Month: February 2014

My Dental Experience: Ecuador Style

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As Kathy and I plan our eventual retirement to Ecuador, one lingering question we always have is how is the healthcare. We talk to Expats everywhere we go about their experiences with hospitals, doctors, even the dentist. We want to make sure we have access to basic services once we live here and that those services are good enough for us and our own standards.

What better way than to see first hand for ourselves. Today, we decided to stop in a dentist office just around the corner from our apartment. I didn’t have an appointment, so I just walked in. Read more →

Don’t fall in that hole!

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Open construction hole on the sidewalk

Open construction hole on the sidewalk

I came upon an interesting difference between the USA and Ecuador (and other countries for that matter). Taking a nice stroll through town this morning, we came across some construction areas. The first was on the corner of the street we live on and Main Street. A very busy intersection, just across the street from an outdoor market. There is a lot of foot traffic and pedestrians here. Right on the corner, in the middle of the sidewalk is a hole. It’s about 18” square and 2 feet deep. Around it there are no signs, no barriers, no orange cones, nothing to indicate the hole is there. And you know what? Nobody falls in it. Really, nobody is dumb enough to fall in that hole. Read more →

When a camper is home and a house is camping

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We recently had to take the RV in for some maintenance and repairs. The oil needed changing in the engine. The electric was still out from the Great Ice Storm of 2013. The ice maker wasn’t working. The shower had a leak. The oven pilot light wasn’t working right. And a bunch of other small things. Just a list of things that needed fixed. It has been almost a year since we bought the RV, so it was time for our first maintenance and service.We called the dealer where we bought the RV to request service. This was right before Thanksgiving. Their first opening was Jan 2. Really? Wow. So we made the appointment. Read more →

My Brain Hurts After Two Weeks of Spanish Classes

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I’m taking Spanish classes at the Instituto Superior de Espanol in Otavalo, Ecuador (http://www.instituto-superior.net/our-spanish-schools/otavalo/otavalo).  And after two weeks, my brain hurts.

The first week I went to class in the morning, Monday – Friday, 8:30 to 1:30, and Maria was my “profesora”.  Last week I switched to afternoons, 2:00 to 6:00, plus 5 hours on Saturday, and my “profesora” was Anita.  I will not agree to an afternoon class again; my brain does not function as well in the afternoon.  Starting tomorrow, I’m back on the morning schedule, and back with Maria. Read more →

Getting Settled in Cotacachi, Ecuador

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I arrived in Cotacachi last Sunday morning at 1:30am.  It had been quite a day.  My first flight left DFW Airport at 1pm Saturday and I had a 3 hour layover in Houston before my 5:30 flight.  There was quite a bit of turbulence over Central and South America, which always freaks me out a little but outwardly I try not to show it.  We landed in Quito around 11:50pm.We have flown 3 different airlines from DFW to Ecuador.

We’ve flown American Airlines twice, which goes through Miami; AA gets you into Quito around 8pm and the return flight leaves Quito at 8am.  Delta goes through Atlanta; that flight gets you into Quito at 11:40 and returns from Quito at 12:45 am.  This time I flew United, which as I said earlier got me in around midnight.  My return flight leaves Quito at midnight. Read more →