Already one month that we arrived in Ecuador!
Time is going fast too here! :)
So here is what we've done in a month and some differences we've experienced:
- Houses are made of concrete, steel, stucco, plaster and the wood is used as decorative pillars, the roof are made out of tiles and wood, very durable and well built!
There is no heating or cooling system as the temperatures are like spring all year long.
Propane is used to heat the water and drying machine.
- To start over we needed a minimum of kitchenware and furniture/appliances to live in our new house.
So we went to the nearest big city (Loja, 45 min drive) and bought some mattresses, kitchenware, plates... and a washing machine (what is unbelievable is that this is the best I have even had! it's extra large, it weights your clothes and choose the right program! plus it makes a cool ice cream truck music when it's done! but no, it doesn't deliver any ice cream!).
Shops here are pretty small and over stock for their size (except for the large retail store like furniture, appliance, grocery store ...); They are usually specialized in one thing or few and they don't look very inviting! but you need to go over that judgment if you need certain things!.
- We've hired several contractors that are helping us with the garden, furniture making and the development of our third bedroom that is almost done.
Actually all our furniture will be custom made in quality wood by a local artisan here in Ecuador.
Ecuadorian are really good manual workers.
Furniture are made of real quality wood like red cedar.
Here is the bed that we custom ordered (the same bed in Canada would have cost 7 times more!).
We also asked for a double jetted tub in our bathroom! It takes time to fill it up but it's pretty nice!
Now I am waiting for our container to decorate en embellish all around...
- We've got a hammock installed; It's a good relaxing place when there is no wind with a beautiful view.
- We went to Machala to registered our 180 days visa; It's a 5 hours drive (one way) and it took 30 min to process the paperwork for the 4 of us. So we had a 10 hours drive in a day in the mountains where the roads are practically turns after turns after turns! It's worse than a roller coaster ride! It took us a day to recover from it!
Machala is the Banana capital of Ecuador, they export directly from their harbor. We saw fields after fields of Banana trees. The climate is warmer and humid over there since it's closer to the coast.
The sad thing is that we saw some planes that spray the fields! :(
-For the past month the temperatures were a bit chilly in the morning and night but nice during the day.
I would say a bit colder than spring.
The vegetation is beautiful and abundant.
Down the hill near the house, there is a river and some wild orange trees; Once in the river we saw 2 giant otter screaming at us!
As the house is also near a natural reserve, we also saw a little fox and a antelope/deer and many nice birds (but I couldn't manage to take any pictures yet!), they are really noisy sometimes, they make a sound comparable to a light saber!
Just few days ago a hummingbird knocked himself out by bumping onto the window, I picked him up, gave him some Reiki and a little bit of water and in few minutes he was flying again, stayed few seconds in front of me and flew away.
- We visited some farmers markets on Sunday morning where the fruits are really cheap (15 bananas for $1; Pineapple for $1, 20 lemons for $1, 25 oranges for $1, same as carrots and so on).
But if you are looking for process food here, it can be expensive!.
So this is all in a month!... Next month I will show you more furniture and more about our little life story!...
Feel free to leave your comments, questions and more...
Time is going fast too here! :)
So here is what we've done in a month and some differences we've experienced:
- Houses are made of concrete, steel, stucco, plaster and the wood is used as decorative pillars, the roof are made out of tiles and wood, very durable and well built!
There is no heating or cooling system as the temperatures are like spring all year long.
Propane is used to heat the water and drying machine.
So we went to the nearest big city (Loja, 45 min drive) and bought some mattresses, kitchenware, plates... and a washing machine (what is unbelievable is that this is the best I have even had! it's extra large, it weights your clothes and choose the right program! plus it makes a cool ice cream truck music when it's done! but no, it doesn't deliver any ice cream!).
Shops here are pretty small and over stock for their size (except for the large retail store like furniture, appliance, grocery store ...); They are usually specialized in one thing or few and they don't look very inviting! but you need to go over that judgment if you need certain things!.
- We've hired several contractors that are helping us with the garden, furniture making and the development of our third bedroom that is almost done.
Actually all our furniture will be custom made in quality wood by a local artisan here in Ecuador.
Ecuadorian are really good manual workers.
Furniture are made of real quality wood like red cedar.
Here is the bed that we custom ordered (the same bed in Canada would have cost 7 times more!).
We also asked for a double jetted tub in our bathroom! It takes time to fill it up but it's pretty nice!
Now I am waiting for our container to decorate en embellish all around...
- We've got a hammock installed; It's a good relaxing place when there is no wind with a beautiful view.
- We went to Machala to registered our 180 days visa; It's a 5 hours drive (one way) and it took 30 min to process the paperwork for the 4 of us. So we had a 10 hours drive in a day in the mountains where the roads are practically turns after turns after turns! It's worse than a roller coaster ride! It took us a day to recover from it!
Machala is the Banana capital of Ecuador, they export directly from their harbor. We saw fields after fields of Banana trees. The climate is warmer and humid over there since it's closer to the coast.
The sad thing is that we saw some planes that spray the fields! :(
-For the past month the temperatures were a bit chilly in the morning and night but nice during the day.
I would say a bit colder than spring.
The vegetation is beautiful and abundant.
Down the hill near the house, there is a river and some wild orange trees; Once in the river we saw 2 giant otter screaming at us!
As the house is also near a natural reserve, we also saw a little fox and a antelope/deer and many nice birds (but I couldn't manage to take any pictures yet!), they are really noisy sometimes, they make a sound comparable to a light saber!
Just few days ago a hummingbird knocked himself out by bumping onto the window, I picked him up, gave him some Reiki and a little bit of water and in few minutes he was flying again, stayed few seconds in front of me and flew away.
- We visited some farmers markets on Sunday morning where the fruits are really cheap (15 bananas for $1; Pineapple for $1, 20 lemons for $1, 25 oranges for $1, same as carrots and so on).
But if you are looking for process food here, it can be expensive!.
and fresh coconuts ($1.25 each)
We do not own a car; there is a large Taxi service that cost about $1 per km, most of the Taxi are pick up truck and they used the back to transport workers! (they know car pooling!).
The road are not all paved, only the main one; they are a mixed of gravel and sand (can be pretty dusty!).
If you are a pedestrian you better watch for your life!
So this is all in a month!... Next month I will show you more furniture and more about our little life story!...
Feel free to leave your comments, questions and more...
