trash

Our house is off the main beach road, Calle Malecon.  The entrances are off other streets that Americans would think of as alleys.  We are in a good area of Crucita with lots of cantinas, restaurants and shops.  At night Calle Malecon is jumping.  Lots of locals and tourists doing what people do.  You see, most don't work Sundays as they are primarily Catholic.  No one really cleans up from Saturday night.  On Sundays it's church and then beach.  There are no trash collection cans on the beach.  Early Monday morning isn't pretty.  However, go back late Monday morning and everything is spic and span again.

One of Our "Alleys".

Sometimes people do what they do in the alleys.  There are a few reasons I think.  Some are drunk of course.  Some can't find a bathroom.  Some don't look for a bathroom.  Not because they don't want one but because there aren't many public bathrooms period. Even if you find one you may not dare use it.

Public Bathroom

The dogs that run around free, and there are a lot, won't use them either.  Add feral cats, chickens, and fishing nets.  Stir.  First thing in the morning the walk down the alley can be a bit ripe, especially after the weekend.

Also, it is a fishing village. Sometimes it smells like fish.  Imagine that.  Good news though.  Not for long.  We're on the Pacific.  The smell never, ever permeates our house.  The breeze gets rid of it.  At lunch time all you can smell is food.

There is crime here though we've experienced none.  No violent crime, at least not often.  Apparently, you have to watch out for the guys on enduro motorcycles with no tags.  They like to ride by and snatch purses, smart phones, or whatever else they can easily grab and run.  This is easiest to deal with.  Watch your stuff.  You do anyway right?

I saved the worst for last.  I just don't like thinking about it.  I haven't mentioned this but the people of Ecuador are generally shorter than Americans.  "So?" you ask?  So, I'm 5' 10".  A guy of medium height.  What am I supposed to do about this?

Small beds!

OK, not really a problem for my wife and I but if you're 6' tall?  Taller even?  The counters are shorter here too.  Cooking and cleaning the kitchen can be murder on your back.

Not what you expected maybe?  Well, we haven't been here long.  We haven't been kidnapped, killed, or experienced racism.  I suppose any of those things could happen but we keep a weather eye.  If they do I'll blog about it.  Get some pictures too.

There are other things too but who cares, really?  We can't change them.  Don't want to change them.  Americans wouldn't tolerate someone coming into our country and telling us how to run it.  Rightfully so.

Maybe the most important thing is we love it here.  It is probably not for everyone.  At least not forever.  We wanted adventure and got it.


As I type this I see our first humming bird at the Aloe plant's bloom.

My wife is returning through the gate from Calle Malecon where she met the cerveza truck. It comes Mondays and Thursdays.  They refill the $1.50 bottles for $0.90.

Love and Cerveza!

Welcome home te amo.  Adios amigos!

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Crazy People, Groceries, Fruit Salad, and Fish Markets

I should mention we moved to Ecuador without ever travelling here.  You may find that stupid or incredibly naïve but all our decisions were based on painstaking research.  If you are reading this you probably know there is not a lot of information about Ecuador on the internet, especially a fishing village like Crucita.  The people of Ecuador do not seem to worry about the internet like Americans.  They generally do not market their shops or businesses on the internet.  The business comes when it comes.  What you need can be found though.  There are literally 30 or more cantinas, restaurants, and shops within a 5 minute walk from our front door and I can only find 3 of them on the web. 

Calle Malecon

We dug in and found reliable, trustworthy people.  We knew what we were doing and why.  Many friends and family members (you know who you are!) thought we were crazy.  Heck, we are right?   We thought we knew exactly who we were dealing with.  We were wrong.  They are better people than we dared imagine.



We moved without ever seeing our new home in person, visiting the town, or travelling to Ecuador at all.  We picked up, risked it all, and moved 1600 miles away to a third world country.  So now you know.  We are crazy.  We are also happy!

Today we went grocery shopping with our former real estate agent, now friend, Tamy.  She lives 30 kilometers away but came to pick us up.  Perhaps a bit odd in the States but not here.  I would tell you about her up front but you'll get to know her as we are; a little a time.

We went to Super Maxi Grocery (said in a huge booming voice with the echo on the end) which is located about 18 miles (30 km) from Crucita, in Portoviejo.  Next time we will take one of the buses which are hailed like cabs.  $1.10 to ride to Portoviejo. 

Super Maxi Grocery!

Contrary to popular belief, markets in Ecuador carry many American or "Americanized" brands.  They have peanut butter (though very expensive at $9.00 a jar), they have Doritos which will make my son supremely happy, they have Pepsi and Coke.  We bought none of it.

Doritos!

We feel this way about it; we moved here.  We want the experience.  We eat what they eat. There was that KFC at the mall though-

We bought Latino labels. 

Purchased today.

So far I have cooked breakfast (fresh laid eggs), lunch (the most important and largest meal of the day here) and we have enjoyed lime juice as well as dessert.  Dinner is generally light and many times consists of leftover lunch.  Everything was just as good as American brands except the vegetables and fruits which are wonderful.  They have not been shipped or stored for long periods of time.  They have taste.  They come from the farms literally 5 minutes away.  Of course we needed staples.  We had no base.  A large bag of salt was $0.95 as it is manufactured on the north end of Crucita.  Milk comes in a box.  A 5 gallon bottle of water is no more than $1.50.

Salt Manufacturing

On the whole we bought about 2 weeks worth of food and sundries including cat food, cat litter, toilet paper, and laundry detergent for $60.00.  On the way home Tamy stopped at a roadside stand.  "You must try this" she said.  Iced fruit salad or ensalada de frutas, made in a bucket by the vendor's mother.  It was excellent, as much a drink as a salad.  Dole has nothing on this lady.  We were told not to avoid the roadside stands and restaurants.  They are regulated and inspected.  We'll be back and next time I'll get pictures.  We would've today but it was so good it was gone before we thought about it.  Too bad for you right?

Well, tomorrow we hit the southern end of Crucita's fish market. There is one on the north end too. We'll be there at 06:00 to buy fresh shrimp at $4 a pound, fresh tuna, and whatever else we can get our hands on.  The earlier the fresher, the less expensive, and the bigger we're told. Someone asked me and yes, they have lobster here.  Also crab when in season. 

Southern Fish Market.

I hope we can make the 15 minute walk there and back.  One other thing- I accidentally left my reading glasses in Tamy's car.  I figured I would get them next time we saw her.  She and her husband Jared showed up at our door an hour later to return them.  Remember they live 30 kilometers away.  Adios!

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Paperwork and then- More Paperwork!

You guessed it.  Lots of paperwork.  We thought we had found out everything we needed to know.  We organized around the infamous "to do" list.  We bought our airline tickets in advance to save a few dollars.  We saved nothing. We had to change our flight.  Thank heaven for my wife.  Without her skills I would have been at sea.  In fact we both still were but she kept an even keel (mostly).  This may seem daunting but I promise you, it is worth it.

So, we came from Florida. Seems a bit irrelevant I know but, things will vary depending on your State.  Also, we are here on retirement income.  There are different VISA's depending on your situation.  Find an immigration attorney!  It is inexpensive and while not completely necessary, will save you from a nervous breakdown in the long run.  We found one in Ecuador who told us everything we needed based on our status, provides document translation services, provides transportation everywhere we need to go, and obtains our Cedulas (Ecuador's form of identification).  Laws change.  You need that expertise.  Most importantly, you need peace of mind.

I have some advice on the following section; call and ask questions.  Confirm everything twice and then again.  Please do not assume anything.  What I type here may have changed since I posted it.  There are a lot of blogs with great information out there but check the dates.  If you are reading this a year from today (11/22/2015) things have probably changed.  Information can be had with a phone call.

USA pricing and process will vary slightly depending on State.  There are different Provinces in Ecuador and I suppose it is possible these vary here too.  Really, find an immigration attorney!  For the two of us the cost was $2,200.00 USD.  That included all VISA and attorney fees, transportation, translation, and Cedulas.  Everything.

To get your documents the BVS (Bureau of Vital Statistics) is your best friend in the States.  One visit should do it.  If you were born in a different State get some stamps.  USPS (United States Postal Service) is also your friend.  I should not think you will spend more than $15.00 for each new document.  Make sure you tell them why you need these documents and that they are going to be apostilled.  We found there are different types of the same documents. Only one type can be apostilled!    

Just about everything must be also apostilled by your State in order to obtain your VISA.  Once you receive your documents you will need to send them to your Department of State to have this done. Self addressed, stamped envelopes (lots) are required as well as certified check or money orders for each request.  You will have to check your State's website for addresses and costs.  Apostilles cost us $10.00 per document.  We found the process time consuming but relatively easy.  Here is what we needed:

UPDATE 09/26/2016:  FBI Background Checks MUST be apostilled.

• Birth Certificate - If the one you have is over 12 months old it is too old.  You must have one issued within the past 12 months in order for the State to apostille it.  If you are from a different State than the one you reside in now you can request the certificate and apostille at the same time.  You will still need to provide separate self addressed stamped envelopes and certified checks.  BVS! 
• Marriage License - You need a special certificate from the BVS
• Final Judgement/Dissolution of Marriage (if applicable) - Not the court document.  Again, a special document from the BVS.
• (Insert your State's Name Here) Department of Law Enforcement Background Check - No BVS here.  Call the relevant department in your State to find process/pricing.  We had to pay by certified check and send them a form we downloaded from the FDLE website.  Florida's cost was $24.00 per background check.  Unbelievably, NO self addressed stamped envelope was required.
• FBI National Background Check - We called the FBI and requested fingerprint cards (no charge).  They came in the mail within a few days.  We took the cards to a local police station where they performed and certified the fingerprinting (nominal cost).  We then sent the cards to the FBI with certified check and self addressed stamped envelopes for processing.  $18.00 per request.  Update: 14-18 week turnaround.  You CANNOT use Livescan for this process. Update: When you request the FBI background check, you must request it to be "authenticated for Apostille in [insert name of country]".  You must type or write this at the bottom of the FBI Information Application form. When you receive your FBI results, you must then send them to the U.S. Department of State. 
• Additional vaccinations were not required at our time of travel.  Check with the CDC (Center for Disease Control) before you go.  If special vaccinations are required, you have more paperwork to do and additional costs!  I personally believe Hepatitis A and Typhoid vaccinations are good ideas as they can be transmitted VIA food but it's your choice.  The CDC recommends these two vaccinations, but again they are not required.
• Passports - Passport form, Birth Certificate and State ID required.  We had our photos taken at Walgreens for $5.00 (also required but you can also get them done at the USPS.  Make appointment!).  Obtain passports from the USPS.  Download your forms, check your fees and requirements.

         This was the easiest process by far and we had them within 3 weeks.  We got both the 

         cards and books but only the books are required.

Well, I think that's enough "work" for today.  Sol is shining. Waves and cervezas are calling.  I think I'll talk about pets next time although I'm working in no particular order.  Maybe I will explain why next time. Adios!

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